Fear of Corrupting the SD Card

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Ishmole

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Hello all. I have been running my BCD996P2 with GPS in my truck mobile ( I am a former LE officer with permission) for over a year, and have just upgraded to a BCD536HP. The radio is wired so that the power will go off when the ignition is turned off and the radio is on.This has never caused a problem with the 996P2, but I read that the 536 MUST be shut off allowing it to write to the SD card before shutting the vehicle off. Failure to do so can really damage the radio. I know that I am going to forget to do this sometime in the future and am really concerned!
Hopefully, I can find a "hot" power source within the vehicle (Toyota Tacoma) if there is one.

Are there precautions I can take in case I forget protocol and power off to soon? Is it possible to get another mini SD and copy the data as a backup, or does that data need to be formatted to the SD? If I power off wrong, does it disable the radio beyond repair?

As a side note, I absolutely love this radio! I have had a 436 for a few years and I always wanted the 536. The sensitivity is fantastic . My compliments to Uniden.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Mike
 

jonwienke

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SD cards are cheap, and you can change them out easily. It is a good idea to have some spares.
 

ofd8001

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I guess I'm lucky. I've had a 536 in my truck ever since they came around in 2014. It is on an ignition circuit and that's my power off means. Rarely will I shut down via volume knob.

Knocking on every piece of wood I can find, I've never had an issue. I'm sure I've gone through some 5,000 "power loss" cycles over these 3 years (5 occasions of starting and stopping my truck each day).

I do keep two spare SD cards in the glove box just in case. The cards are cheap and easy to set up for use with the scanner.

Having said that, there are some "issues" (if that's the best word) with the "ignition circuit" method. Any changes I make such as avoiding channels, toggling Quick Keys, etc. are not remembered for my next scanning session. That's because one has to "commit" these changes for future reference with a "Write to SD card". That only happens when you turn the scanner off via the volume knob.
 

JamesO

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Jan 22, 2003
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Location
McLean, VA
PRE-CONFIGURED/PROGRAMMED spare SD cards!!

Wrap on in a small piece of paper and use blue tape to mount one on the bottom or side of the scanner.

Just make sure you update the spares when you update the main card.
 

RFI-EMI-GUY

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Dec 22, 2013
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I really wish Uniden would modify the firmware so the third wire in the cable would force soft power down instead of dimming the display.
 
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