Quick quesrion for PSR500 owners

[skatertj]

Im looking into buying the 500 and might be taking in back and forth from my car to home sometimes. Does anyone do this with their current psr 500? If so, how well does it hold up to always being connected and disconnected from the antenna? Im trying to decide if it would be a good option to go with a desktop/mobile like the psr600 or the portable since ill be transferring back once and a while. I dont think I will be bringing the scanner into buildings except for my home and maybe others homes.

 

[eyes00only]

I travel with mine a lot but I leave the rubber ducky attached. I think anything will wear out faster when used more. The BNC connector is OK but will no doubt get worn faster if you change antennas daily. I'm not an expert by far but the times I've used a mobile antenna it caused too much overload. I do love my 500 and highly recommend Win500 software.

JK

 

[gewecke]

Your question is a slippery slope...
The GRE 500 and the r/s versions have had many instances of the BNC connector on top becoming loose, causing poor reception and eventually needing repair.
There are several threads here on RR discussing this issue and remedies. I changed out the bnc on my pro-106 to a amphenol bnc which is commercial quality but it's tricky to do.
Treat it gently, and hopefully it doesn't happen.

73,
n9zas

 

[skatertj]

I travel with mine a lot but I leave the rubber ducky attached. I think anything will wear out faster when used more. The BNC connector is OK but will no doubt get worn faster if you change antennas daily. I'm not an expert by far but the times I've used a mobile antenna it caused too much overload. I do love my 500 and highly recommend Win500 software.

JK

My current pro-2055 overloads with fm channels so its using a trap while mobile and i planned to do the same with the 500. I would like to keep just a ducky on it but I would like to still keep my 20 mile reception...

Your question is a slippery slope...
The GRE 500 and the r/s versions have had many instances of the BNC connector on top becoming loose, causing poor reception and eventually needing repair.
There are several threads here on RR discussing this issue and remedies. I changed out the bnc on my pro-106 to a amphenol bnc which is commercial quality but it's tricky to do.
Treat it gently, and hopefully it doesn't happen.

73,
n9zas

I did read the other posts about this but I was wondering if they have made it better now. Guess not so much... I also did see when you talked about changing the bnc connector out but i dont think i will be able to do that myself...
Would a 600 be better and then only bring it into my home when i really want to listen in? Or like i discussed with another member, would a jumper cable that is ALWAYS attached to the scanner be ok? With the jumper, i could hook it directly to my fm trap while in the car and then disconnect from the trap when leaving as well as just hooking it to an antenna inside from that cable. I would loss the ability to take it other places unless i remove the jumper cable.

 

[gewecke]

My current pro-2055 overloads with fm channels so its using a trap while mobile and i planned to do the same with the 500. I would like to keep just a ducky on it but I would like to still keep my 20 mile reception...



I did read the other posts about this but I was wondering if they have made it better now. Guess not so much... I also did see when you talked about changing the bnc connector out but i dont think i will be able to do that myself...
Would a 600 be better and then only bring it into my home when i really want to listen in? Or like i discussed with another member, would a jumper cable that is ALWAYS attached to the scanner be ok? With the jumper, i could hook it directly to my fm trap while in the car and then disconnect from the trap when leaving as well as just hooking it to an antenna inside from that cable. I would loss the ability to take it other places unless i remove the jumper cable.

As long as you have the room to take a GRE 600 mobile then that's a option to consider. I have a pro-197 which is the same and never have had a issue with the bnc on it.
It's possible that maybe GRE has addressed the bnc problem on the 500, I haven't heard?


73,
n9zas

 

[skatertj]

Oh i got plenty of room for the 600 haha. I have a cvpi so its got room! I would prefer a handheld for the ease of going back and forth between home and car but worry about reception with just a duck antenna and bnc issues. I wonder if i called GRE and asked them about the issue, if they would know anything about a fix being issued for it?

 

[n5ims]

The antenna connection wear issue can be handled easily using a BNC Male to BNC Female adapter (BNC Male to BNC Female Adapter). You keep the adapter on the radio and swap the antenna only to the adapter. When you get wear you simply replace the adapter and the connector on the antenna is still unworn. The only downsides are that you gain about an inch of height (may cause stress to the radio if you stress the antenna or coax) and add a very little signal loss (not enough to hear, but enough to measure) so you may have your signal drop out a few feet earlier than without it (yes, feet, not miles).

 

[gewecke]

The antenna connection wear issue can be handled easily using a BNC Male to BNC Female adapter (BNC Male to BNC Female Adapter). You keep the adapter on the radio and swap the antenna only to the adapter. When you get wear you simply replace the adapter and the connector on the antenna is still unworn. The only downsides are that you gain about an inch of height (may cause stress to the radio if you stress the antenna or coax) and add a very little signal loss (not enough to hear, but enough to measure) so you may have your signal drop out a few feet earlier than without it (yes, feet, not miles).

Good idea, I forgot about that trick!
My bnc was loose out of the damn box! But rather than go back and choke a r/s employee, I decided to take the matter in my own hands and do it the RIGHT way! No problems for two years now.

73,
n9zas

 

[W6KRU]

The antenna connection wear issue can be handled easily using a BNC Male to BNC Female adapter (BNC Male to BNC Female Adapter). You keep the adapter on the radio and swap the antenna only to the adapter. When you get wear you simply replace the adapter and the connector on the antenna is still unworn. The only downsides are that you gain about an inch of height (may cause stress to the radio if you stress the antenna or coax) and add a very little signal loss (not enough to hear, but enough to measure) so you may have your signal drop out a few feet earlier than without it (yes, feet, not miles).

The problem with the PSR-500/PRO-106 isn't external wear on the BNC. It is the breaking of the internal connection of the BNC to the circuit board that is caused by the flexing of the BNC caused by floppy antennas, disconnecting/connecting antennas, etc. This is due to the rigid connection of the BNC to the circuit board. This could be solved easily by using a flexible wire for the connection but I'm guessing that would require a human for installation and cause added mfg. cost.

 

[gewecke]

The problem with the PSR-500/PRO-106 isn't external wear on the BNC. It is the breaking of the internal connection of the BNC to the circuit board that is caused by the flexing of the BNC caused by floppy antennas, disconnecting/connecting antennas, etc. This is due to the rigid connection of the BNC to the circuit board. This could be solved easily by using a flexible wire for the connection but I'm guessing that would require a human for installation and cause added mfg. cost.

True, I used copper braid to replace the little jumper to the pc board. The factory bnc that r/s uses is a poor design! look down the center and see the two little prongs that are supposed to make contact with the pin in the male bnc? They will fail when bent outward with time.
Amphenol bnc's use a continuous copper sleeve to maintain the connection.
Probably why they're industry standard on commercial transmitters!

73,
n9zas

 

[skatertj]

Good idea, I forgot about that trick!
My bnc was loose out of the damn box! But rather than go back and choke a r/s employee, I decided to take the matter in my own hands and do it the RIGHT way! No problems for two years now.

73,
n9zas

Do you have a write up on how you did all that? I seen where to get the connector and seen some pics of the 500's internals but no write up.

 

[gewecke]

Do you have a write up on how you did all that? I seen where to get the connector and seen some pics of the 500's internals but no write up.

No I never found one either. Until I bought my pro-106, I hadn't heard of anyone with any bnc problems. I have all the tools needed and SMT and thru hole soldering stations on my bench so I decided to fix the issue myself.
I already had spare stuff from amphenol laying around, so warranty be damned,lol!

73,
n9zas

 

[skatertj]

I was hoping to see how you went about changing them hahah

 

[gewecke]

I was hoping to see how you went about changing them hahah

I went back to RR threads and there is this, but I know it's not as helpful as actual internal photos which are what I was looking for in the beginning.
I searched GRE as well but no luck.

http://forums.radioreference.com/gre-scanners/222314-psr-500-antenna-connection-issue.html

73,
n9zas

 

[skatertj]

Haha i was looking for something as well! Thanks! For now, ill sit on the idea of the 500 or 600

 

[gewecke]

I sent a tech request to GRECOM for a pdf. or something. We'll see what I get from them.

73,
n9zas

 

[skatertj]

I hope they send you some good info!