BCD436HP/BCD536HP: Power/Charging

[willidav]

If I am reading the manual correctly you cannot listen to the scanner and charge it at the same time. How do I get around that? If this is correct are they just trying to make you buy two units, one for home and one to carry?

 

[jonwienke]

There's things called "battery chargers" and "spare batteries" that are widely available, and cost much less than a second scanner. You may wish to look into that instead of buying a second scanner.

 

[Analogrules]

Quick question.....how many volts is considered a full battery for bcd436? It seems mine has been charging for a while and it currently is up to 4 volts. Just want to get an idea regarding how much more of a charge it needs. Thanks!

 

[W6KRU]

Quick question.....how many volts is considered a full battery for bcd436? It seems mine has been charging for a while and it currently is up to 4 volts. Just want to get an idea regarding how much more of a charge it needs. Thanks!

Voltage is irrelevant to the scanner for making a decision to stop charging. The only thing that matters is whether the set time period has elapsed. That is why the scanner should never be used to charge batteries.

 

[willidav]

Thanks, but that would be a hassle, I would rather just plug it in while listening the unplug it to take it with me. Why they did not design the hardware to charge and operate at the same time is beyond me.

 

[willidav]

Sounds like a poor design, why would you monitor time and not battery while charging. Sounds like the same design flaw as not being able to operate while on charge.

 

[W6KRU]

Sounds like a poor design, why would you monitor time and not battery while charging. Sounds like the same design flaw as not being able to operate while on charge.

No. This is caused by 2 separate issues.

 

[UPMan]

It is impossible to detect the charge state of NiMH batteries being charged at low current in series.

 

[Voyager]

Quick question.....how many volts is considered a full battery for bcd436? It seems mine has been charging for a while and it currently is up to 4 volts. Just want to get an idea regarding how much more of a charge it needs. Thanks!

Operating voltage typically ranges from a low of 3.4V, to a warning at 3.5V, to fully charged cells up to 4.2V. If you're at 4.0V, your cells are pretty fully charged. As others have mentioned, the charger in the scanner is not voltage-based. But, if you are seeing 4.0V, you can stop charging it.

 

[Tlanglais]

I use one of these. It charges each battery individually which is good as the radio uses only three batteries.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RSOV50/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1