Very Strange...

[mfn002]

I was just listening to my new PSR600 when I glanced at the display to see that the text on the display was backwards (like looking in a mirror). Strange thing was, I hadn't touched it at all. It just did this all by itself. I turned the scanner off and back on again and the problem cleared. Anyone else encounter this sort of problem?

 

[Boulder]

my 600 did this a couple of months ago. Just like you I turned the scanner off, waited a minute or two then turned it back on, and no problems since.

 

[SCPD]

another thread somewhere on here said something about a bad voltage regulator? on the older 1's.. either take it back where purchased or send in for repairs

 

[mfn002]

I just got mine on May 1 (my birthday). I also noticed that I suddenly stopped recieving or recieved poorly VHF conventional. It seems that there is some sort of very strong (all five bars) background noise on all of them (even with both attenuation modes on). One in particular (154.800) is almost completely washed out in static, and I used to receive it just fine. UHF is just fine and has no backgound noise. Is this thing screwed up or something?

 

[texasemt13]

I found this old thread about a 197: Backwards Display

 

[mfn002]

I was reading through that thread and noticed the issue with the power supply. Could this effect RX in the VHF range somehow, and cause the reception problems I have been having?

 

[mfn002]

I Figured it Out!

I checked the power supply and it read 19 volts. This would explain the reverse screen and (possibly) the VHF problem. I suspect the extra voltage is causing parts to heat up excessively and produce massive amounts of EMF interference, possibly in the VHF range. I'm going up to RadioShack to get another power supply, and I hope that works.

 

[davidmc36]

I checked the power supply and it read 19 volts. This would explain the reverse screen and (possibly) the VHF problem. I suspect the extra voltage is causing parts to heat up excessively and produce massive amounts of EMF interference, possibly in the VHF range. I'm going up to RadioShack to get another power supply, and I hope that works.

I doubt the power supply has anything to do with it. The 500ma 12V "Unregulated" one that came with my 2052 reads 17.6V with no load on it. 19v, no-load, sounds about right for a 600ma one. Once you hook it up to a load that draws 600ma it will probably show pretty close to 13.8V. Even the 750ma switching power supply that came with my 996 reads about 15V with no load.

 

[mfn002]

12VDC, 500mA. Works fine, but still VHF background noise.

 

[DaveIN]

It does sound like the RF circuit has damage. Did you try it without an antenna to see if the noise is still present?

 

[mfn002]

I'll try that. I have a hard time believing that there might be RF circuit damage because I have only had the radio for a month now. It's only on the VHF side, while UHF and above is just fine. It also doesn't seem to affect the VHF air band very much. But it seems that everything in the 145-174 MHz range is just crap. I turned the attenuator off, and any VHF freq I had in that range got drowned out by this interference (I used to get the surrounding counties on my 796 before it went dead, but now I can't even get one from 45 miles away on my new 600).

 

[mancow]

Things break.

I would send it back to them and have it checked out. That is no way normal and something is definitely out of alignment or damaged internally.

 

[mfn002]

Things break.

I would send it back to them and have it checked out. That is no way normal and something is definitely out of alignment or damaged internally.

Well, I'll check that out. I suspect it might be my indoor antenna setup, but I'll try fixing that before I go that far.

 

[mancow]

Have you tried taking it mobile to see if things change?

 

[fmon]

Have you tried taking it mobile to see if things change?

My thoughts also or try a regulated DC supply using the supplied mobile cord.

 

[mfn002]

I now suspect it might be an overload/interference issue due to the three or so broadcast towers located within 2 miles of my house. The last time this came up was when I had a PRO2052 and I had interference issues on the VHF airband. It kind of explains it, because the two closest ones are FM towers.