Pro-96 and external speaker volume

[firescannerbob]

Hi, all...
I'd like to get a little more "oomph" out of my Pro-96, and want to use an external speaker. Apparently, however, the Pro-96 has some circuitry in the ear phone jack that reduces the volume so that ear phone users don't hurt themselves...
I'd like to by-pass that circuitry. I'm not interested in using an ear phone, and honestly, if I was, I'm smart enough to know to turn the volume down first.
I did a search here, and found an earlier thread on this topic that included a link to an even earlier thread on how to bypass the reduction circuit, but that link is now a dead one.
Can any one help?

Thanks!

 

[K5MAR]

Yep. You need to put a jumper between the ground side of the earphone jack and the ground side of the BNC connector. There is a small resistor in the ground side of the earphone jack to reduce the audio level in order to prevent hearing damage to those who aren't smart enough to turn the radio down, which certainly applies to nobody HERE! :roll:

A small piece of wire wrapped around the shoulder of the speaker plug before it is plugged in and under the antenna BNC will do the trick, or if you are brave, the jumper can be installed internally.

Standard disclaimer: this may void your warranty; and I'm not responsible for damages to you or your scanner.

Mark S.

 

[K2KOH]

I use an RS amplified speaker...works wonders not just for the Pro 96, but for my R20 as well.

 

[KG4KHQ]

Here in the house, I'm using some computer speakers, they work very well. I bought a stereo to mono adapter at Radio Shacker..plug that into the scanner..then plug the speakers into the adapter.

 

[firescannerbob]

Thanks everyone. I'm using my Pro-96 in my car and space is limited, so amplified speakers aren't much of an option. I'll crack this thing open and look into installing a jumper.

 

[DonS]

Thanks everyone. I'm using my Pro-96 in my car and space is limited, so amplified speakers aren't much of an option. I'll crack this thing open and look into installing a jumper.

In your first post, you said you weren't interested in using an ear phone. The mod described by Mark only affects volume level through the ear phone jack - it won't have any effect on speaker volume.

 

[firescannerbob]

Thanks everyone. I'm using my Pro-96 in my car and space is limited, so amplified speakers aren't much of an option. I'll crack this thing open and look into installing a jumper.

In your first post, you said you weren't interested in using an ear phone. The mod described by Mark only affects volume level through the ear phone jack - it won't have any effect on speaker volume.

Actually in my first post I said I wanted more volume from an external speaker, and unless I'm missing something, the ear phone jack is the only place (without some other hardware mods) to connect one.

 

[DonS]

Thanks everyone. I'm using my Pro-96 in my car and space is limited, so amplified speakers aren't much of an option. I'll crack this thing open and look into installing a jumper.

In your first post, you said you weren't interested in using an ear phone. The mod described by Mark only affects volume level through the ear phone jack - it won't have any effect on speaker volume.

Actually in my first post I said I wanted more volume from an external speaker, and unless I'm missing something, the ear phone jack is the only place (without some other hardware mods) to connect one.

Ah - neglected to read that part.

I'd think that if you have room for an external speaker, one that will somehow be louder than the speaker in the PRO-96, you might also have room for a small, amplified speaker (unless running power to one is a problem).

If you have a cassette deck in your vehicle, you might investigate one of those 1/8" plug - to - fake - tape adapters. I've used one (came with an old portable CD player) in my truck with scanners, laptops, and an MP3 player. There's also the FM adapter option, but those require their own power.

 

[firescannerbob]

Thanks, Don.
It's not so much that the built-in speaker isn't loud enough, it just the placement of the scanner. I've got a couple of really nice, small speakers, and I'm just looking to place one of them a little closer to me. The scanner sits on the center floor console in my van, and I want to put the external speaker near my overhead console. Running wires for a amplifed speaker would be a problem, and they're typically bigger than the speakers I'm looking to use.

 

[loumaag]

Bob, before you crack the radio open, try just using a paperclip wrapped around the BNC connector to the ear-phone jack. Same effect with no warrenty problems.

 

[firescannerbob]

Thanks, Lou! Mine is out of waranty, but it may still beat cracking the case open...

 

[bigcheez69]

The 'jumper on the audio jack' works fine if you use a single speaker, if you use a stereo jack, such as to connect to car radio or such, this will amplify one channel and suppress the other.

 

[bigcheez69]

Here in the house, I'm using some computer speakers, they work very well. I bought a stereo to mono adapter at Radio Shacker..plug that into the scanner..then plug the speakers into the adapter.

There is no need for the adapter, the Pro96 will accept a mono or stereo plug

 

[cdenton]

Computer Speakers

Dang, bigcheez69, that is one boss idea!
I can't believe it never occured to me.
I hooked an old pair of amplified computer speakers to my Pro96, and tried it out. Nice and loud ... kind of heavy on the bass, but it's a big improvement over the stock speaker.

Thanks, Bro!

 

[firescannerbob]

Well, tried the paperclip around the speaker plug and the BNC connector, and it works great. The speaker is closer to my ear, so I don't nned to crank it up as loud, and it's not competting so much with the stereo.
Thanks everyone for all the help.

 

[grosema]

I found I had a AUX on my car stereo I pluged in a RCA wire to the car radio and the 1/8 stereo jack to the Rro96 and put the volume to 1/4 on the pro96 and it sounds great. I dont miss a thing now.

 

[Todd-NG]

Here in the house, I'm using some computer speakers, they work very well. I bought a stereo to mono adapter at Radio Shacker..plug that into the scanner..then plug the speakers into the adapter.

I actually use a patch cable from my Pro-96 to my computer's soundcard input socket. Not only do I get the sound from my computer's speakers but I can also run the Xcorder program to record what I hear. Xcorder is a great freeware program that records in .wav format. Here is a link if anyone wants to download the program and give it a try. Note that it asks for a login and password at the top of the page, but I did not have to enter anything into these fields to download the program.

http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Xcorder/1068442936/1

Todd

 

[kcoleman]

If any of you by chance have a car audio system that has an AUX jack input on the faceplate, you can switch the system to AUX and run your patch cable from the headphone jack of your scanner to the car stereo system...the boost that the bass adds to the scanner is hard to beat when your on the road. I've done this with both my PRO-95 & PRO-97.