PRO-2006 External Power Supply Question

For those of you have experimented, is there any good reason not to just use an external power supply / wall wart to power this scanner other than having the bundled up 120v power cord hanging down uselessly?

I know the internal supplies can get hot and added heat in the case isn't a good thing, so why not just use a 12-14 volt wall wart instead? Are some of you doing that? If so, what is the mAh requirement for such a wall wart to comfortably run this scanner at a reasonable volume with full backlight?

Running from an external power supply is fine. The PRO-2006 owner's manual says the power needed is 10 Watts so you need a 12V 800mA power supply. Higher current rating is ok and preferably the power supply should be regulated so its output voltage does not vary with load current.

FWIW - I used to, way back when these were new, run 4 of them, a 2-meter mobile, a few other "things". I had all running off a large 12-volt power supply.

Much more efficient and cooler than running all those separate in-radio transformers.

Great source for AC adapters:

JAMECO Electronics
Phone: 1-800-831-4242
Fax: 1-800-237-6948
Email: Sales@Jameco.com

https://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/s...efineValue=ABQ&from=mflisting&CID=HPFACAC0218

Any good reason not to use an external power supply? Nope. I'm running my scanners off of an Alinco DM-330MVT and they do great - plus no wall warts to mess with.

Thanks all, I'm going to go that route. I just found a PRO-2006 still in original packaging and couldn't resist adding it to my "scanner hall of fame" collection and I'm thinking of just running it off of the external power source, and moving towards one power supply big enough to just run the whole collection at the same time (if I want to have a bunch of scanners on at once). Sounds like some of you are already there. My other 2006 is a $15 dollar beater off of offer up that sits on my work bench so I don't worry about it.

Back in his heyday, Bill Cheek (RIP) in his many Pro-2006 writings strongly endorsed using an external 120vac/12vdc power supply on the 2006 and other models.

kb4cvn said:

Back in his heyday, Bill Cheek (RIP) in his many Pro-2006 writings strongly endorsed using an external 120vac/12vdc power supply on the 2006 and other models.

Click to expand...

It makes a lot of sense. I mean, why plug into 120V and introduce all of that transformer heat into the scanner? No good comes from making electronics run hotter. I think scanner manufacturers pretty much came to the same conclusion for models made soon after the 2006 until now. I'm going to just zip tie that 120V cord into a nice neat bundle, let it dangle, and feed the 2006 with a regulated 12 volts and call it a day.

I would just disconnect the cord, but honestly I'm scared to try to get the case open because it's like 27 years old and I"m afraid that those little plastic ears that the screws go through may crack / break.

KR7CQ said:

It makes a lot of sense. I mean, why plug into 120V and introduce all of that transformer heat into the scanner? No good comes from making electronics run hotter. I think scanner manufacturers pretty much came to the same conclusion for models made soon after the 2006 until now. I'm going to just zip tie that 120V cord into a nice neat bundle, let it dangle, and feed the 2006 with a regulated 12 volts and call it a day.

I would just disconnect the cord, but honestly I'm scared to try to get the case open because it's like 27 years old and I"m afraid that those little plastic ears that the screws go through may crack / break.

Click to expand...

Could always do what I did... I took the internal power supply out of all of my 2006's, mounted them inside of a [project] box, added a six foot DC power cable and matching connector.


I later matched the case color of the 2006 and spray painted the power supply enclosure to match. (Lowes / Home Depot paint computerized color matcher, and purchased a 'sample' quart of paint.)

kb4cvn said:

Could always do what I did... I took the internal power supply out of all of my 2006's, mounted them inside of a [project] box, added a six foot DC power cable and matching connector.

I later matched the case color of the 2006 and spray painted the power supply enclosure to match. (Lowes / Home Depot paint computerized color matcher, and purchased a 'sample' quart of paint.)

Click to expand...

Did this myself although I didn't go as far as painting the case. Probably a good thing as that external supply still runs warm.

Eventually I gave up even on that and just power my scanners from a 12v supply. It and a 33ah AGM battery (in a battery box under the desk) are connected to a KI0BK PWRgate, the output of which goes to a West Mountain Radio 4005H RigRunner. All the radios (ham and scanner) are connected to the Rig Runner except the big HF stuff (I have an FT817 for emergency work).

Low Loss PWRgate by KI0BK

The PWRgate only trickle charges, but I can switch between it and a larger outboard charger if I need a faster charge.

Works like a champ all the way around.

Go for it

My 2042 is light as a feather. I removed the power supply from the scanner altogether. It’s only two screws with a nut on both. Then just unsolder or clip the wires from the main board. It’s lighter now and no heat issues of any kind. I run it through a Rigrunner plugged into an Astron regulated power supply along with my other scanners. When I had my 2006, I ran it the same way.

Manny