SDS100/SDS200: Cold solder joint symptoms have appeared , now what ?

[FoeHammer]

My sds 100 has been great since I got it shortly after they switched to the bigger battery , never been abused dropped , or even tipped over , I went to turn it on yesterday & noticed it scanning & searching very slow , & not passing any voice , just this static & the rssi stays at -40 , from what I have read , this is the dreaded cold solder joint issue ,So I have some questions , I am in Canada , Does Uniden have a Canadian service center ? Has anyone else from Canada had this problem & how much did it cost to fix ? When & if it gets fixed , do they restore your upgrades ? It is really an unexpected thing , a major bummer for me , the radio has been babied , It cost alot of money to buy here & the extra chargers and batteries , & now for no reason it becomes unusable , so Im wondering if anyone can tell me if they experienced this & how it went, also when I click customer service on MyUniden site it goes nowhere ? on the main repair site it says they cannot ship Canada ? so what am I supposed to do ?

 

[jasoyeom]

You can try Uniden repair in Peterborough: Lectron Radio | Bringing the consumer reliable, quality products, accessories and service.

or Uniden: Uniden - Online Repair Form

 

[MStep]

You may very well have a cold solder joint, but from the information I have read, these usually become evident upon immediately starting up the radio for the very first time. This could well be another joint which has become unstable, and not the one which was part of the original CSJ "epidemic".

 

[FoeHammer]

The Uniden repair form site says the do not ship repairs to Canada, you would think they would have some type of remedy for Canadian customers , I'm pretty bummed out and disappointed right now

 

[MStep]

The Uniden repair form site says the do not ship repairs to Canada, you would think they would have some type of remedy for Canadian customers , I'm pretty bummed out and disappointed right now

Well now that you've learned the sad truth, I imagine that they want you to send it to the Saddle Creek facility in the United States? Bummer is right. You've probably read the horror stories. On the bright side, while it may take 4 or 5 weeks to get it back (possibly longer because of any customs issues), when you do receive it back, all of your upgrades should still be in place.

Have you done all other restoration attempts, like trying to do the radio's resets, trying a new SD card, etc? The Uniden Repair Facility should be the last resort, after you've tried everything else.

 

[mikewazowski]

The Uniden repair form site says the do not ship repairs to Canada, you would think they would have some type of remedy for Canadian customers , I'm pretty bummed out and disappointed right now

Did you read the second post?

 

[FoeHammer]

Yes sir , and I think that might be my best hope , I am talking with them about it now we will see how it goes, hopefully they can do something with it , I was just wondering how many in Canada have had this and how they got it resolved, it's weird that this problem just comes out of nowhere, also I am pretty sure it is like a mechanical connection failure because when it first did it , and I would test on the weather freq ,I noticed sometimes it would work for a second when I touched the squelch knob, if I put a little pressure behind it , it would work , but that only worked a couple times , I feel like something has become unconnected or unsoldered , so I am pretty sure that it what is going on

 

[SteveSimpkin]

For more information about the Cold Solder Joint (CSJ) issue and its causes, see the following post by jonwienke.

SDS100/SDS200: - Cold Solder Joint

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I sent my SDS100 in for the cold solder joint issue, and after about a month away from home, it came back working again. Until today. The A/C in my house is broken, and ambient has been 85F or so the last couple days, and so the SDS100 has been running warmer than...

forums.radioreference.com

Uniden is not always successful in repairing this issue. There have been a number of people, like Jon, that had this problem reappear after Uniden supposedly repaired this problem on their scanner. Jon now offers his own repair service for this issue and a number of people here have used it after Uniden has failed or when their scanners are out of warranty.

 

[zhenya_yalta]

Пропаяйте сами разъем! И замените 2 ВЧ транзистора на входе на BFP740 ! Родные там стоят BFP420

From Google Translate:

Solder the connector yourself! And replace the 2 RF transistors at the input with the BFP740! Relatives stand there BFP420

 

[MStep]

You can certainly consult with Jon, but as I mentioned before, this may not be part of the Cold Solder Joint "epidemic", because this appeared after you've apparently had the radio for a while. In any event, run it past Jon for his thoughts.

 

[u2brent]

The csj issue has not been known to happen new out of the box, it usually happens 5 days after the 1 yr warranty expired. Speaking from personal experience.

 

[mikewazowski]

Lectron is Uniden’s Canadian repair centre. They can do repairs onsite and I’m sure they’d be a lot cheaper than shipping it south.

 

[RRR]

You can always give Jonathan Wienke a shout, he has done some amazing things with the SDS series. Almost like he knows them better than the manufacturer

https://forums.radioreference.com/members/jonwienke.820387/

 

[djeplett]

You can certainly consult with Jon, but as I mentioned before, this may not be part of the Cold Solder Joint "epidemic", because this appeared after you've apparently had the radio for a while. In any event, run it past Jon for his thoughts.

Not sure where you got the impression that the CSJ issue occurs with brand new radios only. If you read the post quoted above that Jonathan started you'll find it happens quite often months (or in my case, over a year) into ownership.

 

[MStep]

Not sure where you got the impression that the CSJ issue occurs with brand new radios only. If you read the post quoted above that Jonathan started you'll find it happens quite often months (or in my case, over a year) into ownership.

Several of my friends sent back SDS100's that were received with the issue. There are also weak or poorly assembled solder joints that may work for a while, but with the radio being handled and bounced around, or subjected to other anomalies, they become poor and the cracks may develop in the joint over time. A bad solder joint starts at the time of manufacture, but it may not manifest until some time later. This is why I keep advocating for Uniden to do the right thing and extend the warranty period. Obviously, if all the radios were being shipped defective, you would not need an extended warranty because the problem would be immediately evident. I think this is just a case of semantics.

 

[djeplett]

You may very well have a cold solder joint, but from the information I have read, these usually become evident upon immediately starting up the radio for the very first time. This could well be another joint which has become unstable, and not the one which was part of the original CSJ "epidemic".

My opinion is this post of yours would cause other noobs to think their radios must not have the CSJ issue unless theirs were brand new. My opinion is it can happen at any time in an SDS100's lifespan and I believe posts here on RR prove that. I just don't want any noobs misled into thinking it must be something else.

 

[palmerjrusa]

Several of my friends sent back SDS100's that were received with the issue. There are also weak or poorly assembled solder joints that may work for a while, but with the radio being handled and bounced around, or subjected to other anomalies, they become poor and the cracks may develop in the joint over time. A bad solder joint starts at the time of manufacture, but it may not manifest until some time later. This is why I keep advocating for Uniden to do the right thing and extend the warranty period. Obviously, if all the radios were being shipped defective, you would not need an extended warranty because the problem would be immediately evident. I think this is just a case of semantics.

I must have been lucky, have an early production SDS100 and re CSJs so far so good...except for a rotary control knob that's now, for all intent and purposes, useless.

 

[FoeHammer]

While I am not 100% certain that it is the csj issue I have , after reading & researching the best I can , looking at Johns videos of the symptoms , mine match exactly, & with him coming across other units where the J401 connector either did not appear to be seated properly ,with a gap from the pins on the pad & poor solder connections , As I said I have pretty much babied my unit , fairly light use , not alot of travelling or bumping around , with that in mind I could see how this problem may not show or get to the point of failure until much further down the road time wise in some units , but looking at the gaps in those connectors , once this issue was pointed out to them , I really think uniden should extend the warranty ( & to Canadian customers as well ) for these specific symptoms at least , because that is not something the customer caused , that is a problem waiting to happen from the manufacturer , & now being in Canada I dont know if, or how I am going to able to get this thing fixed & how much it is going to cost me , I feel like I kind of stuck my neck out to support them with this product , giving them the faith & trust that if something comes up that they know is a big problem on the manufacturing end , they would take care of it no matter where the customer is ,& an issue like this should get special consideration , even out of warranty , because it originated at the factory , I have tried to contact everyone I can think of , & have found one person in my province that may be able to repair it , I have sent him a description of he problem & will see if wants to attempt a repair , I have not even heard back from uniden yet & I dont think they will do the repairs to Canada anyway , at least thats what the repair page said , I feel I have learned a very expensive lesson

 

[MStep]

My opinion is this post of yours would cause other noobs to think their radios must not have the CSJ issue unless theirs were brand new. My opinion is it can happen at any time in an SDS100's lifespan and I believe posts here on RR prove that. I just don't want any noobs misled into thinking it must be something else.

I agree, as you can see with my original answer to FoeHammer in this thread. And I agree with your comments that, "it can happen at any time in an SDS100's lifespan and I believe posts here on RR prove that". It has to be very distressing for anyone having made or making a $700 SDS100 purchase, that they could potentially be dealing with the proverbial "ticking time-bomb".

I've got 30 or 40 radios that I have acquired, all new, over the past 40 years or so. Icoms, Yaesus, Kenwoods, Radio Shacks, AOR's and dozens of others, including the Baofengs and BTechs, and nothing has ever been diagnosed with a cold solder joint.

Amen to that.

 

[MStep]

I must have been lucky, have an early production SDS100 and re CSJs so far so good...except for a rotary control knob that's now, for all intent and purposes, useless.

Lucky in terms of the CSJ issue, but I wouldn't necessarily consider a rotary control knob issue as "lucky". Was it your post, or someone else's that also mentioned a rotary control knob issue?