The SDS200 would not imediately boot up at 7degrees F in my vehicle. I left it on and after a minute it came to life. I thought it was the ambient temp of the vehicle causing a delay but the radio just needed to be left on while Power was supplied, as the vehicle certainly didn’t get any warmer within the first minute or two.
SDS200 cold temp NO JOY!
- Thread starter n1chu
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The BCD536HP is specified to operate down to 14 degrees F. The SDS200 isn't specified for anything but I doubt it has an extended temperature range compared to the BCD536HP. Since the SDS radios dissipate a fair amount of power, the radio probably heated itself up a bit in the first minutes and allowed start up.
Yeah the good news is that the SDS200 makes plenty of heat on its own, so once it is running it should be warm and good to go for the day. In a closed radio cabinet the SDS200 definitely warms the entire cabinet up (it runs all the time as a server).
no overheating issues with it in the closed cabinet? i would think you need let it breath.
No, it never gets more than warm, never hot, so the scanner seems to do a good job of dissipating its heat, even running constantly in a closed cabinet. Interior dimensions of the cabinet are about 18" deep x 30" high x 30" wide so it's not a tiny cabinet but not huge either. I have considered placing a small fan at the top rear to draw the warmest air out though.
Interesting, the 14 degree F spec on the BCD536HP. My SDS200 replaced the 536 in my vehicle... and I never had an issue with the 536 radio relating to temp. But the SDS200 works nicely and I suspect it’s a nominal expectation. It’s only happened once (it scared the daylights out of me), even though there’s been other days when it’s been colder after this happened.
As for the SDS200 (and SDS100) heating up on its own, the following; My vehicle instillation uses a center radio console. The 3 radios mounted within the enclosure have never given me any problems dating back as far as 2011 when I installed the console. The only issues I had were with those battery saving devices that measure the voltage of the vehicle and supply or turn off power depending on if the engine was running or not. I use it to automatically turn the radios on or off (I leave all radios on) because I kept forgetting to turn each one off individually at night. To date, they worked for about one year and would crap out. I replaced one model twice under the warrenty, went to another manufacturer and had the same issue. But since both devices were mounted outside of the console (where I could get to them quickly and remove them from my power bus line (I have fused 14 gauge wire serving my bus line on both the positive and negative, connected directly to the battery that serves the console and all I have within), so it wasn’t an excessive ambient temp issue within the vehicle, although they did sit directly in front of the vehicle’s floor heating duct (which I mentioned when I talked to the manufacturer and was told that should not be a reason for failing). Currently running without this gizmo with intentions of mounting it elsewhere in the near future.
As for the SDS200 (and SDS100) heating up on its own, the following; My vehicle instillation uses a center radio console. The 3 radios mounted within the enclosure have never given me any problems dating back as far as 2011 when I installed the console. The only issues I had were with those battery saving devices that measure the voltage of the vehicle and supply or turn off power depending on if the engine was running or not. I use it to automatically turn the radios on or off (I leave all radios on) because I kept forgetting to turn each one off individually at night. To date, they worked for about one year and would crap out. I replaced one model twice under the warrenty, went to another manufacturer and had the same issue. But since both devices were mounted outside of the console (where I could get to them quickly and remove them from my power bus line (I have fused 14 gauge wire serving my bus line on both the positive and negative, connected directly to the battery that serves the console and all I have within), so it wasn’t an excessive ambient temp issue within the vehicle, although they did sit directly in front of the vehicle’s floor heating duct (which I mentioned when I talked to the manufacturer and was told that should not be a reason for failing). Currently running without this gizmo with intentions of mounting it elsewhere in the near future.
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