Amplified speaker for Mobile/Portable in car?

sefrischling · Oct 5, 2015

I have yet to find a speaker I like for my 996xt/396xt in my truck, so I guess maybe I need to go with an amplified speaker. I know many suggest buying a Motorola speaker and splicing a 2.5mm to it ... but I'd like to get some opinions on an amplified speaker.

My preference is to run it off the truck's power rather than a battery.

If you have photos of the speaker installed, that'd be great also.

Thanks

wtp · Oct 5, 2015

and another way

i use a small f.m. transmitter (stereo) for a 396xt myself.
and it is powered by 12v just look around.
the radio sits on the dash sith a 90 degree bnc.

DickH · Oct 5, 2015

sefrischling said:
... I know many suggest buying a Motorola speaker and splicing a 2.5mm to it ... but I'd like to get some opinions on an amplified speaker.

Motorola makes both amplified and non-amplified.

sefrischling · Oct 5, 2015

Dick,

I have yet to see one with a 2.5mm/3.5mm jack, and I'm just tired of splicing

sefrischling · Oct 5, 2015

wtp said:
i use a small f.m. transmitter (stereo) for a 396xt myself.
and it is powered by 12v just look around.
the radio sits on the dash sith a 90 degree bnc.

I have looked at those, but they won't work for me. It needs to be a hardwire

mmckenna · Oct 5, 2015

DickH said:
Motorola makes both amplified and non-amplified.

^^^^^^^^^^^^ These Motorola Amplified speakers are a.w.e.s.o.m.e.

Yeah, you'd need to do some splicing, but supply it with 12 volts DC off the truck and hook it up to your scanner and it'll likely make your ears bleed.

I'm running a VHF radio in a Polaris Ranger UTV. I'm using the Motorola non-amplified speaker and it's not only loud enough to be heard when screaming down a trail at 35MPH, but it's loud enough to hurt my ears when I'm not moving.

A good speaker will make a huge difference, not only in volume, but it overall intelligibility.

blackbelter · Oct 5, 2015

I use my car AUX input and run the sound through the car speakers. Awesome results.

ofd8001 · Oct 5, 2015

I'm pretty happy with the BC23 amplified speakers. I use one in my truck for the scanner and another in the garage/workshop (to overcome power tool noise). They are 12 volt - use the truck's power, a separate circuit for the scanner/GPS/Speaker/Ham radio and a 12V power supply in garage for the scanners.

Uniden 4" Amplified External Speaker (BC23A)

(ScannerMaster is showing these out of stock, however).

teufler · Oct 6, 2015

what Bocablackbelt describes works great. If not, this worked good for me, iLuv SmashBox (iSP110) Portable Amplified Stereo Speaker Case from Amazon. Amplified speaker, stereo, about $9.00. Runs on two aa batteries, about 3 months between battery changes. Loud enough to overcome road noise, easy just turn on and plug in. Others speakers are more expensive, and work but at a greater cost. If you are not looking at the speakers, you can not tell the sound from $50.00 or $9.00 speakers.

sefrischling · Oct 6, 2015

mmckenna said:
^^^^^^^^^^^^ These Motorola Amplified speakers are a.w.e.s.o.m.e.

Yeah, you'd need to do some splicing, but supply it with 12 volts DC off the truck and hook it up to your scanner and it'll likely make your ears bleed.

I'm running a VHF radio in a Polaris Ranger UTV. I'm using the Motorola non-amplified speaker and it's not only loud enough to be heard when screaming down a trail at 35MPH, but it's loud enough to hurt my ears when I'm not moving.

A good speaker will make a huge difference, not only in volume, but it overall intelligibility.

Which non-amplified Moto speaker are you using? Typically I have multiple radios on at once. There is a happy volume medium that works, but I can't find one of the 396 that I can really hear well. The 996 is fine without an aux speaker, the rest are Astro Saber/XTS3000 radios with speaker mics and they will make your ears bleed if cranked all the way up.

If you have a link to the Moto you're using I'd love to see it

mmckenna · Oct 6, 2015

Plain old basic Motorola speaker from the 1990's:
Motorola HSN4031A Internal External Speaker w Bracket Thumbscrews Used | eBay

Key is that the radio its connected to, a CDM750, has a big enough internal audio amp to properly drive it. The scanner might not be able to give it enough juice to make it work as well, though.

One thing to remember is that while it may make it louder, the bigger speaker really improves audio quality.

sefrischling · Oct 6, 2015

Thanks, I'll look it up. I just found a Motorola HSN 8309, but will pick one of the 4031As up as well.

DickH · Oct 6, 2015

mmckenna said:
Plain old basic Motorola speaker from the 1990's:
Motorola HSN4031A Internal External Speaker w Bracket Thumbscrews Used | eBay

Key is that the radio its connected to, a CDM750, has a big enough internal audio amp to properly drive it. The scanner might not be able to give it enough juice to make it work as well, though.

One thing to remember is that while it may make it louder, the bigger speaker really improves audio quality.

And to add to what Mike said, Motorola speakers are specifically designed for the voice audio range. Stereo/HiFi speakers are designed for music. Big difference.

PACNWDude · Oct 6, 2015

If the Motorola speaker is not working for you, I have had some experience with the Speco speakers that were sold by Tessco also. These come in amplified and non amplified versions, and different color also. They just don't look as nice as the Motorola speakers, but cost a lot less.

sefrischling · Oct 6, 2015

Looks don't matter, it'll be installed under my dashboard. I have been trying CB speakers, some from Uniden, Radio Shack, a few others. None give off the volume I need, the one that did sounded awful, even worse when one of the P25 systems would come up.

Hopefully these two Motos do the trick.

RadioDaze · Oct 6, 2015

sefrischling said:
...but I can't find one of the 396 that I can really hear well.

The 396 has a stereo headphone jack (even though the output isn't stereo). Make sure you use a plug that's stereo and then short the ring & tip together when you put the connector on the wire. Otherwise only half of the audio's energy is getting to the speaker. If your speaker already has a mono 3.5mm plug, use one of these adapters: Stereo-to-Mono Adapter

On my 396XT, my amplified Speco didn't seem to have nearly enough power. After using the adapter, it is VERY loud.

My PSR-500 doesn't have this problem, because that scanner has a mono jack already.

P.S. This applies whether you are using an amplified or non-amplified speaker.

Amplified speaker for Mobile/Portable in car?

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