Radio Shack Pro-97 Help

[yardbird]

Hello All!

I have a Pro-97 and it seems to be working fine.

I am having a couple of problems.

1. The power connector is loose and will not charge the scanner unless it is held a certain way.

2. The display keeps getting light and dark and then fades in and out.

Is was just curious to see if the scanner is worth repairing or buying another one. Like I said the scanner receives great.

If so I live in North Carolina and would like to find someone that will fix it as cheap as possible.

Thanks

David

 

[gmclam]

Pro-97

1. The power connector is loose and will not charge the scanner unless it is held a certain way.

Is the connector of the scanner loose, or is it just the "fit" of the cable being plugged into it? The connector inside the scanner is soldered directly onto a circuit board. As long as there is no damage to the circuit board, this is an easy repair for someone with good solder skills.

2. The display keeps getting light and dark and then fades in and out.

I assume you mean the "constrast" of the display and not the backlight -- as if the contrast is being adjusted all the way up and down cyclicly. It sounds like a problem with the bias supply, which is controlled by the CPU's contrast control.

Is was just curious to see if the scanner is worth repairing or buying another one. Like I said the scanner receives great.

Both. These are workhorse scanners and worth keeping going as long as the problems are not major. Any possible issues with 'worth' would be if you need to monitor a rebanded 800 MHz TRS and/or digital stuff. So you could get a new scanner and keep this one as well.

 

[yardbird]

The connector plug itself is good and tight and the circuit board.

When I connect the barrel plug into the connector is when the problems start. It is not making good connection and when I hit a bump or jar the scanner the least bit it will loose power.

I jiggle the cord and it will power back-up. I have had it happen that when it powers back up the scanner will intialize and I will loose all data.

2. It is the contrast. I can take the scanner to work and sit it on the desk and the contrast will work good. The problem start when I move the scanner to my vehicle.

Same as with the power issue the scanner when it goes off and powers back up the display goes from normal to dark and then fades out. I can touch the scanner and the display will return to normal.

Like I said the scanner work perfect except for those two things.

Any help would greatly be appreciated

David

 

[RickS31]

Let's start at the beginning. Troubleshooting always begins with eliminating things one at a time till hopefully you can eliminate the problem down to the least common denominator.

You, from what I can tell from your posts, have two basic problems. First, an underperforming power jack. The first thing to check is your wall wart power supply. If you've checked the jack and all appears good with it's connection in the scanner, have you tried a different wall wart power supply? Could be and most logically might be a bad wire or connection at the DC plug on it. The wires to the plug from the wall wart are small and easily can become broken and intermittent. Especially as cheaply made as these usually are. Don't blame the scanner until you've eliminated everything else.

Second, your display problem. You really didn't mention that the batteries were good or bad when the display started fading. Kind of sounded like it may have been tied to the power problem. Maybe I'm wrong on that. Best test for that is new batteries, no external power and lightly tapping the scanner to see if it is possibly loose connection to the display. If it is, then repair may be in order.

By the by, it still could be a broken power jack on the scanner. These again are pretty cheap components and can affect both external and internal power since both feed through that jack.

I hope I gave you a few things to check before you decide.

 

[gmclam]

PRO-97 power problem

When I connect the barrel plug into the connector is when the problems start. It is not making good connection and when I hit a bump or jar the scanner the least bit it will loose power.

If this once worked correctly and now has started to act up, it sounds like the "springiness" of the connector in the scanner is gone. It would need to be replaced if that's the problem.

I jiggle the cord and it will power back-up. I have had it happen that when it powers back up the scanner will intialize and I will loose all data.

Yup. The time when these scanners clear memory is when you "switch power sources" while the scanner is on. Abruptly disrupting the power while it is on will do it too.

2. It is the contrast. I can take the scanner to work and sit it on the desk and the contrast will work good. The problem start when I move the scanner to my vehicle.

How do you power the scanner when it is on your desk? How do you power it when it is in your vehicle?

Considering you have a power problem, as described above in 1, and the contrast of the display is directly related to power; I'd get the power problem fixed first and see if this still happens. It is essential to have good solid power all of the time.

 

[instrumentphilip]

A RadioShack Pro-97 huh? I have one right now, in fact it is the first scanner I got. I love I taught myself how to use it as it didn't come with the Manual. And it wasn't till way later after I learned how to use it till I found the manual online.

In fact I do not know how I did it but for some reason I can get it to scan without any restrictions frequency wise, like I can get it to scan in the 200 Mhz range but I do not know if it is in FM or AM, plus I don't know if it is just a flaw or if it is actually capable of picking anything up in that range.

 

[yardbird]

To answer the questions.

I use batteries while the scanner is sitting on the desk and will pretty much last all day on a single charge.

I use the DC adapter when I am mobile.

Like I said I have had no problems till here recently.

David

 

[RickS31]

That pretty much answers your questions. If you have both the car DC adapter AND a wall wart and both act flaky when plugged in to the scanner then it is almost for sure the power jack on the scanner.

If you are only using the DC adapter and don't have or use an AC adapter it still can be a flaky DC adapter OR the jack in the scanner. You have to eliminate the external power source first before you can be sure where the problem lies. It sorta sounds like the external power source since it seems to work when it's on batteries and only screws up when you plug in an external power plug. Still, no guarantees on that logic since you haven't really eliminated the DC adapter as a problem.

Rick

 

[WyoWabbit]

I had the same problem when I used the wrong Radio Shack Adaptaplug. Using the right plug for this scanner solved the problem (Adaptaplug 'C'). Tom

 

[gmclam]

That pretty much answers your questions. If you have both the car DC adapter AND a wall wart and both act flaky when plugged in to the scanner then it is almost for sure the power jack on the scanner.

I agree with what Rick said. If you do not have problems when on batteries, that sums things up.

I am running the Sanyo Eneloops 2000ma NiMH batteries and they will operate my scanners for well over 24 hours. I have 3 sets of batteries; one in the scanner, one in the charger and one ready to go. I don't use external power when in my truck because I don't want another cable coming up to the scanner. It's worked for me.

 

[yardbird]

Thanks so much

Appreciate the help

David

 

[yardbird]

Okay!

With all the help and I appreciate it very much.

Where can I buy a power jack for the scanner.

I have all the correct tools and equipment to replace the connector all I need to know is where to buy one.

Thanks

David

 

[KC5EIB]

Okay!

With all the help and I appreciate it very much.

Where can I buy a power jack for the scanner.

I have all the correct tools and equipment to replace the connector all I need to know is where to buy one.

Thanks

David

Part number 12228714 for the JACK POWER will cost you $3.49 plus shipping and is In Stock at RSU parts

Any company owned Radioshack can order the part using the RSU key in the POS system

 

[yardbird]

Cool

Thanks I appreciate it

David