996XT not receiving

[LauraQ]

I turned my 996XT off, then back on (to clear Close Call hits) and now the unit is not receiving anything...not the trunked control channel, not the local NOAA weather, nothing! It shows scanning, but it's not receiving anything. I confirmed (via other scanners) that the antenna is fine. I tried resetting the entire unit, but that didn't help. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Laura

 

[kma371]

Can you adjust the squelch to open and see if you hear static?

 

[LauraQ]

Yes, I'm hearing static, but absolutely no transmissions on any band.

 

[motorolax]

Is close call off?

 

[LauraQ]

Yes, Close Call is off.

 

[kma371]

If your comfortable, check the interior of the radio and the solder connection for the antenna.

If you have tried the same antenna on different radios and it works fine, there may be a short in the connection to the radio.

 

[LauraQ]

I broke out the screwdriver and took a look inside. The antenna connector looks fine to me. I'm stumped. Might have to ship it back to Uniden and let the pros take a look.

I appreciate all the advice!

Laura

 

[kma371]

Huh. Well the last thing I can think of is the receiver was overloaded. If you have a transmitter radio nearby, that could do it. It happened to a friend of mine.

If you don't...i think shipping it back to uniden is your last option. Sorry.

 

[Danny6569]

996 xt

Did you go into settings and manually check the sites and systems ? are they locked out ? or is any of the groups locked out ? and also check the control tower frequencies and see if any of them are locked out also, i would do that before sending it back!

 

[maalox]

did you use head phones with your 996xt....

 

[Tryton]

Make sure you don't have all the bands locked out from using CC. Check your broadcast screen

 

[kma371]

Make sure you don't have all the bands locked out from using CC. Check your broadcast screen

That won't matter. She said she can't pick up control channels and NOAA stations in conventional mode. That won't be a close call issue.

 

[rbm]

I broke out the screwdriver and took a look inside. The antenna connector looks fine to me. I'm stumped. Might have to ship it back to Uniden and let the pros take a look.

I appreciate all the advice!

Laura

Laura, I bought two used BCD996 scanners with that same symptom in recent years so this may be worth trying.

In both of them the wire that was connected to the inside, center of the antenna connector was bent at such a sharp angle that it shorted to the ground portion of the connector.

The problem appeared after the scanners had been in use for quite a while.

I could get the scanners to receive by setting the scanner on the local NOAA weather frequency and applying pressure to the coax connector in various directions.

It was very hard to see the shorted connection visually. I had to insert a small piece of stiff plastic between the wire and the connector frame to prove that was the problem. (Bending the wire slightly was the permanent fix for both scanners.)

Rich

 

[LauraQ]

I was hoping the shorted coax connection was the answer, but alas...no luck. I'm still searching...

Thanks!
Laura