Issues With GRE PSR-500 And 600s

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Mojaveflyer

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I have a GRE PSR-500 and 600 radios that both seem to have lost sensitivity over the years. I have a Whistler TRX-1 handheld with a rubber duck antenna seems to have far more sensitivity when placed side by side. I also have a Whistler WS-1065 that seems to have developed the same loss of sensitivity. Has anyone else dealt with this issue and have an idea of what the cause is? I would sure like to have my older radios fixed
 

tvengr

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The 500. 600, and 1065 are all essentially the same scanner. Did you recently have a new transmitter, such as a radio station, go on line near you? Did a TV station near you change channels? It could be desensitizing the receivers. You could also have the attenuator turned on in the programming software and used it to program all 3 scanners.
 
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737mech

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If you change antennas a lot it could have worn out the female BNC on the scanner. Use a little “DeOxit” spray and look at contacts make sure they are not pushed too far apart. Another thing if you are noticing the change on a certain type of system make sure you check expert settings. Digital timeout and settings like that.
 

Ensnared

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I have a PSR 500 which is bricked at the moment because I have three scanners in need of repair, Unider 436HP.

Typically, when reception goes south with the PSR 500, the thing to check is the flimsy BNC module. If you prop your radio up with an antenna, it does not bode well in some cases. I used to drop mine on a frequent basis. In time, the BNC fails.

One way to find out is to check the loosening of the BNC. Then, tune into a NOAA weather and see if the reception has reduced. There used to be a man in NYC who does a great job at repairing this problem and other issues.

I hope you get this one running. It does have issues with linear simulcast distortion, but the audio sound natural and very loud as opposed to the muddiness on my 436HP when compared with one another.
 

spacellamaman

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i had a chance to do a side by side test with my PRO668 and a PSR-800 upgraded to WS1080 standard last night with their SignalStalker/SpectrumSweeper function. for about a half hour i was trying to catch walkie talkies on 34.75mhz. no matter what antenna or how far down the squelch, the PSR800/WS1080 wouldn't even slow down while the PRO668 was catching everything regardless of antenna. Putting the 800/1080 in tune mode, it would receive it fine tho.

These sorts of things are very frustrating, cause when all settings have been checked and everything is in good working order, its hard to know where to begin.
 

Ensnared

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What it displayed on the screen?

At present, the entire functionality of my PSR 500 is working fine. The BNC, which is indeed flimsy, went south when I failed to warn a close friend of my the vulnerabilities associated of a poorly-designed BNC module. This is one of the reasons I bought two 436HP units. I don't use the PSR 500 anymore.
 

Ensnared

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"I used to drop mine on a frequent basis". And the bnc breaks because it is "flimsy"? DUH!

Most of the time, the hard leather case protected it. Furthermore, most of the time, the radio would land on the bottom. However, this was when I was using it, prior to being repaired by the technician in NYC specific to the BNC module.

"After" I had this repaired, I let a friend use it. He left it in the office of the MHMR center where we worked. He propped it up with the antenna at an angle. So, in this case, it was the leaning, not the drops.
 
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Mojaveflyer

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I use Butel programming for all three radios. They're pretty much programmed the same. The lack of sensitivity is across the bands, not one particular area. I sent one radio to the guy in New York who returned it saying he couldn't find anything wrong with it. I do have a TRX-1 and -2 that seem to work fine. I may have dropped the handheld but I've never dropped the PSR-500, -600 or the WS-1065. I'm pretty frustrated with having three relatively new radios that are for the most part deaf.
 

tvengr

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I use Butel programming for all three radios.
I use ARC500 for my programming. It is a common problem for the solder connection from the antenna connector to the circuit board to break on the handheld when dropped, but that does not explain the other scanners. Please attach your programming file or files and I will check for any problems. Please refer to my post #2 on 9/27 and post #4 on 9/28. You didn't answer any of the questions. You say that you never dropped the handheld, but the PSR-500 is a handheld. Is it the TRX-1 you dropped? I want to help you, but I need your cooperation to be able to do it.
 
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Mojaveflyer

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Sorry for the delay in responding.... Life got in the way. In playing with my PSR-500 it doesn't seem to have lost sensitivity like the two mobile radios.

I'm thinking the solder connection to the BNC connector would explain the loss of signal strength. For what ever reason it's not allowing me to attach the programming for the PSR-600, just the TRX-2. I have not had any new transmitterscome up near me. I'll keep trying with attaching the PSR-600 programming.
 
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tvengr

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For what ever reason it's not allowing me to attach the programming for the PSR-600, just the TRX-2.
In the file explorer, you have to right click on the PSR-600 programming file and Send to Compressed (zipped) folder to be able to attach it. The TRX-2 file is already zipped and that is why it attaches OK.
 
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