hooking up 197 in vehicle

[swm239]

Hello, I am wondering if there is something different needed when hooking up a 197 in vehicle. I have a rack with 3 scanners in it and that is hooked directly to battery. I have the unidens which work and show 12 v. I have the 197 which shows 13.8 v when I attempt to hook in 197 it will not power up. Is there any way to hook direct to make this work in vehicle or is some type of converter or adapter needed to get back to 12 volt? Thanks for any help.
Scott

 

[RaleighGuy]

Haven't tried to hook directly to battery but notice if the scanner is on when I start engine it comes on but quits & gives me a low battery warning.

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[kb8rvp]

Hello, I am wondering if there is something different needed when hooking up a 197 in vehicle. I have a rack with 3 scanners in it and that is hooked directly to battery. I have the unidens which work and show 12 v. I have the 197 which shows 13.8 v when I attempt to hook in 197 it will not power up. Is there any way to hook direct to make this work in vehicle or is some type of converter or adapter needed to get back to 12 volt? Thanks for any help.
Scott

Not normally. Do you have the orginal 12v cigarette lighter cord that came with the scanner? If so have you checked the polarity and the fuse in the cord. I know the GRE and Radio Shack scanners have a very unique plug and Uniden uses a vary common power plug. I would just cut off the cig lighter plug and direct wire it and it should work fine. If you need one of the cig lighter cords I have a spare.

Mike

 

[RaleighGuy]

No, the cord I'm using is a cheap knock off not the original, don't use the 197 in the car enough to hard wire it in. Thanks for the suggestion.

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[jfhtm350]

Battery voltage with the car off should be 12.6 v (100% charge) or lower. It could be higher if it was just charged. Battery voltage with the car running should be anywere from 14.6 to 13.5. That is what the alternator charges at. If your car is running and you show 12.6 v or lower then your alternator is not working.

I had my 197 hooked directly to the battery. Just run red wire to + and black wire to - battery post. There is nothing special needed except the round plug that goes into the back of the scanner (no adapter, converter, etc). The 197 runs on 12-14 volts also the AC adapter for it is 12v which actually shows about 13v when you check it with a multimeter.

 

[Boatanchor]

Haven't tried to hook directly to battery but notice if the scanner is on when I start engine it comes on but quits & gives me a low battery warning.

Sent from my LGLS740 using Tapatalk

Yes, this is a pain. Having to switch the scanner off and back on every time you start the motor.

Not sure if the Uniden scanners are any better. I will find out in a few days when I pull the PSR600 and replace it with a 996XT.

I also notice the PSR600 suffers from a little alternator whine, regardless of whether the scanner is receiving anything, too.

 

[mancow]

Mine is direct to the Jeep's battery, no issues.