magicjellybeans
Member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2008
- Messages
- 268
Has anyone hooked up a Home Patrol external speaker ,if so what kind is it?Is it loud and do you get any buzzing,etc?
In my car I use a radio shack 21-130 amplified, you do need to use an amplified speaker also, you need the adpter for the stero mono so it will work thats a radio shack peace to. Couple of bucks and it is real loud if you want it to be.
You have the wrong connector ,If you hear nothing but crackling,if it does this on your home patrol through its speaker,If say you have an issue with the unit but out the scanner,no way.Get the Stereo to mono adapter and try it.(saw your winamp audio clip)I had little to no audio with a stereo plug,when I played with the wires did have the same clicking and popping replicated .So get a nice adapter and plug it in and then the amplified speaker or stereo earphone jack to RCA wire then to the computer.If that doesnt work,resolder the jack inside the scanner.Make sure AGC is ON in the home patrol audio settings.
sadly,since getting the home patrol upgrade and hooking it to my stereo I havent touched the 996XT =.boohoo.
The HomePatrol has done this from the beginning. Apparently there's a click occurring whenever the circuit switches from the discriminator output (analog) to the DSP circuit (digital) when going to or from P-25 systems. Looks to be an inherent design problem to me but could be DSP code which sets a different idle voltage point between the two sources.
magic, I've been scanning for 16 years and an amateur operator for 14. It's not me, nor the adapter, so don't tell me what it is and isn't. This crackling issue has absolutely nothing to do with the adapter. The stereo to mono adapter simply pipes BOTH sides of the stereo channel into the speaker so the external speaker's output is louder - it does not solve any crackling. The crackling is generated by the HP itself, internally, and the adapter makes no difference.
I definitely have the correct adapter. Same part number that's been posted all over here and the HP forums. It is a male stereo to female mono adapter. It is NOT crackling constantly - only when it switches P25 sites. If I hold on a channel, the crackling goes away because it's not scanning between sites. You may not encounter this issue if you're not listening to P25. I am listening to P25 only, and we have hundreds of simulcast sites.
This is NOT "just me" as MANY others have reported the same issue. You can even hear it when there is no external speaker connected (try it), but it is barely audible - you'll hear the same thing if you listen to the built-in speaker carefully when scanning P25 sites.
The radio should not unmute until it lands on a channel (the 396 and 996 mutes until landing, the HP doesn't). I've already reported this to Uniden, but haven't heard anything back.
Do you have it connected to an external antenna?I have two antennas here,one is for HAM radios.
One is for the scanners,I have a TV splitter connected to the scanner antenna and all sorts of CRUMMY
outlets in my house.Take that into account...
I had to take all the grounds off my equipment's power strips to get this here scanner to play clearly.
I had to get the correct stereo to mono plug.
The Home Patrol has a strange ground issue in it.all I say is PLAY AROUND WITH GROUNDs.
I almost sold this radio and now its working great.I wanted an external speaker.
I dont care if yer a ham or not or the biggest genius in the world all I say is try a few things.
Maybe a ground loop isolator would be a better solution for you.
Try it,you can always return it to radio shack!
I had mine doing the same XXXX a week ago ,I have been banging my head against the wall wondering why the $500 wonder wouldnt allow me to connect a speaker to it.
1.it needs an amplified speaker.
2it needs the right connector.
3.If theres a ground loop it takes a dump.
Go from there.
In my car I use a radio shack 21-130 amplified, you do need to use an amplified speaker also, you need the adpter for the stero mono so it will work thats a radio shack peace to. Couple of bucks and it is real loud if you want it to be.
magic, you've missed my point yet again. This is NOT a ground loop problem. It does it even with NO antenna connected, no power connected, running only on batteries. This isn't a "60hz" hum, it isn't DC noise, it isn't a poor antenna connection, it isn't anything that you seem to think it is, and I guarantee it 10000000%.
Read carefully, because this is the last time I'm going to post it. The "click" or crackling happens ONLY and EXACTLY when the HP switches P25 sites, or switches from analog to digital mode, or switches from digital to analog mode. This is nothing external, it is not interference, it is an internal software/firmware or hardware issue. And unless they've fixed it since my batch, or it was a problem in my particular batch of HPs, EVERYONE has the same issue. My friend's has the same issue.
And to answer your bulleted list:
1) I'm using an amplified speaker, as I've already stated
2) I'm using the correct connector, as I've already stated
3) There's no ground loop
I wouldn't be complaining to the forum if I hadn't tried everything.
Again, this issue is internal only - there is no external influence. I can even hear the INTERNAL HP speaker click quietly when it switches P25 sites, or between analog/digital. Stop telling me it's something else, because it isn't, and I guarantee it.