Uniden official support for Eneloop & chargers?

[nanZor]

Other than the rabid battery nerds like me, and perhaps many others here on RR, I wonder if it possible for Uniden to "officially" support a battery and charger brand like Panasonic / Eneloop for both batts and chargers in their nimh-powered scanners.

Like make it part of the accessory group.

I don't know about you, but how many consumer-grade "reviews" on shopping sites complain about poor rechargeable battery life, when in fact the user is trying to use some decrepid old trash pulled from a baby-swing and a beater cell from the glove compartment?

The key factor would be to provide a package of batts - standard Eneloops of course - but just as important is to use a Panasonic charger model that *individually* charges the cells.

Or maybe not even an accessory, but a mere mention of endorsement in the manual - to help prevent unscrupulous resellers from offering "packages" with crap chargers and countefeit trash cells....

Look - we all have our favorite setups here on RR. But if a consumer-oriented user who just doesn't come here doesn't know or care, at least they will start out on the right foot with what is basically considered a quality standard you can rely on.

Maybe that will stop the "only ran for 12 minutes with fully charged batteries - do not buy - returned! " type of junk reviews.

 

[Hit_Factor]

I doubt that will happen.

But your enthusiasm may be contagious. When appropriate, share your experiences as to what works.

I share your passion for effective batteries and chargers.

 

[nanZor]

Heh, the problem for decades is that there is too much junk out there, and the consumer just rolls their eyes when they see a 300-message thread here. Who can you trust? A small word from Uniden would alleviate a lot of that - and maybe some ridiculous returns. (Whistler too)

I've seen it all:
Good batteries put into horridly bad charger.
Good chargers making trash batteries seem like a bargain in the *short* run.
Bad batts & bad chargers - purchased after dropping big $ on a scanner
Battery analyzer / chargers used in the wrong modes or mistaking the results
Slow-cooking / trickling batts to an early grave by trying to keep them cold at all costs
Using grandpa's charger that kept his photo-flash units running in 1968.

It goes on forever.

Although we may use different things, at least Uniden could take the guesswork out of it for someone totally disinterested in proper charging "just tell me what to buy". Especially if it is a gift for someone else just starting out who doesn't know what's what....

 

[Citywide173]

Although a very small possibility, Uniden may some day look at producing batteries. If they were to endorse a particular brand now, they would be setting the bar for that potential product-I don't think the actuaries would appreciate that.

 

[jonwienke]

Uniden is transitioning to lithium batteries, so I doubt they are going to expend much energy endorsing an official battery and charger for older models.

 

[buddrousa]

That would be like GM running an add on TV KEEP YOUR GM CAR ALL ORIGINAL USE ONLY GOODYEAR TIRES.
More lawsuits than Uniden would want to fight in court.

 

[Citywide173]

Uniden is transitioning to lithium batteries, so I doubt they are going to expend much energy endorsing an official battery and charger for older models.

Who said anything about older models. They have more products than just scanners. More than one model of the currently offered GMRS/FRS bubble pack radios use AA/AAA batteries. Like I said a small possibility, but why would you recommend a competitor's product if there was a future possibility of you making money off of the same/similar product? Also, @buddrousa brings up a good point-if it fails and they recommended it, what liability does it put on them?

 

[nanZor]

Really good points - I didn't even think of non-scanner devices.

And the "transitioning to lithium" brings up a VERY interesting issue ..

With Eneloops, which have a proven track record, you know what you are getting, where and how it's made and so forth. Extensively covered elsewhere in other forums like Candlepower etc. Performance from users has been verified to be stable and reputable for more than 10 years or so. They just need to used with chargers you can depend on for max life/performance. That was always the kicker - without the mate charger, those poor things could end up in grandpa's (yeah I'm one) flash charger...

But with lithium, one doesn't know WHO made your cells inside, other than being subject to being stuffed with those from the lowest bidder at the time. One who is into these things would like to know if the cells are being made by reputable companies like Sanyo, LG-Chem and the like.

The far-fetched example would be like bringing your APX8000 to my shop complaining of poor battery life. Only to discover that instead of a real Motorola battery, I find an eight-dollar "Max-Blaster 3000" attached instead. But it's still lithium right?

So maybe instead of providing a battery/charger product, just a recommendation might be enough. Kind of like IBM back in the day "nobody would get fired recommending Panasonic / Eneloop products."

 

[ofd8001]

Uniden manufacturing their own batteries opens the door for additional complaints. It's better for them to use a generic battery and let users choose the "flavor" of battery they think is best for their needs.

 

[nanZor]

Yeah, but I'm not asking for Uniden to make their own batteries or chargers.

Unlike those of us here on RR, the "flavor" that seems most commonly used are those pulled from baby-swings, shavers, remotes, etc and then complain about battery life.

If there was the slightest recommendation from Uniden, then pehaps they wouldn't suffer some really stupid returns. I'm just saying, that this would be a safe recommendation.

Hey wait - if the manufacturers got cold feet, maybe RR could fly the banner instead...

 

[jonwienke]

Do you really think that people that stupid would follow a battery or charger recommendation?

 

[nanZor]

Well, maybe just uninformed than stupid. Unless the object is being a cheapskate, I think they'd welcome being told what to buy rather than swim through endless battery threads or pie in the sky marketing....

Not a big deal - just some thoughts.

 

[buddrousa]

Or you could come here and ask a user or group of users what they have done for the last 16 to 17 years and get real world data.

 

[mikewazowski]

If there was the slightest recommendation from Uniden, then pehaps they wouldn't suffer some really stupid returns. I'm just saying, that this would be a safe recommendation.

Do you have any real data on how many people return their scanners to Uniden because of poor battery life?

To me, this is a solution looking for a problem.

Hey wait - if the manufacturers got cold feet, maybe RR could fly the banner instead...

I don't speak for Lindsay but I'm thinking this is a big no.

 

[nanZor]

That's ok. Just got my 436HP in as replacements for my 396XT workhorses. WOW. Totally stoked.

Didn't think it would come with any batts. I appreciate them, but after dropping a few bills on it, that would be awesome to see 3 Eneloops inside instead. Better electrons and all. Sends a message that one is getting the best of breed.

Those green-and-orange AA's will go in the baby-swing. Eneloops will feed the 436 from this time forward. Because really - you don't put cheap gas in your Ferrari.

I was hesitant for years about upgrading the 396xt, but after 2 minutes of monitoring my p25's, I know I made the right choice.

 

[nanZor]

On a serious note

The main reason for using Eneloops (standard 2000mah), provided they are not counterfeit, is due to them maintaining low internal resistance even after years of use or storage. Others emulate eneloops, and may look like a bargain, but their rapidly increasing internal resistance reveals their budget construction.

High internal resistance is what turns nimh's from batteries into resistors, and that resistance presents a risk to charging inside the radio. So with cheap batts, or even aged bargain-emulators, NEVER do that - always charge externally.

WARNING: We are talking about the regular 2000mah Eneloops here, NOT the higher capacity "Pro" or "XXX" models. Trying to push AA's with current technology higher than 2000mah capacity, means thinner materials, which means shorter cycle life, but most importantly, higher internal resistance over time! So even within their own brand, NEVER charge "Pros" or XXX models internally. You'll get away with it initially, but over time, even they have rapidly rising internal resistance - much unlike their regular 2000mah models.

This means that despite the common wisdom here of charging outside the radio, the *regular* eneloop's low internal resistance allows them to be charged in the radio by more common folk without damage for the most part if the eneloops themselves aren't abused with extremely bad treatment - ie massive heat, other devices, mixing and matching etc.

Thus, there is a greater likelyhood of the average Joe not burning up his radio when he uses the Uniden-provided battery charging features, *if* Eneloops were provided. You can get by for a short while with generics, but give it a year, and you now have resistors instead of batteries. Not everyone reads RR and follows the commonly accepted technique of charging outside the radio.

Thus, the *only* batts I allow for the Uniden to charge internally is the STANDARD 2000mah eneloops - despite the fact that I have a plethora of good chargers, analyzers and so forth. But of course I adjust the time period manually. And I don't do it every single cycle. But for weekend trips and so forth, I'll use the Uniden to charge without worry.

If a better battery came along, I'd use it - but after 10 or more years experience with these, and being amazingly surprised at how well they maintain a low resistance until just before the end of life, is the reason I recommend them.