Pro-2037 Backlight

[SatHunter]

I bought a rather pricey Pro 2037 today for $50. I was told that the guy’s dad owned it and only used it a few times. It is in nice condition and came in the original box. After plugging it in there is no green backlight & is very hard to see. I can’t locate a “light” button & can’t find a mention of it in an online manual for this model.
Thus I assume it’s burnt out or there’s another internal problem. Keeping my fingers crossed that an owner of this particular model can “shine a light” on this problem I’m encountering. If it’s a difficult issue to correct I still may be able to get my money back. Thanks in advance

 

[kc2asb]

Hi,

I do not own a PRO-2037, so the guidance I can offer is limited. However, I do own a PRO-2006, which was contemporary with the 2037. Both scanners were manufactured by GRE (General Research Electronics) of Japan.

The display on your radio looks very similar to that of the PRO-2006, which uses an electro-luminescent (EL) panel to illuminate the LCD display. The EL panels on the 2006 and its predecessors (PRO-2004/2005) were prone to dimming and burning out. Early PRO-2006's like mine only had a dimmer switch, and later production models were changed to an on/off switch for the light because of this issue.

Since the 2037 has no switch to turn the light on/off, I'm going to hazard a guess that yours is probably burned out. Most likely, your radio was used more than the seller remembers. (It was his dad's radio after all) My 2006 had a lot of use, and still gets used, but I took very good care of it. If I were to put it back in the original box with the manual, it would look like an almost-new, low use radio.

I recommend reading the thread below, as it discusses obtaining and replacing the EL panel on the 2006 and its predecessors. Replacing the panel is not a plug-n-play deal, as original parts are no longer available. Paying a tech to do the job would cost more than the radio is worth You might want take that into consideration when deciding whether to replace the panel vs getting a refund.

Sorry I can't be of more assistance, but perhaps this will get you moving in the right direction.

RS Pro-2004/2005/2006 display issues..?

just wondering out of 3 of these listed scanners which one had the best display issues / if any of them..? im thinking of getting my friend a good scanner and then i'll mod it for DSD+ or whatever.. just wanted to know which one to get before i even look on ebay or anyplace..

forums.radioreference.com

 

[MiCon]

I don't own a 2037 but I took a quick look at one on You Tube. It appears to have the same backlight as the 2006, which I do have.

Some people have replaced the backlight strip themselves. I'm not that handy, so I had a local radio electronics repair store do it. It cost more than what I could pay for a used one on e-bay (even one that had the backlight already replaced), but when you add in shipping, the cost was about the same.

My 2006 is a desk/ mobile-mount radio. It sits on my desk permanently. Prior to having it repaired, I used a small desk lamp to illuminate the display, which worked quite well.

Ergo, my suggestion would be that if you like the radio and prefer to keep it, get a small desk lamp and shine the light on the display.

Where I live, everything is still analog (except for the ambulance company which is DMR). There are no trunking systems in use, and no need for PL code selection. This is a perfect radio for my area, and if the display goes out again, I'll go back to using the desk lamp.

 

[kc2asb]

The desk lamp is a much better idea than opening up a 30+ year old radio. No risk of old components cracking. Plastics and cables can be brittle from age.

$50 is not a bad price for a good working 2037, which seems to get praise from owners. Consider yourself fortunate if your local depts are still analog / no trunking!

 

[dalmation61]

Contact G&G communications and talk to him.

 

[dalmation61]

G & G communications
585-768-8151
He is good and fair. Name is Gerry O.

 

[dalmation61]

Did you contact Gerry

 

[pro92b]

There are only a few Radio Shack scanners that have electroluminescent panel backlights. All were made by GRE: PRO-2004, PRO-2005, PRO-2006, PRO-2021 and PRO-2022. These models were introduced into the catalog from 1987 to 1991. After 1991 backlights were mostly LED's with a few low end models using incandescent lamps. The PRO-2037 first appeared in the 1995 Radio Shack catalog which suggests it used an LED backlight.

Looking at photos on Ebay, the PRO-2037 backlight looks like it comes from green LED's. Electroluminescent panels in scanners have been blue, not green. Bob Parnass reviewed the PRO-2037 in the Monitoring Times July 1995 issue. He said the display is backlit by green LED's like the PRO-2035. Rich Wells also reviewed the PRO-2037 on his StrongSignals.net site and agreed that the backlight is green LED's.

If the LED circuit is the same as in the PRO-2035 (both GRE radios introduced in 1995), there are nine LED's arranged in paralleled groups of three. They are powered through 220 Ohm resistors connected to an 8 volt regulator. The current through the LED's is about 10mA. For all nine LED's to go dark there is likely a break in the 8 volt feed or the return ground connection.

The PRO-2037 itself is lacking features and not the best performing radio. It is analog only with no CTCSS or DCS. Scanning is slow at 25 channels per second. Although it is triple conversion it overloads fairly easily according to the reviews. Mil-Air is not covered.

Sending a PRO-2037 out for repair would probably not be worth the shipping cost let alone repair facility charges.

 

[SatHunter]

Thanks for all of the amazing replies. As far as the 2037 goes it would have limited use as all of our local and provincial services use P25 trunking so I was going to use it for amateur, rail and air band. I still have about another 10 days if I decide to return it. I may take the lid off and inspect it to see if it looks serviceable. If not I have a Pro 2006 with the same backlight problem but performs extremely well on analog signals to listen to all of the services I mentioned.

 

[kc2asb]

Sounds like a good approach!