Please add Ext speaker connector

In future portable products it would be nice if Uniden added an external SPEAKER connector. I was at a fire scene during sever weather. I kept my 486 under my jacket but the audio was too low to hear. I also had My Motorola APX 7000 under my jacket but had my speaker mic outside my jacket. It would have been nice to have a speaker for the 486 that produced full level audio. I know Uniden pads down the earphone level so as to avoid ear problems. But it would be nice if Uniden had a second custom connector on the radio with full or maybe even boosted audio level and sold an optional matching external speaker that could be clipped to a lapel to hear the scanner.

Thanks
Dean

How about a "smart jack" that can detect whether
you are plugging in a speaker or an earphone...

Or a menu setting >Audio Jack function: Speaker or Earphone
(defaults to earphone when scanner power cycled).

i like both of those ideas and it doesn't seem unrealistic

this assy. might fill what you are looking for. SpectrumForce Scanner Lapel Speaker BNC

here is just the speaker with out the antenna jack

SpectrumForce Scanner Lapel Speaker BNC

@teufler looked into that already however due to uniden modding the earphone jack volume so low you can hardly hear it even at max volume


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had read in here somewhere about connecting a wire from the antenna ground to the earphone ground. I tried this way of connecting an external speaker to one of my 106 scanners and it worked. This is what the Spectrum Force Lapel speaker does in the fine print of the add. I ended up taking apart that 106 and added an internal wire from the antenna ground to the earphone ground, works great. I am trying to find a really small switch to install in the battery compartment to switch between speaker and earphone.

I could swear I've seen amplified lapel speakers in the past. That would allow use with an unmodified scanner.

Voyager said:

I could swear I've seen amplified lapel speakers in the past. That would allow use with an unmodified scanner.

Click to expand...

wearable speaker?

Think speaker mic, but with a built in amplifier.

thisd is a powered externam speaker. Small though not like a speaker mic, I have a small battery p[owered amplified stereo speaker that works good in the car. Easily over comes road noise.
Amplified Pocket Speaker NXT Powered

Yes, several options are available. I have used RadioShack 277-1008. But none quite hit the nail on the head. The lack of a clip on tha back is a minor yet major problem. The lack of retractable curly cord is minor yet major. The need to deal with batteries inside the speaker is minor yet major. The lack of a connector that plugs into the scanner and has a type of thumb screw to keep the cord from pulling out when you reach for something and put tension on the cord is minor but major. Basicly many half fixes can be done but a factory speaker properly designed and a Louder audio amplifier circuit in the radio feeding the external speaker is the real solution.

Dean
WB2CMN

teufler said:

SpectrumForce Scanner Lapel Speaker BNC

Click to expand...

I don't recommend those. Poor quality speaker and the audio output is low.

yes but the low audio is due to poor design of the headphone jack volume being set too low by the factory thus another reason we should have the ext speaker option

tampabaynews said:

I don't recommend those. Poor quality speaker and the audio output is low.

Click to expand...

miccona said:

yes but the low audio is due to poor design of the headphone jack volume being set too low by the factory

Click to expand...

That's incorrect.

The headphone jack volume is set to levels required by Underwriters Laboratories. It was not an arbitrary design choice by Uniden.

.

if your gonna quote then quote the whole statement i said thus the reason the ext speaker function is needed doesnt matter who made the headphone jack audio too low fact remains its TOO LOW

fxdscon said:

That's incorrect.

The headphone jack volume is set to levels required by Underwriters Laboratories. It was not an arbitrary design choice by Uniden.

.

Click to expand...

Why not simply add a bluetooth adapter to your Uniden and use a bluetooth earpiece for increased volume? Plus it would be much lighter and more covert than a speaker mic hanging off of you.

I use a plantronics M70, handles my radio plus my phone for up to 11 hours on a charge.

73,
n9zas

miccona said:

yes but the low audio is due to poor design of the headphone jack volume being set too low by the factory thus another reason we should have the ext speaker option

Click to expand...

I don't think the jack suffers from poor design. In fact I think it is designed to provide a level adequate for earphone or headset use. I think the purpose is to protect users from ear injury. In this world of litigation and law suits I think Uniden is doing things as a responcable company. They have designed the radio to have an adaquit speaker level and an adaquit headphone level.

What I asked for here in my first posting is a second external speaker connector. It would be nice if this connector provided a higher level of audio then the internal speaker. And also nice if Uniden marketed as a optional accessory a "lapel clip speaker". This speaker would mate with the new connector on the scanner. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel. This has been done for years on commercial two way portables. I was just asking Uniden to consider this. Yes, this would have a few drawbacks. The biggest issue would be to produce audio needs more power consumption. So making one or two watts of audio will cause more power drain on the radio battery and shorten the time the scanner can be used without recharging. I have no idea with today's circuits if the battery life would be reduced by 1 or 2 minuets or by far more. And that would depend on the number or amount of talking a channel did.

Let's keep the discussion going so Uniden can gage the amount of interest in this feature.

Thanks
Dean

I have a bluetooth transmitter that I plug into my other scanners and a bluetooth headset that has volume controls on it that work well I just bought a bcd436hp and will try out this setup on it this weekend if it comes in in time.

fxdscon said:

That's incorrect.

The headphone jack volume is set to levels required by Underwriters Laboratories. It was not an arbitrary design choice by Uniden.

.

Click to expand...

This is the correct answer to the OP's question.

There is no use complaining about having dual jacks. One for headphone, one for speaker. It won't happen due to liability reasons.

If they put the speaker jack on, folks would just find a way to connect their headphones to it (even if a adapter is needed). And you know somebody out there will damage their hearing, and then sue Uniden. Nope, that is not going to happen.

The bluetooth idea isn't a bad one. Perhaps that will come down the line in the future. This way Uniden can feed a fixed audio level out the BT, then allow the third party device to handle the actual speaker volume. This way, liability is off Uniden's back and onto the third party's BT device.