First things first: define the problem. Everything I know so far is fuzzy; I need some numbers to make sure I'm solving the right problem, and solving it in the best way.

Problems as I understand them now:

1. Boondock Echo is designed with the Baofeng in mind.
2. The Bearcat BCD-996P2 scanner I'm using has a "REC OUT" jack that outputs line-level audio, but only for the specific channels selected in its program and at a fixed level regardless of volume setting on the scanner.
3. I have the scanner REC OUT jack connected directly to the Boondock Echo dock's aux input via a 3.5-mm audio extension cable.
4. In order to record anything on the BE dock I have to crank the input attenuator on the audio sidekick board all the way off, plus I have to jack the gain to at least +12 dB in the app.
5. Even then, KC reports that my signal is still in the weeds.
6. I get a lot of variability in audio signal strength across the channels I want to record -- some are soft-talkers, some are mic-swallowers. It makes it hard to get a consistent recording, and transcription can be iffy as a result.

What I need to figure out is how much signal my scanner is putting out versus what the dock is expecting, and see if I need to boost it, attenuate it, or both.