Pro-2006: So it's come to this....

Status
Not open for further replies.

N1SQB

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 25, 2003
Messages
2,733
Location
Somewhere On Earth
Being retired leaves one with a lot of time on their hands. Add a pandemic, and one can be literally bored to death. I started to look for something to do hobby related. I have been looking at ebay sales of the Pro-2006 scanners. I remember all the mods I did back in the day. Carrier-on indicator light, faster speed, signal strength meter, center tune indicator, and a few others. All the ones I saw were kind of beat up and wrongly priced for the condition. Today, I hit the jackpot. Mint condition Pro-2006,(on/off light switch) unmodified ( not for long ), only missing the rod antenna which I already own. The guy was asking $100 or best offer. I made an offer of $80 with free shipping thinking he would counter with something closer to the original asking price. Either way, it would save me a few bucks. Low and behold he accepted my offer no questions asked. So it has come to this, a scanner, one of Radio Shack's best ever, originally worth $400, acquired today for a mere $80 shipped. Let the electronic molestation begin LOL...

Manny.
 

iMONITOR

Silent Key
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 20, 2006
Messages
11,156
Location
S.E. Michigan
Definitely understand the retired/pandemic boredom syndrome! Sounds like you found a great deal on the PRO-2006 for sure! As Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations." The same applies to the PRO-2006 today. Analog only, no Trunking, no alpha-numeric display, must be programmed manually by hand (with out modifications), non-narrow band. I'd say it's best use would be for aircraft scanning, both VHF & UHF Mil-Air. Do a Google search on Bill Cheek for mods ETC. Have fun!
 

MDScanFan

Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Messages
359
Location
USA
Congratulations and have fun. My first real scanner was a pro 2032 that I bought while it was still in production. The amount of quality time I had with that scanner made it worth its weight in gold to me. I still use it. I recall saving my money for a long time to be able to buy it from the local RS. I really wanted their top of the line pro 2006 but could not afford it. Especially for the milair coverage and more channels. For some reason, even after all these years the 2006 still has the same mystique to me.
 

trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 22, 2007
Messages
5,604
Being retired leaves one with a lot of time on their hands. Add a pandemic, and one can be literally bored to death. I started to look for something to do hobby related. I have been looking at ebay sales of the Pro-2006 scanners. I remember all the mods I did back in the day. Carrier-on indicator light, faster speed, signal strength meter, center tune indicator, and a few others. All the ones I saw were kind of beat up and wrongly priced for the condition. Today, I hit the jackpot. Mint condition Pro-2006,(on/off light switch) unmodified ( not for long ), only missing the rod antenna which I already own. The guy was asking $100 or best offer. I made an offer of $80 with free shipping thinking he would counter with something closer to the original asking price. Either way, it would save me a few bucks. Low and behold he accepted my offer no questions asked. So it has come to this, a scanner, one of Radio Shack's best ever, originally worth $400, acquired today for a mere $80 shipped. Let the electronic molestation begin LOL...

Manny.
Definitely understand the retired/pandemic boredom syndrome! Sounds like you found a great deal on the PRO-2006 for sure! As Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations." The same applies to the PRO-2006 today. Analog only, no Trunking, no alpha-numeric display, must be programmed manually by hand (with out modifications), non-narrow band. I'd say it's best use would be for aircraft scanning, both VHF & UHF Mil-Air. Do a Google search on Bill Cheek for mods ETC. Have fun!
We are definitely in the same boat. Retirement is what it is and I enjoy it. As far as the rest of it goes with the pandemic I definitely have had... Enough!

The 2006 is a wonderful find, I loved mine and was probably one of the finest radios GRE ever made. I did all the modifications of course. I still have my 2004 and I remember cutting that diode and having access to the 800 megahertz analog phone transmissions. There were so few phones then that the lack of trunking didn't matter. A search... and you would get the whole booty call LOL.

The biggest thing I wish the radios at the time had was PL tones.

Enjoy your new radio and The Nostalgia involved!
 

KC1UA

Scan New England Janitor/Maintenance
Database Admin
Joined
Oct 27, 2002
Messages
2,050
Location
Marstons Mills, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
I remember when the 2006 with an OS-456 board was an absolute treasure. Combined with Probe software it was an incredible combination for analog scanning. Those were the days!

I'm not retired...close, a few more years...but I'll keep working anyway thereafter. My next job will be more mundane...like photographing beer or something.... :rolleyes: :D

Enjoy that 2006! One of the best receivers ever.
 

N1SQB

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 25, 2003
Messages
2,733
Location
Somewhere On Earth
Definitely understand the retired/pandemic boredom syndrome! Sounds like you found a great deal on the PRO-2006 for sure! As Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations." The same applies to the PRO-2006 today. Analog only, no Trunking, no alpha-numeric display, must be programmed manually by hand (with out modifications), non-narrow band. I'd say it's best use would be for aircraft scanning, both VHF & UHF Mil-Air. Do a Google search on Bill Cheek for mods ETC. Have fun!
I have all 3 Bill Cheek Mod books. I used to modify these scanners almost daily. I have plenty of digital and analog scanners. This is just a nostalgic project to keep the old noggin busy. LOL

And now you have me looking at eBay for a 2006. Thanks a lot :)
To thine own self be true! You know you wanted it.LOL

You are living in the wrong place. I'm sure you've heard of the wildfires in Northern California.
When I said bored to death I did not mean to imply that there is no activity here. Living an earshot of NYC, there is always something to listen to. I am a tinkering person by nature. I need projects to keep me happy and this is a perfect example.

I remember when the 2006 with an OS-456 board was an absolute treasure. Combined with Probe software it was an incredible combination for analog scanning. Those were the days!

I'm not retired...close, a few more years...but I'll keep working anyway thereafter. My next job will be more mundane...like photographing beer or something.... :rolleyes: :D

Enjoy that 2006! One of the best receivers ever.
I never got to own a 2006 with an OS56 board. I have yet to see one by itself for sale without the scanner.

Manny
 

TRGNM

Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2011
Messages
36
Location
Albuquerque, NM
Who remembers Bill Cheek's CE-232 interface? I still have one and a PRO-2006 that I don't use anymore. I "might" have the manual and software disk somewhere.
 

iMONITOR

Silent Key
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 20, 2006
Messages
11,156
Location
S.E. Michigan
I never got to own a 2006 with an OS56 board. I have yet to see one by itself for sale without the scanner.

Manny

Optoelectronics OS-456 Optoscan board? I think I know a guy with a brand new one, no scanner. I'll check.
 

N1SQB

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 25, 2003
Messages
2,733
Location
Somewhere On Earth
Who remembers Bill Cheek's CE-232 interface? I still have one and a PRO-2006 that I don't use anymore. I "might" have the manual and software disk somewhere.
That's one I never did. I always hoped for an Opto board.

Manny
 

JustLou

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2011
Messages
625
Location
NY/NJ
I still own (2) 2006's, (2) 2004's, a 2005, and a 2042. All in NM to Mint condition. They're all great UHF/VHF receivers.
 

YoShep69

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
220
Location
Central Illinois
I have a PRO2042 with the Optoelectronics OptoScan535 installed.
Make me a reasonable offer. It will come with a copy of the Probe software.

Greg
 

iMONITOR

Silent Key
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 20, 2006
Messages
11,156
Location
S.E. Michigan
I had one back in the day, and it will do narrow band. The MODE button changes from WFM, to NFM, then AM no matter what frequency you are on. It was a great little feature they had.

Yes I remember that now, it's been awhile.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top