Programming Cable Information

Last updated 28 July 2009

GRE offers a direct USB-Scanner programming cable, GRE part number 30-3290. This cable is highly recommended.

The same cable is available from RadioShack as RS catalog #20-047. The only difference between the GRE and RadioShack versions is the color.

RadioShack also has catalog #20-546. This is essentially the same cable as the above, in yet another packaging. Most notably, it's black and has only a single LED for Tx/Rx activity (the two above have separate LEDs).

One of the above cables is required for the PSR-500 family scanners (PSR-500, PSR-600, PRO-106, PRO-197). No other cables are supported for those scanners.

The RadioShack version (and possibly the GRE version) comes with an "adapter" - a stereo-to-mono adapter approximately 4 inches long. That adapter is not required for any GRE-made scanner, and it must not be used with the PSR-500 family scanners.

Up-to-date drivers for the cable can be obtained from FTDI (the manufacturer of the USB-Serial device inside the cable), via this link. In the table on that page, the most recent drivers are at the top. You're interested in the drivers that contain "FT232R" in the "Devices Supported" column, and your operating system in the "Operating System" column. For example, as of this writing, the most current Windows driver is version 2.04.16.