my SD card died today

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kellykeeton

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thats an awesome feature of this radio what it wears out media cards. then its a brick..

is there any quick wiki to recovering this fun bull$

total joke.. glad I didnt buy more of these.

so I have copied to a new card .. didnt work scanner says I need to clear user data
did the clear user data .. still work work

scanner wont boot at all now because .. cheap engineering.
 

jonwienke

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Just write from Sentinel to the new card, don't bother trying to copy anything off the old card unless you have audio recordings you want to keep.

And at $10-15 for a spare card, there's no excuse not to have a spare/backup.
 

Markscan

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I believe 32gb is the max sd card that is confirmed to work


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

buddrousa

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Not having a spare SD card programmed is like having a car and not having a spare tire. Ir I keep up the updates I can go anywhere in the US and hear traffic by getting it from the SD CARD where the data is stored.
 

JamesO

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Tape a spare, programmed SD card on the bottom of the 536 or inside the battery cover on the 436.

As mentioned, you NEED a spare SD card for these radios. Just not sure why the HP1 does not eat SD cards like the 436/546 units.
 

ofd8001

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SD cards going bad is a fact of life, just like car tires wearing out. Fortunately SD cards are cheaper.

Yes 32 GB is maximum supported size.

Steps to getting back operational:

1. Download and Install SD Formatter https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/
2. Insert a new SD card in your computer's card reader and format with SD Formatter. Note the drive letter associated with the SD card. (Also, just for giggles, try re-formatting the old card, it might still work but then it may not, still worth trying).
3. Start Sentinel, click Scanner>Clear User Data. Check the box that says Display All Drives. Select the drive you noted from the formatting. Click OK.
4. Click Scanner>Write to Scanner check the boxes Erase Favorites List on Scanner and Force Write Full Database. Click OK.
5. Close Sentinel
6. Unmount the SD card from the computer with Windows Explorer (the Eject option).
7. Insert the SD card in the scanner and go about your business.

Repeat steps 2-6 for additional SD cards. Spares are well advised.

While you could do this using the scanner as a card reader (Mass Storage Mode), using a computer card reader is faster.

You might do a search for a post made a while back by Upman on a suggested brand of SD card that seems to be more tolerant of the many read/write cycles the scanner does to the SD card.
 

hiegtx

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SD cards going bad is a fact of life, just like car tires wearing out. Fortunately SD cards are cheaper.

Yes 32 GB is maximum supported size.

Steps to getting back operational:

1. Download and Install SD Formatter https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/
2. Insert a new SD card in your computer's card reader and format with SD Formatter. Note the drive letter associated with the SD card. (Also, just for giggles, try re-formatting the old card, it might still work but then it may not, still worth trying).
3. Start Sentinel, click Scanner>Clear User Data. Check the box that says Display All Drives. Select the drive you noted from the formatting. Click OK.
4. Click Scanner>Write to Scanner check the boxes Erase Favorites List on Scanner and Force Write Full Database. Click OK.
5. Close Sentinel
6. Unmount the SD card from the computer with Windows Explorer (the Eject option).
7. Insert the SD card in the scanner and go about your business.

Repeat steps 2-6 for additional SD cards. Spares are well advised.

While you could do this using the scanner as a card reader (Mass Storage Mode), using a computer card reader is faster.

You might do a search for a post made a while back by Upman on a suggested brand of SD card that seems to be more tolerant of the many read/write cycles the scanner does to the SD card.
This is the link I believe you were referring to:
http://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-tech-support/340206-replacement-sd-cards.html#post2642204
 

pinballwiz86

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The microSD card on my BCD536HP has never failed me. KNOCK ON WOOD.

I think the problem here is people not disconnecting correctly; thus corrupting the microSD cards. Be sure to "eject" the cards.
 

N5XTC

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The microSD card on my BCD536HP has never failed me. KNOCK ON WOOD.

I think the problem here is people not disconnecting correctly; thus corrupting the microSD cards. Be sure to "eject" the cards.

I do NOT have a backup SD card for my 436. So, i will get one today. Is there a way to format the card using the 436? I read there was I believe. Dont want to mess with downloading a program and doing it on the computer. i like the idea of taking the spare inside the battery door. I am taking a trip so def want a backup. will go with 32gig. i also read there is a brand that is already formatted and works for the 436. anyone know is this is true?
 

alex5774

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I do NOT have a backup SD card for my 436. So, i will get one today. Is there a way to format the card using the 436? I read there was I believe. Dont want to mess with downloading a program and doing it on the computer. i like the idea of taking the spare inside the battery door. I am taking a trip so def want a backup. will go with 32gig. i also read there is a brand that is already formatted and works for the 436. anyone know is this is true?

You should be able to just put the new sd card in the scanner and connect it to sentinel, then select "clear user data" and select "display all drives" to see the unformatted sd card. Here is a video tutorial: https://youtu.be/yGFI1D8Zzj0
 

N5XTC

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You should be able to just put the new sd card in the scanner and connect it to sentinel, then select "clear user data" and select "display all drives" to see the unformatted sd card. Here is a video tutorial: https://youtu.be/yGFI1D8Zzj0

thanks for the help. very helpful. will get a new chip today and get it done. heading out for a vacation, so rather do this now than have something happen while on the road and deal with it. thanks!
 

buddrousa

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Back in the day FIRESTONE 500 tires were failing right and left but that was found out after the fact. The big difference were the SD card fails your life is not in danger like when a tire fails. This is nothing new the SD cards it is not like people do not know about it SO PLEASE IF YOUR SCANNER IS THAT IMPORTANT GET A SPARE CARD.
 

fxdscon

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You should be able to just put the new sd card in the scanner and connect it to sentinel, then select "clear user data" and select "display all drives" to see the unformatted sd card. Here is a video tutorial: https://youtu.be/yGFI1D8Zzj0

Actually, if the sd card really is unformatted, even the "display all drives" option will not show the sd card.

Sentinel does not perform any formatting on the card at all. It simply writes the necessary operating folders and files to a card that has already been properly formatted.

If the card is badly corrupted such that the formatting can't be read (or some other action has caused the card to lose it's formatting), the card must be formatted before using the "clear user data" option in Sentinel.

New cards will already be formatted.

.
 

alex5774

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Actually, if the sd card really is unformatted, even the "display all drives" option will not show the sd card.

Sentinel does not perform any formatting on the card at all. It simply writes the necessary operating folders and files to a card that has already been properly formatted.

If the card is badly corrupted such that the formatting can't be read (or some other action has caused the card to lose it's formatting), the card must be formatted before using the "clear user data" option in Sentinel.

New cards will already be formatted.

.

You're right. I should have been more clear in my response, I meant that the card had to be "formatted" for use in the scanner by writing the required directory structure not formatting the card in the sense of creating a file system (which has already been done by the manufacturer).
 

jonwienke

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Is there a way to format the card using the 436? I read there was I believe. Dont want to mess with downloading a program and doing it on the computer.

No. You probably won't have to format the card; most come formatted from the factory. You'll most likely just have to "clear user data" in Sentinel and then write to scanner.
 

kellykeeton

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ok so the tip I got here that I didnt do I think was an error was then after clearing user data.. was to write my lists back to the card..

scanner boots again..

any idea where the wifi data is stored why did I drop my wifi if I copy the files back?

yea I guess I just need a spare card for this thing..,


thanks all.
 
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