You just can't Kill the old Realistic

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jojo11221

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Mar 5, 2013
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My Pro-2004 still works as well as the day I bought it in 1986. Its the best scanner I've ever owned.
 

wtp

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Apr 3, 2008
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Port Charlotte FL
oh ah..

audio amp went out on my 2004, so i use an ext amp
my 2001 is my forestry and iss radio and runs everyday !
 

Wally46

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I bought one from Radio Shack when they first came out and I still use mine also. It's the one I'm going to use for streaming my county police, sheriff, and fire if they ever approve me. Been sitting on pending for 24 hours.
 

WILSON43

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Oct 14, 2004
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Northern New Jersey
Still have my 2006 AND 43, and use them every day.

Best scanning receives ever made IMO, and by GRE - of course.

Would never sell them.
 

PACNWDude

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My Pro-2006 still works. Only one diode mod ever done to it and still on the original LCD backlight.
 

kb2hpw

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I still have my PRO-2005, backlight stopped working a few years ago but all else works like it did back in the early 90's. I actually built the "HB-232 Computer control" kit (Bill Cheek?) for this scanner. That was a pretty neat thing back then, computer control of a scanner. I have since taken the HB-232 stuff out of it and use it as a "normal" scanner now.
 

mrkelso

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Dec 4, 2008
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I've been thinking about picking up a 2006 just for nostalgia's sake. :cool: I couldn't afford one when they were new ...

Check ebay, always a few going on. What i need is for someone to share with me the Bill Cheeks (RIP) mode for the light strength meter.
 

aggie72

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My first 2006 was modified with the HB-232 mod by Bill Cheek. There were several more mods to follow. I purchased another one at a discount when RS quit selling them and I installed the Optoscan 456 in that one. I still have my old desktop 486 computer to control them; using Probe for the Optoscan. The HB-232 was great for programming scripts. You could use the frequency list as a "reject file" so that only new freqs were logged. I would let it run all day and see what I caught! Great for military and civil air. Cheek warned of the LCD back-light being hard to get so I ordered 2 of them back in the 90's. One was installed a couple of years ago. Great radios!
 

kb2hpw

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I wish I bought the LCD replacements, but didn't think of it back then. Backlight only went out a few years ago but still works otherwise. Yeah that HB-232 was cool, did similar unattended logging while I was away at work. I still have my 386 PC that I had back then too, Tandy 1000HX. Programming/controlling a scanner from a computer back then was super rare, no USB ports, all hand wired hardware. Other mods I did to that scanner was an "S-meter" output, and a 455Khz IF output, so I could receive VHF SSB on the 6m and 2m bands during the awesome sunspot cycle back that time. I would connect the IF output to my DX-440 tuned to 455Khz, and use that radio to demodulate the SSB from the scanner.
 

Wally46

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That reminds me. I remember hearing police on mine back in the day from down south. I'm in Iowa and it shocked me that I started hearing police calls with southern accents lol. I never did do the S meter mod, but I did the diode mod and for a while that was fun.
 

kb2hpw

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Signals were booming in to Upstate New York for me too. Used to hear fishing trawlers in the Gulf of Mexico on the local 46Mhz Fire Dept channels. Nusiance for FD but great fun for us radio guys. There was a brief opening in the fall of 2011 (or 2010? I can't remember anything anymore!) was picking up transmitter station links on and around 25.915 in TX, CO, etc. That's the great thing about these scanners is the range down to 25Mhz. Plus being an all around decent receiver. And also fun to tune up local FM radio stations. Probably not impressive now but at the time I thought that was really quite the radio with all the features. I still think it is :)
 
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