HomePatrol 2 Battery Problem

[iNickster]

I have a HomePatrol 2 that I can not get to charge I have went in to reset the battery charge time and that still did not fix it. I have it plugged into a iPad power brick. When I have it plugged in and turn it off it will show the clock and right up under the clock it will say "Charge off". I have never seen the charge light on the front of the device come on at all. How do I turn charge on or get it to charge when it is on?


Thank you.

 

[doctordialtone]

I have a HomePatrol 2 that I can not get to charge

It's not a good idea to charge batteries in the scanner. When the 5 dollar batteries explode, the $100 scanner is shot.

Read here about battery charge settings:
Home Patrol 2 Batteries

 

[iNickster]

I am reading the link you posted above I never get a prompt on the scanner that says "Start Charging Yes or No" and my battery charge time is set to 2300.

 

[kruser]

I am reading the link you posted above I never get a prompt on the scanner that says "Start Charging Yes or No" and my battery charge time is set to 2300.

Try a different cable as well as a different 'power brick' as you called it.
Some cables are not power cables and only data transfer cables.

I'd still heed the advice to not charge cells when in the scanner though. There have been several reports and pictures of melted down scanners posted here over the years!

 

[iNickster]

Try a different cable as well as a different 'power brick' as you called it.
Some cables are not power cables and only data transfer cables.

I'd still heed the advice to not charge cells when in the scanner though. There have been several reports and pictures of melted down scanners posted here over the years!

Yes, I understand. I just would like to know whether I have a faulty scanner or not.

 

[kruser]

Yes, I understand. I just would like to know whether I have a faulty scanner or not.

To find out, you need a different cable and power brick. If that does not allow it to charge, then yes, the radio likely has a problem.

I forget but does the HP-2 have an Alkaline switch in the battery compartment?
Will the HP2 charge when it is turned on? I forget that also. Many newer models were made where they could not charge and operate at the same time due to some law in California. The older HP-1 would charge at the same time you were using it but the HP-2 could have complied with the California law and only give you the charge prompt when you plug the power cable in with the scanner turned off.

 

[iNickster]

To find out, you need a different cable and power brick. If that does not allow it to charge, then yes, the radio likely has a problem.

I forget but does the HP-2 have an Alkaline switch in the battery compartment?
Will the HP2 charge when it is turned on? I forget that also. Many newer models were made where they could not charge and operate at the same time due to some law in California. The older HP-1 would charge at the same time you were using it but the HP-2 could have complied with the California law and only give you the charge prompt when you plug the power cable in with the scanner turned off.

The HP-2 does not have a Alkaline switch in the battery compartment. It will charge when it is on but only with a 1000 mAh Smartphone plug it is supposed to prompt you to charge but of course mine does not charge at all. I've never even seen the charge light come on before.

 

[kruser]

The HP-2 does not have a Alkaline switch in the battery compartment. It will charge when it is on but only with a 1000 mAh Smartphone plug it is supposed to prompt you to charge but of course mine does not charge at all. I've never even seen the charge light come on before.

Yep, that's all correct! I'd just dug up the manual.
The manual almost makes it sound like it will still prompt you to select DC power even when using a smaller power source and then goes on to say that it will not actually start charging with the smaller power source until you turn it off.

I've seen plenty of bad cables in my days as well as power bricks.
If your cable is good, you should be able to get the power prompt by plugging the cable into a USB port on your computer. If that test works, the power brick is faulty but my bet is a faulty cable if it's not a physical problem with the scanner.
If you have another cable laying around, try it by plugging it into a live computer USB port and see if you get a prompt.
That's the only way you will get your answer.

 

[iNickster]

I have just tried different cables and power bricks. The only time I get a prompt is when the scanner is plugged into the PC. The prompt says "USB Cable Detected Select USB mode. Mass Storage or DC Supply" After I press "DC Supply" I do not get another prompt after that it just goes on to scan channels. When I turn the scanner off while it is plugged into the PC it shows the time and at the bottom it says "Charge off".

 

[kruser]

It sure sounds defective. Who knows, it's not detecting the battery type correctly or something wrong with one of the contacts in the USB jack.

I always wondered how the HP1 and 2 determine what type of batteries you have installed. It must know somehow otherwise it would charge people's alkaline cells which we know is not a good thing.
Have you ever tried a different set of NiMH cells in it?
I suppose one or more of your cells may have a problem and the scanner is detecting them as alkaline instead of NiMH which would prevent it from ever charging.

Maybe someone will chime in that knows how these models determine if alkaline or rechargeable cells are installed.

 

[iNickster]

I have tried different batteries but, maybe I am trying the wrong ones. Do you know what kind of batteries I should try? If so, please let me know what kind.

 

[kruser]

For just testing the charging circuit you just need four known good nickel metal hydride (NiMH) cells all the same make, age and capacity.

For actual use, I don't really know these days. It used to be the white Sanyo Eneloop NiMH cells that were the preferred cells by the majority of people.
I think Sanyo sold the Eneloop brand to another manufacturer though and I don't know if whoever bought them are making them as well as Sanyo did.
I myself still use the original Eneloops that I bought many years ago. They still work as well as they did when I purchased them but I don't do a lot of scanning with my portables these days so my old Eneloops don't have a lot of charge/discharge cycles on them. I'm sure that's why they still work as well as they do.
I've almost always charged them with an external charger such as the Maha brand. I'm not positive but I think it was a model MH-C9000. They were probably the most common charger they sold. La Crosse also made a smart charger that many used. It's physically smaller then the Maha charger but works about the same. These chargers charge each cell individually instead of as a set. The La Crosse charger was a model BC 700.
There were a few exceptions where I did need to charge my cells in the scanner but that was rare. I'd get caught out of town before realizing I forgot to pack one of the chargers.

Someone will probably chime in here with advice on batteries as it's a popular topic.

I'd still like to know how the HP1 and HP2 determine the cell type installed in the battery compartment!