BCD436HP/BCD536HP: At a loss - Scanner simply not picking up anything

[dave3825]

Not to be a smarty pants but before you tear it down or send it off…what is your squelch set at.

I've doodled with range and it is now at 2mi, Squelch is at 2 and volume is all the way up

the only time I can get it to stop on a channel is when I turn the Squelch to 0 and scanner will stop on white noise

 

[firemun]

Oops, sorry I missed that

 

[N9JCQ]

send it back to Uniden. Clearly dead....

 

[AM909]

Since someone mentioned that this scanner uses the technique of soldering the connector directly to the board, which is about the silliest way to do it, and the bread-and-butter service flow of most radio shops , if you're comfortable with a soldering iron, I'd suggest opening it up and looking at where the antenna connector is soldered to the board. Solder as needed.

Having said that, unless the radio has extraordinary shielding, I don't think the connector is the problem, as living near the high-power weather station, you should have trouble hiding from the signal (i.e., you should hear it with a disconnected antenna) with most radios – I don't know about that particular one.

 

[tkenny53]

What comes up when you use the software, is it programmed?
Are the service tags ALL checked?
Is weather turned off in software
do a full default restore

 

[JoeBearcat]

If you are searching the WX channels and hear open squelch when on your local one with the squelch at 0, a trip to service is indicated.

I agree it is worth trying another SD card, but that likely is not the issue.

 

[moonbounce]

Hello, I've owned my BCD436HP for a couple of years. Living in the greater Atlanta area and love love love all the chatter I picked up over the years. It also worked on surrounding agencies when I traveled outside of Atlanta. Early on I did have a favorites list but haven't used that in a while since I am mostly just interested in one system (see below) and would just let the scanner scan thru that system and it would pick up tons of chatter w/no problem
Recently, within the past month however, my scanner just simply stopped locking on to anything. I did not change any settings. Nothing stands out and all the functions seem to be ok and all the prompts and keys and menu work fine.
The only issue I noticed over the past months; every now and then I could not lock on to a signal by simply turning on the scanner and running my favorites list so I would manually go to a system/dept and 'Hold' the 'Atlanta Public Safety P25' and manually go thru the channels that I knew had a lot of traffic and as soon as the scanner got its first 'hit' it would work flawlessly after that when scanning and would pick up all sorts of chatter across systems/dept's/channels.
However, now I cannot get it to pick up on anything at all no matter what I do. Seemingly from one day to the next
So I decided to update everything. Latest Firmware 1.28.14 and loaded the latest database onto the SD card and everything seemed to load and update correctly onto the scanner.
I've done factory reset and gone thru and looked at any avoids, turned off unnecessary services, priority scan is off, I've doodled with range and it is now at 2mi, Squelch is at 2 and volume is all the way up
I'm using the standard antenna that it came with. I did not buy direct from a retailer but rather second-hand.
Thanks is advance for any input you have

Hello, I've owned my BCD436HP for a couple of years. Living in the greater Atlanta area and love love love all the chatter I picked up over the years. It also worked on surrounding agencies when I traveled outside of Atlanta. Early on I did have a favorites list but haven't used that in a while since I am mostly just interested in one system (see below) and would just let the scanner scan thru that system and it would pick up tons of chatter w/no problem
Recently, within the past month however, my scanner just simply stopped locking on to anything. I did not change any settings. Nothing stands out and all the functions seem to be ok and all the prompts and keys and menu work fine.
The only issue I noticed over the past months; every now and then I could not lock on to a signal by simply turning on the scanner and running my favorites list so I would manually go to a system/dept and 'Hold' the 'Atlanta Public Safety P25' and manually go thru the channels that I knew had a lot of traffic and as soon as the scanner got its first 'hit' it would work flawlessly after that when scanning and would pick up all sorts of chatter across systems/dept's/channels.
However, now I cannot get it to pick up on anything at all no matter what I do. Seemingly from one day to the next
So I decided to update everything. Latest Firmware 1.28.14 and loaded the latest database onto the SD card and everything seemed to load and update correctly onto the scanner.
I've done factory reset and gone thru and looked at any avoids, turned off unnecessary services, priority scan is off, I've doodled with range and it is now at 2mi, Squelch is at 2 and volume is all the way up
I'm using the standard antenna that it came with. I did not buy direct from a retailer but rather second-hand.
Thanks is advance for any input you have

I would bet it has something to do with dirty contacts, I have had radios with problems similar to what you are describing and after a cleaning they work perfectly. I used 99% Isopropyl alcohol, squirted a drop or two into the volume and squelch controls and that solved my problem. If you do try this method don't let any get into the display as it may do some damage. A radio that is getting or is used a lot can see a buildup of carbon on contacts that can totally stop a signal. In the old days as a TV repair person, I cleaned many a TV tuners because of this, even the antenna connection needs a cleaning.

 

[Bob1955]

Hello, I've owned my BCD436HP for a couple of years. Living in the greater Atlanta area and love love love all the chatter I picked up over the years. It also worked on surrounding agencies when I traveled outside of Atlanta. Early on I did have a favorites list but haven't used that in a while since I am mostly just interested in one system (see below) and would just let the scanner scan thru that system and it would pick up tons of chatter w/no problem
Recently, within the past month however, my scanner just simply stopped locking on to anything. I did not change any settings. Nothing stands out and all the functions seem to be ok and all the prompts and keys and menu work fine.
The only issue I noticed over the past months; every now and then I could not lock on to a signal by simply turning on the scanner and running my favorites list so I would manually go to a system/dept and 'Hold' the 'Atlanta Public Safety P25' and manually go thru the channels that I knew had a lot of traffic and as soon as the scanner got its first 'hit' it would work flawlessly after that when scanning and would pick up all sorts of chatter across systems/dept's/channels.
However, now I cannot get it to pick up on anything at all no matter what I do. Seemingly from one day to the next
So I decided to update everything. Latest Firmware 1.28.14 and loaded the latest database onto the SD card and everything seemed to load and update correctly onto the scanner.
I've done factory reset and gone thru and looked at any avoids, turned off unnecessary services, priority scan is off, I've doodled with range and it is now at 2mi, Squelch is at 2 and volume is all the way up
I'm using the standard antenna that it came with. I did not buy direct from a retailer but rather second-hand.
Thanks is advance for any input you have

The Bearcat BCD436HP is NOTHING but a problem. The BCD325P2 is problem free and MUCH more reliable.

 

[misterceelo]

I sent the scanner to Uniden and got it back with the Q1, Q2 and keypad replaced. I don't know what Q1 or Q2 are but it fixed my issue for a day. That's right! The scanner worked for a day... I unpacked it and started it up and got some good hits from my local Fire and Police. Happy customer indeed, that is, until the next day when I started it up and got absolutely nothing. The scanner is running thru all the usual as far as I can see. I have changed nothing in the settings and yet somehow now I am back to having a deaf scanner. What gives?

 

[GROL]

I sent the scanner to Uniden and got it back with the Q1, Q2 and keypad replaced. I don't know what Q1 or Q2 are but it fixed my issue for a day. That's right! The scanner worked for a day... I unpacked it and started it up and got some good hits from my local Fire and Police. Happy customer indeed, that is, until the next day when I started it up and got absolutely nothing. The scanner is running thru all the usual as far as I can see. I have changed nothing in the settings and yet somehow now I am back to having a deaf scanner. What gives?

I would expect the repair to have a warranty period. The Uniden rep should be able to advise you on that.

 

[misterceelo]

Sorry it was actually Q2 and Q3 that were replaced

 

[jtwalker]

You change anything else from one day to next? Antenna, position/location, power supply, proximity of other RF sources?

 

[misterceelo]

nothing has changed. I have come across similar threads on here from years ago that mention the Q2 and Q3 (transistors/diodes or whatever they are) and even in the troubleshooting guide for this scanner there is a specific section that mentions these two components and their common link to a scanner going 'deaf'
I will just send this unit back again and hope for the best. The flat rate of $80 (plus any addt'l charges) isn't all that fun either so at some point is it better to just go and buy a new one instead of messing about with what is obviously a recurring issue with these components.

 

[buddrousa]

Please do not take this wrong but what are you doing.
Do you have a high power radio cb you are using near the scanner?
Have you dropped the scanner?
What are you using for a power supply?

 

[GROL]

nothing has changed. I have come across similar threads on here from years ago that mention the Q2 and Q3 (transistors/diodes or whatever they are) and even in the troubleshooting guide for this scanner there is a specific section that mentions these two components and their common link to a scanner going 'deaf'
I will just send this unit back again and hope for the best. The flat rate of $80 (plus any addt'l charges) isn't all that fun either so at some point is it better to just go and buy a new one instead of messing about with what is obviously a recurring issue with these components.

I would check to see if the repair has a warranty period. Often they are 90 days.

 

[misterceelo]

Please do not take this wrong but what are you doing.
Do you have a high power radio cb you are using near the scanner?
Have you dropped the scanner?
What are you using for a power supply?

No offense taken, I appreciate all feedback and hope to narrow down this issue. I don't have any large power sources near the scanner and have not dropped it. To power the scanner, I have used from the very beginning and for years with no issue a external battery via the USB cable. The scanner has worked for years. Then I would notice it started to slowly 'die' - meaning that the scanner would not lock on to any signal unless I manually directed it to a service that I knew was active. Then I would notice long 'blackout' periods where the scanner just would not lock on to any signal and I thought at first that it was the city services doing maintenance on the trunked systems (silly me)
at some point the scanner just went deaf and I did everything I could to address the issue including resetting reinstalling, upgrading sostware, and finally sending it in to be fixed. Uniden fixed the scanner by replacing the Q2 and Q3 components. The scanner worked for a day when I received it back and is now deaf again after a day of functioning fine.
Again, I have used the same set-up as for years with no issues but maybe something internally has gone awry. That's all I can guess.

 

[snerd]

The Bearcat BCD436HP is NOTHING but a problem. The BCD325P2 is problem free and MUCH more reliable.

Been enjoying my 436 for years now, with nary a problem!

 

[buddrousa]

Thanks for the reply like I said we have seen scanners go deaf from high power rf being dropped and bad power the only other thing is internal unless it is a bad battery causing current issues

 

[GROL]

Have had my BCD436HP for about 4.5 years and no issues. I have had no issues with any of my Uniden scanners I did not cause myself. I had a problem with a Sony scanner while it was still under warranty, and that may have been because it was connected to a mobile antenna and I was driving on I-4 between Orlando and Daytona when a very large lightening strike hit about a half mile in front of me. When I got back to the beach, the scanner would turn on but it was deaf. I only had to have my BCD396XT repaired due to plugging in the wrong charger cord. The size of the Yeasu charger plug was the same as the BCD39XT but it was 12 volts. I shouldn't have the two charges plugged in near each other. It damaged the internal power/charging circuits, but it could still be powered by charged batteries. I was going to try and repair it myself without a schematic, but I could not see what component didn't have smoke in it any longer and with multilayer PCBs it is difficult to figure out the circuits. When I found Uniden offered a flat fee to repair for $49.95 back then, I just sent it in because It wasn't worth my effort. That BCD396XT is still going strong!

 

[misterceelo]

So I just got the scanner back from Texas for the 2nd time of being at their shop. Again, they apparently replaced Q2 and Q3 although I don't think anything was actually done to the scanner b/c it still had my local info in it which is odd if the scanner was torn down to replace any components.
The first time I got it back from the shop I had to program my local info (zip code) into it. It worked for a day and then went deaf.
This time around I got it back from the shop and upon start up I went straight to the weather scan and it just kept running thru the frequencies and did not lock on to any of them. I tried my local dep't and nothing, not hits.
So, what is a good scanner out there with good customer service b/c obviously where I am now with this set is an endless cycle of back and forth and no fix in sight.
Again, I have not changed anything with respect to when the scanner was working fine for years. No external fancy antennas or being near a transmitter.... the scanner just has stopped locking on to anything