Old School Bearcat BC350C Scanner Question

[lakeshoreemergency]

I have an older Uniden Bearcat BC350C mobile scanner that I've had sitting in my garage for the last couple years unhooked. I recently dug it out since I'm planning on mounting it in the glove compartment of my car. However, after plugging it in and powering it on to check to make sure it still works okay, I noticed that the volume adjustment is no longer working - The volume seems to be stuck at max even though the knob rotates freely and can turn the unit on and off without any problems.

Any ideas on how to fix this? Maybe open it up and clean some contacts with some electrical contact spray cleaner?

I plan on using an external speaker anyways - By doing so and plugging in an external speaker to the jack in the back, will this bypass the built-in speaker? I'd probably still have the volume issue, though, wouldn't I?

Thanks!

 

[Rt169Radio]

I would open it up and take a look at it, now am not sure, but I think if the external speaker has its own volume control on it you can control the sound from there.

 

[lakeshoreemergency]

I would open it up and take a look at it, now am not sure, but I think if the external speaker has its own volume control on it you can control the sound from there.

Thanks, I'll take a look at it. However, this morning, I accidentally bumped the unit pretty good and the volume control seems to be working now. lol Sounds like it could be beneficial to open it up and at least blow it out with some compressed air. Probably wouldn't hurt. lol

Thanks!

 

[N8IAA]

I noticed that the volume adjustment is no longer working - The volume seems to be stuck at max even though the knob rotates freely and can turn the unit on and off without any problems.
Thanks!

Does the scanner still have frequencies programmed? Does the squelch knob still function? Then as posted, spray some cleaner on the volume pot to see if it helps. You should be able to send it to Uniden for repair and alignment.
HTH,
Larry

 

[lakeshoreemergency]

Does the scanner still have frequencies programmed? Does the squelch knob still function? Then as posted, spray some cleaner on the volume pot to see if it helps. You should be able to send it to Uniden for repair and alignment.
HTH,
Larry

Yeah, channels are still programmed and everything seems to be functioning as intended now after the bump it received this morning.

I couldn't imagine what they would charge to service this unit... Being at least 8 years old and a refurbished unit, at that, I couldn't imagine any warranties would still be in effect.

 

[K4IHS]

If the radio has not been in use for some time... first just try rotating the volume control back and forth from low to high about 20-30 times. It may just be dirty...

 

[nanZor]

Glad you got it working. If the problem comes back, check for cold solder joints. Also exercise the speaker jack, as audio passes through that, and over time the pressure connector fingers can become oxidized enough that there is no longer a good connection to the internal speaker itself.