Car adaptor for GRE 500 P/N: 100-014- bad plug

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kelltara

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Has anyone else had connection problems with the GRE car adaptor. I did email GRE support and they said there was a warranty of 90 days...so unless I can find my receipt I am out of luck I guess.20 dollars down the drain. The power plug's post that goes into the radio is wobbly and powers the unit on and off if the unit moves a little bit in the car.
 

greenthumb

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Does it do the same thing if you take the batteries out, plug in the AC adapter and wiggle it around?
 

kelltara

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The ac adaptor plug is secure and works great with no lost power issues. I checked the power plugs post and it moves around quite a bit. I haven't even used it that much :(
 

kelltara

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I hate to shell out 20 bucks plus shipping for an item with possible quality control issues and so far I am unable to locate my receipt and gre will not replace without proof of purchase.
My only other alternative is to splice in another plug. Not ideal by any means as I do like moulded plugs as they usually hold up better. Funny as I have several cheap multi voltage dc to dc adaptors that have held up for years and this one lasted, perhaps, 15 hours worth of use.
 

kelltara

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I was just able to buy a cord for 3.17 after tax with the molded plug on it. Makes me wonder about how cheap some companies get. Part of the reason I got a gre over the uniden was that the customer service was rated highly here. A 500 dollar radio and on top of that a 20 dollar import car adaptor, that should have come with the radio to begin with, and they can't even do a good faith exchange.

It is their loss in the long run as I will not give them return business.



Funny, I have a cheap jwin radio that the antenna broke on. I emailed customer service and they had a replacement antenna out the next day, no charge and no questions asked. That is what I call good business.
 

txzeke

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I spoke with a GRE person today on the phone. He said a new batch of power cords for cig lighters wil be coming into stock in February of 2010
 

kelltara

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Thank you txzeke, I however, will not buy another. If I did, I would get it from the local RS as many here have done. I do hope they have improved the quality for the next batch, for those that do buy the adaptor from them.
 

de784

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dc Charger

For the Radio shack what type end would i need for the 500 Thanks
 

RadioDaze

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From the 500 manual:

You can power the scanner from a vehicleʼs 12V power source
(such as cigarette-lighter socket) using a 9VDC at least 500-mA
adaptor with 4.75mm outer/1.7mm inner plug. Its center tip must
be set to positive and its plug must fit the scannerʼs PWR DC 9V
jack. Using an adaptor that does not meet these specifications
could damage the scanner or the adaptor.
 

rmiller818

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For the Radio shack what type end would i need for the 500 Thanks

Just bring the scanner in with you to Radio Shack and they can see which plug fits.

I would tell you the ones I have but the seem to have recently changed their lettering system for their adaptaplugs.
 

datainmotion

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I just recieved one today (a Grecom 100-014) that ironically was on backorder for a number of weeks and it does indeed have a poor fit in the power port on the scanner.
 
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kelltara

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I just recieved one today (a Grecom 100-014) that ironically was on backorder for a number of weeks and it does indeed have a poor fit in the power port on the scanner.

My unit was not only a sloppy fit in the power port but also the metal post in the power plug was loose which is what caused the positive connection to break. I expressed my concerns but they did not want to rectify the situation unless I produced the proof of purchase. My word was not sufficient to them for this petty issue. The power plug is of very poor quality and I have since spliced in another power post assembly which is a much better fit and, so far, is not exhibiting signs of failure.
I did finally find the receipt for the plug but since I already fixed it, what is the use of wasting my money on a new gre adapter. I did express my negative feelings to customer service and they , after the fact, want to know what they can do to made good. I am sorry, but that does't do much for my opinion of the support.
I guess I am too old fashioned and expect treatment comparable to how companies use to extend to their customer base. It's a different world.
 
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kelltara

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My new plug has been great, then I lost power again. After some investigation, I found the power feed to the plug lost continuity. So I took small sections off the end of the cord looking for the break. It was under the cord weight from the factory. They use an extremely large gauge wire ( 22 maybe?) and I am guessing it was damaged when the factory crimped on the cord weight so it finally broke. I respliced in my new plug and so far so good.
 

bush_man

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GRE 12V adapter plug

I am on my second cigarette lighter cord, first one was replaced under warranty, replacement lasted 5 minutes, it is intermittent when moved, yet the 120V house adapter works no matter how much you move the scanner or the cord, so I agree that there is a break in the wire inside it would appear. It is too bad that the quality of the cord is so lightweight.
 
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