On Sun, 9 May 2004 11:52:59 -0400, "Bill Crocker"
wrote:

Neither the WR-1550e, or the PCR-1000, are built on ISA cards. Both these
models are external devices, that communicate to the computer via an RS232
serial port.

The WR-1550e also has an additional PCMCIA connector for which you can
buy an optional PCMCIA adapter. There is also an optional USB adapter.

I've always preferred the PCR-1000, over the WR-1550e. From a software
point, they both could use improvement.

Everything could surely use improvement, but comparing the Icom
software with WinRadio software is like comparing a bicycle to a
Mercedes. There is simply no comparison: The Icom software is crude
and primitive, almost childish. It would surely look great on a chunky
graphics Commodore computer of the early eighties.
And has Icom finally managed to make it work on Windows XP?

WinRadio software is beautifully crafted and works perfectly on all
versions of Windows (and has been working perfectly on Windows 2000
and XP since the day they were introduced). You get plenty of ongoing
support, many options (digital signal processing, decoding, trunking,
database), dozens of free plug-ins for all sorts of applications
(http://xrs.winradio.com), Linux support, Mac support, and even a free
"Radio Basic" interpreter (http://www.rbasic.com) . Which other radio
manufacturer gives you all that?

Sure, any additional improvement would always be great. But all this
is already a thousand times more impressive than whatever crap Icom
has managed to provide so far, for their one and only PC-based
product.

David