Pro- 106 won't receive UHF- only VHF!?

[eastrocks400]

Hey guys... this just started the other day, but my 106 (the piece of crap it really is) is not picking up ANY UHF signals, unless they are coming from an extremely close proximity. The weird thing is, it's picking up low and high VHF perfectly! I can't seem to figure out any issues... switched the antennas and it's definitely a scanner issue. Any ideas? Tried banging it a few times, that didn't help as it has in the past

Skyler

 

[gewecke]

DO NOT bang it!! Try again to experiment with a different antenna, specifically tuned for uhf.
It's possible your bnc connector for your antenna is loose,but this is not a tough fix.

73,
n9zas

 

[eastrocks400]

It's definitely not an antenna issue... has nothing to do with that. It receives VHF perfectly, but nothing on the UHF spectrum. Not able to test out 800mhz a/t/t.

 

[Michael-SATX]

Warranty Work 4U ?

I have seen 1 do this and this guy sent it in under it's one year warranty from RS
and it was right back in a week and has worked perfectly ever since.
It turned our to be a cold solder joint ... could be from banging and jolts ?
As far as the Pro-106 a ton of people on RR proudly regard it a GREat Scanner !!!

 

[gewecke]

It's definitely not an antenna issue... has nothing to do with that. It receives VHF perfectly, but nothing on the UHF spectrum. Not able to test out 800mhz a/t/t.

Well your lucky it even receives vhf after admitting guilt as a "scanner- beater"! :lol:
Maybe some bench time with a signal generator and a savy tech could bring it back up again.
The pro-106 really is an excellent scanner,but it is NOT built to mil-spec standards.
Good luck!

n9zas

 

[RoninJoliet]

You may have a reception problem but i must agree that my GRE500/RS197 do not do very well on UHF, they seem to be tuned for VHF and especially 700/800 digital trunking.....Much better reception on UHF on Uniden models...

 

[eastrocks400]

LOL I think you're missing the point wiht the beating lol! I'm not killing it or throwing it against a wall, just a few taps and usually the problem is fixed, whatever it may be. This time, not so much. As I mentioned before, there is no issue receiving UHF in my area......

This is older than 2 years though, and I have sent in the 106 for another problem a while ago as well. This thing is crap. Receives trunk systems terribly too.

 

[N1BHH]

The only problems I have ever had with my Pro-106 is when I have gotten into the city, then I would have to switch the attenuator on. I can't imagine what other people are having problems with reception from. Could well be the overload that many report, but the trip through Boston is one of the very few times I have had to use the attenuator.

 

[eastrocks400]

I have this antenna hooked up to a coupler which also has my ham radio. I transmitted on the ham radio while the scanner was also plugged into the coupler. Could this have blown the radio and cause it to receive everything BUT UHF? IF so, how do I fix this? THanks.

 

[n5ims]

I have this antenna hooked up to a coupler which also has my ham radio. I transmitted on the ham radio while the scanner was also plugged into the coupler. Could this have blown the radio and cause it to receive everything BUT UHF? IF so, how do I fix this? THanks.

Yes, receivers are designed to pick up signals that are of the micro-volt level and when you transmitted directly into the scanner's antenna input, you forced several thousand times the signal level that "that piece of crap" was designed to handle and most likely blew out several critical circuits (please note that it would've blown out the same circuits in radios that weren't a "piece of crap" as well, so don't blame the Pro-106 for that error!). The only real fix will be to send that radio off to the Radio Shack repair depot to get it back in working order again. I would also replace the coupler as well, since they are generally not designed for the signal levels from a transmitter either.

 

[wmbio]

Great information here on GRE front end overload at this link. http://forums.radioreference.com/gre-scanners/211186-psr-600-sensitivity.html

There are additional links in the thread from previous discussions.

Solutions that has worked for others including my radios.

enjoy
Wmbio

 

[eastrocks400]

The weird thing is, I have a RS- Pro 528 hooked up to that coupler as well and that is receiving UHF just fine. And again, the Pro-106 is receiving VHF still just fine! So if the scanner was blown out, it would still receive VHF but not UHF? What's up with that?

 

[04Z1V6]

Try this press PGM then FUNC then the F3 or GLOB this will put you in the Expert menu press the down arrow key until you get to DG Int Prime: on the menu set this to 20 and save. This help me, if it give you problems try to step it up by 5 or 10. You can always return it to the default setting later.

 

[W2NJS]

Skyler,

You are surrounded by literally dozens of hams in East Rockaway who probably would be glad to help you out if you would find them and ask them. All of us (with maybe a very few exceptions) learned much of what we know by hanging out with more experienced hams. The fact that you apparently connected your transmitter to the same antenna as your scanner and then keyed the transmitter tells me that you need help, so please make an effort to find it.

Regards,

Tom, W2NJS
...who grew up in East Rockaway from 1948 to 1962...

 

[eastrocks400]

Don't think they'd no how to fix a scanner though. They would probably need some parts that might be hard to find. And what do I know, didn't come up in my studying for the tech or general

 

[W2NJS]

Skyler,

No, your perception is not correct. An experienced ham probably would know how to do first echelon maintenance and troubleshooting on a scanner, because a receiver is a receiver, regardless of whether it's a scanner or a ham transceiver. What you're doing here on this board is to ask for advice from people who can't see or work with the radio that's giving you fits, so it stands to reason that a person who can see and work with that radio is going to figure things out for you much faster than your trying to filter the advice you get via the web and fix the radio. Also, the local guy you work with just might have some instruments that can help with diagnosing the problem pretty quickly.

Regards,

Tom, W2NJS

 

[emscapt9816]

It may need the UHF circuit replaced. A friend of mine had the same issue, no UHF or 800. Brought it back under warranty, and had it back in his hands in under 2 weeks. The repair ticket stated the technician replaced the circuit, tuned and tested the radio. He's had no problems since.

 

[kruser]

The weird thing is, I have a RS- Pro 528 hooked up to that coupler as well and that is receiving UHF just fine. And again, the Pro-106 is receiving VHF still just fine! So if the scanner was blown out, it would still receive VHF but not UHF? What's up with that?

Out of curiosity, what make/model of coupler are you using?

 

[eastrocks400]

not sure what coupler, it was a tv coupler originally rated for any mhz, so i decided to give it a shot. and w2njs, they can't fix the problem, believe me. I have asked around, and no one has the parts and ability to fix it that I have spoken to. If you want to fix it, be my guest

 

[N8IAA]

I have this antenna hooked up to a coupler which also has my ham radio. I transmitted on the ham radio while the scanner was also plugged into the coupler. Could this have blown the radio and cause it to receive everything BUT UHF? IF so, how do I fix this? THanks.

OK. Let's get this straight. You are using a TV splitter to use one antenna for your ham rig and your scanner. Hmmmmm........And you haven't blown out the finals on your ham transmitter yet? You have fried your scanner's receive on UHF. Period. It's not a crappy scanner. I transmit occasionally on a HH in the shack. I try not to do it with a scanner/scanners running. I've paid way too much money to screw them up. As posted by someone else, it is a problem using a 'coupler' attatched to a transmitter and a receiver. Believe me, we have all made mistakes.
HTH,
Larry