replacing 396 speaker

[k9gunner]

My speaker on my 396 is cracking bad, and I think is on the fritz. How hard is it to replace?

If I send it in, what is the turn around time?

 

[Pyr8]

send it in....i got my bct15 back in less than a week!

 

[linuxwrangler]

With modest patience and care, shouldn't be too hard. I've had my 396 pulled apart a couple times and others report it isn't terribly hard. But you may wait as long for a replacement speaker as you do for repair.

If you use an earphone, make sure the problem is really with the speaker and not with the earphone jack. It isn't well supported so the occasional doorknob snag and tug from my 2-year-old caused the solder-joints to crack. The 396 is a nice scanner, but duty-grade it ain't. Still, repairing the joints was only about a 15-minute job including taking the unit apart and putting it back together.

 

[k9gunner]

The problem is with the external speaker. If I use the headphone jack, it is clear.

 

[chas3]

If you are under warranty send it in, otherwise they will charge you over $50 to replace a speaker that you can buy from them for about $5 including shipping. If you can solder it is pretty basic.
Uniden will have your scanner for 3-4 weeks for repair.

Chas

 

[k9gunner]

That 3-4 weeks was what I was afraid of. HGow long is the waranty, and where is the manf. date on it unit?

 

[chas3]

The warranty should be 1 year, however, Uniden will want proof of purchase when it is sent in (they will not just send you a free speaker). Apparently the first digit of the s/n is the year made (7xxxxx=2007)

Chas

 

[800crazy1]

i just bought 2 replacement speakers from uniden parts , total was 8.34 cents for both speakers and included the shipping and handling. unfortunatly , i ran into another problem , i stripped the very last screw i was removing and now dont know what the hec to do....anyone have any ideas for removing a striped screw ? it would be one of the screws on the back , but not one of the 2 screws in the battery compartment. , thanks ,.....ps it took about 10 days to get the speakers from uniden...and i priority mailed a usps money order. PLEASE , someone have an idea for removing that last screw , i dont want to send it back for 50 bucks....thanks

 

[chas3]

Did you strip the head of the screw or is the screw spinning and not coming out?

If you damaged the head of it it will probably need to be CAREFULLY drilled to allow you to pull the case past the screw fragement (then the screw can be removed) Always use the proper screwdriver with a good tip!

If the screw just spins, work it while you are spreading the case. This will often allow it to bite enough for removal.

Chas

 

[800crazy1]

thanks for the response , its the head , cant get the screw to turn due to the head being stripped. i used the proper philips , had no problems with the others , just that one wouldnt turn and like a knucklehead persisted in trying to get it to turn till the insert is more "square" instead of philip shaped insert. pi$$es me off that now i have the speakers , but cant get into the radio. im wondering if maybe a hardware store would have something that might work , gonna visit one tomarrow , ill bring the radio with me and show someone , maybe theyll have some kind of idea. thnx again for the response.

 

[slicerwizard]

With a screw that small, you're looking at drilling the head off. With the head recessed in the rear case, you aren't going to be grabbing it with pliers. The screw is toast already, so just get the drill out. It'll take you all of a minute to do it. You can use pliers to spin out the carcass.

 

[800crazy1]

OK GUYS , pretty proud of myself at the moment , heres what i did , went to Ocean State Job Lot , bought a 6 piece precision screw driver set , they all look like the type of screw driver you would use for eye glasses , 2.49 or something like that , took the largest philips out and wallaaa.....was able to get the screw out , ......then took out the board popped out the old speaker , put the new speaker in , soldered the wires and then couldnt get the damn radio back together , it was giving me a hard time with the boared and sliding the earphone piece undernieth ....after about 10 mins of fiddling , i finally got the radio back together , and it sounds as good as new ....weewhh the hardest part of this whole thing was putting the radio back together ...i didnt obviously try putting that other screw back in and so im missing a screw , but plan on ordering a whole set of external screws from uniden hopefully this week , thanks everyone for your help, damn love this hobby and this site , anyone that can help you will help you , thanks again.

 

[800crazy1]

oh and have a spare speaker , so i wont have to wait for another one to be shipped should this one pop on me....funny thing is , i never turned my 396 past 9 , just one day could tell it was a little fuzzy and when i turned it up to the usual 9 , you could tell it was popped, i think what i did was take the AGC off and was trying to compare something , and possibly a digital transmission came blaring on . thats the only thing i can conclude that happend.

 

[slicerwizard]

It's cheap hardware. Many defective parts out there just waiting to break. It's not your doing.

 

[chas3]

It seems like there are 2 different groups of speakers in the 396's: Ones that have gone bad and ones that are going to go bad.

Maybe Uniden should include a spare with the scanner when new and make it as easy to replace as the batteries

Chas