I just noticed that Uniden is about to release some new external speakers. I'm pretty interested in the BC23A for my HomePatrol. Sure would like to see additional info on it.
Unidens new speaker lineup.
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Uniden BC23A
About all I can find is that it is a 15 watt speaker. The Radio Shack Amplified Communication Speaker :
21-130 RadioShack Amplified Communication Speaker : Communication Speakers | RadioShack.com is listed at 8 watts, so this might be a great speaker for the BCD396XT, BCD996XT, and the Home Patrol HP-1! I sort of suspect that this might not need a stereo to mono adapter, but we will see.
External Speaker - Accessories at Uniden
External Speaker for HP-1
About all I can find is that it is a 15 watt speaker. The Radio Shack Amplified Communication Speaker :
21-130 RadioShack Amplified Communication Speaker : Communication Speakers | RadioShack.com is listed at 8 watts, so this might be a great speaker for the BCD396XT, BCD996XT, and the Home Patrol HP-1! I sort of suspect that this might not need a stereo to mono adapter, but we will see.
External Speaker - Accessories at Uniden
External Speaker for HP-1
Dewey
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If you click on the manual for the RS amplified speaker, you can see that it use a mono plug, so a stereo adapter will be required.
Dewey
The three speakers are BC7:7-Watt power handling; BC15: 15-Watts; BC20: 20-Watts; BC23A: 15-Watt power handling, 8-watt internal amplifier. All three have stereo plugs, so they are suitable for use with scanner headphone outputs or CB/Scanner/etc mono outputs.
Unidens New Speaker Lineup.
UPMan,
Thank you very much for the advance information on the Uniden Speakers. Will these be like the Radio Shack Amplified Speaker with the Auto power save circuitry where the speaker automatically powers off to save energy when it receives no audio signal for 25 seconds? I actually don't care for that, so I am hoping that the Uniden BC23A DOES NOT have that feature!
Also, will it has a red LED to show when the speaker is receiving power and/or signal? I do like that feature, but I suppose I could live without it.
Also, will the speaker cable disconnect from the speaker end, just like the Radio Shack, or is it permanently wired to that?
UPMan,
Thank you very much for the advance information on the Uniden Speakers. Will these be like the Radio Shack Amplified Speaker with the Auto power save circuitry where the speaker automatically powers off to save energy when it receives no audio signal for 25 seconds? I actually don't care for that, so I am hoping that the Uniden BC23A DOES NOT have that feature!
Also, will it has a red LED to show when the speaker is receiving power and/or signal? I do like that feature, but I suppose I could live without it.
Also, will the speaker cable disconnect from the speaker end, just like the Radio Shack, or is it permanently wired to that?
That is exactly what annoys me about the RS Amplified, that auto shutdown. Also it pops when I hit a light switch in a nearby room.
It has auto power off, red led, and non-detaching wires
90 degrees. Cord is about 12 ft long. Signal is wired tip and base only (ring is unconnected).
Even with an external speaker the audio on Uniden scanners is still too low when used mobile. The power output from the external speaker jack is too low. It is far lower than the 2 watts claimed, I measured it on both of mine and its barely 1 watt with an 8 ohm speaker. Even when used with a amplified speaker it's still not enough. The ouput power needs to be increased and the audio needs filtering. Scanners just have a cheap sound to them. You can hook any speaker you want to it and it will still sound bad. Perhaps someday all my complaining will reach someone who actually gives a crap but so far that hasn't happened.
Plug any $200.00 amateur radio into an external speaker and listen to the difference between that and a BCD996XT and you'll see what I mean. There's no reason for the bad audio on a $450.00 scanner besides profit margin. Can we get some audio please Uniden!
Plug any $200.00 amateur radio into an external speaker and listen to the difference between that and a BCD996XT and you'll see what I mean. There's no reason for the bad audio on a $450.00 scanner besides profit margin. Can we get some audio please Uniden!
Unidens New Speaker Lineup.
I would say that there is a very good chance that I will get one of these. I sort of wish the AUTO POWER OFF could be disabled. I certainly do like the 90 degree plug. I would sort of like to have been able to detach the cord, but that is no big geal at all. I actually think it might be nice to have a Uniden speaker to match the Uniden Home Patrol scanner.
I would say that there is a very good chance that I will get one of these. I sort of wish the AUTO POWER OFF could be disabled. I certainly do like the 90 degree plug. I would sort of like to have been able to detach the cord, but that is no big geal at all. I actually think it might be nice to have a Uniden speaker to match the Uniden Home Patrol scanner.
QwKiE
Member
All I can say is I have 21-130 RadioShack Amplified Communication Speaker : Communication Speakers | RadioShack.com is listed at 8 watts and it will blow you out of your car you buy the right stuff and it will work right. In the house I use Harman/Kardon computer speakers and line out no speaker on the HP 1 just the external line out and its so loud I can go outside and hear the scanner.
lep
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I would say your problem might be the ambient noise in your auto. I have a Kenwood dual band amateur transceiver mounted in my auto along with a Uniden 996 both are so loud that I can only use about half-volume.
I don't hear any difference in the audio quality. In both cases the RF units are under the passenger front seat in an enclosure custom made by the local MOT shop. Both radios have MOT external speakers mounted to the center console. These are passive (not powered) speakers.
Wanted to add my speakers are the SP20's, and I too use them at half volume in my vehicle. When pumped to full volume, the display on the 780's dim a little. 
An important note, when I tried to use one on my 396XT, the volume was VERY low. The handheld could barely power the speaker at all.
Paul
An important note, when I tried to use one on my 396XT, the volume was VERY low. The handheld could barely power the speaker at all.
Paul
Unterminated wires.
scanner speakers
If you are trying to plug an extension speaker into a portable scanner, they usually have the output gated to protect earphone users...you can run a jumper wire as a "short" between the shield of the audio to the shield of the antenna to bypass this
TC
If you are trying to plug an extension speaker into a portable scanner, they usually have the output gated to protect earphone users...you can run a jumper wire as a "short" between the shield of the audio to the shield of the antenna to bypass this
TC
Dewey
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There are bolded warnings about this in the 396T and XT guides. While it will work for GRE, you run the risk of damaging the amplification circuit in the Uniden portables. This advice should be taken with the at your own risk statement (or just search here where I know at least one user who already suffered damage).
EDIT: Here is the thread where I posted the warning in the manual, and another user reported to have damaged their 396 doing it:
http://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-scanners/205065-396-amplified-external-audio.html
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