BCD436HP/BCD536HP: Internal Battery Life

[relay99]

What's the approximate lifespan of the battery? I think the clock has kept good time and I really never had to fuss with or adjust it but now notice it has lost two minutes since last Fall at time change. It's not much or a problem but now noticeable. Scanner now 5+ yrs with battery being original and properly charged when new and also maintained occasionally with wall charger. No need for alarm but how long are they lasting and is it something you yourself can buy and replace or is sending it in for service needed once it goes.
What are others saying...........

 

[kruser]

That small of a time drift would be normal. When the clock (RTC) battery fails, your clock will need to be set each time you turn your 436 on.
Most likely yours has been upgraded to the newest clock design before it was sold. As far as I know, it's no longer a battery but rather a super capacitor.
They both still need to be charged occasionally. If Uniden used a quality super cap, getting 15 or more years from it should not be out of the question. I don't recall any posts about the super capacitor design failing like the original tiny lithium cells did.

 

[relay99]

Thanks for taking the time to offer a good explanation. I was actually thinking it had a button battery like early computer motherboards did which eventually needed changed and which I have changed but that was many many years ago! The time drift that is normal and minimal is really not an issue. The 436 has served me very well and am sure it will surpass the 15yr mark. By unfair comparison sds100 clock is very accurate and has only drifted once in 2 + years. But again for my use the clock or time is not a priority but is a nice feature to have.

 

[freqseeker]

My BCD436 and 536 both have drifting clocks as mentioned. If you are a ProScan user the software will set the clock to your computer time. This happens upon connection and at intervals, or you can do it manually. Saves a little time over setting it by the menu.

 

[jonwienke]

If you connect gps to the scanner, it will occasionally sync the scanner clock to GPS time.