My 96 lost its range

[busaninja]

Hi, my pro 96 no longer will pick up anything except very near transmissions.( Sigh )

I tried several antennas, I have other radios and they receive fine.

I checked everything I could think of with the same results. I changed batteries, tried AC.

I opened it and cannot see where the antennae connects to the circuit board due to the metal covering/shieldong that is soldered down. If this needs resoldered, what is the best way to access it

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[RolnCode3]

Did you happen to accidentally turn on attenuation?

 

[LarrySC]

If the ATT is not on, then I think it was ZAPed by a NEXTEL.

 

[marcp90]

If the ATT is not on, then I think it was ZAPed by a NEXTEL.[/code]

Can a NEXTEL really crap up your scanner like that.

 

[whooey]

If the ATT is not on, then I think it was ZAPed by a NEXTEL.

This is a myth, it was on a thread a few weeks ago, I carry my nextel 6" from my 96 ten hours a day, mine works great.

Have you checked your pin where you connect your antenna?

 

[mciupa]

Any suggestions?

If it is still under warranty, let a Radio Shack repair center take care of it.
Nothing has happened to this radio to void it's warranty, has it ?

 

[Voyager]

If the ATT is not on, then I think it was ZAPed by a NEXTEL.

This is a myth, it was on a thread a few weeks ago, I carry my nextel 6" from my 96 ten hours a day, mine works great.

Have you checked your pin where you connect your antenna?

So is lightning striking metal poles. They stuck a metal pole in the air and it wasn't struck once in a thunderstorm, so that's proof lightning doesn't hit metal poles. :lol: :wink:

Seriously, it IS possible for a transmitter to blow out the front end of a scanner. I had that happen with a BC235XLT, although it was while working at a tower site with several high power transmitters around. The replacement Uniden sent me never had any problems. It's a unit to unit issue, and conditions have to be just right, but it is possible.

Before blaming the transmitter, check to make sure the antenna connection INSIDE the scanner is still intact.

Joe M.

 

[whooey]

So is lightning striking metal poles. They stuck a metal pole in the air and it wasn't struck once in a thunderstorm, so that's proof lightning doesn't hit metal poles. :lol: :wink:

Seriously, it IS possible for a transmitter to blow out the front end of a scanner. I had that happen with a BC235XLT, although it was while working at a tower site with several high power transmitters around. The replacement Uniden sent me never had any problems. It's a unit to unit issue, and conditions have to be just right, but it is possible.

Before blaming the transmitter, check to make sure the antenna connection INSIDE the scanner is still intact.

Joe M.[/quote]

I'm not trying to steal a post, Voyager should i be concerned about my 96, how far should i keep the two (nextel and 96) apart?

 

[Voyager]

So is lightning striking metal poles. They stuck a metal pole in the air and it wasn't struck once in a thunderstorm, so that's proof lightning doesn't hit metal poles. :lol: :wink:

Seriously, it IS possible for a transmitter to blow out the front end of a scanner. I had that happen with a BC235XLT, although it was while working at a tower site with several high power transmitters around. The replacement Uniden sent me never had any problems. It's a unit to unit issue, and conditions have to be just right, but it is possible.

Before blaming the transmitter, check to make sure the antenna connection INSIDE the scanner is still intact.

Joe M.

I'm not trying to steal a post, Voyager should i be concerned about my 96, how far should i keep the two (nextel and 96) apart?

I would keep them more than a couple feet apart, or carry them on different sides of your body (using your body as a shield). There is no garunteed separation that I know of, but I would try to keep them from interacting.

I know a UHF 460 MHz radio will make the PRO-96 react with a clicking noise on the speaker. It sounds like RF getting into the audio circuit. If you can hear such a noise (other NexTel users have reported hearing it), you are affecting your scanner and I would say that's too close.

Remember that you can't control when a Cell or NexTel unit will transmit - they transmit messages to the system periodically. So will some trunked ratios depending on how they are set up.

It's similar to answering the question how far from a lightning storm should I be to avoid getting struck. Many people have not been struck throughout a storm. Others have been struck while the storm is 50 miles away.

Like a storm, conditions have to be just right to zap your scanner. But, it's happened too many times to be a coincidence. Fortunately, NexTel is relatively low power, but I wouldn't keep them beside each other at all.

Joe M.

 

[busaninja]

Its not any of the settings--att etc. Nothing would void the warranty except the fact I purchased it off ebay, I received the manual and accessories but I didn't receive a receipt or registration information.

I cannot see where the antenna connects to the circuit board and am not confident in my ability to desolder the metal box that shields it. I suppose I have no other choice. Anyone interested in a current non receiving and soon to be parts for a pro 96. Dang!

I appreciate the help guys.

Mike

 

[Voyager]

Its not any of the settings--att etc. Nothing would void the warranty except the fact I purchased it off ebay, I received the manual and accessories but I didn't receive a receipt or registration information.

I cannot see where the antenna connects to the circuit board and am not confident in my ability to desolder the metal box that shields it. I suppose I have no other choice. Anyone interested in a current non receiving and soon to be parts for a pro 96. Dang!

I appreciate the help guys.

Mike

Even if it's out of warranty, it should be able to be fixed. Maybe you could send it in to Radio Shack for an estimate. If it is the front end, they are the most likely to be able to fix it, and if it's not that, the repair should be pretty cheap.

Joe M.

 

[whooey]

Sorry for asking a question on your post busaninja!! :wink:

And thank you Voyager for your speedy reply!! :lol:

 

[busaninja]

Sorry for asking a question on your post busaninja!!

LOL. I didn't have any problem with it, anyhow its a community forum. But thanks for being so polite.

Just as others had suspected, my antenna connection on the circuit board was broken.

I attempted to fix it and gained maybe 50% greater reception. Since my soldering skills are in the toilet hopefully I just have a bad connection somewhere.

Luckily, the 96 isn't my only radio.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

Mike

 

[John_M]

Mike, save yourself some anguish and send it into RadioShack Texas repair center. Do not attempt to repair yourself. You are not familiar with circuitry of this unit nor do you have a schematic diagram. If a transmitter overloaded the recieve circuitry it could damage the circuit components especially if the recieve circuitry is constantly being stressed by an overly strong signal. Over time this could wear on the recieve components and the components can fail.

Same if the problem is just an antenna connection that just needs
to be resoldered to the circuit board. The repair facilility won't just repair
your scanner but will also test for functionality.

 

[busaninja]

I already worked on it but I appreciate your advice.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Thayne]

You should see what the inside of my Stridsberg multicoupler looks like after having a 45 watt Kenwood mobile plugged into it.

#%! Kid said he was sorry--Big whoop

 

[busaninja]

Update, my 96 is working great. Hopefully it will continue to do so.
Thanks everybody. I appreciate all the advice.

Mike