Pro-668
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scosgt
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- Jul 22, 2004
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- 1,295
I got the last one
Wow, I was 2 mins too late.
It is pretty dicey. The first batch of alkaline batteries I used (admittedly not great ones, part of a bulk purchase at Home Depot) got me a tad over 4 hours of non-intensive scanning. The second batch (which I got out of my desk drawer and I suspect were partly used) were about the same.
However, sitting here in my office using a set of Eneloop batteries I dug out of my laptop bag has gotten nearly six hours so far, and the little battery meter thing is about to the halfway point.
I've seen posts indicating a similar issue with the PSR800 before a firmware update was released which supposedly made a big difference, so it's possible there's something flaky in the firmware which needs a tweak.
At this point, however, I'd have to go along with other posts I've read which recommend a fully charged set of good quality low-loss NiMh batteries like the Eneloop.
What's weird is that I posted that when my battery meter dropped to 1/2 full after less than 2 hours of usage. Now, it's about 90 minutes later and the meter still shows 1/2 full. So I'll have to see how long they actually last.
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stlouisx50
Member
The battery meter acts strange. It jumps around from full to half back to full then stays at 3/4. Then the next thing you know it will stick at 1/8 for hours.
Batteries that I have used with the pro 106 , seem to last just a slight bit shorter in this unit.
Batteries that I have used with the pro 106 , seem to last just a slight bit shorter in this unit.
MONITORING247
Member
get a fresh set of Duracell rechargeables and youl get 8 hrs or better batteries after a time can get a memory and then will only charge half that's what i did no problems since! HAPPY SCANNING
I've tried several alkaline batteries in my 668
Kodak Max alkalines run it about 9 hours. I don't have any of these left. These are one of my favorite batteries that are super cheap when on sale in a pack of 48. Sometimes they go for like 18 cents each, but often are about 25 cents each. On cheap Sunbeam alkalines that go for $1.00 a 4 pack at Dollartree, my 668 runs for about 8.5 hours with a mix of conventional and digital frequencies. On Merax super cheapo 13 cents each(when on sale) alkalines, it runs for just short of 8 hours. On Maxell AA alkalines, it runs for nearly 10 hours, but those seem to be hard to find on sale anymore. They used to be available for 25 cents a pop everywhere, but lately run about 40+ cents each. I just used the last of a bunch I bought about a year ago.
On my Eneloop rechargables, I get about 6 hours, with pretty much zero warning before the radio dies, sometimes, not even one beep before it blanks out. On my Eveready 2300MA rechargeables, it goes for about 8 hours on one set, only six on the other. The one set is slightly older, but not much, so I don't know what's going on with them, they used to run other radios for about the same time. I tried "reconditioning" the one set in my charger, but it didn't help. If I'm going someplace, I always take a set of alkalines with me, rechargables have burned me so many times over the years, so I'm paranoid. Taking those batteries with me has saved me having to go buy them in the middle of the night at a carryout for $ 4.00 a four pack.
Kodak Max alkalines run it about 9 hours. I don't have any of these left. These are one of my favorite batteries that are super cheap when on sale in a pack of 48. Sometimes they go for like 18 cents each, but often are about 25 cents each. On cheap Sunbeam alkalines that go for $1.00 a 4 pack at Dollartree, my 668 runs for about 8.5 hours with a mix of conventional and digital frequencies. On Merax super cheapo 13 cents each(when on sale) alkalines, it runs for just short of 8 hours. On Maxell AA alkalines, it runs for nearly 10 hours, but those seem to be hard to find on sale anymore. They used to be available for 25 cents a pop everywhere, but lately run about 40+ cents each. I just used the last of a bunch I bought about a year ago.
On my Eneloop rechargables, I get about 6 hours, with pretty much zero warning before the radio dies, sometimes, not even one beep before it blanks out. On my Eveready 2300MA rechargeables, it goes for about 8 hours on one set, only six on the other. The one set is slightly older, but not much, so I don't know what's going on with them, they used to run other radios for about the same time. I tried "reconditioning" the one set in my charger, but it didn't help. If I'm going someplace, I always take a set of alkalines with me, rechargables have burned me so many times over the years, so I'm paranoid. Taking those batteries with me has saved me having to go buy them in the middle of the night at a carryout for $ 4.00 a four pack.
I have heard that the Pro-668 is an exact clone of the Whistler 1080, If true can I update the firmware of my Pro-668 with the new Whistler 1080 update and get better battery life? Has anyone done this successfully ?
Triangulum
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- Joined
- Feb 24, 2015
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As of right now the firmware updates are incompatible.
AtlasFBG2
Member
It wont work. You will have a bricked 668.
No. See posts 15,16 & 17 http://forums.radioreference.com/ra...-how-can-i-program-update-unit-pro-668-a.html
Last edited:
Blackswan73
Active Member
No, but the 668 came out with an update for battery life two days after the 1080 update came out
Probably just variances between units, or the Pro-18 is not working right. Seems like the wide variations between radios of the same model don't happen anywhere near as often as it used to. My old Pro-2004 was sort of deaf on Airband and VHF high compared to others I had used. After the warranty expired I got the Bill Cheek book and all it took was a very slight tweak on one of the adjustments to fix it. It's still the most sensitive base/mobile scanner I have.
I tried them side by side on UHF, and an 800MHz Trunked System using the stock antennas. I didn't notice any difference.
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