Realistic PRO-2006 VS Icom IC R20 on VHF

[@thebakerman1]

I still love my old Radio Shack Pro-2006 scanner. I installed a receive indicator LED on mine because I usually have several receivers going at any given time and it helps to have a receive light for the scanner that gets a hit. The Pro-2006 was Radio Shack's flagship scanner back in the day and commanded $400 plus tax in it's hey-day, which was a LOT of money for a scanner in those days. Still a great scanner after all these years :)

[@thebakerman1]

The Pro-2006 led fades out big-time if viewed from below the display. That, plus the fact the display light is burned out, means it's gonna be hard to see. I replaced the Electroluminescent module in my Pro-2006 and it works like new again. That was a big problem with those old EL modules. Once they burned out you couldn't see the display :( Personally I found the EL module easy to replace, and cost around $20 via an Ebay seller. It requires de/resoldering two contacts.

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

yeah unfortunately the display light is so dim... I need to put a front light to see the numbers... I am working on a replacement light...with leds

[@mikehansen8372]

Your Pro-2006 still looks brand new. Mine was given to me by an acquaintance but was in pieces when he gave it to me. The rear plastic screw retainer rings on the upper and lower case halves were broken (a common problem on old Pro-2006's) but I found replacement screws with over-sized heads that properly secured the case to the chassis. The display backlight was completely burned out , the internal speaker didn't work, and the front panel looked as if someone operated the buttons while eating greasy ribs and the buttons were literally BLACK from their dirty-ass fingers. I disassembled the entire front panel and soaked the front plastic cover and rubber keypad in hot soapy water and used an old toothbrush to thoroughly clean everything. I replaced the electroluminescence (EL) backlight module (found on Ebay for $20) and looks like new again. I also replaced the rear-mounted external speaker jack (pulled from a parts-only Pro-2005) , which was the cause of the internal speaker not working. I wish I would have taken a picture before-hand because the difference afterward was utterly astounding. It looks and works great now and is an old favorite of mine. Even when it was dirty it still received perfectly. The Pro-2004, 5 & 6 are real workhorse scanners, as are the Pro-2035 and 2042, which I also own :)

[@mikehansen8372]

Early model Pro-2006's have a button below the right side of the display that say's *"Dimmer"* which obviously dims the display backlight. Radio Shack later changed this from a dimmer function to an on/off button, as later units say *"Light"*. This change came about because early 2006 backlights were burning out rather fast (an unfortunate trait of electroluminescence backlighting) You can tell if a Pro-2006 is an early or later model by what this button has screenprinted under it. Because many EL backlighting modules didn't last beyond the warranty period, Radio Shack later changed it in favor of LED backlighting, which practically NEVER burns out. LED's were used in the 2006's replacement, the Pro-2035.

[@ScottAReid]

one thing about the 2006, it does have a delay function, however the delay is not very long. often, by the time u get to the scanner and hit "manual" to stop the scan, it has returned to scanning. be nice if i had an option for a longer delay. also, have not found a way to page backwards in mem channels, it will however page forward in mem channels if u hit manual button. if anyone knows a way, let me know.

[@urbanlarsson8252]

It's difficult to compare when the antennas are at different positions. Radiosignals are radiowaves and at VHF it goes from max to min when you move the antenna 50cm. When comparing you really need to use the same antenna with a splitter to feed the exact same signal to both receivers. The lenght and angle of the telescope also affects reception. The Pro2006 have a zeromatic feature that let it stop on frequencies only if they are spot on and not 5KHz off. The Icom do not have that. The Pro2006 lacks 6.25KHz step (and some other step sizes) that modern bandplans over the world now use more and more so search will sometimes not work but scanning will as that do no use zeromatic. Higher scan/seach rates will let to capture more traffic but catching interference/intermod are a problem and needs RF filters. Having text tags for channels are a big help that Pro2006 lacks.

[@perseus068]

I liked it but I cant see numbers on the PRO-2006 display :-(

[@markwilliams8702]

Love the 2006. Great radio. It may be an old radio but out performs a lot of the newer scanners. Mine has bought many great signals and given me a lot of fun over the years.

[@Doitforyoself]

hi, on the pro 2006 can you add an antenna to it too? could you give me a good make and model of an antenna for it?

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

it has a BNC plug in the back for a outdoor antenna, a Discone is one of the great antennas for receiving VHF UHF

[@freeamerican6784]

I use a discone 30 feet in the air and the reception is superb.

[@joegunn4795]

I think you need to turn squelch off some, that is where all of the noise is coming from. I would think you need to test the radios under normal conditions to get an accurate comparison.

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

Yes it is a great radio ... I want to change the backlight with some LED to replace the electroluminescent display that is now almost dead ... bought mine in 1994 was on sale for $299 .. it's still a great scanner.

[@martindandeneau3688]

I realy love my 2006 but seems to be a bit deaf on far stations

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

Martin Dandeneau I notice that it is not as sensitive as my icom ic r 20 ... here also

[@martindandeneau3688]

Just since some years of use

[@jtownshend]

Very useful. I've just acquired an R20 and as a standalone receiver it is pretty deaf on SW and also on broadcast VHF. I tried to tune a weak station on 103.3MHz and instead it picked up spurious from another station, and so did my old R5. My SW-7600GR was able to do it with a little adjustment on the RF gain and a DE1103 got the best reception by far. I bought the R20 as an upgrade to my beloved R5. They perform pretty much the same. But the R20 has a whole lotta more features. I guess I should sell the R5, but I guess I'm a hoarder after all.

[@ericliebezeit2838]

j'en possede un j'aurais aimé les commentaires en francais

[@martindandeneau3688]

May be some électronics trouble

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

Martin Dandeneau Could also be that the performance was not as good for those high frequencies back then on these radios ..