BC125AT Charger

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trainerman

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Can someone please point me to a link where I can buy an OEM Uniden charger for my BC125AT? I've looked and can only find aftermarket non-OEM. Been there, done that. I get a lot of interference and hum with a knockoff.

Thanks for your help.
 

k1agh

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Not that I found for it, I just went to radio shack and brought a a plug that works with it and have no issues. I even brought a aftermarket car charger that the usb cable plugs into.
 

trainerman

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Yeah, I have one too, but I get a lot of hum and static for some reason when I use either one of the two I have. When I unplug and go on batteries it disappears. Upman told me once that non OEM chargers will do that. I just figured they'd make one. Who makes a scanner that just operates/charges by USB only?
 

k1agh

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I thought the humming and static was because it was using house or car power which is stronger then battery power?
 

trainerman

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No, you shouldn't hear anything different while plugged in than you would on batteries. I've owned several scanners and never had this problem unless I've used after market chargers. I'm hoping Upman will chime in tomorrow and give the official Uniden answer for us.
 

k1agh

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I hope so. I have another Uniden that uses a after market power cord and havent had any of the humming or static.
 

trainerman

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I had a Home Patrol and it was extremely sensitive until I got an OEM charger. This 125 is the same way so far. Extremely sensitive so I'm guessing the same.
 

nanZor

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Yeah, I have one too, but I get a lot of hum and static for some reason when I use either one of the two I have. When I unplug and go on batteries it disappears. Upman told me once that non OEM chargers will do that. I just figured they'd make one. Who makes a scanner that just operates/charges by USB only?

I don't get it - if you are charging via the usb port, the scanner is not on. If you power up the scanner while the usb cable is attached it won't be charging, and the usb cable can act as an efficient antenna for the noise from your charging source - albeit it now being idle if you power up the scanner.

Solution is to pull the usb cable while listening to scanner. When charging, scanner is off and no noise will be heard. :)
 

trainerman

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I rarely use it on battery, only during power outages. 99% of the time it's on a/c power through the USB cable and converter.
 

nanZor

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Yep - I can confirm that doing it that way (tricking it by pulling the batteries out) is a non-supported operation and is noisy.

Since the charger is designed solely for charging the batteries and not operating the radio, this isn't surprising. I'm not sure how long the charger circuitry will operate like that either.
 

trainerman

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Uniden says it doesn't charge while plugged in even with batteries in and on. So, why would it hurt the circuitry?
 

nanZor

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Essentially the charger is operating without a load with the batteries pulled. Without the proper load, it is now supplying power to the radio without adequate filtering in a trick configuration.

Unless you need alpha tags, pl and the like, I'd seriously consider the BC370CRS or newer 345CRS as your emergency scanner for conventional use if you need casual AA backup.

If you lose AC power, the 3 internal AA's will actually operate the scanner for about 6-8 hours. Of course a BCT-15x would be nicer, but it also pulls much more power and you'd need a large backup 12v battery to get you through a prolonged ac outage.

If you had a stash of AA's handy, the 370CRS or the newer 345CRS might be an easier implementation - AND you get to use your 125AT portable, or if worse came to worse at an emergency shelter. However, I have even used my old 370CRS in a semi-portable fashion from AA only, but you just can't hang it off your belt. :)
 
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