Pro2006 Backlight Still Dim

[Engine104]

I just installed a replacement backlight from a vendor on eBay. eBay Pro 2006 Backlight The display still seems dim to me. Is there an internal adjustment for this?

My 2006 has the on/off button and not the dimmer.

Thanks.

 

[Paco-Jerte]

probably the panel is no good, Message the seller for exchange.
I personally would of bought this one and cut it yourself to size and you would of saved half the price.

I've done many this way and always worked. Most I paid was $9.00 shipped and the cheapest was $4.99 when All Electronics had them many years ago but no longer in stock.

EL Lamp Electroluminescent Panel Backlight | eBay

1 Piece EL Panel. White: Approx.

www.ebay.com

 

[Engine104]

Thanks! I'll give them a try.

 

[Swipesy]

About two months ago I replaced by panel on my Pro-2005 with a green panel from EL Lamp Electoluminescent. Excellent company to do business with and panel works great,

 

[Engine104]

Hi Swipesy,

Thanks. Good to know. Do you have any contact info for them? I tried Googling that but I didn't find anything.

 

[Swipesy]

Hi Swipesy,

Thanks. Good to know. Do you have any contact info for them? I tried Googling that but I didn't find anything.

Paco's post above gives you a link to their EBay account which also contains contact information. They are in England and very good at responding to questions. Keep in mind time difference.

 

[Engine104]

Ok. I didn't realize it was the UK company that he mentioned. Thanks again.

 

[Swipesy]

I did extensive research on suppliers of panels. Another RR member used them and was very satisfied. You can buy for less from China but..... Sometimes Miller Engineering in the US has panels too. But I went with El Lamp and glad I did.

 

[Engine104]

That's the one with the terminals on each corner which you cut to fit?

 

[Swipesy]

Correct. On my panel the connectors were slightly to long which I did not notice until done. As a result just a tiny black spot in very left hand corner. I am too lazy to move panel and don't really notice it. When I sent a photo to El Panel they told me they were going to fix in next run of panels.

 

[Engine104]

I ordered a light blue one from the vendor in the UK. Thanks, guys! Appreciate it.

 

[kruser]

There are a couple components that have failed near the high voltage transformer that drives the EL Backlight.
I forget for certain but I think it was just a electrolytic cap or two near the high voltage xfmr that dry up and will not produce the high voltage needed to drive the EL at full brilliance.
Service Manuals should be available for the Pr0-2004,5,and 6. Any one of them should get you close to finding the culprit as that circuit was pretty much that same in all three of those models.

 

[Engine104]

That is a possibility.. I bought the radio new in 1992. Parts fail or go out of spec after 28 years. The rest of the radio still works like new.

 

[Swipesy]

I bought my Pro 2005 new in June 1990. Paid $495.00. That is $900.00 in todays dollar. My display was so dim I could barely see it. New panel fixed it. Still a good scanner for what it can receive.

 

[Engine104]

For $11.00 (Plus $19.00 that I spent on the one from eBay), the strip from the UK is worth a try. The radio still works great otherwise.

Yeah, pretty amazing. That's what the 2006 cost back then. Kinda makes the SDS200 look affordable

 

[fxdscon]

I ordered a light blue one from the vendor in the UK. Thanks, guys! Appreciate it.

Did you order from the Ebay listing in Paco's post (post #2) above? When I click on that link, I see a listing from a seller in China, not the UK.

 

[Engine104]

Nope, I went directly to the vendor's website in the UK and ordered on there.

 

[gmclam]

Here's the circuit in a PRO-2004

 

[Engine104]

Thanks, GMclam, I will save this just in case it is the problem. I assume the circuit is the same in a 2006 as in the 2004?

 

[Swipesy]

Engine104 do you have the RadioReference post from several years ago that show you how to change the El Panel. It has very good photos for each step.