Pro-2004: Blast from the past...

[ka1njl]

Somewhere, Bill Cheek is smiling.

You have to acknowledge Bill Cheek's ingenuity and his ability to thumb his nose at others who thought his inventiveness was an affront to the manufacturers. He is sorely missed.

 

[smason]

Somewhere, Bill Cheek is smiling.

"Brass tacks!" "Fine as frog hair"
He was one of a kind. And then some.

 

[Omega-TI]

I used to converse with Bill Cheek on a regular basis back in my old FidoNet days. He was the Guru we all looked up to.

 

[NYRHKY94]

Great thread! I obtained a new old stock 2004 (in the box) a couple years ago. The unit is pristine (including the display), however at times some of the keys on the pad do not work when pressed. Curious if any of the pros here might know what causes that and what can be done if anything.

 

[CycleSycho]

Great thread! I obtained a new old stock 2004 (in the box) a couple years ago. The unit is pristine (including the display), however at times some of the keys on the pad do not work when pressed. Curious if any of the pros here might know what causes that and what can be done if anything.

This is one of the old products from RS that wound up hurting people. Please, quickly, pack it up and send it to me and I'll dispose of it so it never hurts anyone, ever. Because I am dedicated to the safety of all, I'll even pay for the shipping. Be extra careful you wear rubber gloves and don't breath close to the box (or open it). PM me for my address, and again, be very careful packing it. I am very glad you didn't get hurt yet, as it usually winds up making your fingers and eyes disappear (sure hope your not needing glasses, it may be too late). LMAO


You have a great radio, good luck with it GREAT FIND! About the keypad, if the internals of the keypad are accessible, try gently cleaning both sides of the 'contacts'. I've never opened one up so I don't know if they can be accessed.


.

 

[top13]

My Pro-2020 and Bearcat IV are running like the day they were made. I love the old stuff

 

[moonbounce]

No, it's a P25 digital system.

Only matters if the signal is encrypted, otherwise a simple discriminator tap and a free computer program called DSDPlus 1.101 will decode a few digital signals. You can download it here, you will need the first and second download files.

Download – DSDPlus

will the pro 2004 pickup RISCON for rhode island 800 band?

 

[cg]

is there anything that will run the old Optoelectronics OS456 in the current Windows environments? I have 2 PRO2042s that run MILAIR and I would like to log the traffic.

 

[W6SDF]

Wow, a live thread on the ol workhorse! I have 4 PRO-2006s. 2 with CE-232s, one with an OS456. Pro Turbo gave the CE-232s new life. Although some of my 2006s are just used for discriminator taps (I compare this to the use of B-17s as "target drones" after the war). I had one running Pro-turbo mostly for mil air. I've recently moved from So-Cal to So-Carolina and have yet to get my antennas set up for scanner or ham but I can tell it's dead hear compared to So-Cal...

 

[W1KNE]

Forgot to mention... I ordered the EL panels from EL Wire Craft in the UK. They're pre-cut to fit most Radio Shack/Realistic scanners, which they do (width-wise); I did my Pro-2021 last night and the Pro-2004 this evening, and only an inch had to be trimmed off the end of the EL panel for both. They work great!

I had a PRO-2004 replacement backlight that needed to be trimmed and ended up butchering it. Not sure I want to try again. The black blotches don't cover any of the important areas on the display.

Mine came as part of a large eBay auction and has the memory mod. It works phenomenally to this day.

 

[Engine104]

I had a PRO-2004 replacement backlight that needed to be trimmed and ended up butchering it. Not sure I want to try again. The black blotches don't cover any of the important areas on the display.

Mine came as part of a large eBay auction and has the memory mod. It works phenomenally to this day.

I've done it a couple times om 2006s. Its not too bad and it comes out great. Maybe give it another try.

 

[JustLou]

I still have (2) 2004's, a 2005, and a 2006 in my collection. All with new backlights and in pristine condition. They don't make them like that anymore. Still great radios for air-band and analog UHF scanning.

 

[Vorlon]

Thanks for the great pics of the 2004 with all those mods...does anyone know if the CE-232 board may be available to purchase anywhere? I'd like to add it to mine but have not been able to find one anywhere. Thanks.

 

[scanguy44]

Thanks for the great pics of the 2004 with all those mods...does anyone know if the CE-232 board may be available to purchase anywhere? I'd like to add it to mine but have not been able to find one anywhere. Thanks.

I purchased it, got swamped with new job, it's here in spare room somewhere if I can ever find it before I croak. Yes, Bill Cheek was an amazing man, very much missed in the hobby, beyond brillant. I have a great many of his ?monthly subscription papers,(in the same place as the CE232). lol

 

[dave524]

My 2004 has the cold solder joint syndrome but my 2006 still works

 

[JDKelley]

i dont know how to make those mods,I work in IT and if you tell me how i could probably do it..

All by Bill Cheek -
- Scanner Modification Handboook 1
- Scanner Modificaition Handbook 2
- The Ultimate Scanner (may as well be called Scanner Modificaition Handbook 3)

Nearly anything you can think of that you might want to do to your Pro-2004/5/6 will be in those three volumes. Discriminator tap to feed to computer for digital decoding? Yep. 16,400-channel mod? Yep. Centre Tuning Indicator? You bet!

Still on Amazon, and I see them pop up on Goodwill Books every now and again as well for a reasonable rate (I already have all three, I just keep my eyes open.) Going to get mine spiral bound one of these days, tho - glue/perfect binding is so restrictive...