I need help with an old man's scanner (loud popping at the end of transmissions)

[Omega-TI]

I have a senior citizen friend that picked up an old Bearcat 220 at a garage sale for $10.00. Unfortunately he is nearly deaf, so he turns it up loud. The problem is after every transmission there is an extremely loud popping noise, similar to a squelch tail (but not). Is there a way to rectify this situation with with a few discrete components? He's not willing to spend $50.00 on a $10.00 scanner, so if I could modify it for him fairly cheaply I could just donate the parts and my time.

 

[tvengr]

A very common problem with low audio is the electrolyte drying out in electrolytic capacitors which cause them to lose value. With the audio being cranked up, the pop is probably due to the squelch switching on and off. Recapping old radios is a common practice. Does the audio sound loud to you?

 

[trentbob]

I have a senior citizen friend that picked up an old Bearcat 220 at a garage sale for $10.00. Unfortunately he is nearly deaf, so he turns it up loud. The problem is after every transmission there is an extremely loud popping noise, similar to a squelch tail (but not). Is there a way to rectify this situation with with a few discrete components? He's not willing to spend $50.00 on a $10.00 scanner, so if I could modify it for him fairly cheaply I could just donate the parts and my time.

That radio was made by Elektra if I recall right. You just have to weigh whether or not it is recoverable. I would take the case off and take a good hard look at things, do some cleaning, look for oxidation and poor connections.

 

[wtp]

caps should be flat

also not rusty or leaky

 

[tvengr]

Most of the bad caps I have found don't exhibit any obvious signs of failure. When the electrolyte dries up, the cap appears perfectly normal. I have often been able to detect bad caps by feel. When the electrolyte dries up, caps can become light as a feather.

 

[Ubbe]

so if I could modify it for him fairly cheaply I could just donate the parts and my time.

It could be a poor design. Its schematic show a muting function that grounds the audio coming to the volume control. There's a C69 DC blocking capacitor that if it leaks will send DC voltage spike to its speaker amplifier that will get louder as the volume controller are turned up.

I would temporarily lift one of the legs of that capacitor and listen if the popping are gone, and then go from there to evaluate any other possibilities but it could also be how its always have been with that popping noise.

https://www.repeater-builder.com/uniden/pdf/bc220-svc-man.pdf

/Ubbe

 

[marksmith]

You could probably find another 220 or similar radio on ebay for $10. If the one you have is displaying issues, my thinking is it will go downhill fast. It's a trait of the 210 and 220 and 220xl models.

 

[wtp]

=

 

[Omega-TI]

It could be a poor design. Its schematic show a muting function that grounds the audio coming to the volume control. There's a C69 DC blocking capacitor that if it leaks will send DC voltage spike to its speaker amplifier that will get louder as the volume controller are turned up.

I would temporarily lift one of the legs of that capacitor and listen if the popping are gone, and then go from there to evaluate any other possibilities but it could also be how its always have been with that popping noise.

https://www.repeater-builder.com/uniden/pdf/bc220-svc-man.pdf

/Ubbe

THANK YOU for posting that service manual @Ubbe I've paid attention to everyone's input and with that manual should be able to fix his issue.

 

[trentbob]

As far as cannibalizing a Electra Bearcat 210 or 220..l I see a lot of the 210 model between $30 and $40 and and they work. You're better off getting a nice one instead of trying to cannibalize a working radio to restore the old 220.

I had two of the Electra Bearcat 210's.. talking about I guess 1977 and they lasted a good while, after years, one day one of them just started smoking and caught fire LOL and the other just became obsolete as it became weaker and less sensitive as time went on.

Probably going to be hard to get a non-working unit for $10 to be cannibalized but I bet you parts for a 210 are similar to what's needed for a 220.

 

[tvengr]

Probably going to be hard to get a non-working unit for $10 to be cannibalized

There is a good chance that a non-working scanner may have the same defective parts. Old electrolytic capacitors are often bad. If the caps are bad, it is better to replace them with new ones. Otherwise, you can look forward to the same problem in the future.

 

[Omega-TI]

Old people, he changed his mind! As I opened up the radio and he saw how filthy it was inside, he broke down and said, "If you can find a new one for under $100.00 I'll buy it." I didn't have much hope of finding a desktop unit in that price range, but Scamazon came through with...

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[Ubbe]

Those are $98 new and a much nicer scanner with all those features. Incredible value for money if you don't suffer from overload issues.

/Ubbe

 

[robertwbob]

Old people, he changed his mind! As I opened up the radio and he saw how filthy it was inside, he broke down and said, "If you can find a new one for under $100.00 I'll buy it." I didn't have much hope of finding a desktop unit in that price range, but Scamazon came through with...

Thanks for all the help guys!

i got a 345crs i really like.scannig gets low in evenings switch to am fm radio