BCD436 battery charging.

[microwave67]

I am really confused about charging batteries in the scanner. First, generally, I do not charge the batteries in the scanner. One reason is I don't understand what is in the manual. I have never seen charging that the user sets the amount of time it charges. This makes no sense to me. You charge batteries until they are full and. if using an external charger, it will stop charging once it is full. Does this scanner not do that? I've seen where others have had problems with charging batteries within the unit. Maybe the charger, within, is the reason?

 

[KK4JUG]

The 436 charges for a specific length of time, regardless of the amount of power left in the batteries. It doesn't "read" the batteries to see how much they have been depleted. It simply goes 'til the timer shuts it off. If you used the radio 5 minutes or 5 hours, the 436 will charge the batteries the same. This will dramatically shorten the life of the batteries.

I use a Maha "smart" charger instead. There are also other brands. It reads the amount of power in the battery and charges accordingly. In addition, it can sometimes even revive seemingly worn out batteries.

 

[doctordialtone]

Does this scanner not do that

No it doesn't.

Use an external charger exclusively.

436 Battery Operation

 

[microwave67]

The 436 charges for a specific length of time, regardless of the amount of power left in the batteries. It doesn't "read" the batteries to see how much they have been depleted. It simply goes 'til the timer shuts it off. If you used the radio 5 minutes or 5 hours, the 436 will charge the batteries the same. This will dramatically shorten the life of the batteries.

I use a Maha "smart" charger instead. There are also other brands. It reads the amount of power in the battery and charges accordingly. In addition, it can sometimes even revive seemingly worn out batteries.

Thank you for your response. It is as I feared. I do not understand why they would do this with these types of batteries. If one shorts or fails in some destructive way I believe Uniden would be responsible for damages. No lawyer here but common sense! (Oh, I understand my problem then!) LOL

 

[jonwienke]

It's actually not all that risky, since the 436 internal charger isn't a very fast one. Using it will shorten battery life, but it's not likely to make batteries explode or catch on fire.

 

[pb_lonny]

It is best to charge externally.