Bc296d battery packs/compatible chargers

[2WAYMAN]

10-2-10 1419 HOURS EDT
Has anyone had any experience with higher MaH NiMH battery packs which would replace the BP250/1500 MaH packs sold for the Uniden BC296D. Also, as anyone used any brand(s) or particular models of external chargers for same??? If so, what brand(s) and Model(s) have you successfully used and what charging rates/times are required. What battery brand(s) do you suggest and what MaH rating(s) for the NiMH cells ?
Also, can these replacement packs still be charged by the radio's internal charging circuit.
Thanks and 73's!

 

[Concrete1]

This one should be fine..:

https://www.webtrix.net/shopcart/ad...at+2200mA+Battery!+++FREE+12V+Cable!&search=1

 

[2WAYMAN]

Bc296d battery packs-ext. Chargers

10-3-10 2040 HOURS EDT
Hey there.....thanks CONCRETE 1 for that info. However, do you or anyone else viewing this know of or recommend a good EXTERNAL battery charger for these packs??? I know All-Battery.com has the Tenergy brand of chargers and there is one listed as the Tenerty TB6-b Balancing Charger with variable charge rates/pack voltages, egtc. for about $59 BUCKS.
Anyone out there use one of these or can anyone recommend a good charger for both the
BP250 Uniden battery pack and the newer, higher MaH packs out there!
Thanks and 73's!

 

[RichM]

I picked up the cheapest 2.4v-14.4v smart charger I could find, it was around $20. These are used for charging RC battery packs. Then I went to my local thrift store to find a used cordless phone that had a battery pack socket that matches the Uniden BP style battery pack plug. In this age of cell phones my secondhand thrift store had literally dozens of cheap cordless phones. I brought my battery pack with me and found many of the phones had battery pack plug/sockets that matched my plug, but I really lucked out and found a Uniden cordless phone that matched exactly for $5. I de-soldered the socket posts from the phones circuit board, then soldered the battery charger wires to the socket posts matching the polarity. I covered each post connection with shrink tubing and re-enforced the connection with electrical tape. It works perfectly, charging a completely flat 2500mah pack in around 2.5 hours.

This solves the impossible problem of charging multiple packs, compounded by the fact that the factory in scanner charger takes 14-16 hours to charge a single 1500mah pack. Larger aftermarket packs take even longer so two packs would take almost 2 days to charge. I was ready to give up on this scanner because of this design oversight. Glad I didn't, this is otherwise a very good radio.

I can hear 4 counties and 3 digital towers so my scanner chatters a lot. With the aftermarket 2500mah battery packs (also around $20) I average about 4 hours of run time. This makes having a short charge time even more important. Not to mention quick charging is better for the batteries and also keeps the heat that's generated out of the radio.

One last thing about the higher capacity battery packs, along with the longer running time they also have a much longer low battery alert period. The low battery beep will annoyingly seem to go on forever. But with the quick external charger, I now swap packs at the first beep as I always have a fully charged pack ready.

 

[RichM]

With the aftermarket 2500mah battery packs (also around $20) I average about 4 hours of run time.

I should add that with a brand new 2500mah pack I am actually getting between 8-10 hours of run time. 4 hours run time was on a 3 year old pack I was using.

 

[KF0SKV]

I should add that with a brand new 2500mah pack I am actually getting between 8-10 hours of run time. 4 hours run time was on a 3 year old pack I was using.

I just replaced my ailing Uniden 1500mah pack with the Advanced Specialties pack. I get close to 11hrs without the keypad/lcd light on, 7-8hrs with the keypad/lcd light on continuous.

But yes, it takes all day and night to charge.