396xt Battery Error

[KI4VBR]

I grabbed my 396xt this morning, unplugged it from the charger from a 10 hour overnight plugin, took a walk on the beach, turned on the xt and....... nothing. Got away from the sand, opened up the battery compartment, checked around, reseated the batteries and again.....nothing.

I got home and plugged in the charger and as soon as I plug it in, it indicates "pre charging". About 5 minutes after that, the LCD then displays "battery error". I purchased the radio new (AES Orl) in the beginning of November and cant imagine that the batt's are dead at this point.

I did some searching here on RR and couldnt find anything specific to this radio, and then tried Google & Yahoo search engines and didnt see anything on the first 4 pages of hits. Lots of sales info on third party batteries, but nothing specific on my problem.

Any suggestions? Should I let it continue to charge even though it indicates "battery error"? The radio is not getting hot, so I am not really sure it is drawing any current to actually charge it. The radio does come on and work OK when plugged in.

When I listen to the radio at home, it is usually on the charger and I am wondering if it should not be used as an A.C. adapter to power the radio while home.

All suggestions and ideas are welcomed.

Tnx,
Vince _/\_ KI4VBR

 

[325xia]

Time for new NiMH's. I would buy some new ones and see if that makes a difference. You can buy a set very cheap these days. It sounds like the batteries you have got below charge level and are not coming alive again.

 

[KI4VBR]

That quick?

I realize they dont last forever, but dag_!!@blas#*$#namet, you spend 500 on a radio and cant get a few months out of the batteries? Guesss they were a bad bunch o batteries. I am glad they are easily to replace. I have some other ones somewhere around here that I can put in and see what happens.....maybe it will make me stop saying things like dag_!!@blas#*$#namet when I plug it back in.....who knows.

Thanks

 

[325xia]

The batteries that came with my new 396xt were of inferior quality. I would suggest a higher mah battery. I'm using 2700mah's, and they work great. 11hours of continuous use after a full charge using the supplied Uniden charger.

 

[yotebuster]

Charging batteries in your $500+ scanner is not a very good idea. I purchased a stand alone charger so that if a battery leaks it wont turn my scanner into a small boat anchor. I use a Maha MH-C401FS Class 2 Battery Charger. It does a great job and runs about $30 it will charge a set of batteries in 1 hour "hot charge" or 5 hours "cold charge". One thing I like about it is while I have a set of batteries in my scanner the Maha will keep the batteries at full capacity until I pull them off. Now if you want a charger that will charge, condition, break-in and cycle your batteries then the Powerex MH-C9000 is the charger for you, that one will set you back $50 but it's totally worth it.
As for batteries I like the Powerex 2700Mah AAs they retail for $12.99 for four.
So for the LOVE of the Uniden 396xt buy a stand alone charger.

 

[325xia]

Charging batteries in your $500+ scanner is not a very good idea. I purchased a stand alone charger so that if a battery leaks it wont turn my scanner into a small boat anchor. I use a Maha MH-C401FS Class 2 Battery Charger. It does a great job and runs about $30 it will charge a set of batteries in 1 hour "hot charge" or 5 hours "cold charge". One thing I like about it is while I have a set of batteries in my scanner the Maha will keep the batteries at full capacity until I pull them off. Now if you want a charger that will charge, condition, break-in and cycle your batteries then the Powerex MH-C9000 is the charger for you, that one will set you back $50 but it's totally worth it.
As for batteries I like the Powerex 2700Mah AAs they retail for $12.99 for four.
So for the LOVE of the Uniden 396xt buy a stand alone charger.

Hogwash. This charger was "designed" to be with the Uniden 396xt as an internal charger. Obviously, if it damaged your scanner, Uniden would be responsible under the warranty if used as instructed. Introducing a third party charger "may" not get you far when something goes wrong in the charging/battery situation when it comes to warranty repair. Your choice.

 

[SCPD]

Hogwash. This charger was "designed" to be with the Uniden 396xt as an internal charger. Obviously, if it damaged your scanner, Uniden would be responsible under the warranty if used as instructed. Introducing a third party charger "may" not get you far when something goes wrong in the charging/battery situation when it comes to warranty repair. Your choice.

Hogwash whatever ... I hate to say, but either of those Maha chargers are far superior to what in built into your scanner. I personally own the 9000 and trust me on this one, it is one of the best chargers on the market today. But hey ... if you want to risk battery leakage, I guess that is your opinion. I think you would also find that Uniden would indicate that Battery Leakage wouldn't be covered under warranty. Just like if you look at your Blackberry ... there is a sensor in it to detect if the unit was ever soaked by water. Guess what ... you are out of luck on your warranty if it shows water damage.

Myself and anyone else that wants to use a superior charger , it is their choice. Besides .... I would like to see your Uniden scanner charge batteries in 15 min like is possible with external chargers.

 

[325xia]

....and what's to say the batteries aren't going to leak in the scanner after being used with your so-called superior charger??? Hmm

 

[yotebuster]

325xia thats your opinion and you are entitled to it and you are entitled to your 90 day warranty BUT after that the only thing you will be washing is hogs with your out of warranty scanner when the batteries leak out. The charger was put in there for a matter of convenience and I would bet my charger that the amount of quality put into the design wasn't as extensive as the motherboard. So I am sure everyone will take your opinion and mine into consideration when trying to preserve the service life of THEIR $500 scanner.
Its better to be SAFE then SORRY when your warranty RUNS OUT!

 

[yotebuster]

....and what's to say the batteries aren't going to leak in the scanner after being used with your so-called superior charger??? Hmm

Dude you should put the coffee down no need to attack people who are offering suggestions.

 

[325xia]

325xia thats your opinion and you are entitled to it and you are entitled to your 90 day warranty BUT after that the only thing you will be washing is hogs with your out of warranty scanner when the batteries leak out. The charger was put in there for a matter of convenience and I would bet my charger that the amount of quality put into the design wasn't as extensive as the motherboard. So I am sure everyone will take your opinion and mine into consideration when trying to preserve the service life of THEIR $500 scanner.
Its better to be SAFE then SORRY when your warranty RUNS OUT!

"So I am sure everyone will take your opinion and mine into consideration when trying to preserve the service life of THEIR $500 scanner." Yeah, and save themselves a lot of money on an unnecessary charger. I think you have more than a vested interest in this external charger. Common sense is all it takes. Also, anything that charges batteries in 15 minutes is hard on NiMH's. Just do a "search" on that philosophy. I'll stick with the designed, "Convenient" charger that came with my new 396xt.

 

[yotebuster]

"So I am sure everyone will take your opinion and mine into consideration when trying to preserve the service life of THEIR $500 scanner." Yeah, and save themselves a lot of money on an unnecessary charger. I think you have more than a vested interest in this external charger. Common sense is all it takes. Also, anything that charges batteries in 15 minutes is hard on NiMH's. Just do a "search" on that philosophy. I'll stick with the designed, "Convenient" charger that came with my new 396xt.

Oh ya $30 or even $50 dollars is alot of money and my only vested interest is that I prevent someone from ruining their scanner.

 

[325xia]

Whatever

 

[torontokris]

Maybe just 1 of your 3 batteries is gone, and will bring down the others.

I suggest a external MAHA 9000 (or other advanced) chargers .. so that you can see the exact VOLTAGE and MAH of EACH battery and determine which is bad.

And in most cases a proper break-in option (on the chargers) will bring dead batteries back to life.

 

[yotebuster]

Come on 325xia grace us with more of your profound wisdom on why we should not buy stand alone chargers.

 

[SCPD]

Maybe just 1 of your 3 batteries is gone, and will bring down the others.

I suggest a external MAHA 9000 (or other advanced) chargers .. so that you can see the exact VOLTAGE and MAH of EACH battery and determine which is bad.

And in most cases a proper break-in option (on the chargers) will bring dead batteries back to life.

The Maha 9000 is in my opinion (and Yes I am entitled to my own opinion), one of the best chargers I have ever seen. It does wonders with batteries that I thought were dead and would never work again.

I personally use Sanyo Eneloop batteries .. as well i have several scanners and I never know how long they will just sit there before being used.

 

[SCPD]

I grabbed my 396xt this morning, unplugged it from the charger from a 10 hour overnight plugin, took a walk on the beach, turned on the xt and....... nothing. Got away from the sand, opened up the battery compartment, checked around, reseated the batteries and again.....nothing.

I got home and plugged in the charger and as soon as I plug it in, it indicates "pre charging". About 5 minutes after that, the LCD then displays "battery error". I purchased the radio new (AES Orl) in the beginning of November and cant imagine that the batt's are dead at this point.

I did some searching here on RR and couldnt find anything specific to this radio, and then tried Google & Yahoo search engines and didnt see anything on the first 4 pages of hits. Lots of sales info on third party batteries, but nothing specific on my problem.

Any suggestions? Should I let it continue to charge even though it indicates "battery error"? The radio is not getting hot, so I am not really sure it is drawing any current to actually charge it. The radio does come on and work OK when plugged in.

When I listen to the radio at home, it is usually on the charger and I am wondering if it should not be used as an A.C. adapter to power the radio while home.

All suggestions and ideas are welcomed.

Tnx,
Vince _/\_ KI4VBR

For best results do not use the charger in the radio. Switch the battery setting to alkaline. Batteries plus and many retail outlets sell small rechargers for AA batteries at a reasonable cost.

 

[325xia]

Come on 325xia grace us with more of your profound wisdom on why we should not buy stand alone chargers.

Okay... I don't have to take batteries in and out of the scanner everyday. I just plug it-in when I get home and it's ready to go when I unplug it. I'm not jacking around with batteries making sure they are charged and in the scanner the right direction. Wearing out the door of the scanner and contacts. I could go on and on... So, there!

 

[yotebuster]

Okay... I don't have to take batteries in and out of the scanner everyday. I just plug it-in when I get home and it's ready to go when I unplug it. I'm not jacking around with batteries making sure they are charged and in the scanner the right direction. Wearing out the door of the scanner and contacts. I could go on and on... So, there!

Okay... If you do not purchase a MAHA Battery Charger by Tuesday of this week I will send a signal to your 396xt that will cause a Thermal Nuclear Detonation smack dab in the middle of Rancho Santa Fe, California and it will be your fault. Its in the Constitution that you must purchase a stand alone charger for your Uniden 396xt. So please do as I say and spare the entire western half of Planet Earth certain doom.

 

[scannerjunkie]

Maha Chargers

For what its worth a few years ago my friend bought brand new energizer aa nickel metal batteries and was charging them in his pro 162 scanner. guess what? one of those batteries leaked out while charging and did minor damage to scanner. scanner was still under warranty when this happened. he tried sending it in for a warranty repair and they said the leakage voided his warranty (they never asked what name brand batteries he was using). so now it was time to see if energizer would pay for damages due to it being their product that ruined the scanner. no luck. due to the fact that he was not using their name brand charger they were not going to pay for the damages.so all in all i can say is use an externial charger. i can agree with the posts in reguards to using maha chargers and powerex 2700mah aa batts. i have the charger/conditioner and use them in my psr500 and 346xt. they really last along time.i hope my long story was helpful.HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!