I had a 396XT connected to an external antenna that stopped receiving. Originally I figured the cable went bad, I took out my 346Xt and hooked it up to the external antenna and it worked just fine. About 4 days later it stoped receiving. I put the rubber duck antennas on them and tuned to the local weather frequency, which I should get with no problem, and both scanners are completely silent. Will not receive anything. The 396 has been working fine on the external antenna for about a year. Any thoughts on what could of happened?
For the highlighted text, did you mean it
had been working fine on the external antenna, but no longer receiving anything?
Are there any other sources of transmissions near you, such as a broadcast or cell tower, or perhaps a nearby radio operator? From your description, it sounds as if the 396xt was working using the external antenna, then quit. And then, you connected the 346 to the antenna & it worked awhile, but it has since quit, and now neither one works, even using the original rubber duck antennas, even when tuned to the local weatherradio channel?
If there was a nearby radio, whether hand-held, or a base station, that transmitted along the times when these quit, the strong signal can damage the scanners so that they no longer receive anything. If, for example, one of your neighbors had called one of the local public safety departments, such as PD, Fire, & EMS, and a unit responded to the call, and made a transmission close enough with either their portable radio, or one in their vehicle, it's at least possible that would damage your scanner. Since these events (the individual scanners quitting operation) were several days apart, I'd be suspecting a fixed transmitter, not a portable. Were there any storms, with lightning, around the times these units quit? A nearby strike would also cause the same result, even if your house did not take a direct hit.