BC 396 Ear Phone Jack Heating up?? Help Please!

[james812]

Good day to all!

Thanks to everyone in advance who responds.

I have a 396 and am using a cable to go from the earphone jack to the line input on my PC (3.5mm cable?) The problem is the jack and cable are heating up. Not super hot but warm, has anyone else experienced this?

Does anyone have any ideas if this might be a problem or a solution to this maybe?

Thanks to all, this is the best forum out there!

73's

 

[davidmc36]

How big is the wire in your "cable"? I can't imagine how small it would have to be to have too much current for the size of wire -- but maybe. Is it something you bought or made? If the latter, is there a fault in your connections?

 

[james812]

No its a typical 3.5mm wire/cable from Radio Shack, it's mono.... Does being mono cause it impedance to increase and heat up?

 

[pro92b]

Is the radio a BCD396T? Does this happen if the radio is powered by batteries with no AC adapter plugged in? Are you using an external antenna or a rubber duck?

 

[james812]

Interesting thought, I think it did it both plugged in and on batteries....

Rubber duck ant always though. I can hear audio, so cable couldn't be bad could it? I visually inspected the cable it looks like new....

 

[pro92b]

I do not think the cable is bad. Running the radio on battery with a rubber duck should eliminate grounding issues between the radio and PC. The mono cable does cause some power dissipation in a resistor inside the radio. Try a stereo cable with radio on battery and rubber duck antenna. If it still warms up I don't know what the cause is.

 

[SCPD]

There's probably a DC voltage on the MIC IN jack on the computer to power an electret mic and you are probably shorting it out. Use a DC block between the computer and scanner or use the LINE IN jack on the computer if it has one.

 

[W1KNE]

You could also have some sort of odd ground loop as well. Do you hear a hum in the audio?
I think NC4DX has hit the nail on the head, that there is phantom power on the mic jack of the PC.
The problem is, if there is, and you continue to use it without a DC block, it could cause damage to your scanner.

 

[Comint]

. . or use the LINE IN jack on the computer if it has one.

The OP stated in his first post that he was using LINE IN.

--
Comint

 

[n4yek]

No its a typical 3.5mm wire/cable from Radio Shack, it's mono....

Are you aware that the headphone jack in a 396T is not mono but in fact a stereo jack? You are grounding one side of the audio jack as Pro92b stated

 

[james812]

Thanks to EVERYONE!

Today I will get the stereo cable, and see if that solves the problem. I wouldn't of thought the mono verses a stereo would of made a difference.

I AM using the line input, I thought of that and double checked that.

I do get some weird/odd noises at times, someone mentioned a ground loop problem? Anyone else that inputs the audio into their PC do they do any thing else? Is there some type of filter or a way to get better audio quality?

Thanks to all again for your help and opinions. Like I said this is by far the best "site" on the Internet!

73's

 

[davidmc36]

I do get some weird/odd noises at times, someone mentioned a ground loop problem? Anyone else that inputs the audio into their PC do they do any thing else? Is there some type of filter or a way to get better audio quality?

I've tried a few different setups for amplifying/distributing audio and the best I found so far to get rid of hums, clicks etc. is running it through an audio mixer, like the kind you use for DJ or something. It has four regular stereo inputs and two mic inputs. So I can put up to eight scanners into it, one on each channel of the stereo inputs. I mostly just use it with four in so I can independantly adjust the volume level of each. It has a ground stud on the back and once that is connected to my electrical system ground everything is clear and quiet. Just a NexTec (sic) version from local Source (Radio Shack) but it works well. I got it on clearance for $35, they had $125 on it when it first hit the shelf. Has the added bonus of being able to better fine tune the volume using the sliders.