Pro-2004: Pro-2004 Revival

[N1SQB]

I’m not sure if this has happened to any of you. I went through my shack closet a few months back, and ran into things I forgot I had. One was a mint condition Pro-2004. It was unmolested. I said “oh no, I can’t leave this like this”😁. So….out came the fun stuff; soldering iron, desoldering iron, drill, etc…Dusted off the ol Bill Cheek mod books. In the end, it ended up with a faster scan rate, full 800 MHz., carrier on indicator light, dimmer switch on/off now, tighter squelch and of course, 100 more channels. Now it’s more of a relic than anything else. I do add some aircraft stuff when I’m bored. I thought about selling it but I decided not to. It’s in mint cosmetic condition and works flawlessly, so I’ll keep it next to its brother, my Pro-2006…. Miss those mod days..😊

Manny

 

[trentbob]

I’m not sure if this has happened to any of you.

Yeppers, about 5 years ago I went into the scanner graveyard in the garage to thin out the heard, my 2004 was perfect pristine condition.. GRE did a hell of a job with those three radios..

The only mod I had ever done was lickity split fast, just cut the diode to have analog 800 MHz cell phone coverage which is meaningless now of course..

I ended up selling it to someone who is a lot more happy than I was to have it but it just didn't serve any purpose and would have just gone and stayed in the garage, heck, I've already retired my x36s🙂.

 

[N1SQB]

Yeppers, about 5 years ago I went into the scanner graveyard in the garage to thin out the heard, my 2004 was perfect pristine condition.. GRE did a hell of a job with those three radios..

The only mod I had ever done was lickity split fast, just cut the diode to have analog 800 MHz cell phone coverage which is meaningless now of course..

I ended up selling it to someone who is a lot more happy than I was to have it but it just didn't serve any purpose and would have just gone and stayed in the garage, heck, I've already retired my x36s🙂.

I thought the same thing, sell it. But I monitor railroad, marine, civil and military traffic as well. It’s still good for those things. Yes sir, GRE did a hell of a job in the Pro-2004,5,6 line..

Manny

 

[trentbob]

I monitor the same exact things that you do, live on the Delaware River, I'm right next to the northeast corridor, I monitor the cap on the East Coast, guard, news choppers various UHF and VHF stuff.. I'm even into Federal monitoring now that things have gotten so active, you still here stuff in the clear from time to time from ICE, FBI Etc but I just don't have the room anymore.

My Radio Shacks of the past were quite large, even as a teen in the sixties.. I've cut back everything.

There are a few radios that I got rid of that I regret now. That's spilled milk.😉

 

[GadgetGeek]

Pro-2004 was my favorite. Still have a Pro-2005. Excellent analog scanners.

 

[trentbob]

Pro-2004 was my favorite. Still have a Pro-2005. Excellent analog scanners.

Very exciting day that I first got mine I'm guessing in the late 80s.. the only drawback to using it today is I listen to a lot of Coast Guard that includes p25 conventional.

A lot of VHF High stuff that I listen to, and I would use a rooftop is shared by other municipalities in the state and not having the PL tone option would be a drawback today.

I'm comfortable with selling it when I did.

 

[PACNWDude]

Yes! Keep that thing running and useful. I monitor a lot with a stack of Pro-2005/6/2032's......FRS/GMRS/Railroad radios/aviation/and some local utilities.

FRS/GMRS seems to be the best to listen to now with mine. Most only have the 800 MHz diode cut mod....but some have discriminator taps too.

Have to change out backlighting on one Pro-2032.....also have a Pro-2042 with OS-535 board that is stuck in "remote" mode, and many other. I hoard them, but still use most of them.

The GRE Pro series scanners were and still are awesome!

 

[kc2asb]

Great job bringing that 2004 back! I've had my Pro-2006 since 1990, when it was introduced. The 2004/2005/2006 are the best scanners Radio Shack ever sold.

FYI, keep the dimmer switch set to "on/dim" - the brightness level is still sufficient and it will lengthen the life of the backlight.

 

[N1SQB]

FYI, keep the dimmer switch set to "on/dim" - the brightness level is still sufficient and it will lengthen the life of the backlight.

Umm, can’t do that. I removed the resistor that made it dim. It is now an on/off switch. I like it that way. I am more of an ear guy than a visual guy. If I’m doing a search or something or programming, then it goes on. Otherwise it stays off.😊

 

[kc2asb]

Umm, can’t do that. I removed the resistor that made it dim. It is now an on/off switch. I like it that way. I am more of an ear guy than a visual guy. If I’m doing a search or something or programming, then it goes on. Otherwise it stays off.😊

That is even better! Just went back and re-read your original post and saw that you did make that modification.

 

[GadgetGeek]

I bought a spare display light for my Pro-2005 off ebay but my original display still works fine.

 

[N1SQB]

I bought a spare display light for my Pro-2005 off ebay but my original display still works fine.

Yup. I just bought another MINT pro-2006 ( latter version ) for $39.99 because the seller said he was selling it with a “non working backlight”. I almost fell off my chair. I couldn’t hit the purchase button fast enough. It was one of those people who sell anything and everything. He had no clue what he had. The pics he posted showed it works, but in fact, no light. I have changed lights on these scanners so many times, I can almost do it in my sleep. The case looked really clean as well as the front face, buttons and knobs.Somebody took good care of it. I can’t wait to get it and start mods all over again er again..😎

Manny

 

[kc2asb]

That is a great deal for a 2006 in that condition.