Newest SDS200's

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ka1njl

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I talked to the Bearcat Warehouse folks yesterday and they told me that the units they are currently shipping come from a new shipment they recently received. Those units have been updated so that previously identified issues have been addressed. Has anyone received one of the "new" ones yet? I'm curious about whether the hum and/or the backlighting issues have been resolved in those units.
 

iMONITOR

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I talked to the Bearcat Warehouse folks yesterday and they told me that the units they are currently shipping come from a new shipment they recently received. Those units have been updated so that previously identified issues have been addressed. Has anyone received one of the "new" ones yet? I'm curious about whether the hum and/or the backlighting issues have been resolved in those units.

Might give them a call back and asked them that question specifically. I would trust them not to lie to you, they're good people! Ask if you can return it if it does in fact still have the back lighting issues.
 

TxScanner

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I had a seller on amazon tell me the same thing. So not sure if its true or not, but i will say, i returned one of the first ones back to bearcat warehouse , and they would NOT give me a return shipping label, and in ad to pay 48 dollars to ship it back. Whereas Scannermasters was more than happy to give me a label to return it.


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KR7CQ

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I had a seller on amazon tell me the same thing. So not sure if its true or not, but i will say, i returned one of the first ones back to bearcat warehouse , and they would NOT give me a return shipping label, and in ad to pay 48 dollars to ship it back. Whereas Scannermasters was more than happy to give me a label to return it.


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About $50...what I calculated my risk to be buying from Bearcat Warehouse, which was better than the restocking fee everywhere else.

So to be clear, Scannermaster waived the restocking fee or no?
 

TxScanner

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About $50...what I calculated my risk to be buying from Bearcat Warehouse, which was better than the restocking fee everywhere else.

So to be clear, Scannermaster waived the restocking fee or no?

Neither one charged me a restocking fee, but I wouldn’t deal with Bearcat warehouse again for not giving me a label , i told them, I wasn’t returning it because i wanted it, i liked the unit, but its making this noise from the speaker its not supposed to, but they wouldn’t give me one, and i had to pay 48 bucks for UPS shipping with insurance to cover the scanners price tag. Bearcat said they’d only charge a restocking fee if the box was missing parts.


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imd

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Would be interesting to know what issues exactly are resolved?

A typical company producing HW in China don't turn around production fixes and 2nd sourced components in a few weeks, so I doubt much has been fixed. It takes a long time, months, to 2nd source components and test.
 

bkramm

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Just received by SDS200 from Bearcat Warehouse today. Shipped 3/4/19.
No noise or hum before updating the firmware.
Firmware as shipped Main 1.06.25 Sub 1.01.10
Now updated to the latest released today.
Just lucky?? or are things resolved??
Serial number end with 880016XX.
 

maus92

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Would be interesting to know what issues exactly are resolved?

A typical company producing HW in China don't turn around production fixes and 2nd sourced components in a few weeks, so I doubt much has been fixed. It takes a long time, months, to 2nd source components and test.

Not manufactured in China.
 

TxScanner

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I talked to the Bearcat Warehouse folks yesterday and they told me that the units they are currently shipping come from a new shipment they recently received. Those units have been updated so that previously identified issues have been addressed. Has anyone received one of the "new" ones yet? I'm curious about whether the hum and/or the backlighting issues have been resolved in those units.

Called scanner master today, and they said they said their latest shipment had the fix


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doovenator

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I got mine Wednesday 3/6, ordered from Amazon previous Thursday and it said right on the page it would be in stock Saturday 3/2 (so I assume second shipment) shipped out Monday. No hum or back light issues, although I will say it is dimmer than anything I've ever seen before. Considering its not battery powered, therefore no reason to conserve power, I am extremely baffled as to why they didn't allow it to go brighter. My HomePatrol 2 at half brightness is more than double the brightness as the 200 on full brightness. Not a deal breaker for me though, just saying.

Edit: I think Police Scanner Outlet is the same as Bearcat Warehouse, that was the seller on Amazon.
 

KR7CQ

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I got mine Wednesday 3/6, ordered from Amazon previous Thursday and it said right on the page it would be in stock Saturday 3/2 (so I assume second shipment) shipped out Monday. No hum or back light issues, although I will say it is dimmer than anything I've ever seen before. Considering its not battery powered, therefore no reason to conserve power, I am extremely baffled as to why they didn't allow it to go brighter. My HomePatrol 2 at half brightness is more than double the brightness as the 200 on full brightness. Not a deal breaker for me though, just saying.

Edit: I think Police Scanner Outlet is the same as Bearcat Warehouse, that was the seller on Amazon.

As I understand it, the dimmer keypad lighting was intentional, as many had complained in the past about overly-bright keypad lighting in situations where Uniden scanners were mounted in vehicles (too bright / distracting for night use). Perhaps multiple keypad lighting levels would have been nice but I find that the lighting on my SDS200 is adequate for a dark room. If that is your only issue, you are in good shape.
 

doovenator

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As I understand it, the dimmer keypad lighting was intentional, as many had complained in the past about overly-bright keypad lighting in situations where Uniden scanners were mounted in vehicles (too bright / distracting for night use). Perhaps multiple keypad lighting levels would have been nice but I find that the lighting on my SDS200 is adequate for a dark room. If that is your only issue, you are in good shape.
Thanks, I saw those posts by UPMan as well stating it was intentional. I should have clarified I was referring to the LCD Panel brightness compared to my Homepatrol 2, just as an observation for others.
 

KR7CQ

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Thanks, I saw those posts by UPMan as well stating it was intentional. I should have clarified I was referring to the LCD Panel brightness compared to my Homepatrol 2, just as an observation for others.
OK I see what you were saying now. I find the display of my SDS200 VERY bright at 50%. If yours is dim at 100% there might be an issue. Maybe you could post a pic at full brightness.
 

eaf1956

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OK I see what you were saying now. I find the display of my SDS200 VERY bright at 50%. If yours is dim at 100% there might be an issue. Maybe you could post a pic at full brightness.

I use mine at 10% and it's bright enough for me
 

KR7CQ

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I use mine at 10% and it's bright enough for me
Yup, 10% is my "low" setting and it's more than bright enough for all but the brightest situations. Any SDS200 that is "dim" at 100% would be unusual from the pictures and videos I've seen. I've never even bothered to see what 100% looks like since 50% (my "high" setting) is borderline glaring.
 

eaf1956

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Yup, 10% is my "low" setting and it's more than bright enough for all but the brightest situations. Any SDS200 that is "dim" at 100% would be unusual from the pictures and videos I've seen. I've never even bothered to see what 100% looks like since 50% (my "high" setting) is borderline glaring.

Another thing that bugs me is when the radio is turned on it goes to FULL brightness. I guess I can use reverse Pysch and change FULL to 10%
 

DataSquid

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Another thing that bugs me is when the radio is turned on it goes to FULL brightness. I guess I can use reverse Pysch and change FULL to 10%

Under Backlight Options choose Set Dimmer Mode and change it to Manual, then choose Low. Starts up on low until you toggle it higher. Also activates the Backlight to low if you have it squelch triggered.
 
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