346XT front case cracks

Chauffeur6 · #1 (**permalink**) 11-05-2011, 10:16 PM

Has anyone else had any trouble with the top corners of the front case of Uniden handhelds cracking? This thing is less than 3 months old and I've babied it since the day I took it out of the box. Never dropped it or put any stress on it, never left it in extreme cold or heat. Nothing. Then one day these cracks appeared, and eventually the plastic just broke away. I'm kind of pissed about it, but I don't expect Uniden to replace the case under warranty. I guess I'll just eat the cost of ordering a new front case.

Just wondering if I'm alone with this issue, or if anyone else had it happen to them?

xeno194 · #2 (**permalink**) 11-05-2011, 10:27 PM

I have had mine for about 8 months or so and never had any problems with it or any uniden handhelds and i have owned a lot of them

mancow · #3 (**permalink**) 11-05-2011, 10:30 PM

Wow, never seen that. It almost looks like the screws were over torqued. King portables had a bad habit of doing that.

Chauffeur6 · #4 (**permalink**) 11-05-2011, 10:30 PM

I'm as surprised as anyone. I wish I had mistreated it, then at least I'd know what caused it and I could just be mad at myself. When I first took it out of the box, I never bothered to do a really close inspection of every millimeter of the case, but I will in the future. Lesson learned I guess lol.

Yeah I agree, it does seem like the screws were overtightened. I never took the thing apart so, who knows.

sffire · #5 (**permalink**) 11-05-2011, 10:43 PM

My 346 is over a year old and I never had any cracks on the body

Ed_Seedhouse · #6 (**permalink**) 11-06-2011, 1:05 AM

I've had mine for well over a year and no signs of anything like that.

W8RMH · #7 (**permalink**) 11-06-2011, 1:26 AM

I have had a BCD396T for over five years and had a BR330 for two years, carried on my belt daily at work, and never had any problems. I even dropped them on concrete on several occasions.

thomast77 · #8 (**permalink**) 11-06-2011, 5:08 AM

I don't know if you live with anyone else But if you do then maybe someone else was playing with it, dropped it and never told you about it?

scannerman5555 · #9 (**permalink**) 11-06-2011, 5:59 AM

had my BC 346 over 2+ years just after it came on the market still brand new only thing the rubber came off around the outside middle of it other wise it's a good scanner !

ScannerWayne · #10 (**permalink**) 11-06-2011, 3:27 PM

That looks like the screws were over tightend.

If that is the case then I would say you have a warranty claim. Like others here I've owned several Uniden hand helds over the years and have never had a problem like what you have pictured.

Wayne...

xeno194 · #11 (**permalink**) 11-06-2011, 8:03 PM

They have security screw so even if you did do it they would know ( i know you did not do it) I would 100% put a claim in.

VE2XWA · #12 (**permalink**) 11-06-2011, 8:50 PM

I got the same problem with a brand new BCD396XT I got in July. Mine was not that bad. Since I order it from the State I fix it my self with super glue.

Dan

Chauffeur6 · #13 (**permalink**) 11-06-2011, 9:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VE4XWA

I got the same problem with a brand new BCD396XT I got in July. Mine was not that bad. Since I order it from the State I fix it my self with super glue.

Dan

Interesting. I also got mine in July/August. We're definitely in the minority here, most people haven't had any trouble with theirs. A new front case is only $9, so it's not even worth the hassle or cost of returning it for warranty repairs. Especially if they keep it for a few weeks only to tell me they're not responsible for the problem, and I wind up paying $60+ for something I could've fixed myself for $9.

tsapers · #14 (**permalink**) 12-05-2011, 3:54 AM

I have the same issue on a 346 I bought from scannermaster in Aug 2011 and also nursed mine as always. Same place as VEX4WA, just on the other side. My plastic eventually also fell out. Will take a pic tonight.

Problem is I'm in South Africa and $9 is fine, but the shipping will most likely be $30!

tsapers · #15 (**permalink**) 12-05-2011, 4:03 AM

Where can one source the replacement front casing?

Chauffeur6 · #16 (**permalink**) 12-05-2011, 8:32 AM

I called Uniden Parts to order mine (800) 554-3988. Hopefully you'll be able to get them shipped to SA for a reasonable rate. The parts themselves were cheap enough, cost me $6.10 for the following three parts.

GCAS4E1232Z - Front Case
KDPZ4B9811A - Display Window
RCUN4C0405Z - Window Foam Gasket

Just note that the speaker is glued to the case pretty good. It took a bit of patience and an X-Acto knife to cut it free. There is also a small, thin piece of felt in front of the speaker that is glued to the case. I was able to carefully peel it free to reuse it, but I would've preferred to have ordered a new piece of felt, I just didn't realize it was there and didn't have the part # for it.

tsapers · #17 (**permalink**) 12-07-2011, 5:47 AM

Thanks Chauffeur6, I have made contact with Uniden via email and will see what we can do regarding shipping to ZA. Thanks for the tips.

The other option is just leaving it as is, or putting it back with superglue....

VE2XWA · #18 (**permalink**) 12-13-2011, 11:23 AM

Hey my BCD396XT is made in Vietnam, is all the Uniden are made there or its a new thing. I was under the impression they were made in China. Are down are we going to go!!!! I mean.....Like one of my buddy said "The next one will be Mongolia" !!!!

I was just starting to respect the made in China stuff.......

nautlynch · #19 (**permalink**) 12-30-2011, 1:52 PM

Mine is just a week and a few days old and already the corner has gone missing. I just noticed it this morning when I turned the scanner on. This is incredibly cheap, brittle plastic. I don't know if the replacement will be just as brittle.

As you can see, there isn't a scratch or any marks on the scanner as I have been taking care of it. It's as if the corner just fell off.

Chauffeur6 · #20 (**permalink**) 12-30-2011, 2:09 PM

Very interesting, looks like a bit of a trend developing here. Those cracks are exactly what happened to mine. Thankfully the replacement parts are pretty cheap and the shipping was free, but I still had to hassle with doing the repairs myself. Still, it sure beat sending the scanner back to Uniden and hoping they would honor a warranty repair, but I'd still be out the cost of shipping. I was obviously very careful with the new case not to stress it in any way during reassembly, so far it's holding up fine.