Pro-53 Crystal Scanner, still usable?

[RedPenguin]

I was given a Pro-53 Crystal scanner that a friend of my mother's was just going to throw away.

Now of the 8 channels that it has, it seems no matter what, only 2, 6, and 7 ever really light up, but I don't know if the other ones just had their LEDs ware out. It seems like 4 is trying to light up but it's have a hard time.

Out of all the crystals only about 4 definitely would still work in my area. One is the main police who never changed their frequency in all these years.

When the 453.640 crystal is plugged in to Ch. 2 it receives them but it sounds like everyone has a cold, like, there is just a boat load of static, even if the whip antenna pulled up all the way.

Is there any real life I can get out of this scanner and if so, is it even really possible to get crystals for it anywhere? My area is basically all Conventional UHF now and the other crystals are our old VHF-Lo channels.

 

[AlmostHandy]

Try only pulling the whip out to 1/4 of the wavelength. For 453Mhz, you'll want to make the antenna 157mm long, or about 6 and a half inches.

That might help.

You can get new crystals cheap from various places. Check ebay if you know how to search it. Or you could go to one of the online retailers, like http://www.scannercrystal.com/

 

[RedPenguin]

Thank You...

Alright, does it look like all 8 channels may work and the lights are just burned out or that probably only certain channels work?

 

[AlmostHandy]

Alright, does it look like all 8 channels may work and the lights are just burned out or that probably only certain channels work?

How are you doing your troubleshooting? Did you use the same crystal in all 8 positions to see if each one worked compared to the last? How many crystals do you have, and what are their frequencies?

 

[hitsfm]

i still run my old 2 ch portable here in iroquois falls ontario canada its a mid 1970ts crystal job its on 154.130 fire channel its in my front room on a timer on at 8 a.m. off at 10 p.m. everry day

 

[RedPenguin]

Well....

How are you doing your troubleshooting? Did you use the same crystal in all 8 positions to see if each one worked compared to the last? How many crystals do you have, and what are their frequencies?

Well I just tried the local NOAA weather one, 162.4 in every single socket in the same position, and I only pick it up on Ch. 2 & 7.

EDIT: I also used tried different selections on the switches, which seem to be UHF, High, and Low, which I assume the last two mean VHF.

Well, it's not doing too bad on my local police (just a little bit of annoying static, but can't ever expect perfection), but anyway, I at the very least ended up with a fairly nice weather radio, LoL.

 

[AlmostHandy]

I'd say you probably got it right then.

I've seen those crystal scanners on ebay for pretty cheap. One of these days I'll grab a few to tinker with. I started this hobby with an old 4 channel scanner when I was a kid. It was pretty cool.

 

[RedPenguin]

Extremely sensitive?

Is there anyway around the extremely sensitiveness? I mean where, just because I place it in a different spot it starts to get fairly staticy?

 

[KC2GVX]

I have repaired many Radio Shack PRO 52 & 53 models. The LED's go out due to cold solder joints. Try to just heat up the existing solder joints behind the lights with your iron, and it should fix it. If not, try adding a little more new solder.

 

[RedPenguin]

Well, what about...?

I have repaired many Radio Shack PRO 52 & 53 models. The LED's go out due to cold solder joints. Try to just heat up the existing solder joints behind the lights with your iron, and it should fix it. If not, try adding a little more new solder.

Well, besides the LEDs does it seem that definitely only two channels work? I mean, I tried the NOAA crystal and only got response from 2 & 7. Anything to check that could make them work again? You know how computers sometimes need their ports cleaned with an eraser?

 

[N8IAA]

Well, besides the LEDs does it seem that definitely only two channels work? I mean, I tried the NOAA crystal and only got response from 2 & 7. Anything to check that could make them work again? You know how computers sometimes need their ports cleaned with an eraser?

Maybe the fact that it does VHF-LO, VHF-HI, and UHF, that certain channels are only for specific frequencies. I know that some of the xtal scanners I had could only receive specific freqs on specific channels. Also, some were switchable with a DIP switch in the scanner. Take a closer look at where the xtals go to see if this is the case. Maybe somebody knows what the frequency scheme is on this particular scanner.
Larry

 

[RedPenguin]

Well...

Maybe the fact that it does VHF-LO, VHF-HI, and UHF, that certain channels are only for specific frequencies. I know that some of the xtal scanners I had could only receive specific freqs on specific channels. Also, some were switchable with a DIP switch in the scanner. Take a closer look at where the xtals go to see if this is the case. Maybe somebody knows what the frequency scheme is on this particular scanner.
Larry

Well, I did try adjusting the DIP switches. What I would do is for each put them at H (choices were U H and L). 2 and 7 worked with H but none of the others ones did.

The crystal is 162.4, which is Johnstown's local NOAA.

 

[w8jjr]

I agree with KC2GVX, my experence with the older scanners are cold solder joints. Just happens over time. If you have the equipment and knowledge you can trace the circuits out. Otherwise without one of us looking into the scanner I think there is little left to debug. That radio's value is 0.00 except too collectors so having it repaired wont make alot of sense. You could list it on ebay with a discreption of whats happenning and maybe find a collector who's looking for it.

 

[RedPenguin]

Yes...

I agree with KC2GVX, my experence with the older scanners are cold solder joints. Just happens over time. If you have the equipment and knowledge you can trace the circuits out. Otherwise without one of us looking into the scanner I think there is little left to debug. That radio's value is 0.00 except too collectors so having it repaired wont make alot of sense. You could list it on ebay with a discreption of whats happenning and maybe find a collector who's looking for it.

Yes, just thought it was cool to finally see a crystal scanner.

Anyway, does anyone know of a place to get slightly older scanners (not crystal) for lower prices, besides eBay?

 

[KC2GVX]

You can check the for sale forums here, but mainly the stuff being sold is newer and more expensive than I gather you are looking for. Sadly, I hate to go against your request, but E-Bay is a great place to find old Radio Shack 10 & 20 channel programmable scanners, or old BC-210's for around $20. Then again, there are always yard sales in your area that might be worth checking out.

 

[RedPenguin]

Well....

You can check the for sale forums here, but mainly the stuff being sold is newer and more expensive than I gather you are looking for. Sadly, I hate to go against your request, but E-Bay is a great place to find old Radio Shack 10 & 20 channel programmable scanners, or old BC-210's for around $20. Then again, there are always yard sales in your area that might be worth checking out.

Thank you for your input. I don't like or dislike eBay, but I wanted to know if there were any sites out there just dedicated to selling older scanners or something like that.

 

[loosewire]

i just got a pro 52.i have used crystal scanner but when i seriously got into them was when sc150 came out.anyhow.this one has 6 crystal in it all on the low side.is there any guide for these?some of the crystals dont have print.im just getting back into this.i do pc mainly for living.ive acquired 6 old scanners and 2 new ones in the last 2 months.is there a man anyone has or link?any help is greatly appreciated .