Weird Pro-106 Power Issue

[NYRHKY94]

My Pro-106 just started to have what I would call a weird power issue. Out of the blue, the scanner will only "scan" when using batteries. When the unit is plugged into either the AC adaptor or the DC adaptor for the car, the scanner no longer scans. It powers up fine on AC or DC (both adpators are the correct ones to use with the Pro-106), but will not scan and receive any signals? When using batteries, all is normal. I'm assuming this means that there is something wrong with the 9V input of the scanner at this point?

Any ideas guys? It's great that I can still run the thing on batteries but I use the AC and DC adaptor quite often and don't want to go without them. Help!

 

[DaveIN]

In the global settings (PGM+F3) you can see the Battery Info, voltage reading. You may want to try the different power sources and compare numbers. What battery type are you using? Have you been charging batteries in the radio? The radio want's 9V and at least 500ma, so make sure the adapters have that.

 

[NYRHKY94]

Hi Dave:

Both the AC Adaptor & DC adaptor I've been using with the Pro-106 for close to 2 years now are the correct 9V type with sufficient ma. They both worked perfectly until this week. I NEVER charged my batteries while using the adaptors.

Why this thing works fine with batteries, but all of a sudden won't work with the adaptors is very weird. Again, any suggestions/thoughts from the members here would be appreciated. Could the 9V input on the scanner actually go bad?

Mike

 

[GumbyCT]

Why this thing works fine with batteries, but all of a sudden won't work with the adaptors is very weird. Again, any suggestions/thoughts from the members here would be appreciated. Could the 9V input on the scanner actually go bad?

This is the exact problem I had with mine right out of the box.

While I don't know exactly what IS wrong I do know IF you can change change your adapter voltage to 6V it will likely work.

I think it has something to do with the charging circuit not working.

HTH

Read this
Voltage Level for Pro-106 Question

If it's not under warranty you have troubles. I am curious what serial # you have ? The one I had trouble with started with 015.

 

[SCPD]

Is it possible that wear and tear on the AC adapter has caused a short in the wire? This just recently happened to me with a speaker cable running from one of my scanners to the computer. Drove me nuts trying to figure it out, then I swapped the cable with a spare and success! So I sort of wonder if you might have the same issue, that the cable has simply worn itself near the jack or the wall wort.

 

[JESSERABBIT]

I have three power supplies-9v Radio shack go bad. Cut the wire at the end of one of them and checked the voltage on the bare wires. Nothing was making it to the end of the wires. Have bought several replacement connectors (don't remember which size). Cut the end of the wires off further back from the end, stripped the insulation off and replaced it with one of the new connectors. Bingo, it got power to the radio. My belief is that the wire(s) kink up and break easily. This break may or may not be what has happened to your power supply but thought it may be helpful for you to know. Haven't checked other supplies yet to see if it is the same problem.

 

[NYRHKY94]

GumbyCT you nailed it on the head! You described the exact problem I'm having. It is NOT the AC or DC adaptor as those both work with my other scanners and are new products (no worn wire issues). What GumbyCT decribes is exactly what I'm seeing: The scannr will power up on AC or DC (no batteries) and it says scvanning....HOWEVER the 4th text line on the screen does NOT change.

GumbyCT: Are you saying that dropping down to a 6V AC or DC adapor will solv this issue? If not, what did you do to solve this issue?

FYI: My Pro-106 is 2 years old a this point, so no warranty.

Thanks

 

[GumbyCT]

While you described the problem a bit differently, I was sure it was exactly the problem I had - right out of the box. Some apparently didn't think it iwas any problem but the fact is - it was not working as designed.

The store manager swapped mine out with another scanner which did not behave this way. He could have handled this differently and I thanked him for handling this the way he did.

We cloned my old scanner so I don't think it was anything in any of the settings or anything you could have changed by accident.

If your's is not still under warranty, I guess you could try to contact them, explain the problem and see if maybe they would help out? Or if they might initiate a recall? Not likely tho.

Out of curiosity what is the beginning of your serial #? Mine was 015.

HTH

Edit: oh yea that's 6VDC. Exactly what the battery voltage should be.

 

[DaveIN]

You should make sure to submit this at RadioShack support via email. It does sound like a input voltage issue. If anyone has this problem with the GRE PSR500, they should also submit a ticket to the support site.

 

[NYRHKY94]

Just got back from RS with a "6V" DC Car Adaptor per GumbyCT's suggestion. Plugged it in and the Pro-106 is scanning properly again!!! The 4th text line is scanning rapidly (no longer stuck on one department name) and the scanner breaks squelch again like before. This proves what GumbyCT was saying about this being a voltage issue with the Pro-106.

Thanks GumbyCT!!!

 

[StingrayJG]

If there's ever a time where you need to check the voltage you are getting from your external AC power supply, I also noticed that if you are running win500 on your computer with the programming cable hooked up to your scanner, if you tab over to the Monitor/Control tab and have your scanner display running in real time up on the win500 screen, there is a "power" field that shows the voltage the scanner's getting about midway down to the left. Mine changes constantly about once per second. I've seen it go as low as 8.67v and as high as 9.12v before. But it's usually right around 9v.
Just thought this might help anyone who is curious or needs to know for troubleshooting reasons what the voltage is going into it.
I've had scanners for decades but am a relative newbie to the forum here since I got my 106 about a month ago, sorry if this was already known, just trying to help.

 

[NYRHKY94]

Stingray:

I just hooked my Pro-106 up to Win500 and connected it using the 9V 800ma AC adaptor that "used" to work with it. Win500 is showing a pretty steady power reading in the 9.12v range. The scanner however still exhibits the previous behavior of "not scanning" and the 4th line of text is stationary. Squelch is never broken and no sound. The only thing that has worked so far is GumbyCT's suggestion of hooking it up to a "6V" adaptor. That returns the scanner to normal operations immediately.

GumbyCT: the serial number on my Pro-106 begins with 002. The date code is 08A08

 

[md_p97]

My Pro-106 started acting funny this week too....same problem in the above thread where it no longer works when plugged into an adapter (wall wart or car), but when on batteries it scans just fine!

OK GRE/Radio Shack.....It seems to be a defect....what's the plan?

Serial # 002236
08A08

Paul

 

[KC0CSE]

This is the exact problem I had with mine right out of the box.

While I don't know exactly what IS wrong I do know IF you can change change your adapter voltage to 6V it will likely work.

I think it has something to do with the charging circuit not working.

HTH

Read this
Voltage Level for Pro-106 Question

If it's not under warranty you have troubles. I am curious what serial # you have ? The one I had trouble with started with 015.

Yes you are right!!! mine did the same thing. Would scan only with batteries only ...found a 5v 1.2amp plug and it started scanning again ....might be under powered by 1volt...could be why when I turn the light on the scanner I get a battery empty symbol...it does not flash though...and I'm not charging batteries in the scanner. Never will ...thanks for the tip....Mike in KC

 

[swm239]

106 power issue in reverse

Hello, I have been reading this thread and have the same problem in reverse. Have been using it in the vehicle with proper cord with no issues. Tried it yesterday with rechargeable and the unit will not power up. Thought perhaps the batteries were dead so put in 4 freshly charged ( outside the radio ) and it again will not power up. Wondering if there might a setting to change when powered up in vehicle?
Thanks, Scott

 

[GumbyCT]

Hello, I have been reading this thread and have the same problem in reverse. Have been using it in the vehicle with proper cord with no issues. Tried it yesterday with rechargeable and the unit will not power up. Thought perhaps the batteries were dead so put in 4 freshly charged ( outside the radio ) and it again will not power up. Wondering if there might a setting to change when powered up in vehicle?
Thanks, Scott

Sounds like a connection problem to me. Wonder if you have the polarity correct?

 

[noobiest]

Mine is a constant source of aggravation. It is a portable unit and is changed a lot between power sources. It appears to be just a bad connection because the pin, at the plug-in, just doesn't mate up properly. I have tried to bend it back, but they made it very difficult to get to it. I took the back off but that didn't help. I used to pinch the plug tip, and later, change them, with good results. I used a dental pick to pry the pin inwards but couldn't get at it without getting a feeling that I might snap it off. It is SO close to being fixed but not quite.