GRE PSR-500 display problems

Status
Not open for further replies.

blueangel-eric

Member
Feed Provider
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Messages
824
Location
Emporia, KS
My PSR500 has been having display problems about once or twice a month where the light works but the display is blank. turning if off and on brings it back. now it happens several times a day but i have to turn it off and on 3 times or unplug it and plug it back in with no batteries in it. haven't tried it with batteries in it. one time my display came on all scrambled looking but i turned it off and on and then it was fine. what could be the problem? am I screwed on getting it repair since GRE is out of business?
 

fxdscon

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
7,157
My PSR500 has been having display problems about once or twice a month where the light works but the display is blank. turning if off and on brings it back. now it happens several times a day but i have to turn it off and on 3 times or unplug it and plug it back in with no batteries in it. haven't tried it with batteries in it. one time my display came on all scrambled looking but i turned it off and on and then it was fine. what could be the problem? am I screwed on getting it repair since GRE is out of business?

What firmware version do you have?

.
 

fxdscon

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
7,157
U2.0
F1.4
F1.0

is that it?

Latest for the PSR 500 & 600 is..

uP Appl Ver is U2.1

DSP App Ver is U1.4

DSP VocVer is F1.0

Not sure which one, but one of the firmware updates had to do with display problems.

Updates are here:

Pacific

.
 

ScannerSK

Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
1,340
Location
Weld County, Colorado
The following is a helpful reference that list comments from the various firmware updates:
http://wiki.radioreference.com/images/2/22/PSR-500_info.pdf

It appears everything having to do with the display was related to how specific data appears on the screen and not with the entire display blanking out.

My first guess would be a loose connection. Does the display ever come back on again on its own? Have you tried gently tapping against the scanner or even a little harder jolt while it is running to see if that makes the display come back on. If yes, it is likely a loose connection/loose solder joint. If no, then it may be a failing part. Depending upon the part it may be simple or difficult to obtain and replace.

Troubleshooting the display for those interested:
 
Last edited:

blueangel-eric

Member
Feed Provider
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Messages
824
Location
Emporia, KS
i uploaded the CPU update. hopefully that fixes the problem. i tried a few times already and awhile ago tapping the scanner to see if it's a loose connection. didn't seem to help.
 

blueangel-eric

Member
Feed Provider
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Messages
824
Location
Emporia, KS
yesterday and today the scanner display has been acting up again. last night i had to unplug it and plug it in 3-4 times to get the display back. then i had to unplug it once about 2 hrs ago and just had to again now. i'm not sure it's a bad connection. is there a ribbon cable on the board that could be not getting a good connection? if the radio needs repaired does Whistler repair GRE models?
 

TES

Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2004
Messages
866
Location
America's High Plains
did any of these GRE radios have the display issue i described? and if so was it a bad component or a bad connection?

The Pro-97 was notorious for a ribbon cable connection issues. Re-clamping the connector to the ribbon cable brought my blank Pro-97 display back to life. I've had no issues with my handheld GRE scanners or my two Pro-197s.
 

ScannerSK

Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
1,340
Location
Weld County, Colorado
yesterday and today the scanner display has been acting up again. last night i had to unplug it and plug it in 3-4 times to get the display back. then i had to unplug it once about 2 hrs ago and just had to again now. i'm not sure it's a bad connection. is there a ribbon cable on the board that could be not getting a good connection? if the radio needs repaired does Whistler repair GRE models?

I agree that this does not sound like a bad connection. Simply unplugging and plugging the scanner back in does not typically affect a bad connection at the display.

It sounds like you are running your PSR-500 on an AC wall adapter? Have you tried running it on batteries to see if the same thing happens? Does turning the scanner off and on fix the problem or does it have to be unplugged and plugged back in? Are you using the GRE wall adapter?

Here are a few pictures of the inside of the PSR-500. It does have a ribbon cable however the end that goes into the display would be a little hard to get to as the metal frame is soldered down in four places.

Shawn
 
Last edited:

Swipesy

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2003
Messages
2,055
Location
Northern Ohio
Scanner SK, that diagram must be a Pro-106 not a PSR 500. Speaker on top on a PSR 500, bottom (as your diagram) on Pro 106.
 

ScannerSK

Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
1,340
Location
Weld County, Colorado
Scanner SK, that diagram must be a Pro-106 not a PSR 500. Speaker on top on a PSR 500, bottom (as your diagram) on Pro 106.

Good catch! I removed the diagram to prevent confusion.

The two pictures however are of my PSR-500 and show the effort that may be required to fix the ribbon. If it were the ribbon, I believe a person could simply press down lightly on it or move it gently to make the display alternate between working and not working.

I was thinking down the line that maybe too much voltage or AC is getting into the scanner skewing the frequency of the clocking crystal or something down that line. It seems almost as if the display CPU is locking up.

In the Service Manual for the PRO-106 (nearly identical to the PSR-500) I just noticed that it mentions doing an EEPROM check to verify the display IC307 is working properly. This procedure clears all stored information from working memory so a person needs to save everything to their computer or into a V-folder before proceeding with this procedure. The procedure is done by pressing "0" immediately after turning on the scanner and then press "5" and then "Enter".

Shawn
 
Last edited:

charlie12

Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
257
Location
Pride, LA
I have a 500 and the display goes away too. The back light stays on but writing goes blank. It will come back on sometimes on it's own and you can bump it and it will display.
What do you think?
 

blueangel-eric

Member
Feed Provider
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Messages
824
Location
Emporia, KS
I have a 500 and the display goes away too. The back light stays on but writing goes blank. It will come back on sometimes on it's own and you can bump it and it will display.
What do you think?

If i remember correct i fixed mine by opening it up and unplugging and replugging the ribbon cable. i hadn't had that problem for up to a year or more now. good luck with yours.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top