Scarpad
Member
as a relatively new sds100 owner I lover the scanner but the battery life I feel could be better, plus with the included charger it takes about 7 hours to charge the battery, maybe 8. anyone else have any comments on the battery?
Battery life
- Thread starter Scarpad
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doctordialtone
Member
Yes. Quite a few.
The consensus? Needs improvement.
Use your favorite search engine
GET another battery. I have 3 big ones and 1 small one. It's the nature of the beast
+1 on the another battery option. My gripe(s) is that I worry about breaking that weak battery cover latch that is known to break. Also, why on earth would they show the battery status as pure volts (4.21?) rather than a percentage like our cell phones do? I love my scanner but that just seems strange.
My one gripe with the SDS100 is the decision to use a proprietary battery pack versus AA batteries like its predecessors. Yes I know the SDS100 demands more power but it would have been nice if a AA battery holder/convertor could have been engineered like AOR did with the AR-DV10, this way when years down the road the battery packs I have no longer hold a charge, I won't be dead in the water
I sent my 100 back 2 wks before warranty was up for a broken clip. It lasted 1 wk. Sent it back again because the warranty work is good for 90 days. It lasted 1 month. I was using black wide rubber bands. Finally was able to snag 5 clips from Uniden. Then I bought 3 from JonWienke. I have 7 clips left. My clips should outlast me...
I've owned the SDS 100 for around a month and I'm pretty happy with the (new, bigger) current SDS100 battery. Apparently some people wish it were smaller, I really don't understand why. I did order an extra battery with an external charger, and that works pretty well.
I really wish scanners would have batteries like my XTS 5000 and the IMPRES; that thing goes DAYS on a single charge, and it only a takes few hours to re-charge (granted, I got the highest rated battey you can get).
Also with the IMPRES battery system your XTS radio displays how many charges the battery went through, how many charges are left before it's likely to go bad and percent of battery remaining. And the charger automatically analyzes the battery during each charge cycle, and displays a certain color if the battery is going bad.
However it's really not fair to compare that to a regular scanner product. I'm pretty sure the SDS battery system is the closest were gonna get to any IMPRES type product.
But regardless I do like the SDS battery system, it works pretty darn well for me, compared to several other older scanners I own.
I really wish scanners would have batteries like my XTS 5000 and the IMPRES; that thing goes DAYS on a single charge, and it only a takes few hours to re-charge (granted, I got the highest rated battey you can get).
Also with the IMPRES battery system your XTS radio displays how many charges the battery went through, how many charges are left before it's likely to go bad and percent of battery remaining. And the charger automatically analyzes the battery during each charge cycle, and displays a certain color if the battery is going bad.
However it's really not fair to compare that to a regular scanner product. I'm pretty sure the SDS battery system is the closest were gonna get to any IMPRES type product.
But regardless I do like the SDS battery system, it works pretty darn well for me, compared to several other older scanners I own.
The IC-R30 has a good battery, but very expensive to replace, and the alkaline case is not a great back up. My upgraded
PSR 800 uses 4 AA, and I can also have as many fully charged sets as I want at a reasonable cost. They are also readily available when traveling. The trend with most new HTs is proprietary cell packs, and I have a couple of good serviceable radios but no replacements packs available. Progress, maybe? Profit, YES!
PSR 800 uses 4 AA, and I can also have as many fully charged sets as I want at a reasonable cost. They are also readily available when traveling. The trend with most new HTs is proprietary cell packs, and I have a couple of good serviceable radios but no replacements packs available. Progress, maybe? Profit, YES!
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There are already people who complain about the bump size.
Can you imagine the size of the bump for 7 AA cells? (or the complaints about the fact it uses 7 AA cells)
Also, since the voltage is 3x NiMH voltage, it would really have to be 9 cells - 3 parallel sets of 3 in series.
So the bump would stick out about twice as far.
This is why AAs were not used in the first place.
All this said, maybe Jon can make a AA adapter.
The alternative is to use 3 AAs in series, but your scanner would last about 2.5 hours. I'm not sure that would sell too well.
Back when Uniden scanners had proprietary battery packs, people complained that they wanted to be able to use AA batteries. Sooooo, Uniden designed their portable scanners to take AA batteries. Then people complained about battery life with AA batteries. Sooooo, Uniden designed a battery pack for the SDS100.
Maybe Uniden should make a scanner with solar panels. Then people can complain that they can't use the scanner on cloudy days.
Maybe Uniden should make a scanner with solar panels. Then people can complain that they can't use the scanner on cloudy days.
People complain about the battery.
Give the people what they want... Make a AA Adapter.
People complain about the AA Adapter.
Vicious cycle.
People are annoying.
Give the people what they want... Make a AA Adapter.
People complain about the AA Adapter.
Vicious cycle.
People are annoying.
sfb88
Member
Combine scanning and fitness. Make an adapter that uses a hand cranked generator like some of those 'survival' radios. 😊
That would only work if the generator incorporated a fleshlight in its design somewhere.
I hope you mean FLASHLIGHT. I won't even include a link to the FLESHLIGTH or acknowledge that such a thing exists!
Perhaps he means if your hands get tired from using the hand crank you can use a body thrusting motion? just a guess.
I personally assumed its a typo and he meant flashlight. lol
I personally assumed its a typo and he meant flashlight. lol
bobmich52
Member
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6/7 hrs is about right with the big battery 4 me
I let my battery's drain 2 3.5 on my 100, it beep low voltage & I flip a fresh 1 in
Have 2 batteries for it
Its about 6/8 hrs of run time on 1 charge
I have 3 big batteries and I charge them external and I have screen off 99% of the time. I don't think I get 6-9 hours like I use to guessing charge them so many times they age out.
It would certainly relieve the boredom of constantly cranking the generator...I hope you mean FLASHLIGHT. I won't even include a link to the FLESHLIGTH or acknowledge that such a thing exists!
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