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Whistler WS1095 / WS1098 · Volume 3

Whistler WS1095 / WS1098 — Vol 3: Reference

The PSR-800 platform as a base/mobile scanner with a remote head (2015)

3.1 About this volume

Reference tables for the WS1095 and WS1098: specifications, a comparison with the TRX-2 and the announced PSR-900, decoding, firmware history, known issues and resources. Specifications are from the WS1095/WS1098 User Guide (rev 12E15) unless noted; the TRX-2 User Guide (rev 10A17) prints an identical specification page. Confidence notes follow the research: where a figure rests on a dealer, forum or single weak source, the table says so.

3.2 Specifications

3.2.1 Frequency coverage

Table 1 — Frequency coverage

Range (MHz)Notes
25.000–54.000VHF low
108.000–136.9916Aircraft, AM, 8.33 kHz steps
137.000–174.000VHF high
216/220–512.000Includes 225–379.99375 military air (AM)
764.000–781.996875700 MHz, 3.125 kHz steps
791.000–796.996875700 MHz, 3.125 kHz steps
806.000–823.9875800 MHz
849.000–868.9875800 MHz
894.000–960.000900 MHz
1240.000–1300.00023 cm amateur

Cellular 824–848.9875 and 869–893.9875 MHz are excluded, and there is no coverage of 54–108 MHz (no FM broadcast). A Canadian bandplan is included. The announced PSR-900 gave the upper 700 MHz segment as 791–798.99 MHz; the Whistler manual’s 791–796.996875 MHz is used here.

3.2.2 Receiver

Table 2 — Receiver

ParameterValue
ArchitectureTriple-conversion PLL superheterodyne
IFs380.8 MHz / 21.4 MHz / 455 kHz
Antenna impedance50 Ω, BNC
Sensitivity, 12 dB SINADVHF low 0.2 µV · air (AM) 0.4 µV · 137–174 0.3 µV · 216–300 0.4 µV · 300–406 0.8 µV · 406–512 0.4 µV · 764–960 0.5 µV · 1240–1300 0.5 µV
Spurious rejection40 dB at 154.1 MHz (except primary image)
Signal-to-noise35–40 dB
Scan / search rate70 channels/s · 80 steps/s
Receive modesAM, FM, FM-MOT (Motorola), LTR (EF Johnson), EDACS wide/narrow, P25 Phase I, X2-TDMA, P25 Phase II, CTCSS, DCS, NAC; DMR added by update

3.2.3 Physical and power

Table 3 — Physical and power

ParameterValue
Size (H × W × D)45 × 180 × 135 mm (1.75 × 7.125 × 5.31 in)
WeightAbout 950 g / 33.5 oz (manual misprints “9500g”)
Display132 × 65-dot backlit monochrome LCD, in the remote head
KeypadWS1095 simplified function keys · WS1098 full backlit alphanumeric
Head linkRS-485 over an 8P8C Type B straight cable; 6½ ft supplied, up to 100 ft CAT 5/CAT 6
Head jacksHeadphone (with IF/discriminator out), USB (“2.0 or earlier”; Mini-USB per dealers)
Rear jacksBNC antenna · 3.5 mm EXT. SP · DC 13.8 V coaxial, centre positive
CardFull-size SD behind the head, up to 32 GB; 4 GB bundled per the WS1095 press release
Audio500 mW BTL into 8 Ω; built-in 77 mm speaker in the base (RR wiki gives 36 mm for the TRX-2)
Power12–14.4 V DC (13.8 V nominal, 16 V max), 600 mA rated; 3 A slow-blow in-line fuse
Operating temperature−10 to +60 °C (optimal)
GPS / serial / networkNone
FCC IDHSXSC11 (grant 2015-04-09; Class II permissive changes 2015-10-23 and 2016-03-28)

3.2.4 Memory and functions

These follow the PSR-800 platform and are detailed in the PSR-800 Reference volume:

  • the RadioReference USA/Canada library on the card, loaded by city, ZIP or county;
  • 200 Scanlists plus a SKYWARN list, and V-Scanner II with 200 configurations;
  • Spectrum Sweeper and service searches;
  • SAME/All-Hazards weather alerting with a weather-alert standby mode;
  • a multicolour alert LED and programmable audio alarms;
  • per-object recording with time stamps (about 50 hours on 2 GB per the manual; dealers quote 100 hours on 4 GB);
  • Digital and Global AGC, and a signal-strength meter.

“Signal Stalker II” does not appear in the Whistler manuals; the equivalent is Spectrum Sweeper.

3.3 Model comparison

Table 4 — Model comparison

GRE PSR-900 (announced)Whistler WS1095Whistler WS1098Whistler TRX-2
StatusCancelled Oct 2012Jun 2015 – discontinued by Sep 2016Nov 2015 – replaced by TRX-2Jun 2016 – sold new by Goliad in 2025–26
AnnouncedCES, Jan 20126 Apr 201511 Sep 201517 May 2016
Price”TBA”No MSRP found; $375.95 street (Mar 2016, unconfirmed)No MSRP found; about $518 (Mar 2016) and $420.35 (Apr 2016) street, unconfirmedMSRP $729.95 (Dec 2016 press release); Goliad $679.99
FCC IDNone (never certified)HSXSC11HSXSC11HSXSC11
Head keypadNot documentedSimplifiedFull alphanumericFull alphanumeric
Card”2 GB SD” and “microSD” both statedFull-size SDFull-size SDFull-size SD (2 GB or 4 GB bundled; sources conflict)
DMRNoFree update, 31 May 2016Free update, 31 May 2016Built in
NXDNRumour onlyNeverNeverFree update, 15 Dec 2016
PC software—EZ-Scan 2.51.0.707WS1095 EZ-ScanEZ-Scan 3.48.0.708

The TRX-2 is covered in depth in the Whistler TRX-1 / TRX-2 dive.

3.4 Decoding

Table 5 — Decoding

ModeWS1095 / WS1098Notes
Conventional AM / FM / NFMYesNo wideband FM broadcast
CTCSS / DCS / P25 NACYes
Motorola analog, mixed-mode, Type I (P16)YesControl-channel tracking
EDACS wide / narrowAnalog voice onlyNo ProVoice
LTRYes
P25 Phase I, conventional and trunkedYes
P25 Phase II and Motorola X2-TDMAYesBuilt in
DMR / MotoTRBO (conventional, Capacity Plus, Connect Plus, Linked Capacity Plus), Hytera XPTAfter the free May 2016 updateSite scanning, no control channel (Vol 2)
NXDN / Icom IDASNoMemory limit; TRX-2 only
EDACS ProVoiceNo
Encrypted voiceDetected and mutedShown as encrypted

3.5 Firmware and software history

Table 6 — Firmware and software history

DateReleaseNotes
Jun 2015Launch firmware (WS1095)Version not documented
Nov 2015WS1098 launchSame firmware family as the WS1095
31 May 2016Free DMR updatePC app 2.8, CPU 2.3, DSP 2.1 per Whistler’s forum representative (versions likely; date confirmed). A summary also gives app build 421, library 469 and location database 10 (unconfirmed).
Jun 2017Firmware for WS1080/WS1088/WS1095/WS1098/TRX-1/TRX-2Adds active-channel information to the remote control protocol (confirmed in the protocol document)
2025–26Goliad downloads pageWS1095Install_2.51.0.707.exe and CPUUpdater_WS1095_U4.0.exe

Two unresolved points:

  • What “U4.0” is. It is unclear whether the updater filename is a CPU firmware version, which would sit well above the CPU 2.3 reported in 2016, or an updater build number.
  • When the 2.51 app was built. EZ-Scan build 707 is shared with the TRX EZ-Scan 3.47.0.707 of April 2026, which suggests the WS-series app was rebuilt in that update round. That is likely but not confirmed.

3.6 Known issues

Owner reports, with the confidence stated. Most rest on RadioReference forum threads.

  • Squelch hysteresis and apparent deafness (unconfirmed). Owners needed squelch at 7–8. One bench comparison at 868 MHz measured the minimum squelch-open signal at 0.31 µV, against 0.15 µV for a HomePatrol-1 and 0.11 µV for an Icom IC-R7000.
  • Front-end overload on external antennas in urban areas (unconfirmed). The RadioReference wiki says the TRX generation got better front-end filtering, but Scanner Master’s review cites only more memory, so the improvement is unconfirmed.
  • Choppy P25 Phase II audio on some talkgroups and weak simulcast performance (unconfirmed). Some owners adjusted the DSP level-adapt setting (default 64).
  • Slow boot (unconfirmed).
  • SD-card corruption at power-down (manual warning confirmed; later fix unconfirmed). The manual says to switch off with the front POWER button before removing power. A search summary reports a later update added a shutdown delay.
  • “Waiting For Main Unit” (unconfirmed). This message is documented mainly on the TRX-2, and was also seen on the WS series during the 2016 DMR update. Reported causes are non-SanDisk SD cards, powering on while connected by USB, and dirty head contacts. Reported fixes are a 30-second POWER-button reset, running over the head cable, cleaning the contacts, and updating the card in a reader.
  • “Scanning not available” (manual, confirmed). Supply voltage is too low, so SD-card writes and scanning are disabled (Vol 2).
  • SD card not recognised, or “Init SD Card” (manual, confirmed). The card is unformatted, badly formatted or not fully inserted. Format it in EZ Scan, or as FAT/FAT32 with 32 kB clusters, and press it in until it clicks.
  • Scanner does not function (manual, confirmed). Remove power, hold POWER for one minute, then reconnect.

The PSR-800 family’s SD error-code table applies to these units. RadioReference keeps it on its PSR-800, PRO-668 and WS1080 error-codes page.

3.7 Resources

Sources

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