Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I’ve read so much about how difficult this scanner is to program, I almost didn’t buy it. I’m glad I didn’t listen, this scanner is incredible, easily the best I’ve ever owned. If you want to get the fullest enjoyment out of this scanner, do the following. 1. Get a Radio Reference account. Every frequency available in the U.S. is there. 2. Download the Butel ARC500 trial software. I bought mine, but you can get up and running using the trial version. You can use all the features for 30 days. This more than enough time to get your ws1040 programmed and personalized. 3. Get some good rechargeable batteries. I’m using Duracell recharables, they seem to be ok. 4. And this is the most important, go to YouTube and search for ScannerMaster Radio Shack Scanner Programming Videos 1, 2, and 3. He will walk you through using the software, yes it is for a different scanner, but the set up is for the software and it will apply to any scanner which uses ARC 500 software. After watching the video, the software and programming started to really make sense. Honestly, programming this scanner seemed very difficult until I watched these videos, it is really so much easier than you may think. Prior to this scanner, I had never used a scanner that required software to program, all the scanners I’ve had in the past were programmed manually on the scanner. I would just buy the latest version of Police Call at Radio Shack, and punch in the frequencies I wanted to listen to. Now with programmable scanners, Radio Reference, and available software, putting in frequencies is easier and faster than ever. It took me 15 minutes to put in over 800 frequencies, and that included installing the software on my PC. Now about the scanner, it is awesome! I like the scan lists over the old banks that my previous scanners had. I set up lists based on the my community, surrounding communities, my County, local airports, National Parks, CalFire, railroads, and a scan list with emergency frequencies, ie Red Cross, Weather, FEMA, and others. I assigned each agency an LED color and set the LED to flash and the back light to come on when a priority Frequency is active. There are so many ways to customize this scanner to suit your personal tastes, you should never get bored. If I can get this scanner programmed and set up the way I wanted it, anyone can. Don’t let other negative programming reviews stop you from getting this scanner. If you do you will be missing out on an incredible scanner.