no reception with Pro-92

[Mirlyn]

I have a Pro92 that about a month ago would intermittently not receive signals. I can tell its doing it if I switch to Wx and try to bring in the local NOAA transmitter. It'll have a static with a hum much like you'd hear from a noisy DC power source. When I scan the channel banks I can turn the squelch all the way off and it'll still not stop on any channel unless I hit Manual. When I do sit on a frequency, I hear the same hum and static and never any transmissions.

For the past month, if I left it on long enough, or powercycled it a few times it would start receiving again and I could monitor as usual. I went to turn it on last night and again today and I can't get it to receive at all now.

Only thing I could think of is to try to re-download the programming. I have a 2067 working just fine and receiving all Wx, 2m, and 800mhz trunking alongside this now-quiet radio. Can I get it repaired, or is it even worth it? Anything homebrew I can do?

This is the B, ver 3.28.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mirlyn]

And now it started receiving our trunked system. Still not receiving Wx freqs.

I was initially thinking it was related to the 92A/92B-C differences in control channels (could that be the difference between the 92B and the 2067?), but that doesn't explain the Wx problems though.

 

[R1VINCE]

good description on whats goin on-
id like to try and help if I can:

Reception:
Maybe a loose bnc connection? Internally the center electrode may have come loose and will need to be resoldered. I had this problem with a former PRO92B I owned, but that was a result of drop from atop the dinner table to a hardwood floor. A slight touch of the iron fixed it up right away. I dont know if maybe yours may have dropped or not. If it has, I would check that.

The Hum:
Perhaps a power supply issue? As I recall, none of the PRO92's ever came with an AC/DC wallwart. I have used the RS brand before, which had a selectable voltage switch on it, and have "accidently" moved it to lower voltage to create a HUM noise while plugged in. But ofcourse that was corrected by unplugging it/switching the voltage back to 9v. It eventually failed and I found another powersupply from something else that fit perfectly for the PRO92 power slot.

So, again, not knowing every detail, maybe a bad power supply or a bad set of batteries?

Good luck!

 

[jamesa53]

I have 2 92 plain models and a 92 B model. These things were notorious for not receiving unless turned on and operated from anywhere from 30 mins to an hour. My 92B exhibits this behavior. It has the hum until operated for about 30 mins. Just leave it on long enough and it will start receiving. I believe gmclam has fixed one one time that had this problem, I believe it involved the solder joints that connect the boards together. I have tried reseating the boards on my 92B and it did not help.

Also remember on these to receive WX the squelch has to be set as you would for any other channel, i.e. open it up until the static goes away.

Not a good solution, but if you leave it on all the time, you will be OK. Probably not economical to get it repaired, and these scanners are pretty miserable anyway, all kinds of bugs in the code. Mine doesnt alpha tag TGs despite being programmed in with Win92. I guess I keep them around cause I can see how far we have come in scanner technology.

 

[Mirlyn]

I have 2 92 plain models and a 92 B model. These things were notorious for not receiving unless turned on and operated from anywhere from 30 mins to an hour. My 92B exhibits this behavior. It has the hum until operated for about 30 mins. Just leave it on long enough and it will start receiving. I believe gmclam has fixed one one time that had this problem, I believe it involved the solder joints that connect the boards together. I have tried reseating the boards on my 92B and it did not help.

Also remember on these to receive WX the squelch has to be set as you would for any other channel, i.e. open it up until the static goes away.

Not a good solution, but if you leave it on all the time, you will be OK. Probably not economical to get it repaired, and these scanners are pretty miserable anyway, all kinds of bugs in the code. Mine doesnt alpha tag TGs despite being programmed in with Win92. I guess I keep them around cause I can see how far we have come in scanner technology.

Ah, thats what I was thinking. Good (I guess) to know I'm not alone. As for the Wx, if I adjust the squelch properly it'll scan, but if I manually select the channel with our site I get the hum. Sometimes it'll break through and start receiving, and then go back to the hum. Playing with the antenna/BNC doesn't improve/hinder reception, so I doubted loose connection.

As for the alpha tags, yeah, mine will 90% of the time show the TG tag. Sometimes mid-conversation it'll start hopping to different numbers. I'll still be following the TG correctly, but the display will show random changing numbers.

Guess its time to upgrade!

Thanks.

 

[giallocali]

I have a Pro92 that about a month ago would intermittently not receive signals. I can tell its doing it if I switch to Wx and try to bring in the local NOAA transmitter. It'll have a static with a hum much like you'd hear from a noisy DC power source. When I scan the channel banks I can turn the squelch all the way off and it'll still not stop on any channel unless I hit Manual. When I do sit on a frequency, I hear the same hum and static and never any transmissions.

For the past month, if I left it on long enough, or powercycled it a few times it would start receiving again and I could monitor as usual. I went to turn it on last night and again today and I can't get it to receive at all now.

Only thing I could think of is to try to re-download the programming. I have a 2067 working just fine and receiving all Wx, 2m, and 800mhz trunking alongside this now-quiet radio. Can I get it repaired, or is it even worth it? Anything homebrew I can do?

This is the B, ver 3.28.

Thanks in advance!

This is natures way of telling you it's time for a Pro 106 or PSR 500.

 

[jamesa53]

Of course, I have a 2067 (base model for the 92) that works perfectly, that is, it will until our local Motorola system rebands. :-(

The 92 plain models are the most buggy, never could get the 5 beeps out of the end of an EDACS transmission despite checking everything. Mine alpha tags TGs correctly most of the time but some it never tags at all. My 92B alpha tags TGs correctly and works great except for the "warm up" issue (maybe the tubes have to heat up LOL) but again its done for when rebanding comes. Gotta remember this is RS (GREs) first attempt at a multi-system scanner (EDACS and Motorola).

Best buy for the money would be a used or refurb 96 or 2096, these are great scanners in their own right. Not a 106/197 for sure, but if you don't need 700mhz Motorola TRS or LTR, they will do most everything you want.

 

[Mirlyn]

According to the talk on the other forums, our Type 2 system will be P25 in another year or two, so it'll be time for an upgrade soon anyway. I'm holding out to see how the transition goes and see what gets encrypted before dropping more coin.

My 2067 works flawlessly in the dash of my personal vehicle. I use the Pro92 in my work vehicle for the ol' 8-5 shift.