Looking for info for internal Battery pack for the BC 780 or 785 D ?

[KE6BQG]

HI Everyone

looking for info About a internal Battery Pack for the Bc-780 Or 785 D
i've got the 785 D , the 780 i bought in the 1980's
and there was a internal non OME battery Pack ? the reason i did not buy it
the factory warranty and the warrent from my credit card would not cover damage from that option

the battery was on the top of the main board and had a clip on top of the batt pack.

any info would be great
thank you everyone
Darryl
73's

 

[rf_patriot200]

HI Everyone

looking for info About a internal Battery Pack for the Bc-780 Or 785 D
i've got the 785 D , the 780 i bought in the 1980's
and there was a internal non OME battery Pack ? the reason i did not buy it
the factory warranty and the warrent from my credit card would not cover damage from that option

the battery was on the top of the main board and had a clip on top of the batt pack.

any info would be great
thank you everyone
Darryl
73's

I have had a 780 since they came out, and don't remember anything about a internal battery on the 780 0r 785 ?? Any links with info about this ?

 

[tvengr]

Check the circuit board for corrosion. It can create leakage paths between the foils and cause all kinds of problems. If you notice any corrosion, use a toothbrush and alcohol on the solder side of the circuit board to remove it.

 

[kruser]

I have had a 780 since they came out, and don't remember anything about a internal battery on the 780 0r 785 ?? Any links with info about this ?

I believe it was ScannerMaster that sold an internal battery kit for at least the 780XLT. I don't think they sold many though so it likely didn't exist very long.

 

[Ubbe]

Today there are much more efficient batteries, like lipo, that weigh much less and have much more power that you can place inside a 780 scanner. Just see to that it has a BMS circuit to regulate charging from 12V and it will protect from temperature and overcharging and also protect from not draining the cells too much that could damage them.

/Ubbe

 

[KE6BQG]

HI All
i found out about it In Pop Comm
bought the radio between 1982-1986
i was working nights as a custoidan
for a school dist,
and my overtime pay wen't to buy the 780.

and i may of seen the battery someplace
after 1986, i was working with an radio network
based in california in engineering support
ordering parts cable piece parts for about 10 years.
had access to trade publications line cards and catalogs too

thanks for putting the word out fot me anyway

Darryl

73's

 

[Ubbe]

A battery like this one below can be used. Pull the power plug and have the battery in series. It's small enough, 155gram, to velcro attach to the scanner and will run the scanner for 4-5 hours. There are also bigger capacity batteries if used externally. Inside the scanner there's a big choke coil at the power connector. Cut one end of it and use those adapters to insert in series with the choke coil. Make sure that the battery goes clear of the speaker magnet.




/Ubbe

 

[N9JIG]

Scanner Master sold an internal battery pack accessory for the BC780XLT and 785XLT that later would also fit the 796D. It consisted of a NiCad battery pack similar to those used on RC cars at the time, a charger controller and cables to fit the radio. It had the ability to charge directly off the 12VDC socket on the radio and had an internal green LED to check charge status (you looked into a pre-existing hole on the back of the radio).

I had these for my 780 and my 796 along with the nylon purse-style carry case. Before they made the BC250 there was no portable version of the 785 so the battery and case were a hot accessory for a while.

One could replicate the setup if you can build the controller circuit and source an appropriate battery pack.

 

[KE6BQG]

Hi
i'll reach out to scanner master
and have a elmer set up the battery Pack Up for me

thanks everyone for the intel
and your ideas.

73's

 

[N9JIG]

Hi
i'll reach out to scanner master
and have a elmer set up the battery Pack Up for me

thanks everyone for the intel
and your ideas.

73's

The Battery Pack is no longer sold by Scanner Master, it was discontinued many years ago and there are none remaining.

 

[KE6BQG]

Hi

What i was thinking
getting info on where they
got the controller or the battery pack

or a drawing that shows the layout of the
battery,

and have a ham Elmer that can Build the Pack
for me,

thanks for the message
you and yours and critters
have a fantastic day !

Darryl
73's

 

[N9JIG]

Let me see if I can find anything and i will reply back to this thread.

 

[N9JIG]

I checked at the office and none of the documentation remains. It had been discontinued some 2@ years ago.

Sorry!

 

[Ubbe]

Those Lipo batteries I refer to have a Battery Management System built into them that takes care of everything for you, no need for any extra circuits.

Intelligent BMS: overload, over discharge, over current, short circuit protection function

I have one battery from the supplier I linked to delivered to me tomorrow that I will check for how long it will run my scanner.

/Ubbe

 

[Ubbe]

I opted for a 4800mAH battery and it is a LI-Ion type that measures 98mm x 58mm x 22mm and it where no problem having that in the scanner with room to spare. I would think that filing away a few mm at the back of the speaker lid to allow the cables to go outside are the easiest way to do and soldering or cutting wires are then not needed.

If having the wiring inside then it's probably the best solution to cut wire #4 at the volume controllers On/Off switch cabling that comes from the power jack and insert the battery there and use any grounding point available, like wire #1 or #8 in that cabling.

The battery takes care of itself and are selfserving for charging and cutting off power when the voltage in the cells go too low.

A 780 scanner takes 270mA while scanning and at full volume with noise it needs 320mA. If the display backlight are at its max setting it takes another 50mA. A 4800mAH capacity battery should last more than 4800/370=13 hours but capacity figures are usually overrated so perhaps 10 hours can be expected. I let it be connected to the scanner for 4 hours to charge and then removed the power supply and I had the scanner running for 5 hours and when coming back after 10 hours the battery was dead. The instructions says to charge for at least 8 hours so it seems to charge at something like a 500mA rate and if the power supply for the scanner are rated 800mA or more it should be safe to still use that if you charge and run the scanner at the same time.



/Ubbe

 

[Ubbe]

The advertising for the battery I got says 100% new and high quality. Buyers reviews says that some get customer returns and that even have their connectors cut off and those who check the battery's capacity says it is nothing like it is supposed to be, and I have to agree. My scanner seems to run 6 hours on one charge that makes it a 2000mAH capacity, half of what it is supposed to be. That's still sufficient for me but if it degrades anything the following weeks then I will ask for a replacement.

/Ubbe

 

[KE6BQG]

Hi All
Thank you Everyone
for the intel back on the battery question
for the BC-780/785-D Police Scanners,
and for your all looking it all for me.

i may not do the internal battery Pack
i'd like to think about doing this project
i've got a bunch of stuff on my plate right now.

73's
Darryl

 

[Ubbe]

i may not do the internal battery Pack
i'd like to think about doing this project
i've got a bunch of stuff on my plate right now.

If you get a battery of the kind I got it takes 10 sec to velcro it to the scanner and plug it in and you can then also move the battery to power any other 12volt scanner, or 5 minutes to file or saw a dent in the lid for the cables and have the battery inside wrapped in bubble plastic.

/Ubbe

 

[KE6BQG]

HI GUYS.

I'M Going hook my scanner to my
deep cycle Battery.

my next thing to do is find s mobile duel band radio
at a swap meet or on hf swap net.

that the plan guys
thanks for everyone input and ideas

 

[garys]

I'm more curious about how you got a scanner in the early 1980s that wasn't introduced until about 2000.