This is a unique enough mod that it deserves to be put into the wiki. Nice job gents...best regards..Mike
Thanks Mike, that means a lot.
Manny
This is a unique enough mod that it deserves to be put into the wiki. Nice job gents...best regards..Mike
I hate quoting my own message but this was appropriate...
I found a better place to tap the 12VDC from. See the solder pad next to the "V" in "V Jack" in the picture below? It is a lot easier to solder to that than the smaller pad near the volume control.
In addition, I decided to save the trouble of disassembling the front panel by drilling a 3/8 inch hole on the faceplate equidistant from the DIN slot and the curved frame of the scan/hold buttons. I soldered wires to the LED, and used individual pieces of heat shrink on them. I then pulled them thru the hole and carefully routed them into the framework of the radio so that they clear the interior case halves. I wrapped the wires around the interior wire bundle, this keeps the LED tight.
While this works well, the LED does stick out quite a bit, and is not as professional looking as Manny's, but it is a lot quicker and less invasive to the scanner. You must be careful not to pinch the LED wires in the case half by keeping them in the plastic framework. I suppose a spot of model glue would help keep the LED in place if needed.
I have now completed the mods on 8 of my BCT15's. I bought the 15 pack of NPN transistors and just grabbed any one of the three versions included. Each worked just fine.
For the ground I used the ground post at the rear of the display daughter board.
Many thanks to Manny for the ground work on this project!
Nobody is being tight lipped about anything. I did the mod on my 136. I made the mistake of not writing down which IC chip I tapped into. The scanner is no longer in my possesion. I regret not taking the notes. I honestly thought at the time that nobody would care to do it on THAT particular scanner. Sorry but that is the ugly truth.
Manny
Are you saying you don't even remember *where* you got the info to do it, or did you troubleshoot it yourself and then implement the carrier light?
I made the "tight-lipped" remark because I asked for the info here over two months ago and got no reply at all. So I asked *again* in the hopes someone would answer. I know you are not the only one who has done this mod, which is what gave me the distinct impression some people just don't want to be the one to give it out, as I've asked numerous times in other forums as well without so much as a single response - even though there are at least two other people here on RR alone who have done this same model.
It's a moot point now because I figured it out for myself this evening and now have my Pro-136 completed.
I have not opened up my 996 or 996XT yet to see, but what would stop one from using some small acrylic rod as a "light pipe" to light up the Alert indicator or maybe a small piece of fiber optic? Hmmm, now I am curious.....
Without getting into ridiculously long details, it will not work. Behind the front panel is a PC board which has the LED directly attatched to it.
Manny
Has anyone done this on the BC780? If so, where is the logic picked off the PCB?