Battery Error on the 396

[patrolman123]

Ok.... Ive been goning round and round with this issue. Some time ago it seemed that my 396 wasnt staying charged. Or, in other words it seemed to eat up some batteries. I contacted UPMan and he gave me some of his thoughts on my issue. For one he said to never mix different types of rechargables. Did that. Then he said to try new rechargables. Im going to get them today.
Now for some odd reason it gives me a Battery error message. I have the three 2300mah rechargables supplied by Uniden. I plug it at bed time it says unit charging and the next day just before the time is up for the unit to be completely charged is switchs to battery error. And the little battery icon blinks........
Could it be that the rechargable batteries are bad?????
Or
Is it service time
Or
Should I go get them new rechargables.

Help me please..............

 

[linuxwrangler]

Go get a couple sets of batteries and a good charger. Set the switch for "alkaline" so the 396t charger will not try to cook your batteries (this will allow you to use the external adapter to power your scanner but it won't try to charge the batteries). Once I realized the charger in the 396t is just a simple timer I stopped using it (and cooking the batteries) immediately. I now just rotate through three sets of batteries so I always have a fresh-set ready to pop in.

If you are obsessive compulsive like I am you will get one of these: http://www.thomasdistributing.com/maha-mh-c9000-battery-charger.php (mine is on order but meanwhile I'll use my older Maha charger).

This charger will let you condition the cells and run all sorts of tests. Each cell is on its own circuit so you can charge any combination of 1-4 batteries (unlike some cheapo chargers that only let you charge pairs). You can have it run the battery through a set of charge/discharge cycles and then tell you the capacity of the battery (a battery set is only as good as the worst cell) so you can even make matched sets of cells. It will also give you a definitive answer on whether you have a failed cell.

 

[pbindep]

I second that. I too was at the mercy of the charger for the 396. It got too warm and took too long! I just bought a MAHA charger from the same folks and it is fantastic. I purchased the http://www.thomasdistributing.com/maha-mh-c808m-battery-charger.htm and 16 Powerex 2700 NiMH AA batteries. That gave me enough for my 3 handheld scanners (one is a 396 like you have) and my Garmin GPS 60CSX too. Great batteries and charger. If I need a quick fix I am able to pop in the batteries that I need and I have recharged batteries in about an hour if I choose the default charge time, 2 hrs if I choose the Soft Charge.

I too am a bit "Monkish". Years ago when I got started scanning I got used to running 3 portable scanners and needed at least 36 NiCAD batteries, 6 pak per scanner and an extra set always charging. I noticed if I didn't keep them clean they started to grow fuzz at the top of the batteries at times. So after each charge I started wiping down the batteries and both contacts with a paper towel and avoided touching the contacts and kept them in a case. Keep them clean and run them through thier cycle and use the charger to excercise them occasionally and you should eliminate battery problems.

One of there newer chargers the MH-C9000 will allow you to check the capacity of the batteries as they get older and match up sets of batteries to use. This way you don't mix a weak battery with a strong one. I plan to get one of these chargers too for that feature and to take when traveling.

 

[linuxwrangler]

OK, I got the battery charger/analyzer and have been playing with it. Took me a while before I put the original batteries through the IEC break-in and capacity analysis as it takes over a day-and-a-half but I finally did. The batteries are the original so they did get abused for the first few months I had the scanner and then were put into rotation with a couple other sets and only charged externally. My observations:

The battery "model" is 2300 but the really fine print on mine says the cell has a "typical" capacity of 2250 mAh - I guess the battery manufacturer just rounded-up to get that model number.

The tested capacity of each cell was 2100 mAh give or take about 30 mAh - well within the recommended 5% max variation and over 93% of original "typical" capacity.

I ran the scanner continuously and got something like 11 hours of run-time (didn't get exact times on the clock). The low-battery beep started about an hour before the scanner went dead. Note: I usually use a earpiece and listen on volume 1 most of the time. The channels are usually quite active. Louder listening or different duty-cycle will change results.

It appeared that the low-battery beep started at or just below 3.5 volts. I couldn't tell exactly the battery state when the scanner died but I think it was about 3.3 volts. The IEC test runs the battery down to 1.0 volts which means the scanner can't use the full rated capacity of the batteries but it isn't too bad. I took the "dead" batteries and put them in the charger on "discharge" mode and they only gave me a bit over 100 mAh, or about 5%, additional capacity.

For this test I took the batteries straight from charger to scanner. According to what I read, typical NiMH self-discharge is 10% the first day and 1%/day thereafter so I try to leave the batteries in the charger till as close as possible to when I will use them.

BTW, a couple minor gripes aside, I really like the MH-C9000 charger. It certainly lets you determine the status of your batteries.

 

[XTS3000]

While charging the batteries in the 396T, if the scanner batteries go above 4.50V, a charge error will occur.

I've noticed that the 15 minute charge batteries like the IC3's will go above the 4.50V threshold of the battery error when charged in the 396T.

I've had the 396 since it came out in late 2005, and have experimented with many brands of rechargable batteries. So far, i've had the best results with the Energizer 2500mAh. The Energizers charges perectly in the 396T.

I get 10 hours scanning with the backlight on, and listening to some very active conventional & TRS systems. Not bad. If I turn off the light, 12+ hours.

I recommend staying away from no-name batteries like the ones you;ll find at local hamfests. Hamfest batteries marked 2900mAh rates less than 1800mAh when tested. Stick with the name brands and you can't go wrong

 

[rockag41]

I've had the 396 since it came out in late 2005, and have experimented with many brands of rechargable batteries. So far, i've had the best results with the Energizer 2500mAh. The Energizers charges perectly in the 396T.

I agree that the Energizer 2500mAh batteries work the best in my 396. I find that they do not fully charge over night is if charge them in the scanner. If i charge them in my desktop charger, they will fully charge over night and run all day long.