PSR 500 reception

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swann3030

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Im am listening to some local frequencies in Niagara County New York, specifically 154.755, local sheriff. The transmissions seem to cut in and out and seem "staticy" while listening on my PSR 500.

As a check I listened on my old Uniden SC230. The transmissions come in crystal clear.

I have herd the 500 is a sensitive scanner but any ideas?

Thanks in advance
 

gewecke

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This has been mentioned on here a gazillion times, but make sure your bnc connector on your psr 500 is not loose or faulty?
If the internal screw which secures it is loose that would do it too. This would explain the intermittent signals.

73,
n9zas
 

Ensnared

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PSR 500 Reception

I started looking for my previous posts about PSR 500 reception, but can't seem to find them; however, I ran across this one:

http://forums.radioreference.com/gr...setting-making-huge-difference-reception.html

When I've experienced reception problems with mine, 90% of the time, it means it is time for a trip to GRE. I am pretty rough on my radio. If I didn't have a hard leather case, these repair trips might be more frequent.

If your BNC is loose, you might have to send it in for repair. I am not a fan of the BNC design of this radio. There are plenty of posts about this topic.
 

gewecke

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I started looking for my previous posts about PSR 500 reception, but can't seem to find them; however, I ran across this one:

http://forums.radioreference.com/gr...setting-making-huge-difference-reception.html

When I've experienced reception problems with mine, 90% of the time, it means it is time for a trip to GRE. I am pretty rough on my radio. If I didn't have a hard leather case, these repair trips might be more frequent.

If your BNC is loose, you might have to send it in for repair. I am not a fan of the BNC design of this radio. There are plenty of posts about this topic.

Here's a hint, It's colder here than your area,lol but in the summer when I carry my pro-106 anywhere I wear a tac-vest and clip it under my arm to keep it out of the way.
In the winter, I wear a black ecw duty coat and the pro-106 fits perfect in the hidden pocket on either side. After it was out of warranty I changed out the stock bnc connector to a amphenol bnc. I'm going on 4 years now and haven't needed to send it in yet.

73,
n9zas
 

Ensnared

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Soldering Buffoon in Texas

Here's a hint, It's colder here than your area,lol but in the summer when I carry my pro-106 anywhere I wear a tac-vest and clip it under my arm to keep it out of the way.
In the winter, I wear a black ecw duty coat and the pro-106 fits perfect in the hidden pocket on either side. After it was out of warranty I changed out the stock bnc connector to a amphenol bnc. I'm going on 4 years now and haven't needed to send it in yet.

73,
n9zas

If that involves any soldering, I am completely lost. In fact, I am all thumbs when it comes to this skill. When I attempted to look inside my AR-1000 which had a misaligned keypad from the factory repair, I unplugged a white connector, but when I reconnected it, that familiar smell of burning electrical filled the air. I seriously doubt I could do this type of repair. But, I appreciate knowing that someone has benefited from modifying this design.
 

gewecke

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Both the GRE and PRO series digital scanners tend to use the "crappy" variety on bnc connectors which cause nothing but problems for us consumers!
Buying the amphenol industry grade bnc connectors in bulk would not cost GRE much more than the garbage they buy now, and in return they would likely deal with fewer returns/ repairs.
I work in a SMT department where we troubleshoot our own errors BEFORE they go out the door to our customers!
But I understand you will always have q.c. issues no matter what your product is.

...Sorry to vent, :roll:

73,
n9zas
 

Ensnared

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Suggestions on Repair

Both the GRE and PRO series digital scanners tend to use the "crappy" variety on bnc connectors which cause nothing but problems for us consumers!
Buying the amphenol industry grade bnc connectors in bulk would not cost GRE much more than the garbage they buy now, and in return they would likely deal with fewer returns/ repairs.
I work in a SMT department where we troubleshoot our own errors BEFORE they go out the door to our customers!
But I understand you will always have q.c. issues no matter what your product is.

...Sorry to vent, :roll:

73,
n9zas

Do you know where one might get this BNC module changed out besides GRE? This is my only criticism of their radios. My unit is out of warranty. From what I understand, the PSR 800 has this same type of BNC.
 

swann3030

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checked the screw, it seemed tight but i turned on it a bit, maybe an 1/8th turn. Its
an 8000 series serial number, i noticed in other posts it was mainly on lower numbers. I will keep you posted on my results.
 

gewecke

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Do you know where one might get this BNC module changed out besides GRE? This is my only criticism of their radios. My unit is out of warranty. From what I understand, the PSR 800 has this same type of BNC.

I'm not sure who you would contact in your area, but any recognized tech shop should be able to this in a hour or less. It's easy, and if they put loc-tite on the screw you'll never have to worry about it again. :)


73,
n9zas
 

swann3030

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I have it sitting next to my old Uniden, the 500 continues to miss transmissions that the Uniden picks up. Its very intermittent, which tells me it is something with the radio....sometimes it works sometimes it doenst.
 

SCPD

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I have it sitting next to my old Uniden, the 500 continues to miss transmissions that the Uniden picks up. Its very intermittent, which tells me it is something with the radio....sometimes it works sometimes it doenst.

One thing about the PSR500 ... it is very very sensitive and when you add an external antenna (or even the much longer duckie that you have on your scanner) it tends to overload the front end of the radio, thus giving you problems like you are facing. I would suggest using the ATT or putting on a different antenna.
 

SCPD

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thanks for the information, what do you suggest, attenuating all UHF frequencies?

I would recommend using the stock (or similar) antenna. (The PSR500 stock antenna has been tested to perform actually quite well, and you can find test results below). I personally use a Diamond RH519 with very good results.

However .. if you intend on keeping the antenna you have, it probably would be a good idea to try using the ATT setting and see how that works for you. One of my friends found that the PSR500 overloaded easily in the VHF-HI (136-174 MHz) region, especially with an external antenna. He thus uses Uniden scanners which tend to be a little less sensitive.

Test results below if you are interested .. the closer to 1:1 VSWR (the bottom of the plot) the better the antenna will work for a given frequency.

http://forums.radioreference.com/gre-scanners/222583-stock-gre-uniden-antennas-vswr.html
 
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gewecke

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thanks for the information, what do you suggest, attenuating all UHF frequencies?

Do you have any LTR systems very close to you, or any large towers ? As others have mentioned you maybe getting intermod or signal overload from other frequencies.
Try using a stubby (short) duck to see if that helps?

73,
n9zas
 
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