BCD436HP/BCD536HP: BCD-436hp find!

[SCPD]

Ok so I got dust on my LCD,took it apart today and cleaned it!
But I resoldered the SMA connector and took the felt out from in front of the speaker and put it all back together and guess what? It works better now ,I gained 1 to 2 bars in signal.Hasrouck Heights is now coming in better,I had issues with that town before,so I know its better.
That EPA approved solder they are using is rank,I used the old stuff!
The scanner works decent now,like I wanted it to from the factory! Yee-haw!

 

[NWI_Scanner_Guy]

 

[tumegpc]

Ok so I got dust on my LCD,took it apart today and cleaned it!
But I resoldered the SMA connector and took the felt out from in front of the speaker and put it all back together and guess what? It works better now ,I gained 1 to 2 bars in signal.Hasrouck Heights is now coming in better,I had issues with that town before,so I know its better.
That EPA approved solder they are using is rank,I used the old stuff!
The scanner works decent now,like I wanted it to from the factory! Yee-haw!

Good Job ! Uniden's quality control on the *36HP scanners certainly has been a big topic this past year.

 

[K2KOH]

Don't blame Uniden. Blame the damned tree huggers for degrading stuff, like the solder.

 

[XTS3000]

This new solder Uniden and darn near the rest of the electronics industry is very brittle. I've measured resistance in solder connections due to hairline cracks/breaks that the human eye can not see.

 

[JamesO]

Yep, the low lead/leadless solder is not so good. As mentioned it is far more brittle and seems to actually crack more often and easier than say the old 60/40 solders. Also the melting point is much higher than older 60/40 solder.

I find very often that connections that have a lot of mass, larger cross section, often do not get properly preheated and soldered in the IR or wave soldering machines.

I fix probably 2-3 cold solder joints a month on everything to water heater controllers, stereo gear, automotive assemblies, you name it. More often than not the cracked joints were cold to begin with and/or as subject to slight more stress or vibration that other areas of the competent or assembly.

I will be inspecting my 436HP internally soon so I will look at the antenna connection when I have it apart, may retouch the connection with some 60/40 and/or install a small wire to bridge the joint if needed.