536hp female bnc on radio not working

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mitbr

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Had my 536hp for awhile now and the bnc jack on the radio now makes an intermittent connection with the antenna.
The female socket in the connecter appears to large and is not mating well with any male bnc.
Does anyone know of a way to fix this outside of changing the bnc connector on the radio.
Tim
 

ofd8001

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Would the antenna be the factory supplied one, or are you using an external one?

If it's an external one, the male pin may have either worked its way out leaving just the center conductor, or possibly not been there to start with.

If you are using the supplied antenna, as inconvenient as it would be, I'd be sending the scanner to Uniden for warranty repair. You should still be be covered by the one (or three) year warranty.
 

mitbr

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Would the antenna be the factory supplied one, or are you using an external one?

If it's an external one, the male pin may have either worked its way out leaving just the center conductor, or possibly not been there to start with.

If you are using the supplied antenna, as inconvenient as it would be, I'd be sending the scanner to Uniden for warranty repair. You should still be be covered by the one (or three) year warranty.

Thanks for the quick reply.

I have used both the rs 800 MHz antenna and an external antenna with similar results.
These antennas and connectors were tested on another radio and worked fine.
I don't want to send it in to Uniden because they will replace the connector with the same cheap version bnc.

The female center connector seems to be the problem this seems to be making an intermittent connection.
 

RF23

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Thanks for the quick reply.

I have used both the rs 800 MHz antenna and an external antenna with similar results.
These antennas and connectors were tested on another radio and worked fine.
I don't want to send it in to Uniden because they will replace the connector with the same cheap version bnc.

The female center connector seems to be the problem this seems to be making an intermittent connection.

If you are using an adapter some of them have a too short center pin on the male BNC and they may not even engage the female BNC at all, others barely reach and can be intermittent. I have gotten two like this out of about 5 or 6 I ordered a few months ago. Just something to check out and easy to fix.
 

mitbr

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If you are using an adapter some of them have a too short center pin on the male BNC and they may not even engage the female BNC at all, others barely reach and can be intermittent. I have gotten two like this out of about 5 or 6 I ordered a few months ago. Just something to check out and easy to fix.

That's a very good point......In my particular case the antennas all worked fine initially then slowly became more intermittent. It should be noted I change ants quite frequently.

I know the signal is intermittent because when monitoring the noaa weather broadcast it cuts in and out as I swivel the antenna or wiggle the connection.

I think what I will probably do is change the bnc to a good quality one its a simple fix.

Does anyone know what bnc bulkhead will work ie does it need to be isolated or not
I will probably order it from mouser.
Tim
 

ofd8001

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Bearing in mind a guy can do what he wants to with his scanner. . .

I'd be more inclined to take a small pair of needle-nosed pliers and very slightly bend the male pin of the antenna cable to improve the connection.

My luck is such that I'd mess something up in the process of installing the antenna jack on the scanner. Then I'd end up sending it to Uniden for repair and they'd say I voided the warranty by attempting to make my own repairs.

In the "Nothing ventured, nothing gained" category, if I was concerned about the type of BNC connector used by Uniden repair, I might give them a call. I'd ask if I supplied the connector, would they install it? If they would, then I'd get the connector, tape it to the scanner and send the both off to them to deal with.
 

mitbr

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Well I think I fixed it.
Here is what I did. I took a pair of needle nose pliers and crimp the white insulator on the female bnc on the radio which in turn made the hole a smaller diameter. It is now working we will see for how long.
Thanks for the suggestions I will report back if it doesn't work again.
Tim
 
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