disappointed with 436 charging/SD card

[airbear21200]

I just picked up my 436 and am quite disappointed in the charging method of this unit. The inability to charge the radio while listening is a huge downfall.
I get the idea of using a mini USB to charge and connect the radio to a computer. Uniden could have at least included a small USB wall wart so it could be charged from a 110 outlet. I had to use the one from my phone. What was wrong with the 396 set up of a power input and the mini USB used for
But, I listen to my radio at work most all day and then at home or out in the evening. With my 396XT I could listen all day while charging at my desk at work, then take the radio home and run it on batteries until I shut it down to go to bed. I never had an issue of dead batteries when I wanted to listen. Now it looks like I will have to have a second set of batteries on a seperate charger to accomodate Unidens shortfall.
As for the SD card "holder", what a crap design. It is ok if you are going to put a card in once and leave it, but if you are going to be using multiple cards which I do for my 536, it is going to be a problem. The little metal door is flimsy and poorly designed. It has come off on me twice already in my attempt to change out the card (once). Why could they not have put a "socket" like the 536 inside the battery compartment that would have made inserting and removing a card a breeze.

Other that that, I am very pleased with the operation of the radio - so far.

Thanks for letting me rant my .02.

 

[KB2RSK]

I am still waiting for my order to be received. I ordered it about 2 weeks ago.
I am reading about your issue and comment about the recharging of the batteries.
That to me would also be an issue if I like you take a scanner to and from work with me' annd charge it at night, while still listening till the next day.
Does this mean we will need to swap out batteries each time we go to take it with us anymore?
Just curious how long you got out from the original batteries from Uniden.
Sounds like this was not an option when they went abd did their study before manufacturing ( or building ) the new uniden series.
Thanks for the info and reading.

 

[Dafe1er]

I have one set of batteries in the scanner and another set charged. The batteries for the most part run for roughly 4-6 hours depending on how much you have going on. The backlight and LED lights will decrease the times I listed above. For the most part I do not have to swap out batteries unless I use it for more than 6 hours. BUT, I always keep a set on the charger just in case.

Charging while listening is key to me also since I had been used to the HP-1 doing it. When I got the 436 I was thrown off a little trying to figure out why I needed to switch batteries...lol

 

[airbear21200]

Suprisingly, I did get 6 hrs off the batteries straight out of the box without precharging them. I charged them last night (in the radio). It has been on since 7am. I am going to let it run and see how long it takes to get a low battery indicator (set for 3300ma). For fyi, I am in a busy area, so there is constant traffic. With my back light set for 5 sec, it stays on quite a bit. Both will affect battery charge life.

 

[KB2RSK]

My conern is I use scanners to listen to local emergency communications while performing amatuer radio participation during activities and events.
Looks like I won't be listening for any long period of time while it is pluged in and recharging the batteries.
The older type use to do this and it was conveient.
An extra set of recharged batteries looks like the approach.

 

[KB2RSK]

Well I am reading the manual and on page 13 - 14 about batteries.
Why do they spell batteries wrong?
Or is this a new volcabulary word for batteries ??

 

[KB2RSK]

I forgot to mention the mannual is spelling it as batteies
Just trying to humoud it up a little, but just for the heck of it check it out in the mannual .it's between page 13 and. 14.

 

[fxdscon]

Well I am reading the manual and on page 13 - 14 about batteries.
Why do they spell batteries wrong?
Or is this a new volcabulary word for batteries ??

Where are you seeing the error, how is it spelled there?

.

 

[KB2RSK]

Page 13. Thru. 14. About batteries

 

[fxdscon]

Page 13. Thru. 14. About batteries

I think you're looking at an old copy of the manual.

.

 

[SCPD]

I get about a Full Week out of my batteries.
I have a Adapter you can plug into a Wall socket and or use in your Car.
80 to 90% it's plugged in, either wall-outlet Computer or in the Car while I drive. So in my case I only relay on the batteries for a short time.

 

[KB2RSK]

Here is the link to the download for the manual

 

[fxdscon]

Here is the link to the download for the manual

There is no link in your post.

.

 

[KB2RSK]

It's the manual that is on the Bearcat whse sales web site. For the uniden Scanner

 

[fxdscon]

It's the manual that is on the Bearcat whse sales web site. For the uniden Scanner

That is an old copy of the manual.

This is the current one:

http://info.uniden.com/twiki/pub/UnidenMan4/BCD536HP/436_536_OM_20140130.pdf

.

 

[airbear21200]

I get about a Full Week out of my batteries.
I have a Adapter you can plug into a Wall socket and or use in your Car.
80 to 90% it's plugged in, either wall-outlet Computer or in the Car while I drive. So in my case I only relay on the batteries for a short time.

If you are getting a week out of your batteries, then you are not listening very much. The problem lies in that you can not charge the batteries in the scanner at the same time you are listening to the scanner. Therefore, you have to turn off the scanner during the recharge time. Ok, with a full charge from overnight, I got a little over 7 hrs, which is not bad time wise on the batteries (busy systems and all). But now to charge them back up while in the scanner, I have to turn it off.

 

[RF23]

That is an old copy of the manual.

This is the current one:

http://info.uniden.com/twiki/pub/UnidenMan4/BCD536HP/436_536_OM_20140130.pdf

.

However, you will note that since the manual is electronic it can and will be updated.

For example, on page 52 some info in the boxes is almost illegible and on page 53 all the boxes are blank.

With our help I bet we can get it up 100% error free, so if you see a problem report it and in time it will be fixed (if it has not been already).

 

[Dafe1er]

If you are getting a week out of your batteries, then you are not listening very much. The problem lies in that you can not charge the batteries in the scanner at the same time you are listening to the scanner. Therefore, you have to turn off the scanner during the recharge time. Ok, with a full charge from overnight, I got a little over 7 hrs, which is not bad time wise on the batteries (busy systems and all). But now to charge them back up while in the scanner, I have to turn it off.

While I am not all that technical, I would think maybe there is a way to get this to work through the firmware update(s)? If so, I am sure it will be around as an option at some point.

If I am wrong I apologize.

 

[bravo14]

I haven't got the 436hp yet cause on back order hope to be shipped out this Fri by HRO. I see the sd card is underneath the batteries which I don't understand. I thought it would be on the side like the PSR800 is. I may get another 4 or 8 gig card for back up cause I don't like transfer the files over the cable cause get errors. I know this for sure I won't be charging the batteries in the radio.

 

[RF23]

I just picked up my 436 and am quite disappointed in the charging method of this unit. The inability to charge the radio while listening is a huge downfall.
I get the idea of using a mini USB to charge and connect the radio to a computer. Uniden could have at least included a small USB wall wart so it could be charged from a 110 outlet. I had to use the one from my phone. What was wrong with the 396 set up of a power input and the mini USB used for
But, I listen to my radio at work most all day and then at home or out in the evening. With my 396XT I could listen all day while charging at my desk at work, then take the radio home and run it on batteries until I shut it down to go to bed. I never had an issue of dead batteries when I wanted to listen. Now it looks like I will have to have a second set of batteries on a seperate charger to accomodate Unidens shortfall.
As for the SD card "holder", what a crap design. It is ok if you are going to put a card in once and leave it, but if you are going to be using multiple cards which I do for my 536, it is going to be a problem. The little metal door is flimsy and poorly designed. It has come off on me twice already in my attempt to change out the card (once). Why could they not have put a "socket" like the 536 inside the battery compartment that would have made inserting and removing a card a breeze.

Other that that, I am very pleased with the operation of the radio - so far.

Thanks for letting me rant my .02.

I think the reason the 436 will not let you charge the batteries and listen at the same time is that most USB chargers do not have enough power to do that, however, some do, especially those that are used with smart phones. However, the scanner will not let you charge when it is turned on even if you have a USB charger capable of doing so. However, there may be a technical problem for doing it this way that I do not know about.

I too expressed concern about not having a wall wart to use but I discovered how easy USB chargers are to find and they are very cheap (both for AC (home) and DC (car)). I use my 436 99% of the time hooked to an external source of power with the backlight on high (not a battery friendly way to do it).

Like you I do NOT like the SD card holder in the 436 it is a pain to get to and use. I do a lot of recording and it takes a very long time to download from the scanner but if you use an external card reader with a class 10 card it is much faster. Unfortunately, all the work needed to get to the SD card and the "contraption" that holds the SD card appears ready to break at any moment has caused me to leave it alone and take the extra time to download from the scanner.