Home Patrol II Clock Issue

[stantorres]

Same Issue

HP-2 mounted in the car, less than 2 years old. 80% of the time I boot the unit on it is asking for a clock re-set. No rechargeables in the battery well.

 

[desert-cheetah]

Add me to the list of people suddenly having this clock issue. I’ve had mine for about two years. Bought it new. I run it on car power with no batteries in the unit and suddenly it’s requiring clock reset every. single. time. I start my car. Beyond annoying.

 

[WoodburyMan]

I have had this issue on my HP II unit for almost two years. I have written into Uniden for help on this and they will not cover this under the repair campaign they did the the 436 and 536 despite it being the exact same problem. Best they could do was offer a out of warranty cost repair for $89.95.

I have yet to send it in but it's getting annoying enough where I might. Although if there's enough of us maybe Uniden will listen.

I took photos of said battery. It's next to the main shield, labeled BT401 on the PCB.
https://www.warpfactor10.com/downloads/IMG_20180508_190356.jpg
https://www.warpfactor10.com/downloads/IMG_20180508_190516.jpg

 

[fxdscon]

Here is the post from a while ago from the "BCD436HP/BCD536HP Clock Reset Issue" thread stating that the Home Patrol 2 may develop the same real time clock issue as the BCDx36HP scanners:

We will issue an update for the BCD536HP, BCD436HP, and HomePatrol-2 (which, while not currently exhibiting the problem shares enough of the design features that we suspect they might start to arise on some units) that will do the following

https://forums.radioreference.com/u...p-bcd536hp-clock-reset-issue.html#post2354963

.

 

[hiegtx]

Also, take a look at this one:
http://forums.radioreference.com/un...attery-back-up-volume-issues.html#post2917582

While that is regarding the HP-1, not -2, I suspect they may be similar.

I cannot locate it at the moment, but somewhere else, I think I saw a post that indicated the HP series RTC battery was a coin type, under the display. If so, that might be user replaceable, at least for someone reasonably handy, though maybe not for the faint of heart.

 

[KE4AXW]

Just a thought. What if you try alkaline instead of rechargeables

I think rechargeable ones have slightly lower voltage and wonder if that plays in.

 

[fxdscon]

Also, take a look at this one:
http://forums.radioreference.com/un...attery-back-up-volume-issues.html#post2917582

While that is regarding the HP-1, not -2, I suspect they may be similar.

I cannot locate it at the moment, but somewhere else, I think I saw a post that indicated the HP series RTC battery was a coin type, under the display. If so, that might be user replaceable, at least for someone reasonably handy, though maybe not for the faint of heart.

From the HP-1..... almost the same position as in the HP-2 photo linked above

BT401 - front side of main board - between the blue caps and the RF shielding:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/25878703@N08/6905367921/in/album-72157629391302049/

.

 

[KE0GXN]

The only fix I have found so far to this, is I now leave my HP-2 plugged in all the time (even when I power the scanner off when not in use) to a power source via the provided USB cable, with a set of batteries inside the unit as well.

Since I started doing this, I no longer get the dreaded "reset clock" message once I do power it on.

I believe somehow having plugged in for an extended period of time when powered off, charges the clock, because I unplugged it yesterday and ran it most of the day today on internal battery power only and powerd it on and off for extended periods and I never experienced the clock reset issue.

I use it almost exclusively as a base scanner in my shack, so its not a hassle for me to keep it plugged in to a power source most of the time. However, I feel I shouldn't have to.....so at the end of the day, I am disappointed with the issue like everyone else.

 

[desert-cheetah]

That’s just crap.

 

[jonwienke]

If so, that might be user replaceable, at least for someone reasonably handy, though maybe not for the faint of heart.

Yes, if you have reasonably good soldering skills, and are able to find the correct replacement part.

 

[stantorres]

Battery part number?

Anyone know the part number for that button battery? Is that just a little solder dab on the top to hold it in place, or does my soldering iron actually gave to flow solder to the actual pcb board? I'm comfortable tacking the top of the button battery, but might spend the $ with uniden if any board level soldering is needed.

 

[jonwienke]

There are two tabs on the battery that solder to pads on the board.

 

[mojobreakfast]

So I have an HomePatrol 2 that I use exclusively in my truck, and it's a few years old. It started the clock issue recently. I opened it up and removed the tiny battery. It measured 1.2v on my meter. I replaced it with the ML-621S/ZTN battery that was recommended in another thread (available through Digikey).

Because this battery is physically bigger, I decided that rather than try to get it back into the same spot with the metal tab, I would just solder a wire to the - side and one to the + side of the battery, and then solder these wires to the pads where the battery would ordinarily mount. This also allows me to move the battery around so that it fits under the metal shield that screws on top of the board.

I'm going to run the scanner on a AC adapter for a few hours, and then measure the voltage of the new battery before I can claim success (this tiny battery is rechargeable so the scanner should be charging it).

 

[desert-cheetah]

I finally figured out a work-around...

I threw the unit out my car window then ran over it. Then I backed up and ran over it again. I did this probably 4 or 5 times...

And then I turned it on and re-programmed the clock. hahahaha.

 

[mojobreakfast]

So, an update on my repair. I was unsuccessful in trying to get a ML-621S/ZTN battery in place of the factory battery. I believe that due to the extremely small size of the battery, applying heat to solder it in ruins the cell (or I'm just not that great at soldering). I tried two different ML-621S/ZTN batteries and after soldering them in, and running the radio for a few hours, they only measured 1.2v or so. They should be about 3v.

Therefore I took an extreme hack approach that is ugly, but works great. I ordered an Adafruit CR2032 breakout board (about $2 bucks on eBay) and an LIR2032 rechargeable cell (same size as a CR2032, but rechargeable). The battery was also about $2 on eBay.

I slightly enlarged one of the speaker holes with a drill bit, and wired the breakout board directly to the solder pads where the factory battery would be soldered in. Then I used some rubber cement to glue the breakout board to the front of the radio. See the attached picture. Yes, it looks ghetto or techno-steampunk, depending on your perspective. But it works GREAT. And next time the battery dies in a few more years, I can just replace it in 10 seconds without opening the radio. Also note that in this position, it does not actually block the speaker, even though it covers holes. The speaker is pretty small and is actually only in the upper left hand quadrant of scanner as you look at it.

After you attach the breakout board and solder it in, and power the scanner on, you can use a voltage meter to check the + and - side of the breakout board. It should measure about 3.2 volts without a battery inserted. Upon inserting a battery (which came pretty much fully charged) I was able to power on/off the scanner endlessly without being annoyed with reprogramming the clock (of course after programming the clock once).

Ugly but it works and its a heck of a lot cheaper than sending it to Uniden or buying a new scanner and it facilitates quick and easy battery replacements in the future. Note also that you could mount the battery breakout board on the back of the scanner so you don't see it, but in my application it would interfere with my mobile mount setup.

 

[WoodburyMan]

So, an update on my repair. I was unsuccessful in trying to get a ML-621S/ZTN battery in place of the factory battery. I believe that due to the extremely small size of the battery, applying heat to solder it in ruins the cell (or I'm just not that great at soldering). I tried two different ML-621S/ZTN batteries and after soldering them in, and running the radio for a few hours, they only measured 1.2v or so. They should be about 3v.

Therefore I took an extreme hack approach that is ugly, but works great. I ordered an Adafruit CR2032 breakout board (about $2 bucks on eBay) and an LIR2032 rechargeable cell (same size as a CR2032, but rechargeable). The battery was also about $2 on eBay.

I slightly enlarged one of the speaker holes with a drill bit, and wired the breakout board directly to the solder pads where the factory battery would be soldered in. Then I used some rubber cement to glue the breakout board to the front of the radio. See the attached picture. Yes, it looks ghetto or techno-steampunk, depending on your perspective. But it works GREAT. And next time the battery dies in a few more years, I can just replace it in 10 seconds without opening the radio. Also note that in this position, it does not actually block the speaker, even though it covers holes. The speaker is pretty small and is actually only in the upper left hand quadrant of scanner as you look at it.

After you attach the breakout board and solder it in, and power the scanner on, you can use a voltage meter to check the + and - side of the breakout board. It should measure about 3.2 volts without a battery inserted. Upon inserting a battery (which came pretty much fully charged) I was able to power on/off the scanner endlessly without being annoyed with reprogramming the clock (of course after programming the clock once).

Ugly but it works and its a heck of a lot cheaper than sending it to Uniden or buying a new scanner and it facilitates quick and easy battery replacements in the future. Note also that you could mount the battery breakout board on the back of the scanner so you don't see it, but in my application it would interfere with my mobile mount setup.

This is great info! Thank you!

I really wish Uniden would own up to the problem like they did with the two other radios in the series and do the right thing and repair them under warranty. But this is a good solution to at least get it going! I turned my HPII into a home scanner and got a SDS100 for mobile use to replace my HPII. Wanted the DMR upgrade anyway.

 

[Ed]

I sent mine in for a new touchscreen and it came back from the repair with the clock issue. What did they do. My unit is several years old and has worked perfect in the car up until now.

 

[KE0GXN]

I don't believe they did anything when you sent in for repair, it just takes awhile for the symptom to appear.
It took almost two years for mine to start having the issue. I have to leave it plugged in all the time to a power source to keep the internal factory battery charged...which sucks.

 

[del1964]

My HP II started requiring a clock set thing every morning I get into my car now. So seems to only happen when the scanner has been left overnight. During the day, with power cycling on and off, it's fine. It is aggravating especially when you're running late to work and have to take a half minute to set the clock and date......and if you make a mistake, it takes longer. About 2 years old btw

 

[WoodburyMan]

Same.. I purchased mine in 2015/2016 and it didn't have the issue until late 2017, almost 2 years or so after purchase.

My guess is it sitting unused for a while probably drained the RTC battery enough where you finally experienced issues.

I had mine fixed by Uniden finally for $70 after I determined they don't care about HP II owners are much as the BCDx36HP users given it's the exact same part and issue. Now I have a backup if my SDS100 ever breaks again..