SDS100/SDS200: Broken battery door clip due to large battery tightness

[seth21w]

I'm confused, is a "lipo" battery one using Lithium Ion? I have some of those for 2 Kenwood TH-F6A handhelds. There are 2 sizes of batteries for them. The smaller sized is about 3.125" wide by 2.25" high and 0.5" thick. Its rating is 7.4V and 2000 mAh. The large one is twice as thick and rated @ 3600 mAh. We also had AA battery holders for these radios squirreled away in our cars and backpacks. My late hubby's BK field programmable handheld he bought for volunteer FD use has a holder that uses 9 replaceable alkaline AA batteries. All of these radios last at least 8 hours while they are scanning and transmitting. None have the pretty colors on their displays. I have a home weather station with a thermometer, anemometer, wind vane, barometer, rain gauge and humidity sensor that has 3 AAA lithium ion batteries that only have to be replaced about every 2 years. It sends data in very quick pulses, but is on all the time. When I think of those and look at a receive only radio that is larger than the Kenwood transceivers I wonder why it cannot be equipped with AA batteries, even if they are the more expensive lithium ion type.

I'm not being argumentative, mind you, I want to understand.

Yes they are also lipo the only difference is 7.4v is a 2s pack instead of the sds100 is a 1s lipo pack. Lipo are very similar to li ion same principle design just different material inside. Every 1s is 3.7 volts of power I fly rc planes that I use lipo in and have many lipos ranging from 1s to 6s packs. As long as you always keep each cell at 3.8v when not in use they will be very reliable and last for years. Look into storage charge for lipo batteries.

 

[K7MRT]

*UPDATE*

I asked Uniden to escalate my request for a new battery clip to corporate. 24 hours later, I received an email advising I am now able to order the battery clip if I feel like I can replace it myself. However, they told me the clip is on back order and wont be available until 12/12. So I won, but not really because they don't have any. Ughhhh.

So... how do you order one... or 6.... or a dozen....?

 

[mharris]

So... how do you order one... or 6.... or a dozen....?

Call Uniden service dept. Ask to order the battery clip for the SDS-100. Once they find the part number tell them you want one, 6, or a dozen. I ordered 5.

 

[K7MRT]

Call Uniden service dept. Ask to order the battery clip for the SDS-100. Once they find the part number tell them you want one, 6, or a dozen. I ordered 5.

Sounds like you need to find the right guy in Service... my guy flat out says they will not ship one and that mailing in my out of warranty sds-100 for $90 was the ONLY solution. Not going to do it for a $2 piece of plastic. I'll just use electrical tape on my $600 radio and show everyone how great the product is!

 

[K7MRT]

I was told by a Uniden Customer Service rep that I could not buy the latch, that they were not available to the general public for sale. When I asked why he said it was because it would encourage their customers to open the radio and void their warranties. This was probably 2 months ago, so I improvised a tight wrap with black elastic and forgot about it. Planned on buying one after my 1 yr warranty expires, Now I find out that they are/were available for sale and they are out of stock. I guess I will keep that link and check it periodically. Thanks for the news. It would be nice if everyone was on the same page here.

JD
kf4anc

I ordered 5 of them.... they don't fit this radio....argh!!

 

[AvidHiker]

Could be they simply took their time to isolate whatever defect was causing the clips to fail so they could be sure the next batch is trouble-free (in which case I'd order no more than 2). Patience, a scarce virtue around here , may pay off in this case.

Anyway, my clip is still intact after numerous battery changes, so I doubt there's anything inherently wrong with the design.

 

[rcool101]

Could be they simply took their time to isolate whatever defect was causing the clips to fail so they could be sure the next batch is trouble-free (in which case I'd order no more than 2). Patience, a scarce virtue around here , may pay off in this case.

Anyway, my clip is still intact after numerous battery changes, so I doubt there's anything inherently wrong with the design.

You'd be wrong... I broke 3

 

[rcool101]

I've squeezed the sh*t out of my battery case ever since the first report of a broken clip. 1st clip lasted 11 months... 2nd clip lasted 1 week... 3rd lasted 1 month... I tried a different battery cover... I cut foam out of a cover... Nothing wrong with the design?

 

[Paysonscanner]

I've squeezed the sh*t out of my battery case ever since the first report of a broken clip. 1st clip lasted 11 months... 2nd clip lasted 1 week... 3rd lasted 1 month... I tried a different battery cover... I cut foam out of a cover... Nothing wrong with the design?

Your discussion and that of others is keeping my desire for a Phase 2 scanner in check. It also bolsters my opinion that radios with proprital batteries are not a good deal. I think it is a scam but many have posted that I'm wrong. That is OK as I'm really a newbie, sort of. My late husband had more scanner skills than I, even though I got my ham license when I was 18. He would not buy another Uniden handheld after Radio Shack started selling handhelds that used AA batteries. I think the Uniden handheld we had for years was a BC-200XLT. We carried that thing all over the U.S. on travels and locally backpacking in the Sierra Nevada. In the 1990's we extended the life of the scanner after its NiCad batteries failed and new ones weren't being sold. We sent the packs to the "NiCad Lady" to get them repacked with NiMH batteries. It was a good scanner other than that and a good companion for our 3 BC-760's. Finally hubby said when someone offers a scanner with AA battery capability and is computer programmable he would buy one. Then GRE did just that after we waited for many years, when the PRO-92 and Pro-2067 came out. I think of that time and what people are saying here. I'm pretty sure I'm going to wait for someone to put out a better quality product that can run on many AA batteries. I still have my hubby's Bendix-King radio with the 10 or more groups and he used it on 16 hour shifts using 9 AA batteries that included transmitting, scanning, priority and a alpha display. It does not have that razzle dazzle multi color display, but it is more than adequate.

 

[AvidHiker]

You'd be wrong... I broke 3

LOL, so, you've traveled into the future to purchase the replacement clips? Get back to me once those start shipping and you're still breaking them.

 

[TailGator911]

My replacement clip seems to be holding just fine, altho I rarely take the battery off. I run it with the fat battery in a hard leather case and I only take the spare (small) battery when I travel, but I rarely switch out the batteries, opting to charge while running without ever taking it out of the case. I broke mine via stupid mistake and not thinking, I pushed up thru the bottom hole with my finger to extract the radio from a very tight-fitting case. Snapped it like a dry twig. For the sake of safety first, I squeeze lightly on the battery to create a little slack before I unhinge the clip. I think I would have to be pretty rough on it to break it, it seems pretty solid.

JD
kf4anc

 

[jason51]

So I just got off of the phone with Uniden. I was trying to order some more battery clips because the ones I have ordered from them in the past are now broken. I was told that they are no longer selling them and that I had to send my unit in for repair at the flat rate of 89.00. To replace a 1.00 clip.
I have been a Uniden fan for years, but this has done it for me, DO NOT buy this product!,

 

[jason51]

And after reading this completely, I see that this has been going on for awhile now. Anyone want to sell me a clip? Looks like it depends on who you talk to at customer support.

 

[nosoup4u]

Mine just broke this morning. These should have been make out of metal, not plastic.

 

[RogerH11]

Are they all breaking or is it just one? A single incident is hardly a design flaw.

My hand slipped thus mine broke.

 

[RogerH11]

Bearcat Warehouse has SDS100 replacement battery covers available for $10.99

This is the back cover NOT the clip!

 

[cistercian]

I never got my large battery...so I am fine!!!!!
Oh well.

 

[richtidd]

My battery clip broke & will send to Uniden for Warranty repair.

I am using a velcro strap but I am now using a heave duty rubber band (2" Long x 3/8" Wide x 1/16" Thick ) that seams to working OK:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0716B9F6J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[rcool101]

Thanks...Just ordered... better than 89.00 bucks. I broke 3. My velcro is a little wide

 

[vpasq]

Well, I have finally and unfortunately joined the broken battery clip club. Bought my SDS100 when they first came out, babied it daily, and last night as I went to install a recharged battery, I noticed a big crack in the clip and of course when I opened it, the broken piece fell off. There is still 3/4 of the clip there, so for now it works, but I am sure that wont last long. I refuse to pay $89 and give up my scanner for weeks in repair to Uniden for what is a proven design flaw (given the numerous owners having the exact same problem), so I have ordered the heavy duty rubber bands instead. What a shame, as I have a “like new” looking scanner (except for the broken battery clip) that will now look like it is being held together by a rubber band. They should have done the right thing and had a recall/covered repair program and accepted ownership, or at least let us buy the part ourselves. I couldn’t find it anywhere, so rubber bands it is.