Halfpint
Member
As most here know the concentric knobs that the PRO-2096 / 2055 / 97 have for their Squelch & Volume controls can be a PITA to adjust without disturbing the one you don't want to adjust. (The PRO-97 even more so than the others due how they taper.) After putting up with the hassles for probably way too long I decided to try something we had used with Stereo/Hi-Fi equipment to `settle' `loose' controls and make them less likely to be disturbed when adjusting adjacent controls. I dug out my gasket punch set and proceeded to make some small felt washers to mount behind the offending Squelch knobs. (I used felt that I found at one of our local `Craft' stores that was meant for gluing inside or under things like boxes, vases, ETC..)
In the case of the PRO-2096 / 2055 units I quickly found out that, at least with the thickness of felt I'd picked up, one washer wasn't enough and had to go with using two. In the case of the PRO-97, one washer was almost too much. (I am currently thinking of trying cutting some new washers out of the same felt but changing the hole size to see if making the washer a bit looser around the control nut may be what it may take.) Anyway... After using my scanners with the `mod' for several months now, I have not had any problems with either adjustment, Squelch or Volume, `interacting' with the other whenever I make changes. Now when I go and turn off the scanners at my `listening station' when I head for bed I know that I am not going to be having to readjust the Squelch settings on all of them when I turn them back on. (In the bedroom it means that if I, or SWMBO, happens to have to make a Volume adjustment to catch something `interesting' we are not going to have mess around getting the Squelch back into adjustment when resetting the volume afterwards. {GRIN!}) Since I have been playing around with various sizes, I cannot give an actual `set' size washer to either look for or make just right this moment. I will try to post that a little later after I have settled on, or found an `available', size that seems to be `best'. (Some of the washers I've been using `hang out' a tad bit past the knob, some almost seem to `disappear underneath', and a few seem to be almost part of the knob. The `effect' on the way the knobs `respond' seems to be close among all the sizes though some seem better than others do from time to time. It *may* be that the setup that gives the most `repeatability' may turn out to be a combination of sizes and I feel that it would be better to post a `range' and let each of you decide what work the best for you.)
I *also* have tried making, and `of course' installing, some washers under the individual knobs on the PRO-96. So far, it seems that they help cut down on the FFS {Fat/Fumble Finger Syndrome} effect arising from the closeness of the knobs! I have noted that *I* am less likely to make inadvertent changes in my Squelch settings turning on and off the scanner. Unfortunately, the size needed is very small, comparatively speaking, and delicate. (For every one, I have made that fits and works I have made about 3 - 4 that did not. I haven't found any `store bought' ones that were the `correct' size and trying to cut down ones that were bigger is even harder than cutting them out with my gasket punch.) However... Like the washers for the other scanners it appears that this `mod' works and is cheaper, and easier, than trying to find some other `knobset' that may or may not fit. (IE: While the `knobset' for the PRO-2096 / 2055 will fit the PRO-97 and is slightly easier to use the `indicators' on the knobs do not line up properly with the legend on the case. [I *did* try and make new `indicators' on a set of PRO-2096 / 2055 knobs. While I *was able* to do so the hassles of doing such were *way* too much / many to do so with even the few I would have to have made. While they worked, and look `neat', I decided that the washer `fix' was far easier and I went that way with the rest of the PRO-97s around here. (I put them on my daughter's PRO-97 to help differentiate hers from mine and SWMBO's along with making it a bit easier, comparatively speaking, for her to adjust. {GRIN!})])
Just an `Olde Fart's' 2¢ worth. {GRIN!}
In the case of the PRO-2096 / 2055 units I quickly found out that, at least with the thickness of felt I'd picked up, one washer wasn't enough and had to go with using two. In the case of the PRO-97, one washer was almost too much. (I am currently thinking of trying cutting some new washers out of the same felt but changing the hole size to see if making the washer a bit looser around the control nut may be what it may take.) Anyway... After using my scanners with the `mod' for several months now, I have not had any problems with either adjustment, Squelch or Volume, `interacting' with the other whenever I make changes. Now when I go and turn off the scanners at my `listening station' when I head for bed I know that I am not going to be having to readjust the Squelch settings on all of them when I turn them back on. (In the bedroom it means that if I, or SWMBO, happens to have to make a Volume adjustment to catch something `interesting' we are not going to have mess around getting the Squelch back into adjustment when resetting the volume afterwards. {GRIN!}) Since I have been playing around with various sizes, I cannot give an actual `set' size washer to either look for or make just right this moment. I will try to post that a little later after I have settled on, or found an `available', size that seems to be `best'. (Some of the washers I've been using `hang out' a tad bit past the knob, some almost seem to `disappear underneath', and a few seem to be almost part of the knob. The `effect' on the way the knobs `respond' seems to be close among all the sizes though some seem better than others do from time to time. It *may* be that the setup that gives the most `repeatability' may turn out to be a combination of sizes and I feel that it would be better to post a `range' and let each of you decide what work the best for you.)
I *also* have tried making, and `of course' installing, some washers under the individual knobs on the PRO-96. So far, it seems that they help cut down on the FFS {Fat/Fumble Finger Syndrome} effect arising from the closeness of the knobs! I have noted that *I* am less likely to make inadvertent changes in my Squelch settings turning on and off the scanner. Unfortunately, the size needed is very small, comparatively speaking, and delicate. (For every one, I have made that fits and works I have made about 3 - 4 that did not. I haven't found any `store bought' ones that were the `correct' size and trying to cut down ones that were bigger is even harder than cutting them out with my gasket punch.) However... Like the washers for the other scanners it appears that this `mod' works and is cheaper, and easier, than trying to find some other `knobset' that may or may not fit. (IE: While the `knobset' for the PRO-2096 / 2055 will fit the PRO-97 and is slightly easier to use the `indicators' on the knobs do not line up properly with the legend on the case. [I *did* try and make new `indicators' on a set of PRO-2096 / 2055 knobs. While I *was able* to do so the hassles of doing such were *way* too much / many to do so with even the few I would have to have made. While they worked, and look `neat', I decided that the washer `fix' was far easier and I went that way with the rest of the PRO-97s around here. (I put them on my daughter's PRO-97 to help differentiate hers from mine and SWMBO's along with making it a bit easier, comparatively speaking, for her to adjust. {GRIN!})])
Just an `Olde Fart's' 2¢ worth. {GRIN!}
