BCD536HP Headphone Related Issues

[AA6IO]

Just replace my radios please. I use the headphones all the time. Let's get this exchange show on the road. It was supposed to start last Monday, or so I think UpMan said. I have two 536HPs, just want two that the headphones work right without hiss.
Steve

 

[LIScanner101]

am i understanding this right? You all are sending in used radios, and expecting brand new ones in return?

I don't think Unjden should being the hook for sending out NEW scanners in place of returns. All I said was Uniden should send back the SAME EXACT SCANNER you sent in, REPAIRED.

 

[SCPD]

ok

I don't think Unjden should being the hook for sending out NEW scanners in place of returns. All I said was Uniden should send back the SAME EXACT SCANNER you sent in, REPAIRED.

Thats the best way! This is what should happen!

 

[brennank]

I don't think repaired is the way to go. I liked the analogy with the TV. If I went into the store last weekend and bought a scanner with a bum headphones jack, you bet I would be driving back and exchanging the unit.

When I exchange the unit do you think the sales guy would say "Hold on, let me get a refurbished unit from the back" No he would not. Do you think he would say "Hold on, let me send this back for repair real quick." No he would not. What he would do is say okay, walk out onto the sales floor, grab a brand new unit and hand it to you. This is the EXACT same way this should work. I don't want my unit repaired, I don't want to be returned a used unit.

This is ridiculous. How is this ANY different then scenario I just listed?

This is not about warranty at all. Warranty is when your product breaks during the 1 year period of your owning it. What happened here is we received a defective product from the factory. That is not warranty.

If you bought a CD player with a FM stereo and you brought it home and noticed that out of the box the FM radio doesn't work. What would you do, send it in for repair or exchange for a new one?

 

[LIScanner101]

I don't think repaired is the way to go. I liked the analogy with the TV. If I went into the store last weekend and bought a scanner with a bum headphones jack, you bet I would be driving back and exchanging the unit.

When I exchange the unit do you think the sales guy would say "Hold on, let me get a refurbished unit from the back" No he would not. Do you think he would say "Hold on, let me send this back for repair real quick." No he would not. What he would do is say okay, walk out onto the sales floor, grab a brand new unit and hand it to you. This is the EXACT same way this should work. I don't want my unit repaired; I don't want to be returned a used unit.

This is ridiculous. How is this ANY different then scenario I just listed?

This is not about warranty at all. Warranty is when your product breaks during the 1 year period of your owning it. What happened here is we received a defective product from the factory. That is not warranty.

If you bought a CD player with a FM stereo and you brought it home and noticed that out of the box the FM radio doesn't work. What would you do, send it in for repair or exchange for a new one?

You just opened up my eyes to a VERY good point.

Till now, I and many others have been looking at this as a REPAIR issue. Actually, it is NOT. It is a MANUFACTURER’S DEFECT. As such, Uniden should be OBLIGATED to give all users NEW scanners and do whatever they wish with their old ones (sell as “seconds” etc).

The sad part is, there are a lot of people on here that seem to have NO PROBLEM AT ALL with Uniden bending them over and giving them back a USED unit as a thanks for getting their $600. That’s their prerogative; some people are just masochists at heart, but it basically gives Uniden no incentive to change this program for the better.

After seeing all this garbage I have decided that, while I may buy used Uniden scanners on private sales, I will NEVER buy a NEW scanner from Uniden again.

 

[SquierStrat]

I can't hold my tongue on this anymore. My lawyer friend is looking into the legality of Uniden returning used products to those who sent in their new ones. Stay tuned.

please let us all know what you find out.. after thinking about this, it is kinda BS that i could send in a scanner that i have never even taken out of the box, and receive a previously used one in its place

 

[wm8s]

The point that all the fanboy apologists are missing is not "used versus new" red herring. When I send my radio back in, I know that it's "used", so I don't necessarily expect to get a "new" one in return.

The problem is that I know exactly how it's been "used", which is very carefully. I have not hooked it to a bad power supply that might have damaged the radio in a way that won't manifest for a couple of weeks or months. I have not manhandled the USB connector and weakened it mechanically so it will fail prematurely. I have not hooked it to an antenna that's right next to a transmitter's antenna and guaranteed that the RF front end will fail next year. And I could keep going.

If I get back a repaired scanner that someone else has had and been using for the past 2 months, I know NONE of these things about it. Free from scratches does not mean free from abuse, regardless of what letter code has been slapped on it. Sure, I have a warranty. But having a pathway to send the radio back in yet again, all because of a manufacturer's defect, is a very poor substitute indeed for what we all bargained for, which is simply a working radio.

Of the roughly $50,000 in radio equipment I've paid for, $4,000 of it came from Uniden. But if I return my 536 for repair and do not either (1) timely get back my radio repaired or, (2) if Uniden cannot, for their own reasons, do that, then a new radio, I will press this issue with Uniden's legal department.

 

[drdiesel1]

After seeing all this garbage I have decided that, while I may buy used Uniden scanners on private sales, I will NEVER buy a NEW scanner from Uniden again.

Since Uniden has yet to comment on the keypad misses/delayed response issue I'm kinda glad I'm getting a different physical unit, hoping my next one is less "pokey".

To your comment above, now that Uniden is a scanner monopoly, they simply don't have to try as hard. (Who knows if GRE will actually compete in the high end scanner market)

 

[LIScanner101]

Since Uniden has yet to comment on the keypad misses/delayed response issue I'm kinda glad I'm getting a different physical unit, hoping my next one is less "pokey".

To your comment above, now that Uniden is a scanner monopoly, they simply don't have to try as hard. (Who knows if GRE will actually compete in the high end scanner market)

You mean Whistler, not GRE, right? Because you know that GRE went out of business last year, right?

 

[4482]

BCD536HP recall

In any event I would like to see the warranty process start ASAP. I've been holding off programming my BCD536HP the way I'd like to due to the impending recall.

I'm also holding off buying the BCD436 until the Uniden warranty issue is fully resolved. I know it takes time to set up the recall process but I thought it would be started by now.

 

[y84media]

am i understanding this right? You all are sending in used radios, and expecting brand new ones in return?

Do you work in a call center for an insurance company? Seems like something that a customer service rep who is numb to other peoples' situations and problems would say.

Let's talk about the radios you call "used" which we are the original and only owner of, they were taken out of the box and used for weeks, maybe powered on 10 times or less, barely a month old. My wife for example HATES hearing my scanner, so I'm limited to when she's not home and also about 20mins at bedtime with headphones with the display turned off. So, my scanner has yet to have a full days' use out of it...so, yeah, I consider mine NEW.

This concept of receiving used equipment as replacement seems to be acceptable if it were not a scanner but one of the following:
A Cable Modem
A Cable/DirecTV/DISH receiver
A Cellphone
A BBQ Grill Propane Tank
etc etc...

A few examples of where we refuse to accept this policy:
Tires
Brakes
Food (yes, your messed up order will be replaced with someone else's they retuned but should be good'nuff)

We are trying to say that our scanners are not one of the above products where receiving someone else's used equipment is acceptable. To the original buyer/owner....it's "new", and once it leaves the original owners possession, THEN it becomes used. This is how most of us think....that it's status of new and used changes when the object changes ownership.

So, maybe that's why we feel that our barely a month old new to us scanner should be replaced with a brand new scanner.

 

[markab]

Not quite

"I have not hooked it to a bad power supply that might have damaged the radio in a way that won't manifest for a couple of weeks or months."

Modern day electronics are not "damaged" in a delayed fashion . The bad power supply would either not power the radio at all, perhaps cause it to temporarily malfunction, or immediately damage it.

I have not hooked it to an antenna that's right next to a transmitter's antenna and guaranteed that the RF front end will fail next year.

Again, either the front end would be so seriously overload that it would immediately cook the front end of the scanner or it would cause no electronic damage at all.

I have not manhandled the USB connector and weakened it mechanically so it will fail prematurely.

While technically possible, it is EXTREMELY unlikely to occur. It's far more likely to simply break outright if manhandled. And 2nd hand units are QC'd by Uniden

And I could keep going

I'm not so sure...lol.

Mark

 

[bravo14]

S/N ending 0001 through 2600 could be affected.

You will need to pack your scanner(s) yourself (and only the scanner w/SD card...if you send back other accessories you are going to have one heck of a time trying to use the scanner w/SD card and no other accessories we send to you).

I can't read the small print on the box. When does everyone have a chance to send off the 536hp to repair the white/hiss sound? I have the unit came in yesterday and I plugged 2 headsets in and same sound.

 

[y84media]

Problem solved.

Just off the phone with Bearcat Warehouse, and they're giving me my money back and an RMA to return the unit. With all the other bugs that are surfacing with the 536, I think that it's best for me to just wash my hands of the whole situation & return it, and wait for all this BS to be fixed. Sadly, I can't trust that the next scanner from Uniden will fix all these issues.

Being an early adopter one would think that we would be better taken care, I'm done.

 

[whsbuss]

Problem solved.

Just off the phone with Bearcat Warehouse, and they're giving me my money back and an RMA to return the unit. With all the other bugs that are surfacing with the 536, I think that it's best for me to just wash my hands of the whole situation.

That's a shame too, I really liked it. I'll troll around and look for another PRO-197, there was nothing wrong with that one.

Hmmm, this is concerning. They don't usually return money back. Uniden must be concerned with the bad press the 536 is getting.

 

[ofd8001]

In any event I would like to see the warranty process start ASAP. I've been holding off programming my BCD536HP the way I'd like to due to the impending recall.

I'm also holding off buying the BCD436 until the Uniden warranty issue is fully resolved. I know it takes time to set up the recall process but I thought it would be started by now.

You could program your scanner as you wish right now. After doing so, copy to SD card to your computer. (Also if you are using Sentinel to program Favorites and Profiles, Sentinel will save them on your computer). Then when the replacement/repaired scanner arrives, copy those saved files on your computer to the SD card with the new scanner.

The FOUR 436 is unaffected by the recall.

I imagine Uniden wants to get this behind them more than anyone. I just wonder what Upman used the most - aspirin or ulcer medicine.

 

[y84media]

Hmmm, this is concerning. They don't usually return money back. Uniden must be concerned with the bad press the 536 is getting.

The guy I talked to said it wouldn't be a problem at all, even my being 4 days past my 30 day return. I wonder if theres' anything else going on. From the other bugs I've read about, I think this is probably the best thing to do. Maybe after these issues are taken care of and if I still have the $, maybe I'll try again. Unlike most people I guess, $630 isn't change under my couch cushion, that's a lot of money to my family, and I don't appreciate being treated like this isn't a big deal.

 

[whsbuss]

The guy I talked to said it wouldn't be a problem at all, even my being 4 days past my 30 day return. I wonder if theres' anything else going on. From the other bugs I've read about, I think this is probably the best thing to do.

Makes you wonder why the supposed 3rd week of February restocking of the 436 got delayed to (supposed) 2nd week of March.

 

[4482]

"I have not hooked it to a bad power supply that might have damaged the radio in a way that won't manifest for a couple of weeks or months."

Modern day electronics are not "damaged" in a delayed fashion . The bad power supply would either not power the radio at all, perhaps cause it to temporarily malfunction, or immediately damage it.

I have not hooked it to an antenna that's right next to a transmitter's antenna and guaranteed that the RF front end will fail next year.

Again, either the front end would be so seriously overload that it would immediately cook the front end of the scanner or it would cause no electronic damage at all.

I have not manhandled the USB connector and weakened it mechanically so it will fail prematurely.

While technically possible, it is EXTREMELY unlikely to occur. It's far more likely to simply break outright if manhandled. And 2nd hand units are QC'd by Uniden

And I could keep going

I'm not so sure...lol.

Mark

Have we ever been told exactly, or has anyone exactly discovered, just what the bad component is that is necessitating the recall? Could it be a bad circuit design in the area of the reported defective jack, or is it the jack itself?

The bottom line is I wonder how much electronic/hardware work is involved in fixing a unit for return to us.
Is it a major or minor problem to fix component wise and or time wise?

 

[SquierStrat]

Do you work in a call center for an insurance company? Seems like something that a customer service rep who is numb to other peoples' situations and problems would say.

Let's talk about the radios you call "used" which we are the original and only owner of, they were taken out of the box and used for weeks, maybe powered on 10 times or less, barely a month old. My wife for example HATES hearing my scanner, so I'm limited to when she's not home and also about 20mins at bedtime with headphones with the display turned off. So, my scanner has yet to have a full days' use out of it...so, yeah, I consider mine NEW.

This concept of receiving used equipment as replacement seems to be acceptable if it were not a scanner but one of the following:
A Cable Modem
A Cable/DirecTV/DISH receiver
A Cellphone
A BBQ Grill Propane Tank
etc etc...

A few examples of where we refuse to accept this policy:
Tires
Brakes
Food (yes, your messed up order will be replaced with someone else's they retuned but should be good'nuff)

We are trying to say that our scanners are not one of the above products where receiving someone else's used equipment is acceptable. To the original buyer/owner....it's "new", and once it leaves the original owners possession, THEN it becomes used. This is how most of us think....that it's status of new and used changes when the object changes ownership.

So, maybe that's why we feel that our barely a month old new to us scanner should be replaced with a brand new scanner.

you must have missed the post where i came to a better understanding of the entire situation.

i too feel this is being handled poorly. i think they should have had a program where you can give a $600 deposit, get a 2nd (brand new) radio shipped to you, then your deposit refunded once they receive your defective unit