BC785 ADAPTER PLUG: Question please

[Archie]

My factory BC785 adapter plug died after slightly one year of use. Was this caused by my use of a 3 prong outlet adapter?
The manual says it could ruin either the adapter or scanner itself. The TV repair guy tested the adapter and thinks it got shorted somehow by the wall outlet.
When I buy a replacement, does it only have to be from Uniden as long as it's input and outputs are the same along with being UL listed ?

Thank You for helping.

 

[Halfpint]

My factory BC785 adapter plug died after slightly one year of use. Was this caused by my use of a 3 prong outlet adapter?
The manual says it could ruin either the adapter or scanner itself. The TV repair guy tested the adapter and thinks it got shorted somehow by the wall outlet.

Huh? Got shorted out by the wall outlet? What probably actually happened was that the adapter itself was marginal to begin with and you got a bit of a voltage surge which took out the tranformer inside the adapter. I've noticed that UniHeave has been using barely adquate adapters current-wise which causes them to run right on `the edge' making them easy `targets' to power surges.

When I buy a replacement, does it only have to be from Uniden as long as it's input and outputs are the same along with being UL listed ?

Thank You for helping.

The *main* requirements that you should be looking for are:

Correct voltage output.

Correct type and polarity of the plug that fits into the scanner.

*And* at least one quarter to half again as much *output* current as the original `wall wart'. *If* you regularly recharge your batteries whilst also running the radio go with at least half again as much output current. If you recharge your batteries with an external charger you should be able to get by with only one quarter again as much output current. Personally *I* usually just go ahead and get the biggest, current-wise, `wall wart' at the rated voltage and don't bother worrying whether or not I am going to have it going out because I'm drawing too much current from it. After all if you use an auto adapter you have a lot more current available than most `wall warts' can supply and the regulator in the radio and lighter plug, for those adapters that have them, are there for a reason. (I'm currently using RadioShack's Cat# 273-1772 1,300ma 9VDC adapter to power my PRO-96s and compared to the one they suggest in the manual it's running as cool as the proverbial ice cube when the suggested one was almost too hot to touch with only one scanner. I've found the same to be true with the few UniHeaves I've owned in the past. Using the supplied `wall wart' VS a `heftier' one definitely made a positive difference in the life of the `wall wart'.)

 

[fmon]

Page 15 in the 785D manual lists the requirements including the outer (5.5 mm) and inner (2.1 mm) diameter of the tip, voltage at 13.8 with at least 700 mA. Nothing stated about 3 prong, thus it shouldn't matter. Purchase and adapter accordingly.

 

[freqhopping]

I've found the Uniden ones to be junk as well. My friend and I both have the BC250D. His adapter quit working completely. I found that it was my adapter that caused my scanner to run hot, not something wrong with the scanner. I've been using a universal adaptor that I got at Walmart for about $8, some are labeled as Panasonic. I originally bought it to use with my Icom when its adaptor quit working. I tried it on the Uniden and no more overheating.

I bought my friend one for Christmas.