Unknown Problem

[btritch]

Guys, I have a problem that I'm not sure how to fix, I hope someone can help with or give some advice on, So here we go:

I purchased here awhile back a Radio Shack Pro 97 to use to listen to my local offices, Well it wasn't long and it had stopped recieveing completely but I didn't care, it was my excuse to get a new digital one, Well that happened, Well now I find myself not able to carry my radio with me because I have to leave it connected to my online feed on here, Well since no one here in the county except the OEM office is digital, I thought I'd leave my Digital hooked up for the feed and use my Pro 97 for local analog comms, However I have found out that it will not recieve on the rubber duckie antenna, Nothing, No local comms, no weather band, nothing, However, If I hook it up to my external outdoor antenna it picks up great! The attenuator is not on either, IT will work on my outdoor antenna but not on my rubber duckie antenna, Can someone explain why possibly this is?
Thanks!

 

[nanZor]

How is the condition of the bnc connector's internal "fingers"? Are they spread far apart enough that they aren't making contact with the duck's center pin, but doing just fine with the external antenna which may have a larger diameter center pin?

Is the duck itself broken? Do you get reception back with just a short piece of wire gently placed inside the bnc connector?

I had this problem a few years ago when I did a pressure-fit of attaching an "N" connector to a bnc connector in an emergency. It spread the fingers too far apart, and when I tried to put the original antenna back on, and all I got was very weak reception from capacitive coupling.

 

[Don_Burke]

The Pro-97 has a problem with movement of the BNC connector flexing the connecting wire inside until one of the soldered connections breaks free.

I have one with that problem on my desk waiting for me to get enough time to repair it.

 

[KC5EIB]

Assuming that both radios have BNC connectors for the antennas, have you tried the antenna from the other portable on the Pro-97? If neither antenna works on the Pro-97, but the base antenna does, the problem could be in the connector on the radio. with the antenna removed, look down into the connector. In the center will be two metal tabs where the center pin of the male connector contacts the radio. I have seenwhere these tabs have been spread apart by some oversize non standard connectors to the point where another connector that was made a little too small would not make good contact. Use a very small screwdriver to move one of the tabs in jist a little bit.

 

[btritch]

Well Here's The Thing With The Rubber Antenna, It's Good, I Use It On My GRE PSR 500 All The Time And It Works Fine, It Just Doesn't Work On The 97, It COULD Be The Pins, I'll Check That Now... I Know The Wire Inside Is Fine, I Have Looked At It Multiple Times, It's Connected, About The Only Thing It Could Be Is The Pins, If They're Broke, How Do I Fix It, Change The BNC Connector?
It's not the pins unless I did something wrong, I brought both of them in closer together and still got no reception, About All I know that's left is to change the BNC connector, How hard would that be to do?

 

[Caesar]

the outdoor antenna probably does have a larger center pin, before you try doing anything inside of the radio just use some contact cleaner on the bnc connector on the scanner to clean it out real good and same with the antenna and test it out again...

 

[StinkyB]

If the outside antenna center pin is bigger than the rubber duckie, you will keep having this problem when you switch antennas.