SDS200 (and the like) on Ignition Power

[Twister_2]

Has anybody installed a Uniden SD card scanner on Ignition power in their mobile? I want mine to function like literally every other radio where it comes on and off with the vehicle. I read somewhere that cutting power to the unit will corrupt the SD card. Is this still true with the SDS200? If so, how have the mobile installers worked this out? I'm not about to turn it off and on every time I want to drive somewhere.

 

[Ubbe]

If the scanner are in the midst of saving soemething to the card it will corrupt the filesystem if the power is cut. It only saves data if you have any type of recording activated and it also saves the current setup when you turn off the scanner using the on/off function. If the power is cut it will use the setup that was last saved in a proper fashion. You can manually turn the scanner off/on after you have done a configuration of scanlists and other settings to force a save. But I would make an identical copy of the SD card and have in the glove compartment as a backup if the scanner refuses to start due to memory corruption.

/Ubbe

 

[n1chu]

Yes. I have set up both my BCD536HP and SDS200 to turn on and off with the ignition. Neither of these two scanners have had a problem with simply divorcing power from them. (It’s literally the same thing as pulling the DC power cable off of the scanner while it’s still on.) I’ve powered both scanners from the ignition switch for years, and have never experienced any problem. While it’s NOT the prescribed process for either scanner, I’ve never had a problem with the SD cards, the most common concern if you power your radios in that fashion.

A disclaimer; while I haven’t experienced any issues with this I do not recommend it. Because your results may vary. However, there have been previous posts about this and I didn’t see anyone else reporting adverse issues.

You will probably get replies that caution against the practice because it would corrupt the SD card, which is good advice. Uniden will not give you any blessings as they didn’t design the scanners to operate that way.

A caution going forward;
Programming changes you may make while the scanner is on will not be written to the SD card unless you first turn off the scanner using the prescribed method (The scanners on/off switch) while power is still being supplied. That is because the scanner does not shut down immediately when it’s turned off using the prescribed on/off switch... it first writes to the SD card and then powers down.


So keep in mind the need to save any changes by powering down the radio properly before you turn off your ignition.

 

[Twister_2]

It only saves data if you have any type of recording activated

Does this include the replay feature?

 

[W4EMS]

Yes, it does include replay.
In another thread somewhere it was stated that as long as you had recording AND playback disabled you should not have a problem.
I have the 436 and 536 set up with a single power toggle switch in the shack and (knock on wood) have not had a problem.
Still, agree that having a back up SD card, which on the 200 is easy to swap out, is a reasonable plan.

 

[jonwienke]

If you have either recording or Replay active, cutting power during an active transmission can corrupt the data on the SD card. If you want to run the scanner on ignition power, don't enable either of those features.

And as mentioned, if you make any setting changes, power cycle the scanner with the power switch to save the changes, or they will be lost when you cut power.

 

[Jay911]

I swapped my 536 out for my SDS200 a couple of weeks ago in my 2013 F150 Raptor, both powered by the simple cigarette lighter adapter (I'm too lazy in the winters to try to run the direct wire connection). I found something interesting about the 200.

The 536 will consistently reset itself when the truck is started, but the 200 only resets (power-cycles) about 10% of the time during the same actions. Even then, of those 10% of times, only 10% of those times does the record feature get disabled - most times, after power-cycling, the radio is still in record mode when it powers back up.

I'm well aware of the dire warnings that were given that insinuate SD card corruption will happen if the card is being written to while power is removed. Over the years I have had cards get corrupted only twice with the setup I'm using, and only in one of those two cases did the card have to be disposed of (in the other case, reformatting it brought it back to life, and the only thing I lost was a day or two's worth of recordings).

 

[jonwienke]

The SDS200 shuts down at a lower supply voltage than the 536. A few weeks ago I did an unintentional test of my backup batteries (I accidentally kicked the power cord out of the 12V power supply for my radio rack) and the 536 shut down a couple hours before the SDS200. I thought the 536 had died at first, and I didn't realize what had happened until the SDS200 shut down too. When I get ambitious, I'll connect my variable power supply and nail down the mimimum run voltages.

 

[ofd8001]

I've had my 536 on an ignition switched circuit ever since they were introduced in 2014 and have had 0 SD card issues. (I do have several spares in my glove box, just in case).

Before his untimely passing Upman would be in Louisville for the Mid America Truck Show and we've gone out for dinner several times. He saw how I have my scanner wired and said there was nothing wrong with the install.

That said, any changes I make such as Quick Key enable/disable, Holds, channel edits, etc., are NOT saved unless I do a "regular" power down - rotate volume knob to the off position. The reason is so the scanner will "commit" the changes (write to SD card).

I believe the issue with SD card corruption is a rapid power off/on sequence during a read/write event to the SD card.

 

[SteveSimpkin]

I've had my 536 on an ignition switched circuit ever since they were introduced in 2014 and have had 0 SD card issues. (I do have several spares in my glove box, just in case).

Before his untimely passing Upman would be in Louisville for the Mid America Truck Show and we've gone out for dinner several times. He saw how I have my scanner wired and said there was nothing wrong with the install.

That said, any changes I make such as Quick Key enable/disable, Holds, channel edits, etc., are NOT saved unless I do a "regular" power down - rotate volume knob to the off position. The reason is so the scanner will "commit" the changes (write to SD card).

I believe the issue with SD card corruption is a rapid power off/on sequence during a read/write event to the SD card.

I suspect you do not have the Recording or Instant Replay features turned on. If that is the case the scanner will not be routinely writing to the SD card and you will not have issues with your setup.