SDS100/SDS200: Went deaf...

[sibbley]

sibbley, I think this is what you were thinking of earlier, re an antenna connection:
initial post: http://forums.radioreference.com/ne...100-quick-performance-review.html#post2944212


problem found: http://forums.radioreference.com/ne...100-quick-performance-review.html#post2944367


Hopefully, they'll get you back up and running very soon.

That's what I read, Thanks. My SDS is in the hands of FedEx now. Should be at Uniden repair Monday afternoon.

 

[hiegtx]

That's frustrating, but given the likelihood that a large percentage of the early buyers are active here, I don't see how a few reports of defective units being returned for repair is indicative of a serious problem. And who was it that decided to purchase a completely redesigned scanner that was quite obviously going to have growing pains? Man up and accept some responsibility.

While I would not be thrilled to have my SDS100 fail early, neither would I be completely surprised. It is a new design for scanners, so some teething troubles were to be expected (at least by me). The firmware revisions that have come out are resolving some of the issues that none of the beta testers encountered. You cannot foresee every possible condition, on all systems, that might come up across the country. But progress has been mind to resolving as many of the issues as possible, as quickly as is feasible. Plus, we know that the first scanners sold were 'pilot production' units. The assembly plant had never built them before, and some adjustments may need to be made. Any of the problems reported, that relate to assembly, such as the bad antenna connection, is likely to be fed back to the plant itself to take corrective action. I knew, going in, that some problems were possible, and likely. So far, my 100 has operated without an issue. But if I need to send it in later on, I'm not going to lose a lot of sleep over it. I went ahead and purchased an initial release unit, instead of waiting, because I liked the idea of getting a second battery. The original, though a smaller capacity, will be kept charged as a backup.

 

[sibbley]

While I would not be thrilled to have my SDS100 fail early, neither would I be completely surprised. It is a new design for scanners, so some teething troubles were to be expected (at least by me). The firmware revisions that have come out are resolving some of the issues that none of the beta testers encountered. You cannot foresee every possible condition, on all systems, that might come up across the country. But progress has been mind to resolving as many of the issues as possible, as quickly as is feasible. Plus, we know that the first scanners sold were 'pilot production' units. The assembly plant had never built them before, and some adjustments may need to be made. Any of the problems reported, that relate to assembly, such as the bad antenna connection, is likely to be fed back to the plant itself to take corrective action. I knew, going in, that some problems were possible, and likely. So far, my 100 has operated without an issue. But if I need to send it in later on, I'm not going to lose a lot of sleep over it. I went ahead and purchased an initial release unit, instead of waiting, because I liked the idea of getting a second battery. The original, though a smaller capacity, will be kept charged as a backup.

Great Post.

 

[Hit_Factor]

Sibbley- If I were you, I would call your credit card company and stop the charge. This is why I use AMEX. This handheld scanner has numerous problems and the list keeps going on and on and on. For $649.00, this is ridiculous! It seems like Uniden released this handheld way too fast. I would never accept a new item to go for service that fast. NO WAY.

Sounds dishonest to me. Let the vendor repair as they agreed to in the warranty. Poster added to ignore list.

 

[Bob1955]

SDS100 Deaf

I think hit_Factor has this all wrong. If the charge was reversed, I WOULD ship it back to the place I bought it from. I don't CARE if you block me dude! It my freedom of speech.
Hope everyone is having a great Summer.

 

[hiegtx]

I think hit_Factor has this all wrong. If the charge was reversed, I WOULD ship it back to the place I bought it from. I don't CARE if you block me dude! It my freedom of speech.
Hope everyone is having a great Summer.

Disputing a credit card charge is something done when you do not get what was ordered. Not when you are unhappy with something, and don't take the avenues available to you for resolution.

If the vendor has a return window, and you are still within that, then contact them for assistance. Where possible, the vendor should at least be given a chance to help address the issue. Unless the item was D.O.A. (inoperative when first received), the vendor may have no option other than referring you to the manufacturer for warranty service. They are bound to whatever terms the manufacturer has in place. Also, some vendors have a tight return window, so sending it back to them is not always an option. Your credit card company may well refuse the request, once they verify what the actual problem is.

 

[radio3353]

Hmmm...some people here seem to have low expectations thinking that it is OK for new things to break. And even expect it.

Then again, one of my favorite expressions is "Expect nothing and never be disappointed."

 

[jonwienke]

Not so much that new things breaking is OK, but the reality that any new tech product is going to have some bugs that will take time to work out. As long as Uniden is willing to repair hardware issues under warranty, and actively troubleshoot software bugs (both of which are being done), you can't ask for much more.

 

[wx5uif]

Got my unit back on Saturday from repair. It's been sitting on my desk since with local PD system going. I just noticed a few minutes ago it has been a while since I've heard anything and took a look. Very weak picking up anything and RSSI showing --- with no signal bars and very high D-error and noise...

I did analyze and shows nearly no signal.


Looks like back to repair it goes.

 

[troymail]

Got my unit back on Saturday from repair. It's been sitting on my desk since with local PD system going. I just noticed a few minutes ago it has been a while since I've heard anything and took a look. Very weak picking up anything and RSSI showing --- with no signal bars and very high D-error and noise...

I did analyze and shows nearly no signal.


Looks like back to repair it goes.

I'm guessing you previously would hear activity while positioned on your desk like that... any new electronics, etc. in or around your house? What does it do if/when you go to another location in the house (or outside)?

Apologies - I didn't look backwards - what system are you trying to monitor?

 

[jbella]

It is definitely disappointing when a new product fails fairly rapidly.

It's just plain stupid when you don't have the product and complain about it failing.

So far so good with my SDS100. Haven't had a chance yet to test it out on simulcast systems, but I start road trips tomorrow and can give my own assessment then. And we'll see if it goes deaf.

 

[wx5uif]

Correct. Tower is a mile away. Also getting kerchunking even when I set it out of range so it reads "Nothing to scan." Same thing it did before when it broke last time.




BCD436 can pick up tower with no antenna on. SDS100 used to be able to, now barely when on external antenna.

 

[UPMan]

Any transceivers getting keyed up near the scanner (or near its antenna)? Q1/Q2 blowing would typically be due to too much signal coming in (but could be due to static discharge into the antenna, also).

 

[unusedusername]

Any transceivers getting keyed up near the scanner (or near its antenna)? Q1/Q2 blowing would typically be due to too much signal coming in (but could be due to static discharge into the antenna, also).

How does the SDS100 compare to the 436/536 scanners in handling strong inputs?

Do I need to worry about a vehicle mounted scanner with an external antenna if the CHP officer in the next lane keys up his 75(?) watt ~42 Mhz along mobile? Let's say his antenna is only 4-5 feet from the scanners input antenna.

The highway patrol around here does not turn down the power on their radios when they are in urban areas. I'm not even sure if they have a control that would let them do that.

I live pretty close to the highway patrol office, so it isn't usual for me to be at a stop light with a bunch of highway patrol vehicles all around my vehicle.

 

[jonwienke]

Antenna tuning has a huge effect on coupling. I get about 250mW of RF feeding into my scanner antenna when I key up my dual-band radio on VHF (25W TX, antennas are 3 feet apart), but if I key up on a UHF or CB freq, the meter reads nothing. I wouldn't worry about the highway patrol unless your scanner antenna is specifically tuned to their low-band frequency and the antennas are less than 10 feet apart.

 

[unusedusername]

Antenna tuning has a huge effect on coupling. I get about 250mW of RF feeding into my scanner antenna when I key up my dual-band radio on VHF (25W TX, antennas are 3 feet apart), but if I key up on a UHF or CB freq, the meter reads nothing. I wouldn't worry about the highway patrol unless your scanner antenna is specifically tuned to their low-band frequency and the antennas are less than 10 feet apart.

Thanks for that. The antenna is Diamond's mobile discone. It isn't a particularly tuned for that band, but it does a reasonable job.

The question was really more of "how does the SDS100 differ on high input levels when compared to the 436/536 scanners". I know the 536 in my Jeep handles it with no problems, and has done so for the past few years.

Does the SDS100's SDR architecture handle that type of suituation better, worse, or about the same as the traditional architecture of the 536?

 

[werinshades]

Also getting kerchunking even when I set it out of range so it reads "Nothing to scan." Same thing it did before when it broke last time

Am I missing something, but "Nothing to Scan" indicates it's not properly programmed? Before you send it back, I suggest sitting down with Sentinel, Clear user data and program one system at a time. You must have a Favorite List and System number chosen. I have no idea what "kerchunken" sounds like....German sound?

 

[rpvitale]

My radio is now completely deaf. Shut it off fine last night. Turned on tonight nothing at all. Tried everything with negative results.

 

[buddrousa]

Just asking to try to see what all have in common not laying blame trying to see what is or is not common.
Did you have the SDS100 hooked up to an outside antenna?
Do you have a preamp in your antenna system?
Do you have your antenna system grounded?

Mine has not failed but I am hooked up to a grounded ST2 split two ways going to 2 Stridsberg MCA208M multicouplers for my home setup and a larson triband to a Stridsberg MCA204M in my car.

 

[wx5uif]

No, I set a location so that it displayed nothing to scan to see if it kerchunked like before, and it did.

Definitely an issue again. It was on my desk with stock ducky antenna and was working fine. I noticed decreased traffic, actually only one site and it is about a mile away, and the traffic I did hear didn't display any RSSI values just "---" and no signal bars.

I did clear user data and reprogram. Tried WX stations as well. No receive where I could get three on the 436.