Pro-92 DOA?

[thesavo]

I picked up a pro-92 From eBay and I think I got a defective unit
It has firmware 3.28.

I put in a fresh set of alkaline AA batteries and saw that it had a set of freqenices for "Woodbury". It picked up a local wx frequency by tapping the [wx] key.

I erased the memory by taping [0] then [1] on startup. After that it didn't seem to pickup anything. I tried tuning to a local ham repeater and it didn't pickup anything. Local weather is dead. Squelch is dialed all the way to zero and no static.

I informed the seller the unit nights be defective. I'm still waiting on their responsive.

Is this model known to do this?

Thanks.

 

[buddrousa]

Does it still hear the weather?
What are you trying to listen to?
It is a very limited scanner.

 

[thesavo]

It hears nothing right now, not even weather.
There is an EDACS system i would like to pickup. But it isn't getting analog FM. Is this known to happen?
I am attempting to pickup known active sources right now as a troubleshooting measure.

Thanks

 

[gmclam]

I think that was one of the first programmable trunking scanners out there. It uses 5V technology. A LOT has changed since then.

I have a PRO-92, and among all of my scanners, I use it the least. It's more fragile than the others, plus requires 6 AAs when portable (rather than 4 like all my others).

There are some known issues with the design of the PRO-92. The connectors which interconnect the various PCBs inside the scanner oxidize over time and need to be "cleaned". There's the infamous issue of connection between the BNC and first RF PCB that gets broken.

Start with receiving Weather. It sounds like that worked until you reset the unit. You might just try programming the frequency directly. Once that's working, try programming the control channel of a trunked system you want to monitor. Do you hear anything? If so, then it's probably just a matter of getting it programmed correctly. One other thing different about this model is that it needs all the trunked frequencies to be programmed for a MOT II system whereas newer models only require the control channel.

 

[wtp]

before i stopped using my 92, i had to give it "CPR".
when i would hear nothing, i would lay it down and tap on the front of the radio with the squelch all the way down,
until i heard static.
yes, i agree that it is the board to board pins that need attention.
i just wanted to save up for a 396T back then.
best of luck.

 

[tvengr]

See if this helps:

https://www.qsl.net/ah7e/pdf/pro92v1-EDACS.pdf

I would also try removing the battery pack.

 

[thesavo]

Thanks all. I tried the following.
- a software reset with a paper clip
- Re initialized with pressing [0], [1] at start up.
- Self test pressing [0], [2] at start up.

I tried walking around to pick up weather. Eventually I did pull the battery pack. That seemed to be the fix at the end. It is picking up some manually programmed ham repeaters now. It is getting intermittent wx, but I think that my house is just not letting that in. I am now getting static on empty frequencies that I was not getting before.

I do want to test with the EDAC system I found in my area on Radio Reference. I checked all the frequencies with my non-truncked scanner. The 3rd frequency seems to be the control channel.

1. 856.5875
2. 857.5875
3. 858.5875 (Control)
4. 859.5875
5. 860.5875

I went thought the directions as provided in another post. The directions say they should be in a Logical Channel Number order. So I programmed it as such.

 

[gmclam]

If you are able to pick up weather by simply walking around to find the best signal, it is beginning to sound like the antenna connection inside your scanner is broken. This is a common issue. Take the back of the scanner and use an ohm meter to measure between the antenna BNC connector and the PCB. A visual only inspection won't cut it. The wire needs to be replaced / resoldered.

This typically happens because people tend to carry these scanners by their antennas. Don't do that. Even with the best of caution, wiggling of the antenna over time will break this wire. The break is often so slight you can't see it (which is why a meter is required). Some models used a solid wire and some used stranded. You don't want the wire to be long, but it needs to have some breathing room so it is not under stress under normal use.

 

[wtp]

BRING THE RADIO OUTSIDE !!!