Loose screw inside the GRE-COM PSR-500 Scanner

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bubbaearle

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Serial # 00135x

Just opened mine up and it was loose....4 turns to tighten it.

Thanks for the info on this potential problem.
 

rawman

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Just checked mine, SN 100* Found the screw was slightly loose (1/2 of a turn) so I tightened it. Who knows it it fixed any of the problems I have with my PSR 500. So now the scanner has tight screws, I on the other hand still have a few loose ones. :)
 

bubbaearle

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rawman said:
So now the scanner has tight screws, I on the other hand still have a few loose ones. :)

Same here......:lol:

Amen Brother!
 

larrykoch

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Not very loose screw

Ser #140x Screw just barely loose. Took about 1/8 turn to snug it up.
 

inigo88

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Sorry to revive an old thread, but just had a question for you guys. I'm a PRO-96 owner and aspiring PSR-500 owner financially permitting. :)

I recently experienced the BNC connector loosen, and eventually break on the PRO-96, causing intermittent static and terrible receive sensitivity. The back of the connector is located underneath an RF shielding box that is SOLDERED directly to the circuit board in SEVEN places in close proximity to very sensitive and easily melt-able components. I was successful in desoldering it without killing the radio but I just about had a heart attack in the process (and I'm 20!), and everyone else who has tried it and written in the forums about it is furious with GRE for the oversight (I would have happily sent it to radioshack for repair but they replace the entire circuit board instead). I'm curious if the engineers at GRE listened.

Thank you for the photo of the upper half of the circuit board of the PSR-500 where the screw is!!! My question is, does anyone have a full length photo of the whole circuit board? It appears that GRE may have actually answered my prayers and secured the metal shielding box to the board with SCREWS (it appears the top of which is the one that could fall out and is the subject of this thread), and then soldered the BNC connector ground to the top of the box. This would make any repair that needs to be done underneath incredibly easier.

Thanks in advance for any insight! It would be a heck of a lot easier to justify the cost of another $500 scanner if one could be sure a component known to be prone to premature failure (like the antenna connector) was actually reasonably accessible! I'd gladly check and re-tighten a screw every once in a while if it meant not going through that experience again. :)

Inigo
 
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mikey60

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Sorry to revive an old thread, but just had a question for you guys. I'm a PRO-96 owner and aspiring PSR-500 owner financially permitting. :)

I recently experienced the BNC connector loosen, and eventually break on the PRO-96, causing intermittent static and terrible receive sensitivity. The back of the connector is located underneath an RF shielding box that is SOLDERED directly to the circuit board in SEVEN places in close proximity to very sensitive and easily melt-able components. I was successful in desoldering it without killing the radio but I just about had a heart attack in the process (and I'm 20!), and everyone else who has tried it and written in the forums about it is furious with GRE for the oversight (I would have happily sent it to radioshack for repair but they replace the entire circuit board instead). I'm curious if the engineers at GRE listened.

Thank you for the photo of the upper half of the circuit board of the PSR-500 where the screw is!!! My question is, does anyone have a full length photo of the whole circuit board? It appears that GRE may have actually answered my prayers and secured the metal shielding box to the board with SCREWS (it appears the top of which is the one that could fall out and is the subject of this thread), and then soldered the BNC connector ground to the top of the box. This would make any repair that needs to be done underneath incredibly easier.

Thanks in advance for any insight! It would be a heck of a lot easier to justify the cost of another $500 scanner if one could be sure a component known to be prone to premature failure (like the antenna connector) was actually reasonably accessible! I'd gladly check and re-tighten a screw every once in a while if it meant not going through that experience again. :)

Inigo


I don't have a photo, but I did take a look inside the radio. There is one screw and about 5 or 6 solder points holding the sheilding to the circuit board near the antenna connector.

Mike
 

bravo14

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I open mine today (just now) and seems to be tight. SN 00199x I did not have to take out the small screws in the battery pack I just took out the 4 long ones.
 

inigo88

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I don't have a photo, but I did take a look inside the radio. There is one screw and about 5 or 6 solder points holding the sheilding to the circuit board near the antenna connector.

Mike

Thank you very much for taking a look Mike. That's a little bit depressing news, but I think with a better soldering iron - and as long as GRE tried to avoid putting the solder points underneath other components (I accidentally almost destroyed a large capacitor on the -96 because of this) or underneath excessive amounts of epoxy, I guess it wouldn't be so bad. :)

Inigo
 

wm8s

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My 500 has had crap sensitivity since I got it a while back, and today I just realized that pressing on the BNC connector a bit gives me a +10dB gain boost. The screw was, or at least is now, tight. Apparently, the BNC connector has a cold joint inside that shield. Has anyone had this? I'm going to contact GRE; I'm in no mood to have a heart attack (I'm NOT 20!).

...R
 

bubbaearle

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Maybe it's the antenna?

My 500 has had crap sensitivity since I got it a while back, and today I just realized that pressing on the BNC connector a bit gives me a +10dB gain boost. The screw was, or at least is now, tight. Apparently, the BNC connector has a cold joint inside that shield. Has anyone had this? I'm going to contact GRE; I'm in no mood to have a heart attack (I'm NOT 20!).

...R


Are you using the sorry-ass stock antenna.......:mad:

I just bought the Radio Shack 800MHz antenna and it like night & day. I always get full bars on the signal strength meter now....never had that with the stock unit.

Mine was wobbly (did I spell that correctly) from the get-go. I don't know why they use that cheap BNC connector on that antenna. It doesn't have the metal collar on the inside like the 800MHz unit....and they're made by the same folks!

It could also be a cold solder joint....I know a fellow that had that on his Pro-97. I think it came from swapping antennas so often.

GRE could have used beefier components (on all their radios) for the antenna connections.
 

disp10

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Thank you for reviving this old thread. I had not seen it when it was originally posted. I opened up my PSR-500 and found the screw ready to fall out. SN 120X on mine. Problem fixed!
 

KB8UYC

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Yeah thanks for reviving.....I checked mine again since I had not checked it since the first post here.....the screw was loose again! I guess its time to get some lock tite or something...
 

JRR4607

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I checked mine again since I had not checked it since the first post here the screw was loose again!
 

bubbaearle

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That reminds me......

Yeah thanks for reviving.....I checked mine again since I had not checked it since the first post here.....the screw was loose again! I guess its time to get some lock tite or something...

I disassembled mine before the holidays to clean the key-pad and found the screw to be lose again…..not 4 turns like before, but loose none the less.

I thought about lock-tite or maybe just a touch of superglue on the tip of a toothpick where the screw meets the board. Just enough to secure it, but not enough to make it unable to loosen if needed.
 
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