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Whistler TRX-1 / TRX-2 · Volume 4

Whistler TRX-1 / TRX-2 — Vol 4: The Goliad Era: Firmware, Support & Buying

The last PSR-800-lineage scanners, with DMR and NXDN, sold new under Goliad Products

4.1 About this volume

Late in 2024 The Whistler Group, maker of the WS and TRX scanners, stopped operating without notice. Its website went dark and its RadioReference library service stopped. In January 2025 a new company, Goliad Products LLC of Cincinnati, bought Whistler’s assets. It relaunched the brand and restored the library service, and within months it was shipping new TRX-1 and TRX-2 radios.

This volume documents that transition and where things stand in September 2026:

  • what was acquired
  • what is sold
  • software and library releases
  • warranty, repair and contacts
  • how owners have received the change
  • what a TRX cannot hear
  • how to approach buying one

Short answers:

  • The TRX-1 and TRX-2 are sold new at $599.99 and $679.99, still branded Whistler, with current library updates and the first EZ-Scan releases in years (3.47 and 3.48 in 2026).
  • No new hardware exists. There is no TRX successor and no new FCC filing. The radios are the 2016 design.
  • Support is thin. Software and library support is working. Repair and the legacy upgrade are inconsistent, and warranty commitments for older units are “to the best of our ability”.
  • Simulcast users should look elsewhere. For large P25 simulcast systems, owners steer buyers to Uniden’s SDS series. Elsewhere, and where free DMR and NXDN matter, a TRX is a workable choice.

Confidence tags follow the research notes: confirmed means a primary page, a company statement, or a post by the Whistler_Support account or RadioReference staff. Forum hearsay is marked as reported or unconfirmed.

4.2 Timeline

Table 1 — Timeline

DateEventConfidence
Mid/late 2024Dealers show almost no Whistler stock; posters conclude the company is doing support onlyLikely
October 2024EZ-Scan update checks fail with socket errors; the office voicemail says it is closedUnconfirmed
November 2024Library build 894, the last Whistler publishesLikely
Late Nov–early Dec 2024Download links break (reported out-of-date SSL certificate); users pass mirrors aroundLikely
5 December 2024Site notice: moving to a new office and warehouse, store unavailableLikely (quoted by a user)
12 December 2024whistlergroup.com goes offline; phones busy for weeksLikely
13 December 2024National Communications Magazine reports Whistler “apparently out of business”Confirmed (press report)
16 December 2024Goliad Products, LLC formed in OhioLikely (state record cited on the forum; not checked)
January 2025”Goliad Products acquired the assets of The Whistler Group”Confirmed (company history page)
10 February 2025whistlergroup.com relaunches under the Goliad Products nameConfirmed
14 February 2025Press release “New Ownership Of Whistler Group”, CincinnatiConfirmed
About 22 February 2025Library updates resume (a TRX-1 goes from v888 to v924)Likely
28 February 2025Builds 923–925 since the takeover, suggesting weekly buildsLikely
6 March 2025RadioReference’s CEO posts Goliad’s update: rehired Whistler staff, updates live, 1,000+ units in productionConfirmed
16–18 May 2025Whistler exhibits at Hamvention; promises “lifetime updates where applicable” and US-based supportConfirmed
May–July 2025Backorders, then “back in stock” noticesUnconfirmed
22 September 2025BBB opens a Goliad Products file: not accredited, B+, one complaint closedConfirmed
24 April 2026EZ-Scan 3.47 (domestic TRX)Likely
11 May 2026Whistler_Support: EZ-Scan updates for domestic models, “in preparation of future database updates”Confirmed
23–24 June 2026One-day library server outage; “the server was being upgraded”Confirmed
June–August 2026Conflicting reports on the legacy upgradeUnconfirmed
25 August 2026EZ-Scan 3.48 (FlexStep rounding fix)Likely
15 September 2026Catalog: TRX-1 $599.99 and TRX-2 $679.99, in stockConfirmed

4.3 What Goliad bought, and what it did not

The company.

  • Address: Goliad Products, LLC, 4000 McMann Rd, Cincinnati, Ohio 45245, per its BBB profile.
  • Self-description: in March 2025 Goliad said it was “formed to allow a small group of like-minded industry veterans a vehicle to re-establish Whistler as a leader in scanners”. It said it had hired key Whistler employees with “over 100 years of combined experience”.
  • People named: the press release quotes JD Davis of Goliad Products. The same name appears as Whistler’s EVP of Sales in the company’s 2015 press releases. Ben Krieger is the media contact.
  • Brands: no separate Goliad consumer brand was found. Everything is sold as Whistler: scanners, radar detectors, dash cameras and vehicle fire extinguishers.

What was acquired.

  • Confirmed: “the assets of The Whistler Group”, announced as the Whistler brand and its product lines, including scanner radios and radar detectors. The press release commits to building inventory, honoring warranties, software updates and new product development.
  • Unconfirmed:
    • The purchase terms, and whether it was a distressed or court-supervised sale, were not found. The details sit behind the magazine’s paywall.
    • A forum post says some GRE-era trademarks were included.
    • Radios that were at the old Whistler for repair were reportedly not part of the purchase.

4.4 What is sold in 2026

Table 2 — What is sold in 2026

ModelTypePrice (15 Sep 2026)StockPlatform
TRX-1Handheld: P25 I/II, X2-TDMA, DMR, NXDN, EZ-Scan$599.99In stockPSR-800 family
TRX-2Base/mobile: same decode set, detachable head$679.99In stockPSR-800 family
WS1040Handheld, P25 Phase I$369.99In stockOlder PSR-500 lineage
WS1065Desktop/mobile, P25 Phase I$389.99In stockOlder PSR-500 lineage
WS1010Analog handheld$114.99In stockNot digital
WS1025Analog desktop$134.99Sold outNot digital
  • The TRX radios are new production of the unchanged 2016 design. The product pages still link the pre-Goliad user guides (TRX-1 revision 08A18, TRX-2 revision 10A17). No revised model number appears anywhere: no TRX-1A, TRX-3 or new base unit. The TRX-100 and TRX-200 successors announced in 2018 were abandoned before 2020 (likely).
  • The other four models are not in this family. The WS1040 and WS1065 are programmed with PSREdit500 or ARC500, which places them in the older PSR-500/600 lineage (likely). None of the four uses EZ-Scan or the RadioReference library.
  • The rest of the family is not sold. The WS1080, WS1088, WS1095 and WS1098 were discontinued before the collapse. Their software and accessories remain available.
  • No new FCC filings. Whistler’s FCC grantee code, HSX, is still registered to The Whistler Group, with the newest grants in August 2023. No Goliad grantee code was found, although a dedicated name search was not run. Scanning receivers can be authorized by supplier’s declaration rather than certification, so the absence of a filing does not by itself prove the absence of new hardware.
  • Prices have moved. A customer email quoted the TRX-1 at $629.99 in May 2025, against its current $599.99 (unconfirmed). Both TRX prices remain below Whistler’s 2016 MSRPs ($649.95 and $729.95) but above the 2016 review’s street prices.

4.5 Software and the library service since 2025

  • Library updates:
    • Dark from about December 2024.
    • Resumed around 22 February 2025.
    • Weekly and routine through 2025 and 2026, apart from the 23–24 June 2026 outage.
    • Users report that no RadioReference account or subscription is needed.
    • The commercial terms between Goliad and RadioReference were not found. RadioReference’s CEO relaying Goliad’s March 2025 statement points to a working relationship.
  • EZ-Scan (domestic TRX):
    • 3.47: 24 April 2026, the first release in about four years.
    • May 2026: preparatory changes.
    • 3.48: 25 August 2026.
    • These releases rework the updater “in preparation of future database updates”. That suggests the library service is being moved to new infrastructure, not wound down. A user noted in April 2026 that the update path still pointed at the old Arkansas servers.
  • EZ-Scan (international E models): still 3.45 (November 2022).
  • WS-series and upgraded radios: Whistler_Support stated in May 2026 that EZ-Scan for the WS1080 “works on all WS1080, WS1088, and Legacy Upgraded models just as before”. Library updates reach them through the same service.
  • Firmware: no CPU or DSP firmware release or changelog has been announced since the acquisition. The CPU updaters on the download page may all predate Goliad.
  • Windows 11: no Goliad driver package or guidance.
  • The 2026 “data gone” claim: no post was found saying RadioReference data had been withdrawn again in 2026. The closest events are the June 2026 outage and the April remark about the old servers. The claim is treated as unconfirmed, most likely a misreading.

Vol 2 covers using EZ-Scan and the library, and Vol 3 has the full firmware table.

4.6 Warranty, repair and contacts

Warranty.

  • The guides’ terms: one year for the original purchaser from an authorized Whistler retailer, void for abuse, modification, improper installation or removed serial numbers.
  • The guides’ repair details: the Rogers, Arkansas address, the 1-866-923-8719 telephone number and the $120 minimum out-of-warranty fee all predate the collapse. They should not be relied on without checking with the current company.
  • Older units: Goliad’s FAQ says: “Warranties within the warranty period will still be honored to the best of our ability through the end of the period.”
  • New units: the TRX product pages do not state a warranty term for new production.

Repair. Reports are thin and mixed:

  • 2025: repair emails went unanswered for weeks, and a moderator believed repairs were not yet offered.
  • May 2025: Whistler_Support did triage a WS1025 fault.
  • April 2026: an owner reports a WS1088 USB-port repair was declined and a trade-in toward a TRX-1 suggested.
  • Outside the US: a UK TRX-1E that went deaf was replaced by the UK dealer rather than repaired.

All of these are unconfirmed forum reports. No out-of-warranty repair service for discontinued models is advertised.

The legacy upgrade turns a PSR-800, PRO-18 or PRO-668 into a WS1080 with DMR. Its status is uncertain. In 2026 one owner was told it was “no longer” offered. Another was quoted $100 but got no payment link after repeated contact. Software support for units already upgraded is confirmed. The GRE PSR-800 dive’s Vol 5 covers the upgrade in full.

Contacts:

Table 3 — Contacts:

ChannelConfidence
Web contact form and [email protected] (contact page)Confirmed
Whistler_Support account on the RadioReference forumsConfirmed
[email protected] (press contact in the release)Confirmed
[email protected] (legacy upgrade requests)Likely
[email protected] and 1-940-969-4478Unconfirmed (forum-posted, May 2025)
[email protected]Unconfirmed

European distributors also name themselves as support contacts for international units. Deltron in the Netherlands states that existing warranties remain valid.

4.7 How owners have received it

On the positive side:

  • The update and library infrastructure came back within about ten weeks of the collapse and has run reliably since, apart from the one-day June 2026 outage.
  • EZ-Scan received its first releases in years.
  • The Whistler_Support account is visibly active on RadioReference.
  • TRX stock has been continuous since mid-2025.
  • Owners continue to value:
    • the TRX-2’s detachable head, one of the few remote-head scanners on the market
    • DMR and NXDN at no extra cost

On the cautionary side:

  • email and telephone responses on repairs and the legacy upgrade are slow or absent
  • radios in for repair at the time of the shutdown were apparently lost
  • discontinued hardware has no repair path
  • no new hardware or development has been announced; a May 2026 forum question about new models went unanswered
  • a 2016 design now sells for roughly what it cost at launch

Owners also cite the platform’s unchanged technical limits against the Uniden SDS series:

  • weak P25 simulcast reception
  • DMR and NXDN handled by frequency scanning rather than control-channel tracking

4.8 What a TRX cannot hear

  • Encrypted voice of any kind. P25, DMR or NXDN encrypted with AES, DES or ADP is detected and masked, never decoded, and decrypting it would be unlawful. See the Decrypting dive.
  • EDACS ProVoice. EDACS voice is analog only on this platform.
  • DMR Tier III / Capacity Max. Not documented as supported.
  • Digital modes absent from the receiving-modes list, for example D-STAR, System Fusion, dPMR and TETRA.
  • FirstNet and LTE push-to-talk traffic, which no scanner receives.
  • Out-of-coverage spectrum on the US band plan:
    • 54–108 MHz, including FM broadcast and VHF TV
    • 174–216 MHz
    • 782–791 and 797–806 MHz
    • the cellular blocks

Degraded rather than silent:

  • Large P25 simulcast (LSM) systems: audio is often broken.
  • Wide multi-site DMR and NXDN systems: calls are missed when many site frequencies are enabled.

4.9 Buying in 2026

New or used.

  • New: a TRX-1 at $599.99 or TRX-2 at $679.99 comes with current firmware downloads, the library service and a warranty on paper.
  • Used: new pricing caps used prices. One 2026 eBay snapshot showed TRX-2 listings from about $390 used to $675 open-box, alongside inflated relistings (unconfirmed). A used unit saves money but carries no transferable warranty. Repair options for a failed unit are poor.

TRX or a discontinued WS model.

  • The TRX is the only family member with NXDN and the larger flash.
  • A WS1080/WS1088 or WS1095/WS1098 has P25 Phase II and DMR but can never get NXDN. See the WS1080/WS1088 and WS1095/WS1098 dives.
  • Pay the TRX premium only if NXDN, new stock or the full keypad on the base unit matters.

TRX or Uniden SDS100/SDS200. This is a forum consensus, not a measurement. See the SDS100 and SDS200 dives, and Vol 1 for the side-by-side comparison.

  • Large P25 simulcast system: buyers are routinely steered to the SDS series, whose I/Q baseband processing handles LSM simulcast.
  • Multi-site DMR or NXDN systems: the SDS series’ control-channel trunking (with paid keys) tracks them properly.
  • Conventional channels, small trunked systems, or single-site DMR: owners report good results with a TRX.
  • Heavy DMR and NXDN listening on a budget: the TRX includes both modes free.

The structural risk. EZ-Scan’s value depends on one small company keeping the library service and download host running. That service went dark once, for about ten weeks. It has been reliable since, but a buyer should keep offline copies of the installers and back up the card.

Checklist:

  1. Check local systems first. Look up each wanted system on RadioReference. If the important ones are P25 simulcast, compare against an SDS radio before buying.
  2. Buy from an authorized seller and keep the dated receipt. Warranty service requires it.
  3. Confirm the model and variant. A TRX-1E or TRX-2E carries international band plans; a US buyer wants a domestic unit.
  4. For a used unit, check the physical condition: the serial-number label, the card (present and readable), the USB port, the BNC jack, and battery-door contacts (TRX-1). On a TRX-2, also check the head latch, magnets, LAN cable and head contacts.
  5. Record the firmware (hold MENU at the welcome screen) and bring it current with the EZ-Scan package for the exact model.
  6. Archive the installers and copy the card before the first reprogramming.
  7. Plan DMR and NXDN around sites: import only in-range sites and add talkgroup wildcards (Vol 2).
  8. For a remote-head TRX-2 install, budget an external speaker and use only a straight network cable.

Sources

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