Bearcat 210

[xusmarine1979]

Hello all,

My grandfather just gave me his old Bearcat 210. For some reason I have to program the frequency into each channel about 20 times to make sure it goes in. Anybody have an idea why it does that?

Also, the audio is very poor. It is very faint even if I turn the volume up. It isn't the signal, the signal is very good. Does anybody know any mods or anything for it? TIA.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Also, the audio is very poor. It is very faint even if I turn the volume up.

Does the volume stay at the same level regardless of where you turn the control? If so, that's likely a bad volume pot.

I just lost my old, tired Regency HX1500 to the same problem. A friend of mine was able to repair the pot, bit it has died again and I can't find a replacement pot that will fit. I'm considering some altenatives, but haven't hit on anything final yet.

 

[xusmarine1979]

The volume seems to be doing fine. I can't quite find the word to describe it. Possibly a loud hum in the radio. I opened it and moved some of the wires around a bit while listening to NOAA and it seemed to help a little.

 

[xusmarine1979]

I think I worded the problem wrong, sorry about that.

 

[xusmarine1979]

Anybody have that link that has all of those scanner mods? TIA.

 

[xusmarine1979]

I've noticed the "hum" more in the UHF band. Any ideas anyone?

 

[pro92b]

The BC-210 owner's and service manuals are both available at www.mods.dk. Click on Uniden and then Manuals.

There is a Bearcat repair FAQ at ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/rec.radio.scanner that may be helpful.

Synthesizer noise tended to be worse at higher frequencies in these old radios. First you need to fix the audio problem before worrying about the noise. Referring to the service manual, replacing C34, the audio output coupling capacitor, will probably restore the audio. If there is a problem with power supply hum, replace C48, 2000 uF. It should be the biggest capacitor in the radio.

 

[xusmarine1979]

The power supply seems to be fine. I was describing it as a hum. Thanks

The BC-210 owner's and service manuals are both available at www.mods.dk. Click on Uniden and then Manuals.

There is a Bearcat repair FAQ at ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/rec.radio.scanner that may be helpful.

Synthesizer noise tended to be worse at higher frequencies in these old radios. First you need to fix the audio problem before worrying about the noise. Referring to the service manual, replacing C34, the audio output coupling capacitor, will probably restore the audio. If there is a problem with power supply hum, replace C48, 2000 uF. It should be the biggest capacitor in the radio.

 

[Al42]

I just lost my old, tired Regency HX1500 to the same problem. A friend of mine was able to repair the pot, bit it has died again and I can't find a replacement pot that will fit. I'm considering some altenatives, but haven't hit on anything final yet.

Radio Shack 271-215 ought to do the trick. (The resistance value of a volume control usually isn't too critical.)