BC200XLT "AA" Battery Pack

[chicagoradiospy]

I know this radio should be in a scanner museum somewhere but I still use it quite often.

Several years ago there was a company/store that sold modified,empty BC200XLT packs where you could use 6 "AA" alkalines instead of the ni-cad pack that came with the radio.

Does anyone know who this company is and is it still in business or where can I still find one?

Thanks!
Phil

 

[RevGary]

Hi, Phil

Hi, Phil - JUST IN CASE you are still around after two years, don't sell the BC200XLT short - it is a favorite of NASCAR race fans nationwide and thousands are still in use.

The BP200 pack is still available from Uniden with those crummy 1000 MAH ni-cads and the regulator/charging circuit board inside. I looked into the one that you are refering to about 4 years ago and it was nearly the same price as the factory BP200. I purchased a BP 200 spare and ripped out the Ni-Cad's and replaced them with AA sized 2200 MAH Ni-MH batt's. The circuit board DOES handle the additional current needed for charging Ni-MH batt's, so no modification of the board is needed. With a full charge and the duty cycle averaging 10% receive / 90 % standby-scan, the pack lasts right around 22 hours compared to about 3 or 4 with the old Ni-Cad's.
THE ONLY DRAWBACK with the BP 200 is the fragile guide rails which slide on to the bottom of the main scanner. I have had those split and fall off even while in the holster and have made my own replacement rails out of 24 gauge aluminum. No additional problems and the scanner is as tight and sensitive today as it was in 1992 when I purchased it. If y'all need any hints, let me know by PM. Thanks.

 

[w8mkh]

check out this page
http://www.racescanners.com/access.php?racescanners_Session=25414d1250e838478a1015636ebbac63

 

[John_M]

I have a BC100XLT and I like RevGary would take apart the existing pack and put NiMH's in it instead of paying the $52.00. My BC100XLT works great also.

 

[steve_eg]

The BP200 pack is still available from Uniden with those crummy 1000 MAH ni-cads and the regulator/charging circuit board inside. I looked into the one that you are refering to about 4 years ago and it was nearly the same price as the factory BP200. I purchased a BP 200 spare and ripped out the Ni-Cad's and replaced them with AA sized 2200 MAH Ni-MH batt's. The circuit board DOES handle the additional current needed for charging Ni-MH batt's, so no modification of the board is needed. With a full charge and the duty cycle averaging 10% receive / 90 % standby-scan, the pack lasts right around 22 hours compared to about 3 or 4 with the old Ni-Cad's.
THE ONLY DRAWBACK with the BP 200 is the fragile guide rails which slide on to the bottom of the main scanner. I have had those split and fall off even while in the holster and have made my own replacement rails out of 24 gauge aluminum. No additional problems and the scanner is as tight and sensitive today as it was in 1992 when I purchased it. If y'all need any hints, let me know by PM. Thanks.

Rev. Gary, any chance you could post some instructions, or maybe point me in the right direction to do this? I've also got a BC200XLT that's currently unserviceable. I'll forewarn you that I'm not "electronics-modification-savvy" so, on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being easy, 10 difficult, where would this mod rate?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[RevGary]

Rev. Gary, any chance you could post some instructions, or maybe point me in the right direction to do this? I've also got a BC200XLT that's currently unserviceable. I'll forewarn you that I'm not "electronics-modification-savvy" so, on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being easy, 10 difficult, where would this mod rate?

Thanks,

Steve

Hey, Steve - For a Novice, this could be about a 6 or 7. IF your battery pack is intact with both plastic guide rails still in place this is a good upgrade. If you want to try it yourself, READ this carefully first. If not, you have another option mentioned in the final part of this note.

You will see two Phillips screws on the very bottom of the pack. Remove those screws and put them in a container where they will not get lost - these are metric and you'll have a problem if they are lost. Using a medium sized flat blade screwdriver, CAREFULLY apply prying pressure in the BOTTOM seam where the front and back meet. The SMALLER of the two covers will pop off. You will see the Ni-Cad pack attached to the charging circuit board with a small BLACK (-) and a small RED (+) wire. CAREFULLY unsolder the wires from the battery pack and remove the pack all the way from the rear half of the housing. If you are not electrical or electronics saavy, take that pack to a "BATTERIES PLUS" store and have them duplicate the configuration using their 2200 Ni-MH AA sized replacements (NO HIGHER THAN 2200 rating - the charging board will not support anything higher). Once you have the new pack, examine it FIRST and compare the overall size of the new one to the OLD Ni-Cad pack to see if the store got the dimentions right - otherwise, it will not fit in the available space. Have them compare the two while they are making up the pack for you but STILL check it yourself. They will have the soldering tabs marked (+) and (-). The RED wire goes back to the (+) tab and the BLACK wire goes back to the (-) tab. Apply ONLY as much soldering gun heat as necessary to make a good solid connection to the tabs with Rosin Core Solder. Too much heat may dislodge the new tabs and this is an extra step that should be avoided if possible. Place the new pack in the large housing half and MAKE SURE that none of the metal battery ends are touching the metal bracket support at the bottom of the housing. The metal battery ends should be completely covered with vinyl by the battery store - make sure that they do this for you. Once the wires are soldered properly and the new pack is inside the rear housing, place the small cover housing in place aligning the little plastic tabs and reinsert the Phillips screws. The standard Uniden A/C charger will work just fine with the new pack - but charge it for 12 hours initially. Unlike Ni-Cad's, the new Ni-MH batteries can be charged at any time and will not take a 'set' at some charging level less than 100%. You should have a good operating unit once again after this fairly easy repair. NOTE: If you do not have any soldering experience, the battery store can also do that for you and repack the housing without you having to do anything at all except pay out for the new batteries and a small labor charge. Best of luck.

 

[Al42]

have them duplicate the configuration using their 2200 Ni-MH AA sized replacements (NO HIGHER THAN 2200 rating - the charging board will not support anything higher).

The charger may not fully charge 2500 mAh cells, but nothing will be damaged if the cells have a larger capacity than the charger is rated for. It's not as if they're going to draw more current from the charger.

 

[RevGary]

The charger may not fully charge 2500 mAh cells, but nothing will be damaged if the cells have a larger capacity than the charger is rated for. It's not as if they're going to draw more current from the charger.

The regulator circuit INSIDE the BP200 is the problem, not the external A/C power supply that plugs into it. The higher the capacity of the AA Ni-MH cells, the harder the regulator has to work to limit current flow while charging based upon it's original factory circuit design working with low-cap Ni-Cad's. This causes extra heat to be present in that charging board and the metal heat sink may not be able to dissipate that heat without destroying several circuit components near the regulator transistor. We tested up to 2200 Mah AA Ni-MH batt's and the heating was elevated, but still OK at that point. We didn't take it up any higher for safety reasons.

 

[chicagoradiospy]

I know this radio should be in a scanner museum somewhere but I still use it quite often.

Several years ago there was a company/store that sold modified,empty BC200XLT packs where you could use 6 "AA" alkalines instead of the ni-cad pack that came with the radio.

Does anyone know who this company is and is it still in business or where can I still find one?

Thanks!
Phil

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far. I have plenty of nicad packs for this radio but I'm still looking for the custom made empty case that holds 6 AA alkalines.

I found out the company that sold them was ScannerMaster. I called them and they said they no longer carry or manufacture them. I've done both Yahoo and Google searches and still can't find any sources for this item.

 

[RevGary]

Using alkalines is not necessarilly cost effective for a high current draw scanner like the BC200XLT. What were your thoughts on that?

Have you considered removing the Ni-Cad's from one of your spare BP-200 cases and installing a couple 7.5 volt Lithium-Ion flat-packs as used in cameras and cellphones? A couple of those wired parallel (not series) will give you the same available current as AA Ni-MH's and the charging board in the BP200 will work with those. You might have to look around at your camera or battery store for something small enough to fit in the case and the gold anodized contacts on the flat packs solder up well. Just a thought.

 

[MacombMonitor]

Primecell is another option! They will re-pack your original battery case with NiMH (Nickle Metal Hydride, much better than NiCD), 1700MAH batteries, that can be charged using the original charger. $24.50


http://www.primecell.com/pcstu.htm

 

[chicagoradiospy]

The use for the "AA" holder is a "backup" for when the nicad packs run out and I'm nowhere near any sources for AC. I also do a lot of railfanning and take this radio to work.

 

[chicagoradiospy]

After searching all over creation I found out that "Racing Electronics" has them for $20.00. They are not listed on their website but they do carry them.

racingelectronics.com
800-272-7111



Thanks to everyone who responded!

Phil

 

[steve_eg]

Can these packs be used with the newer NiMh batteries? Obviously they'd need to be charged separately, but still...


Thanks,

Steve

 

[chicagoradiospy]

Can these packs be used with the newer NiMh batteries? Obviously they'd need to be charged separately, but still...


Thanks,

Steve

I don't see why not. I did that once with regular ni-cads. Like you said the only thing that you have to do is charge them in their own charger. There is no plug on the back of these packs.

 

[LedZeppelin]

I still use my BC200XLT every day in my bedroom to monitor my local PD. Still a workhorse after all these years.

 

[RevGary]

As long as we have a BC200XLT thread going, I'd just like to mention something that I was told by a Uniden staff member about 7 years ago during a phone call...

When programming the memory for 800-950 MHZ freqencies, ALWAYS program in the 4th digit after the decimal. The display won't show that digit, but the microprocessor DOES accept that 4th digit and it IS programmed in when you hit the enter key. Some users may disagree, but you can test the radio yourself. Program in an 800 freq. using only 3 digits after the decimal. Then in the next open memory location, program the same frequency but add the 4th digit (usually a 5). When that frequency is in use, toggle back and forth between them and you can hear the difference - especially on a weak input signal. Just an FYI for those who only use 3 digits after the decimal. We still have some 855-862 meg analog trunked systems in a couple areas where we have Chapel offices and this programming sequence does make a difference in those areas for channel audio clarity.

 

[d-patrick]

I have rebuilt many of the battery packs for the bc200 and 100 xlt as well as different 2 way radios andi also use the 2200mHa batteries i purchase the digital brand from walmart they are fairly cheap, here is a tip i found out by trial and error, as the batteries
that are in the battery pack does not have the elevated positive tip the replacement ones are a bit taller and are a bit tight to install inthe plastic housing. i use a small vise and put a piece of electrical tape on each end of the battery to keep the contacts from touching the vise and possibly shorting out the battery, i place the battery in the vise with each end contacting the vise jaws and i tightenthe vise down and this depressed the tip of the battery down flush with the battery housing and it does not harm the battery as a hammer would trying to tap the tip down, this makes the battery fot perfectly in the pack. you might of already knew this, but i thought i would share this with you.d patrick goss

 

[IndyMike]

Hey, Steve - For a Novice, this could be about a 6 or 7. IF your battery pack is intact with both plastic guide rails still in place this is a good upgrade. If you want to try it yourself, READ this carefully first. If not, you have another option mentioned in the final part of this note.

You will see two Phillips screws on the very bottom of the pack. Remove those screws and put them in a container where they will not get lost - these are metric and you'll have a problem if they are lost. Using a medium sized flat blade screwdriver, CAREFULLY apply prying pressure in the BOTTOM seam where the front and back meet. The SMALLER of the two covers will pop off. You will see the Ni-Cad pack attached to the charging circuit board with a small BLACK (-) and a small RED (+) wire. CAREFULLY unsolder the wires from the battery pack and remove the pack all the way from the rear half of the housing. If you are not electrical or electronics saavy, take that pack to a "BATTERIES PLUS" store and have them duplicate the configuration using their 2200 Ni-MH AA sized replacements (NO HIGHER THAN 2200 rating - the charging board will not support anything higher). Once you have the new pack, examine it FIRST and compare the overall size of the new one to the OLD Ni-Cad pack to see if the store got the dimentions right - otherwise, it will not fit in the available space. Have them compare the two while they are making up the pack for you but STILL check it yourself. They will have the soldering tabs marked (+) and (-). The RED wire goes back to the (+) tab and the BLACK wire goes back to the (-) tab. Apply ONLY as much soldering gun heat as necessary to make a good solid connection to the tabs with Rosin Core Solder. Too much heat may dislodge the new tabs and this is an extra step that should be avoided if possible. Place the new pack in the large housing half and MAKE SURE that none of the metal battery ends are touching the metal bracket support at the bottom of the housing. The metal battery ends should be completely covered with vinyl by the battery store - make sure that they do this for you. Once the wires are soldered properly and the new pack is inside the rear housing, place the small cover housing in place aligning the little plastic tabs and reinsert the Phillips screws. The standard Uniden A/C charger will work just fine with the new pack - but charge it for 12 hours initially. Unlike Ni-Cad's, the new Ni-MH batteries can be charged at any time and will not take a 'set' at some charging level less than 100%. You should have a good operating unit once again after this fairly easy repair. NOTE: If you do not have any soldering experience, the battery store can also do that for you and repack the housing without you having to do anything at all except pay out for the new batteries and a small labor charge. Best of luck.

Sorry to resurrect this old thread but I had a question.....I am making one of these battery packs for my BC200xlt and I am confused by the above poster's instruction to initially charge for 12 hours......should the initial charge for this new improved battery pack be more than 12 hours, since the original NiCD pack required a 14-16 hour initial charge?

Thanks for any feedback/suggestion