BCD396T speaker replacement

[GemmaKnight]

Hello all. I recently purchased a BCD396T from eBay and the person conveniently forgot to mention that the speaker was failing. I tried to return it but he put "no returns" so eBay can't make him accept the return. Because of this I need to have the speaker replaced. I already purchased the replacement speaker. My question is: Where can I take it to be fixed and how much should it cost? Thanks! ☺

 

[W8RMH]

eBay has a money back guarantee. If the item does not match the seller's description (they didn't state the speaker was out) even though the seller stated no returns Ebay may still refund your money due to the fact that the seller misrepresented their listing. eBay will go after the seller or permanently bar them.

I made a purchase once and the seller lied in the posting and I got my money back and got to keep the item.

Contact the seller first and describe the problem and ask for a refund. If the seller refuses you can file a report in the resolution center.

eBay Resolution Center

 

[n9mxq]

I'm with W8RMH, contact eBay. But if you don't want to go through that hassle and if you're even semi confident with a soldering iron you should be able to do this yourself. I've done it a few times for a former employer..

Remove the batteries, remove the rear case screws. Split the scanner gently.. Have to loosen 1 board, desolder the old speaker.. put the new speaker in.. Reassemble.

 

[wtp]

how sure are you

much has been said here about the headphone jack not connecting right and cutting out the sound on the T and XT radios. a quick check is to put a plug in a couple of times to see if it comes back.
my 396T hates it when you use the jack and will cut out many times after that. and the 396XT has done it a couple of times. i even thought of using T radio as a base hooked up to computer speakers. it needs a stereo plug to operate correctly.
so if you try the plug thing and get anything out of the speaker it is the jack.
put on something like the NOAA guys or something that makes a continuous sound FM radio maybe.

 

[trp2525]

...I already purchased the replacement speaker. My question is: Where can I take it to be fixed...

FYI there are step-by-step speaker replacement instructions (including photos) for the 396T (and 396XT) in the Radio Reference Wiki: Replace a Blown Speaker in the 396 - The RadioReference Wiki

 

[GemmaKnight]

eBay has a money back guarantee. If the item does not match the seller's description (they didn't state the speaker was out) even though the seller stated no returns Ebay may still refund your money due to the fact that the seller misrepresented their listing. eBay will go after the seller or permanently bar them.

I made a purchase once and the seller lied in the posting and I got my money back and got to keep the item.

Contact the seller first and describe the problem and ask for a refund. If the seller refuses you can file a report in the resolution center.

eBay Resolution Center

I already contacted the seller and he is playing dumb and ebay already said that this transaction doesn't qualify for the buyers protection unless the seller accepts the return and it's been atleast 30 days from the auctions end.

 

[GemmaKnight]

I'm with W8RMH, contact eBay. But if you don't want to go through that hassle and if you're even semi confident with a soldering iron you should be able to do this yourself. I've done it a few times for a former employer..

Remove the batteries, remove the rear case screws. Split the scanner gently.. Have to loosen 1 board, desolder the old speaker.. put the new speaker in.. Reassemble.

I would do it myself but unfortunately I have no skill with a soldering iron.

 

[GemmaKnight]

much has been said here about the headphone jack not connecting right and cutting out the sound on the T and XT radios. a quick check is to put a plug in a couple of times to see if it comes back.
my 396T hates it when you use the jack and will cut out many times after that. and the 396XT has done it a couple of times. i even thought of using T radio as a base hooked up to computer speakers. it needs a stereo plug to operate correctly.
so if you try the plug thing and get anything out of the speaker it is the jack.
put on something like the NOAA guys or something that makes a continuous sound FM radio maybe.

The headphone jack is fine, it's the main speaker that's in question.

 

[GemmaKnight]

FYI there are step-by-step speaker replacement instructions (including photos) for the 396T (and 396XT) in the Radio Reference Wiki: Replace a Blown Speaker in the 396 - The RadioReference Wiki

Sorry. No skill with repairing electronics. ☺

 

[trp2525]

...Where can I take it to be fixed and how much should it cost?...

Uniden will repair your 396T for a flat rate of $79.95 (plus $10 for return shipping/handling): https://repair.uniden.com/rates.cfm
If there is anything else wrong with the scanner (other than the bad speaker) they will also repair/replace those additional items at the same time for the same $79.95 flat rate.

 

[GemmaKnight]

Thanks to all for the info! ☺

 

[Citywide173]

The headphone jack is fine, it's the main speaker that's in question.

Not sure you're understanding the point of this. The headphone jack may be passing audio to an external speaker just fine, but if it doesn't restore audio back to the speaker when unplugged, it is just as broken. The poster suggested trying a few cycles of plugging/unplugging to see if this might rectify your problem.

 

[GemmaKnight]

Not sure you're understanding the point of this. The headphone jack may be passing audio to an external speaker just fine, but if it doesn't restore audio back to the speaker when unplugged, it is just as broken. The poster suggested trying a few cycles of plugging/unplugging to see if this might rectify your problem.

I understand that and it was already tried with no luck. I also brought it to an electronic repair shop near me and they tested it with the results that the main speaker is failing.

 

[ko6jw_2]

Assuming you have no luck with eBay:

Send it back to Uniden and don't mess around yourself. You may do more damage. I fried a 396T quite a few years ago when it was too close to a 6 meter transmitter. Sent it back. Radio came back as good as new with the latest firmware and they even replaced the display cover that had a slight scratch. Well worth it. Mine does have the ear phone jack issue, but so far a few insertions of a plug and it is fine again. They'll totally checkout out and return it to original specs.

 

[GemmaKnight]

Assuming you have no luck with eBay:

Send it back to Uniden and don't mess around yourself. You may do more damage. I fried a 396T quite a few years ago when it was too close to a 6 meter transmitter. Sent it back. Radio came back as good as new with the latest firmware and they even replaced the display cover that had a slight scratch. Well worth it. Mine does have the ear phone jack issue, but so far a few insertions of a plug and it is fine again. They'll totally checkout out and return it to original specs.

That's what I was planning on doing. ☺

 

[trp2525]

That's what I was planning on doing. ☺

Just as an FYI the Uniden BSPG0590001 replacement speaker for the 396T/396XT is currently showing "Out of Stock" on the Uniden website: BSPG0590001 Internal Speaker For BCD396T, BCD396XT. It is possible that Uniden Repair keeps a separate inventory of the speakers in stock for their own exclusive use so that they can repair scanners that are sent in for repair.

Let us know how you make out with your speaker replacement.

 

[GemmaKnight]

Just as an FYI the Uniden BSPG0590001 replacement speaker for the 396T/396XT is currently showing "Out of Stock" on the Uniden website: BSPG0590001 Internal Speaker For BCD396T, BCD396XT. It is possible that Uniden Repair keeps a separate inventory of the speakers in stock for their own exclusive use so that they can repair scanners that are sent in for repair.

Let us know how you make out with your speaker replacement.

Ok .Thanks again for the info! I'll keep you all updated. ☺

 

[ur20v]

If you paid with PayPal, you have 6 months to file a claim. Ebay and PayPal are now separate companies and if you get no traction with eBay, PayPal will take care of it for you.

 

[GemmaKnight]

If you paid with PayPal, you have 6 months to file a claim. Ebay and PayPal are now separate companies and if you get no traction with eBay, PayPal will take care of it for you.

A claim has already been filed and the seller is still playing dumb. If the seller doesn't decide what to do by the end of this month I'll probably just send it to Uniden for repair or just buy an external speaker for it. ☺

 

[Nasby]

The OP is kind of hard to follow. But in his second post (if I am understanding him correctly), he said that the auction ended over 30 days ago.

It doesn't seem fair to hold the seller responsible when the OP has had the scanner for over 30 days and is just now raising an issue.

A bad speaker would be immediately obvious upon opening the package and turning on the scanner.