Anyone running a BCD536HP on their live audio stream?

[WaveJam]

If you are using a BCD536HP for your audio stream via scannercast, radiofeed or whatever, please let me know how the audio is. My audio (from the scanner ext spkr to the pc) is VERY low. With the volume all the way up, I still get next to no volume into the feed. If I plug my 996XT into that same feed, the volume is great. The only way I can get some volume is to use the headphone jack. And oh, if I plug a regular ext speaker into the BCD536HP ext spkr jack, it works fine. Weird...

Anyone else having probs with their feed and the BCD536HP?

 

[RF23]

If you are using a BCD536HP for your audio stream via scannercast, radiofeed or whatever, please let me know how the audio is. My audio (from the scanner ext spkr to the pc) is VERY low. With the volume all the way up, I still get next to no volume into the feed. If I plug my 996XT into that same feed, the volume is great. The only way I can get some volume is to use the headphone jack. And oh, if I plug a regular ext speaker into the BCD536HP ext spkr jack, it works fine. Weird...

Anyone else having probs with their feed and the BCD536HP?

Now that I see an external speaker works fine from your 536 maybe it is the Scannercast application after all. I mentioned before that it was going to be optimized for the new radios but I did not think it would help you but I see now that might be wrong.

Perhaps while you wait for someone else with a 536 and is using Scannercast to post you could do a search for "Scannercast" on RR and find who to contact and ask them if their software update could help you out.

 

[WaveJam]

Perhaps while you wait for someone else with a 536 and is using Scannercast to post you could do a search for "Scannercast" on RR and find who to contact and ask them if their software update could help you out.

Thanks N0UDG. I tried contacting the author of scannercast a month or so ago via this forum, their website and email. To this day... No response. I did get a response from the author of radiofeed and he is hard at work adding support for the new scanner. Unfortunately, its not going to be as quick as I hoped.

So I guess I'm stuck with using the headphone jack and having no tag support for the time being. But hey, its nice that the new scanner fixed my multicast issue. Just have to figure out how to pump that great sound into the feed.

I'm reluctant to call Uniden support because I know they'll just say to plug an external speaker in and when I do, it'll work and the call will stop there.

I'm hoping UPMAN reads this thread and knows someone familiar with the feed software and the new scanner that could help me troubleshoot this.

 

[ProScan]

If you are using a BCD536HP for your audio stream via scannercast, radiofeed or whatever, please let me know how the audio is. My audio (from the scanner ext spkr to the pc) is VERY low. With the volume all the way up, I still get next to no volume into the feed. If I plug my 996XT into that same feed, the volume is great. The only way I can get some volume is to use the headphone jack. And oh, if I plug a regular ext speaker into the BCD536HP ext spkr jack, it works fine. Weird...

Anyone else having probs with their feed and the BCD536HP?

I just tested the audio using my RadioFeed. It's loud and clear here. Vol at 07. The application using(RadioFeed or ScannerCast) is impossible to cause this problem with the symptoms described. I would check the Windows Mixer controls on the Recording side. If running Win XP then I would check the Wave Balance control. Also I would try another plug going in to the rear speaker jack.

 

[SCPD]

vol

I am running a stream and volume is good. I am running 50% internal laptop volume for the microphone volume . I have to go in via the microphone plug on my laptop and I am running 13 volume on my 536 and its doing great. actully probably could go a tad louder on internal mic volume. no need for an external speaker, mine is using my laptop speakers and its sounding good
bibb county Alabama

 

[tylerwatt12]

There are multiple ways to control volume in windows.
- Volume level set in microphone properties in windows audio settings
- Volume boost level set in microphone properties in windows audio settings
- Volume level set by Radiofeed
Try playing with those. Volume boost should be your last resort. It has always fixed any low audio issue from any output device I used.

 

[WaveJam]

Thanks for the replies. Remember though... If I unplug the audio cable from the 536HP and plug it into my 996XT the audio feed is loud. Which would lead you to think that there is a prob with the 536HP jack, not Windows. BUT if I simply plug in an external speaker to the 536HP the audio is loud.

 

[RF23]

Thanks for the replies. Remember though... If I unplug the audio cable from the 536HP and plug it into my 996XT the audio feed is loud. Which would lead you to think that there is a prob with the 536HP jack, not Windows. BUT if I simply plug in an external speaker to the 536HP the audio is loud.

I certainly agree with your logic but to confirm it you might want to check the volume and record levels while the 536 is hookup up to see if they are the same as when the 996 is hookup to the computer with the Scannercast application. I think at this point we are "grasping at straws".

Do you have any other applications that could be used in place of Scannercast to see if it would make a difference?

Did you install the WiFi Dongle driver? If it is active it could interact with the 536 but not the 996?

 

[McCroskey]

Thanks for the replies. Remember though... If I unplug the audio cable from the 536HP and plug it into my 996XT the audio feed is loud. Which would lead you to think that there is a prob with the 536HP jack, not Windows. BUT if I simply plug in an external speaker to the 536HP the audio is loud.

I mean this in the nicest way, we're talking about Windows here so let's get away from making logical assumptions about how things "should" work.

In a nutshell, if the 536HP is driving a passive, external speaker with more than enough volume, then it is absolutely passing enough signal to the audio jack being used on the motherboard, which means you most likely have a software issue as the culprit here.

Start from the beginning, and work your way through the "Sound" utility within the Control Panel and all of the various settings that have been shared thus far in the thread. Additionally, look through the list of other applications within the Control Panel and look for the Audio utility unique to the specific sound hardware on your computer.

Good luck!

 

[RF23]

Thanks for the replies. Remember though... If I unplug the audio cable from the 536HP and plug it into my 996XT the audio feed is loud. Which would lead you to think that there is a prob with the 536HP jack, not Windows. BUT if I simply plug in an external speaker to the 536HP the audio is loud.

For what it is worth there is an interesting post (#17) in the following that may relate to this issue:

http://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-scanners/283316-bcd536hp-discriminator-inside-look.html

 

[WaveJam]

For what it is worth there is an interesting post (#17) in the following that may relate to this issue:

http://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-scanners/283316-bcd536hp-discriminator-inside-look.html

Woah! Thanks for digging that one up. I replied asking for some more info on what others are experiencing. That was kinda sorta a sight for sore eyes. ;-)

 

[WaveJam]

I certainly agree with your logic but to confirm it you might want to check the volume and record levels while the 536 is hookup up to see if they are the same as when the 996 is hookup to the computer with the Scannercast application. I think at this point we are "grasping at straws".

I have to agree.. I need to keep checking the software side of this issue. And I have been running into nothing but brick walls. Not only does everything look fine, I started plugging my iPhone and other audio devices to check the sound. Everything except the 536 work great in that Line-In.

HOWEVER! I discovered that the soundcard that I am using (Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI Express) allows me to convert the "Line-In" jack into a "Microphone" jack with a flip of a switch in the driver software. Guess what.. Its better... Its muffled as hell.. But its better.

So, this doesn't explain though why the 536 specifically does not like the Line-In jack on the sound card AND the integrated sound card Line-In. I don't know enough about the audio technical differences in a mic and line-in jack. Just throwing out what I have found.

Now to figure out how to make it a bit less muffled... AGC maybe?

 

[McCroskey]

I have to agree.. I need to keep checking the software side of this issue. And I have been running into nothing but brick walls. Not only does everything look fine, I started plugging my iPhone and other audio devices to check the sound. Everything except the 536 work great in that Line-In.

HOWEVER! I discovered that the soundcard that I am using (Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI Express) allows me to convert the "Line-In" jack into a "Microphone" jack with a flip of a switch in the driver software. Guess what.. Its better... Its muffled as hell.. But its better.

So, this doesn't explain though why the 536 specifically does not like the Line-In jack on the sound card AND the integrated sound card Line-In. I don't know enough about the audio technical differences in a mic and line-in jack. Just throwing out what I have found.

Now to figure out how to make it a bit less muffled... AGC maybe?

Quick question, what kind of audio cable are you running from the scanner to the PC? Is it stereo or mono?

I haven't been able to verify the specs of the BCD536HP, yet, but it initially looks as though the 996XT has a 1/8 stereo output and the 536HP only has a 1/8 mono output.

Using the wrong type of audio cable in this case may be causing your issue.

 

[WaveJam]

Quick question, what kind of audio cable are you running from the scanner to the PC? Is it stereo or mono?

I have been using a mono cable.

I haven't been able to verify the specs of the BCD536HP, yet, but it initially looks as though the 996XT has a 1/8 stereo output and the 536HP only has a 1/8 mono output.

UPMAN confirmed in another thread that the 536 is a mono output...

 

[RF23]

Have you tried to use your mono cable into the 536 and then put a stereo adapter on the mono plug that goes to your sound card since it is probably a stereo input?

 

[RF23]

Here is a thread where they are apparently successfully using the 536 with Scannercast and no mention is being made of a low audio problem.

http://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-scanners/282453-bcd536hp-serial-port-driver.html