When I first moved into this rental in Cincinnati, I couldn’t get any local railroad signals on my scanner. To improve the reception, I temporarily placed a scanner antenna outside my window. But I wanted even better reception, so I found out that the house previously had Direct TV with a satellite dish on the roof. I realized that one of the coaxial outlets was connected to the satellite dish, so I disconnected it and connected my scanner antenna to the roof instead. Then, I ran a short coaxial cable from the wall outlet to my scanners. With a multi-coupler, I managed to connect all my scanners to the rooftop antenna.
Now I have resolved my reception problem, but I am looking for a way to listen to the scanner in other rooms without having to run a cable throughout the house. Since I am unable to drill holes, I need to think of a creative solution. How can I listen to the scanner outside of my office?
I found a Bluetooth receiver and transmitter on Amazon and purchased a Bluetooth speaker specifically for this scanner’s Bluetooth feed. I love using ANKER battery-powered speaker, so I can easily move it around the house. Setting it up was a breeze – just paired the transmitter with my ANKER Speaker.
I recommend using a scanner with a separate record line jack that operates independently from the onboard speaker. The volume is already set at the optimal level for recording. Currently, I am using my Uniden Bearcat BCD260DN, which has a built-in recording jack. I have to activate recording for each channel in the programming so that it can be played on the Bluetooth speaker. Since the record jack is separate from the onboard speaker, I can still monitor the scanner while in the office. However, if I’m not there, I can simply lower the volume and listen on my Bluetooth speaker from another part of the house.
I’ve been using this setup for a while and it works great, I would highly recommend doing this if you’re in a similar situation.
Uniden Jack Configuration
Here’s the standard layout for the jacks on the back of the Uniden scanners. You’ll find the record jack labeled as number 2 on the diagram.
Note: Not all scanners have a record line. You may need to use the external speaker jack and adjust the volume.
| Item Number | Description |
| 1 | Antenna Jack (BNC type) |
| 2 | Record (REC) Output Jack (3.5mm Stereo) |
| 3 | External Speaker Jack (3.5mm Monaural) |
| 4 | DC 13.8 Volts Power Jack (5.5mm Center Positive) |
| 5 | DC13.8V External Power Jack with dim control terminal for installation in a vehicle |
| 6 | Accessory Screw Hole – Maximum Depth = 10mm |
Anker Soundcore 2
Enjoy up to 24 hours of battery life, compact design, and incredible sound quality.
Ankilo Aux Bluetooth Transmitter & Receiver
Easy to set up and can transmit up to 33 feet. It has a built-in battery, but you can also keep it powered using a USB AC adapter.
