SDS100/SDS200: Battery charging 3 1/2 hours, is that the norm.

[UPCoffeyvilleSubMain2]

I had some questions about my new SDS100's battery along the same lines, if nobody minds...

After a full charge on the in-box battery, how long should it be able to operate before the low battery message appears?

What is a good threshold voltage to put into settings->battery options->set battery low->set voltage ? it looks like min is 3200 and max is 3700 mv

Mine seems to take much longer to fully charge than it can stay on starting from a full charge.

I'm also looking for any tips about energy efficiency to make the full charge last longer.

I have settings->set battery-> set battery save on

Would the battery charge last longer if the radio scans fewer channels?

I'm sure lower spkr volume and dimmer display would also help, anything else?

I can't read the screen outside during the day at the brightest, might as well set it dim as possible.

What data will I lose if I don't power down or plug in to an adapter if all I'm doing is listening to the transmissions?

I probably need to buy spare batteries and a charger like the OP mentioned.

Thanks

 

[RandyKuff]

You should get around 6 1/2 to 7 hours of runtime... Depending on activity...
The display brightness doesn't matter that much... The display itself is always running... Backlight plays very little in battery drain...
The radio draws about 700ma to 750ma when running... The backliight draws a little under 50ma when on...
My low batt warning is set to 3.5V,,, If you go to low the battey voltage will start to drop pretty quick so you might miss the warning and
the radio will shutdown... You won't loose any data if the battery gets to low and the radio shuts down...

If your charging the battery while the radio is running it will take longer to charge... With the radio off, about 6 to 6.5 hours ( From the Low batt warning)...
How much you are scanning will not drain the battery any faster than scanning fewer items... How much receive activity is more the key here,,,
Volume leval will help some, but not much ...

Outside in sunlight I usually set my display to a black background with white text... It helps some... This display setting can be switched back and forth on the radio itself... My backlight is set to off until the squelch opens while running off battery,,, Then turns off when the squelch closes... Running from USB power my backlight stays on... But can be turned on and off by tapping the power button...

I also use the external charger with an extra battery... If your concerned about not being around an ac outlet to run and/or charge the battery
you can always get a USB Battery power bank to plug into it...
Running the battery down and recharging the battery several times will condition it and it will settle in to it's full capacity...

 

[UPCoffeyvilleSubMain2]

Thanks.

I did some tests and it checks out.

The tip about showing the voltage on the display is golden.

Display shows 4.2V right when the green light comes on.

Unplug and it drops to 3.9V .

Charging while listening works fine.

Car USB adapter does well.

It does take a while to fully charge from discharged.

I finally looked at the specifications on page 47, nominal battery consumption is there.

One last question, what is the story with the jack above the regular USB charge/data transfer jack in the side compartment?

The one I'm referring to is the other one besides the one with "CHARGE" notation and bent arrow pointing to it.

Thanks again

 

[RandyKuff]

The SDS series were Paul Opitz (The previous Uniden Product Manager... UPMan) concept and design,,, Since his passing a little over a year ago
knowbody really knows what he had in mind for the extra ports on the SDS100 or SDS200 yet... Uniden is looking into it though
according to the new product manager, JoeBearcat...

 

[UPCoffeyvilleSubMain2]

Cool, glad I asked.

I should amend the voltage numbers I gave earlier, it's now a solid 4.22V and still not greenlit, and pulling the plug only drops it to 4.11V, which is even better.

Thanks again

 

[RandyKuff]

3.7v is nominal for a lithium battery... 4.2v is it's peak charge...
You will notice when it's discharging and gets close to 3.7v it will hang there and the voltage will drop pretty slow then...
Faster drop between 4.2v to 3.7v then it will slow way down till it hits the low battery warning you set...

 

[jonwienke]

Charge cuts off at 4.25V with the SDS100. Different formulations of lithium batteries have different voltage profiles.

 

[RandyKuff]

On mine the charge cuts off at 4.21v to 4,22v,,,
That depends on the accuracy of the voltage reading being displayed...
There is a 1% tolerence on the charge voltage for charging lithium's... That makes it about 4.24v on the high end...
Again what you see depends on the accuracy of the 100's voltage reading...

 

[RCjim]

Hi I may have missed it but how low can you set the low voltage before it will shut it self off and not damage the battery? 🙏

 

[RandyKuff]

A lithium can be taken down to about 2.7v without hurting it (Thats a worst case scenario)...
But not recommended... It will shorten the life span of it... I have mine set to 3.4v for low setting...
The battery voltage will start to drop pretty fast at that point under the load of the scanner...

 

[RCjim]

Thanks Randy, I have a couple more questions. Should I use battery saver in settings what will that do I don’t see it talked about in the manual?
Also after charging in the scanner the red light will turn off but no green light, when I turn the scanner on the voltage reading is 4.13, is there a reason I’m not seeing the green light? I did try plugging the charger back in but it stays red for a few minutes then off. Charged with scanner off. Thank you

 

[jonwienke]

Battery saver only operates in limited circumstances so it isn't all that useful. It doesn't hurt to turn it on, but it doesn't make that much of a difference.

Do you have "charge while on" turned on?

 

[RCjim]

Do you have "charge while on" turned on?

Yes I tried it on and off right now it’s ON.

 

[jonwienke]

Then if you wait until charging is complete, you should get a green light. No light usually means charge while on is OFF.

 

[RCjim]

Well the problem isn’t the scanner or the batteries, I had been using the cable that came with the SDS100. I switched to the cable from my HP1, red light came on but after a short time red light goes off and the green light comes on. I checked all 3 batteries, 2 fat packs and the 1 thin pack that came with the scanner ya just never know. All 3 batteries had a sitting voltage of 4.12 when the scanner was turned on.

I had been using the EBC 100 to charge the batteries the past year.

My SDS100 has been a great scanner, glad I made the purchase way back when the County switched to P2 simulcast!

What is a safe voltage to store a pack at when it’s not going to used for a long period of time? Thank you!

 

[jonwienke]

The typical recommendation is about 70% of full charge for storage.

If a USB undervoltage condition occurs, the scanner will automatically turn charge while on OFF. It sounds like that's what happened to you.

 

[RCjim]

I just wanted to mention I’m using Jon’s SMA to BNC adapter and very happy with it, I also have his new SDS100 battery clip but haven’t had to use it yet!

 

[UPCoffeyvilleSubMain2]

Thanks @ everyone for the great information, and thanks @ motorman105 for kicking it off and the great information.