BCD436HP/BCD536HP: Dear Uniden

[buddrousa]

If you were to youtube the scanner it shows how to remove and replace the SD card. Fact id you failed to educate yourself on how to remove the SD card. I drive a $40,000.00 car that can be totaled at 35 miles an hour does that make the car cheaply made?

 

[ThomasMcKean]

If you were to youtube the scanner it shows how to remove and replace the SD card. Fact id you failed to educate yourself on how to remove the SD card. I drive a $40,000.00 car that can be totaled at 35 miles an hour does that make the car cheaply made?

That's almost a valid argument. My response is that I do not need to watch a youtube video to replace an SD card in anything else I have. It should not need to be rocket science just to take a card out.

 

[325xia]

I agree that you really have to be careful when messing around with the SD Door on the 436. I program through Sentinel and USB for this reason. Compared to the past, 396xt, and such., the 436 is definitely built less quality wise when it comes to the housing. Yet, what's inside is really a huge step forward from the 396xt and such. Just my opinion.

 

[ThomasMcKean]

I agree that you really have to be careful when messing around with the SD Door on the 436. I program through Sentinel and USB for this reason. Compared to the past, 396xt, and such., the 436 is definitely built less quality wise when it comes to the housing. Yet, what's inside is really a huge step forward from the 396xt and such. Just my opinion.

Yes. I have learned to use the USB to be sure. I think we should have a choice or an option, but apparently we do not.

 

[325xia]

Once you look past this poorly designed SD Door, it reallly is a great scanner. And I think you will find this out too as you go forward. There were a lot of things I did not like when I first got mine a few years ago. Now, I don't even think about those minor faults. This Scanner is great. Just don't drop it on anything hard.

 

[ThomasMcKean]

Once you look past this poorly designed SD Door, it reallly is a great scanner. And I think you will find this out too as you go forward. There were a lot of things I did not like when I first got mine a few years ago. Now, I don't even think about those minor faults. This Scanner is great. Just don't drop it on anything hard.

Heh. Good advice. That's why I refuse to use the pathetic belt clip.

 

[325xia]

I replaced my belt clip from one of my older Uniden Scanners. It has a locking mechanism. It will not detach itself from the scanner unless you press a button, (which is embedded in the clip). It has never come off like the one that came with it did. Also, replaced the plastic post with a metal one, (also from an older Uniden handheld). Unfortunately, I had to to these modifications to get it to somewhere close to the quality from the past scanners Uniden released. I refuse to buy that ugly case that they sell for the 436. It looks like something from the '60's.

 

[tumegpc]

If you were to youtube the scanner it shows how to remove and replace the SD card. Fact id you failed to educate yourself on how to remove the SD card.

Lets not be so quick to judge.
I've had many electronic devices that use microSD cards and never did I need to use youtube to show me how to insert or remove an microSD card until I purchased the 436HP. The absolute worst design!

I think a company failed to educate themselves at many levels during the development stages of the 436HP.

 

[ThomasMcKean]

Lets not be so quick to judge.
I've had many electronic devices that use microSD cards and never did I need to use youtube to show me how to insert or remove an microSD card until I purchased the 436HP. The absolute worst design!

I think a company failed to educate themselves at many levels during the development stages of the 436HP.

Aaaaahhhh. Someone who GETS IT.

Thank you!!!

 

[ScanRite]

FWIW, in both my 436 and 536 radios, using the USB port has resulted in numerous bad writes. I don't trust the hardware drivers for the USB port on the radios, period. For either radio. I pop them out, plug them in an SD card reader and do my thing. Once in the beginning, I popped the door off SD card door off on my 436. Kinda freaked out, but easily got it back on. Really wasn't that hard. I wish they would have used the same slot mechanism as the 536.

 

[DSC45]

BCD436HP SD Card Door

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH2rYM13BiI&t=35s

The video said it all!

 

[Ubbe]

Wow! That's terrible!

/Ubbe

 

[jonwienke]

I have never had a driver problem writing to the scanner via USB.

 

[phask]

I have never had a driver problem writing to the scanner via USB.

Me neither, don't use a 436(no need for those features in a handheld) but have written to the 536 1000's of times and no issue.

Same for all my HP series, probably several 1000 times on at least 2 of them.


FWIW - I've seen that same design on other devices and have removed and inserted with no issue. I doubt if that is a Uniden design but some off the shelf part.


If one removes the cards enough times - something bad will happen, even with the push in sockets springs will break, plastic on cards will break, contacts will break. These sockets are not designed for repeated removal.

 

[UPMan]

I've never seen one break. I have seen the metal door pop off, but it is easily popped back into place (see the video linked several times). SD card should rarely need to be physically removed...only when the card wears out (maybe 1 or 2 times a year, depending on usage patterns, which is much better than the every 2 or 3 months I get out of dashcam cards).

 

[phask]

I've never seen one break. I have seen the metal door pop off, but it is easily popped back into place (see the video linked several times). SD card should rarely need to be physically removed...only when the card wears out (maybe 1 or 2 times a year, depending on usage patterns, which is much better than the every 2 or 3 months I get out of dashcam cards).

I've been using this (excuse the formatting)
Transcend 32GB MicroSDHC Class10 UHS-1

for 4 years and still the card I put in it. Just recently had to remove and copy a file for the police. Had an accident happen in front of me. Was even cited into court to testify.

Had the city law director, judge and PD all comment that the video was better than the police's dashcam.

One of those Blackbox "cheapie" dashcams as well.

Now will be placing one in the rear.

 

[troymail]

I've never seen one break. I have seen the metal door pop off, but it is easily popped back into place (see the video linked several times). SD card should rarely need to be physically removed...only when the card wears out (maybe 1 or 2 times a year, depending on usage patterns, which is much better than the every 2 or 3 months I get out of dashcam cards).

Not so - I remove the SD card on a regular basis to copy recordings off the SD card ... doing the same over the cable is terribly slow....

Now, if Uniden would implement all-around better handling of recording - per talkgroup/channel recording vs. "all or nothing" - to include the ability to record only new things found - and fix the crash/reboot around 2Gb problem, then perhaps there would be less of a reason to remove the card.

I "broke" the SD card holder in my early days as well. Luckily, I saw what was happening and caught it before it came completely off. I agree - absolutely horrible design. These days, when pulling the card, I make sure I'm doing it in really good light and am extremely careful not to put any pressure on the stupid little door so I don't break it off. Terrible design.

 

[Tim-B]

So does writing to the card often cause it to wear out? I bought my first 436 back in December of last year if I remember correctly and I have written to it dozens of times as I tweak things, add new businesses to scan, new talkgroups, new PL tones to existing stuff, etc. It still seems to be going strong.

 

[garys]

I think if you record audio, which I don't, the cards wear out much faster. I've turned off recording and still have a couple of the original cards in my x36HP scanners. Like you, I tweak the information on my cards fairly often and have rewritten the cards any number of times. I have plenty of back ups so I can save different personalities for when I travel.

Which is the only time I've ever changed cards in the 436HP. I've had more trouble with the card in my 536HPs because the front slot seems a bit fussy about the angle of insertion.

A few years back, I had the long term loan of PSR800. I found the SD card in that to be a PITA as it tended to pop out more or less at random. If nothing else, that never happens with the 436HP.

So does writing to the card often cause it to wear out? I bought my first 436 back in December of last year if I remember correctly and I have written to it dozens of times as I tweak things, add new businesses to scan, new talkgroups, new PL tones to existing stuff, etc. It still seems to be going strong.

 

[phask]

You are still writing via the replay function - you can't turn it off.

You DO have to manually start recoding.

That said - still on my orginal card in 3 HP1/2 - one is as old as possible , it was the first sold by that particular dealer. Hp2 was one of the first '2's as well.

I think if you record audio, which I don't, the cards wear out much faster. I've turned off recording and still have a couple of the original cards in my x36HP scanners. Like you, I tweak the information on my cards fairly often and have rewritten the cards any number of times. I have plenty of back ups so I can save different personalities for when I travel.

Which is the only time I've ever changed cards in the 436HP. I've had more trouble with the card in my 536HPs because the front slot seems a bit fussy about the angle of insertion.

A few years back, I had the long term loan of PSR800. I found the SD card in that to be a PITA as it tended to pop out more or less at random. If nothing else, that never happens with the 436HP.