"And Now for Something Completely Different"
The death of the USB Micro B and Mini B... What was uniden thinking?
I have been working on a project to replace the Micro and Mini B USB ports with the standard USB-C along with the mess of a charging circuit that cooks batteries and or just plain burns up of the circuit board in the SDS100. I have seen the horror stories and I have lived through a battery that actually blew up and started smoking during a regular charging cycle. Lucky I was there when that happened when I heard the Snap, Crackle and Pop, and no it was not breakfast time. Uniden replaced the battery free of charge after I had to threaten them with contacting the consumer product safety commission (CPSC). Yes, I had to fight with them since they said they would not cover it even under warranty. I had to mention my experience with the Uniden experience being a PITA. And yes, I know the care and feeding of Li-ion which the uniden insisted I did not know how to charge a battery. Well, with their poor design, maybe I did not.
This modification project has been ongoing and a bit extensive. This is not a Slice and Dice Hack using wire-wrap or enameled wire to rewire and replace the USB ports.
This is replacing not only the known failing USB ports that some have experienced, but also the very poorly designed, overheating charging circuit.
This modification requires not only good eyesight, but a steady hand and the proper tools. I have been working on this project for some time now, longer than usual due to my health, but when done this modification should not be too hard to accomplish.
I am an old fart and my eyes are shot and hands are not as steady as they once were when I was certified for MIL-STD-2000A back in the days. If I can do this in the shape I am in now, you can do it.
Once I get the hardware and the modification out of the way with testing and testing and more testing. I will document the work and also write a disclaimer for those that still un-holster that 200-250 watt Weller D550 gun for their electronics soldering work.
The proper way to do this is a rework station, but a good quality soldering pencil, flux, solder wick and something to clean the board will be fine. Good eyesight or not, a magnifying glass / headset is recommended. As for shaky hands, sorry you are on your own there.
Again, this should not be a hard modification.
Oh, before I forget, once this goes public and if you are not Daddy Warbucks... Please Do not do this modification or any modification if you are skittish doing electronic work and most of all, Please don't unbox your new SDS100 and just jump right into any modification voiding the $700 dollar scanner warranty. If you do, I am open for all the broken left over pieces.
If my health holds out, I should have this ready in the new year. I will keep pushing on.
Now the question, with most of the Public Service transmissions going to encryption, is all this worth it, should I follow through with this project?
Let me know, please comment and be kind to your seniors.
And for the Moderators, is this post ok here? If not, can move it to where you think it would be best.
Take Care...
The death of the USB Micro B and Mini B... What was uniden thinking?
I have been working on a project to replace the Micro and Mini B USB ports with the standard USB-C along with the mess of a charging circuit that cooks batteries and or just plain burns up of the circuit board in the SDS100. I have seen the horror stories and I have lived through a battery that actually blew up and started smoking during a regular charging cycle. Lucky I was there when that happened when I heard the Snap, Crackle and Pop, and no it was not breakfast time. Uniden replaced the battery free of charge after I had to threaten them with contacting the consumer product safety commission (CPSC). Yes, I had to fight with them since they said they would not cover it even under warranty. I had to mention my experience with the Uniden experience being a PITA. And yes, I know the care and feeding of Li-ion which the uniden insisted I did not know how to charge a battery. Well, with their poor design, maybe I did not.
This modification project has been ongoing and a bit extensive. This is not a Slice and Dice Hack using wire-wrap or enameled wire to rewire and replace the USB ports.
This is replacing not only the known failing USB ports that some have experienced, but also the very poorly designed, overheating charging circuit.
This modification requires not only good eyesight, but a steady hand and the proper tools. I have been working on this project for some time now, longer than usual due to my health, but when done this modification should not be too hard to accomplish.
I am an old fart and my eyes are shot and hands are not as steady as they once were when I was certified for MIL-STD-2000A back in the days. If I can do this in the shape I am in now, you can do it.
Once I get the hardware and the modification out of the way with testing and testing and more testing. I will document the work and also write a disclaimer for those that still un-holster that 200-250 watt Weller D550 gun for their electronics soldering work.
The proper way to do this is a rework station, but a good quality soldering pencil, flux, solder wick and something to clean the board will be fine. Good eyesight or not, a magnifying glass / headset is recommended. As for shaky hands, sorry you are on your own there.
Again, this should not be a hard modification.
Oh, before I forget, once this goes public and if you are not Daddy Warbucks... Please Do not do this modification or any modification if you are skittish doing electronic work and most of all, Please don't unbox your new SDS100 and just jump right into any modification voiding the $700 dollar scanner warranty. If you do, I am open for all the broken left over pieces.
If my health holds out, I should have this ready in the new year. I will keep pushing on.
Now the question, with most of the Public Service transmissions going to encryption, is all this worth it, should I follow through with this project?
Let me know, please comment and be kind to your seniors.
And for the Moderators, is this post ok here? If not, can move it to where you think it would be best.
Take Care...
