psr 500 power practices

[co_jim]

So I've read a few posts regarding charging issues in the scanner and have a few questions...

1. If you charge your batteries externally do you then always use your black battery holder?
1a. If so, and forgive the ignorance here...is it ok to us the ac adapter with the black holder in the radio?
1b. If you always use external charger do you change your battery setting to Alkaline even though MiMH are being used?
2. If you select Alkaline in the radio settings and use the yellow holder will the charging circuit be active when the radio is off?

So if I switch to external charging completely and set the radio to alkaline can I use both the black and yellow holders while also using the ac adapter even while using the yellow holder if settings are on Alkaline whether the radio is on or off?

I'm switching to external charging to be on the safe side but want to understand how I should have the settings set up and proper use of black/yellow holder and using the ac adapter as a power source. Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[SCPD]

I have been listening to scanners for over 30 years and I live by the following rules and continue to do so with my PSR500.

1. I NEVER charge my batteries in my scanners.
2. If there is any doubt ... see item number 1.
3. I use an external charger (Maha MH-C9000) for all my AA battery use.
4. Just to be sure that my scanners are ready to go whenever I pick them up, I use Sanyo Eneloop batteries. I know that there may be batteries with higher capacity, but just today I picked up a remote control with questionable batteries and they were normal batteries and had pretty much no capacity due to self discharging.

As far as your GRE .. you can use the yellow holder and NiMh switch in the battery compartment with your rechargeable batteries.

 

[co_jim]

Thanks Kevin. So If I set the Global options to Alkaline will that keep the radio from trying to charge my NiMh batteries? And is that the proper setting for that very reason even though I am using NiMh batteries? Right now I have the radio plugged in with AC adapter and have the settings on Alkaline with the yellow holder in the radio with NiMh batteries installed that were charged externally.

 

[n5usr]

I modified the yellow holders for my GRE scanners so they wouldn't charge. If you set the two holders side by side and look at the contact areas, you will see the difference. The yellow (rechargeable) holder has a wider contact that allows the third charging terminal to connect with the batteries.

That contact can be eased out of the holder, and then a pair of tin snips or such can trim out the extra contact area. Be careful not to trim the whole side off, part of it is hidden in the plastic holder and needs to be kept to hold the contact in. Just trim the exposed portion. Reinsert, and the holder is now non-rechargeable.

I don't think the setting in the scanner has anything to do with whether it charges or not, IIRC it simply tells the scanner to use a different set of voltage points for showing when the battery is full / low / dead. Either way, now I don't have to worry about it, and I have the spare batteries ready to go quickly - just swap out holders.

 

[n4jri]

Thanks Kevin. So If I set the Global options to Alkaline will that keep the radio from trying to charge my NiMh batteries? And is that the proper setting for that very reason even though I am using NiMh batteries? Right now I have the radio plugged in with AC adapter and have the settings on Alkaline with the yellow holder in the radio with NiMh batteries installed that were charged externally.

So far as I know the radio is gonna charge anything you put in the yellow holder. If using external power, just take the yellow battery holder out or put a black one in.

Very easy to do.

73/Allen (N4JRI)

 

[tobarger]

The PSR-500 internal charger is disabled when Battery is set to Alkaline.

 

[darrylcn]

I've been using this setting:
"Charge Time (106/500): Allows you to set the battery charge time in hours. 0 = off"

Since mine is at zero I use the yellow holder as a 'spare magazine' of batteries. I didn't bother covering up the extra contact on the yellow holder. I know that when the Charge Time is set to '0' the little battery icon no longer flashes to indicate the charging circuit is available when on external power, is that accurate? Thanks!

 

[DonS]

Setting to "Alkaline" will disable the charger. However, it will also mess up the low-battery indicator's voltage thresholds (unless you edit them so that "Alkaline" matches the "NiMH" settings).

Best bet is to set the charge time to zero, as described above.

 

[jem58]

Setting to "Alkaline" will disable the charger. However, it will also mess up the low-battery indicator's voltage thresholds (unless you edit them so that "Alkaline" matches the "NiMH" settings).

Best bet is to set the charge time to zero, as described above.

So at these setting I can leave the yellow holder in while I have the AC adapter plugged in and it will not charge the batteries?

 

[TES]

So at these setting I can leave the yellow holder in while I have the AC adapter plugged in and it will not charge the batteries?

If the scanner is powered through the AC adapter and the scanner is turned off the batteries will charge CONTINOUSLY.

 

[RickS31]

I am going to add my two cents here on this since I have tested the radio extensively on this issue. The first statement is NEVER EVER charge batteries in the scanner. These units have NO smarts for properly charging these batteries.

1. The timer does nothing. It's there to try and give you some capability to measure how long you've been charging them. When it reaches zero it tells you but doesn't stop the charge current.

2. When the radio is off and you have the yellow battery carrier in the radio and AC adapter plugged in, it will continue jamming 150 ma into the batteries till they self destruct.

3. Setting the battery type to Alkaline does NOT stop the charging, again if they are in the yellow carrier and AC adapter plugged in. Quicker way to self destruct. The only safe way to put alkalines in the radio are in the black battery holder. All this does is set the battery icon levels and ultimate radio shutdown levels to match the battery discharge characteristics.
See this: http://marksscanners.com/106_197/106_197.shtml#Bat Icon Cal
Lots of user stories on RR about folks that have or nearly have destroyed their radios. I wouldn't play you bet your radio on charging in the scanner. External is always the way to go.

 

[DonS]

I am going to add my two cents here on this since I have tested the radio extensively on this issue. The first statement is NEVER EVER charge batteries in the scanner. These units have NO smarts for properly charging these batteries.

1. The timer does nothing. It's there to try and give you some capability to measure how long you've been charging them. When it reaches zero it tells you but doesn't stop the charge current.

While the scanner is turned on, the charge current is turned off when the timer hits zero.

2. When the radio is off and you have the yellow battery carrier in the radio and AC adapter plugged in, it will continue jamming 150 ma into the batteries till they self destruct.

True. The charge timer and battery type selection are handled by the scanner's CPU. When the scanner is powered off, the CPU isn't running (it's not even receiving power). However, the charge circuit is active.

3. Setting the battery type to Alkaline does NOT stop the charging, again if they are in the yellow carrier and AC adapter plugged in. Quicker way to self destruct. The only safe way to put alkalines in the radio are in the black battery holder. All this does is set the battery icon levels and ultimate radio shutdown levels to match the battery discharge characteristics.

While the scanner is turned on, setting the battery type to Alkaline stops the charger.

The key is scanner on vs. scanner off. When the scanner is turned on, the charge timer and battery type selection items are "obeyed". When the scanner is turned off, they're not.

 

[RickS31]

My bad. I believe the guru is absolutely correct. I did some heavy testing but didn't always check with the radio on. and may have missed the timer and Alk issue. Still wouldn't risk it though because my stance on no smarts holds true. The battery manufacturers have pretty stringent charge regimens to insure maximum life and preventing overheating and ultimate damage. Continuously jamming 150 ma is not part of that regimen.

Glad Don cleared up some of my misconceptions as well.

 

[jem58]

Ok, so I want to listen to my scanner with ac adapter plugged in. I have the yellow holder in with rechargeable batteries,is it ok to leave in the yellow holder or should I remove it? Please forgive the ignorance I am new to these types of scanners.

 

[TES]

Ok, so I want to listen to my scanner with ac adapter plugged in. I have the yellow holder in with rechargeable batteries,is it ok to leave in the yellow holder or should I remove it? Please forgive the ignorance I am new to these types of scanners.

If the scanner isn't turned off during your scenario you're probably okay. It's real easy to turn the scanner off while still plugged in though—which exposes the batteries to endless charging. Many advise charging outside the scanner. Do that and use the black holder and you'll protect your scanner from any issues involved with battery charging.

 

[RickS31]

Ok, so I want to listen to my scanner with ac adapter plugged in. I have the yellow holder in with rechargeable batteries,is it ok to leave in the yellow holder or should I remove it? Please forgive the ignorance I am new to these types of scanners.

No forgiveness needed. Perfectly great question. As long as you have the yellow holder in the radio with the AC adapter plugged in (subject to Don's comments above concerning the timer and Alkaline settings) the radio will put charge current into the batteries. If you forget and turn the radio off with yellow carrier and AC adapter left plugged in, the charge goes on no matter what. Safest bet is to put your rechargeables into the black holder. When plugged in to the adapter, the batteries are totally disconnected, the radio gets it's power from the adapter and no charge current can get to the batteries. No chance then of forgetting and potentially destroying your batteries and/or the radio. If you want to go portable just unplug the adapter and it will go on battery power.

When the batteries go dead just pull them and put a freshly recharged set back in the black carrier. Charge the exhausted ones in a suitable external charger. No problems and no worries then.

 

[hallman59]

I have extra black battery carriers, ordered from my local RS. Have 3 sets of rechargeables. Charge outside of the scanner. Just a quick exchange of a low charge set with a freshly charged set and I'm good to go. The third set is a backup in case I have to run when a set is in the charger. Back when I was using a RS PRO-37, I used to keep an extra carrier full of alkalines because they last longer. I've gotten away from that with my newer scanners , and since I got a fast charger.

Joe

 

[jrrob8]

This discussion will go on forever. Since I have put a small piece of shrink tube on the charging contact on my GRE scanners, I won't have to worry since neither battery holder will let the ac adapter charge the batteries.

I have never charged the batteries in my scanner since it has been possible to buy really good batteries and excellent chargers. Extra battery packs are easy and convenient. These new batteries will run a 500 or similar scanner for 8 plus hours with the LCD and keypad lit.

Happy Holidays and great scanning!