Pro-2001 Not Saving Channels Revisited 2023

[SatHunter]

As I addressed some time ago my Pro-2001 will not retain the memory channels after the power switch is turned off. I had an excellent suggestion for testing a few components from a valued member here. Not owning any test equipment I put the radio on the shelf dedicating most of my time as a caregiver to my 99 year old father. I’m now trying to dedicate some time to try to resolve the problem. Having opened the case top and bottom for a visual inspection (even though my vision isn’t that great) I noticed a 1k resistor that might be suspect. It’s on the bottom near the front of the receiver. It appears to be black, I’m not sure if it’s blown or if they used some black gunk to shield it. I’m disappointed that I don’t know the difference.
I suspect it is R71 as shown the picture. I’d like to replace it if it’s bad. Opinion?
After that I’d like to have a good look at the top of the board & go from there

 

[wtp]

if i recall, someone on here posted the the battery connection under where the wires go into the connector had a bad wire.
can you check for 9 volts on the board from it ?

 

[SatHunter]

if i recall, someone on here posted the the battery connection under where the wires go into the connector had a bad wire.
can you check for 9 volts on the board from it ?

Thanks for pointing that out. I’m going to grab the big magnifier & have a closer look at it right now

 

[wtp]

i am working on a computer tomorrow, but will try and look inside my 2001.

 

[SatHunter]

i am working on a computer tomorrow, but will try and look inside my 2001.

That would be greatly appreciated. I’m a little nervous with this unit. It’s actually working very well except for the memory problem. It obviously had someone work on it in the past. There are several sloppy solder joints. On top of that the wires are very brittle. Upon removing the lid without any pressure the speaker wires snapped off. The wires are very minuscule. It’s hard to believe that GRE would design such a fine radio with flimsy wiring and messy connections. I wish I knew where the battery connections go on the bottom of the board. The top bunch of wires are tied together with twist ties. I’m nervous about taking them apart to trace the battery leads to the circuit board

 

[CycleSycho]

As I addressed some time ago my Pro-2001 will not retain the memory channels after the power switch is turned off. I had an excellent suggestion for testing a few components from a valued member here. Not owning any test equipment I put the radio on the shelf dedicating most of my time as a caregiver to my 99 year old father. I’m now trying to dedicate some time to try to resolve the problem. Having opened the case top and bottom for a visual inspection (even though my vision isn’t that great) I noticed a 1k resistor that might be suspect. It’s on the bottom near the front of the receiver. It appears to be black, I’m not sure if it’s blown or if they used some black gunk to shield it. I’m disappointed that I don’t know the difference.
I suspect it is R71 as shown the picture. I’d like to replace it if it’s bad. Opinion?
After that I’d like to have a good look at the top of the board & go from there

That resistor looks good, I doubt it is the reason for your problem. IF that resistor was burnt throughout I might agree with it possibly being an issue with what your having (if it was burnt, it would have heat damage around it with hard to read color bands). That black stuff looks like goop to hold the resistor in place while soldered. Hope you find your issue! Good luck!


.

 

[SatHunter]

That resistor looks good, I doubt it is the reason for your problem. IF that resistor was burnt throughout I might agree with it possibly being an issue with what your having (if it was burnt, it would have heat damage around it with hard to read color bands). That black stuff looks like goop to hold the resistor in place while soldered. Hope you find your issue! Good luck!


.

Thank you for your input on this. Everything is so fragile on this radio that I want to handle the inner workings as little as possible. I still want to trace the battery wires to the circuit board but I can’t get a reading from the top and I can’t determine where the connection points are on the bottom

 

[wtp]

sorry sat,
i took the radio apart, but don't want to keep going.
like you said, it looks too fragile.
i did replace the battery, but i was too late.
now i have
203.51
286.01
68.033
next time i will remember to leave it plugged in.
the weird thing is that i see a resistor on the top side in the middle near that crystal thing.
and no goop on it.
and the computer that i wanted to work on did not do what i needed it to do.

 

[SatHunter]

sorry sat,
i took the radio apart, but don't want to keep going.
like you said, it looks too fragile.
i did replace the battery, but i was too late.
now i have
203.51
286.01
68.033
next time i will remember to leave it plugged in.
the weird thing is that i see a resistor on the top side in the middle near that crystal thing.
and no goop on it.
and the computer that i wanted to work on did not do what i needed it to do.

Thanks for checking that for me! It’s amazing how they assembled these with all of that fine wiring yet they work so well. Mine never stores the memory even when plugged in. When it’s switched on every channel is 316.2525 mhz. Why? I don’t have an answer for this. Can’t find many discussions or videos on this model maybe because of its age. Lots of information on the Pro-2006 of which I own 2 of them both with the infamous backlight problem

 

[wtp]

mine has done it since i got it.
the weird number thing.
and it does not receive what it shows.

 

[j896]

Mine has the same problem when i turn it off all the memory is erased. I even tryed running it off 12 volts but it still happens. I Dont think it's a 9 volt battery problem because it is pluged in and it happens. I know what you mean about thin wires . My speaker wire snaped off to and the wire to the ext speaker jack also I had to solder them . What i did do was to put a jumper wire between the two antenna terminals so i could use only one antenna instead of two...

 

[SatHunter]

Mine has the same problem when i turn it off all the memory is erased. I even tryed running it off 12 volts but it still happens. I Dont think it's a 9 volt battery problem because it is pluged in and it happens. I know what you mean about thin wires . My speaker wire snaped off to and the wire to the ext speaker jack also I had to solder them . What i did do was to put a jumper wire between the two antenna terminals so i could use only one antenna instead of two...

Now I know why when I worked at Radio Shack back in the 80’s these scanners never got sent out for repair even under warranty. Local stores would issue a credit towards a new radio & leave the Pro-2001’s on the service desk. Even when they went out of business there were at least 3 defective scanners of this type left untouched. I wonder what they ever did with them? Very fragile complicated circuitry. I asked a few hams around here if they wanted to have a look at mine but in every case they declined. One of them suggested I buy a Uniden SDS200 instead. I promised him I would buy 2 of them when I win the lotto! 🤞

 

[parnass]

Here are my notes on the PRO-2001 from several years ago:

"... High synthesizer noise level. Troublesome plated through holes
on digital board in some units renders radio virtually
unfixable. Could never get mine to work more than a few
days in a row; always another bad connection. Some owners
have no trouble."

 

[SatHunter]

Here are my notes on the PRO-2001 from several years ago:

"... High synthesizer noise level. Troublesome plated through holes
on digital board in some units renders radio virtually
unfixable. Could never get mine to work more than a few
days in a row; always another bad connection. Some owners
have no trouble."

Holds very true to my observation. Had people I know buy them 2nd hand for $100 - $150 with these problems while others find them at a Goodwill for a few dollars & they work flawlessly. I think GRE learned from their early production mistakes with more robust scanners in the future generations as I rarely saw newer scanners being returned to the store for repairs