Report in - x36HP SD Card Problems/Corruption

[JamesO]

It's a not a power issue. Not once has power been a factor leading to my failures. Hell, a few drops that did result in cutting out the power suddenly haven't caused any problems.

And it's not an issue of excessive overwrite. All of my failures are cards I was creating to use as backups. Some had been used for other devices previously. But at least one was right out of the package.

Your card failure may not have been power related, however, my card failure in my 526HP was 100% power failure related. Not just the fact the power went off, it was Off, On, Off, On, Off, On, Off, On, Off, On, On, On, On, On, Off, On and so forth.

A storm came trough the area and CONTRARY to what everyone wants to say, this had noting to do with lightening and I am not always home to turn things off and disconnect them.

The problem where I live is TREES and overhead power lines. Tree branches touch and break off and short out the power lines. This causes power dips and BLIPS while the branches arch and burn up and/or fall to the ground. If and only if the branches cause a short does either a localized circuit breaker open and/or the Automatic Circuit Interrupters open at the Substation, dropping power completely, then after 2-10 seconds the Automatic Circuit Interrupters close back up and power the grid up. This is done in an attempt to re-energize the local grid and if there are still any line faults the rapid inrush current should then trip any localized line circuit breakers and allow the rest of the grid to stay on utility power.

I also have a back up generator for the whole house, other UPS units, just did not and still do not have a UPS unit on my 536HP yet. One will be added in the next few weeks.

So for others, they may not have had power disruptions, and cards were still getting corrupted.

I gave up trying to recover the corrupted SD card after about spending 2 hours on a $5 SD card!

 

[troymail]

So far - no SD card problems for me - 536 since late January and the 436 since late April - and I record heavily and update programming and the library every so often. I will say, however, that I'm probably no longer using the stock SD card that came with the radios (maybe occasionally but I have a couple of other cards I rotate around). My years of experience with SD cards on the PSR800 also probably help make this better for me. New users to SD card scanners are bound to experience issues (I did).

My only issue has been (concern since day one) is the flimsy metal holder for the SD card in the 436. I've actually knocked it off it's hinge a couple of times but was able to pop it back into place.

My biggest issue with SD cards and recording is the total lack of ability to conveniently retrieve the recordings and review the attributes about the recordings (horrible).

 

[JamesO]

My biggest issue with SD cards and recording is the total lack of ability to conveniently retrieve the recordings and review the attributes about the recordings (horrible).

Try Media Monkey and see if that helps out.

 

[troymail]

Try Media Monkey and see if that helps out.

Sorry for taking this off topic a bit (last one) - I installed MM but can't get it to play the Uniden created files. From what I saw, it still doesn't show me all of the recording header info (maybe it can but if it won't play, theres no sense in me fighting with what data it will/wont show).

...and now back to James' original topic!

 

[sibbley]

Been using the 436 since I guess mid to late March. Never used the original SD card that came with the radio. Bought an 8 gig Sandisk card to replace the original. Heck, I never even removed the card from the radio after I installed the 8 gig card.

Just last night, SD card corruption error! I wasn't even trying to write to the radio. I turned it off in the early afternoon, and turned it back on later in the evening and BAM, the card was corrupt. Can't get the card formatted, can't get Sentinel to clear user data, I am just so pissed. I guess I'll have to re-read this thread and find some things to try to save this card.

I have the PSR-800 also. I've never had card issues! $500 for this 436HP, I must have been crazy to spend that money. Maybe in a few years Uniden will get their stuff together and fix this radio. But for now, I have to give up and go back to the 396xt if I want reliability.

Now, Back to reading, let's see if I can save my card...

 

[Exivus]

ADD ME TO THE LIST!

Scanner model - 436HP
Card manufacturer and size - SanDisk 4 GB
Card original or replacement - Original SD card (And a replacement new 32GB SanDisk card)
Was card able to be recovered - Non recoverable in most cases. If I "struggle" with the system or wait through the inconsistent connections I can sometimes get the card reformatted.
Was problem caused by power disruptions - No
Did problem happen during normal use - Yes
Has replacement card(s) become corrupted - Yes

(posted this in a thread before I found this one):

Has anyone else been able to deduce the USB connection as operationally inconsistent?

I have the exact same problem as others I've read on this forum.

I plug the USB cable in to the computer and it will inevitably corrupt the SD card with no other option but to format it (and even that is sketchy).

Perhaps we have defective units, but it *IS* an issue. It's almost like there isn't a solid consistent connection. Plugging it in causes the computer to hang whilst reading the drive. Nothing will recognize it. Unplugging the scanner in any way (even after safely ejecting/unmounting the drive) causes the SD card to become corrupt.

I've tried multiple SD cards, multiple USB cables and now even multiple computers. All with the same result.

Even the ARC536 page (ARC536 software for Uniden BCD536HP and BCD436HP scanners Sentinel HomePatrol Home Patrol free demo software Uniden 436 536 HP) states language to this effect:
"because of issues with the reliability of USB/serial port on the 436/536 scanners ARC536PRO must be used with the BCD536HP GPS/remote rear port or the BCD436HP GPS port for reliable virtual control. The use of the front/usb port is the users risk and may not work reliable. This is beyond our control. See software manual for details."

Going to call Uniden tomorrow and see if I can get some answers, but I'd like to hear from others that may have experienced the same issue.

 

[sibbley]

ADD ME TO THE LIST!

I plug the USB cable in to the computer and it will inevitably corrupt the SD card with no other option but to format it (and even that is sketchy).

Perhaps we have defective units, but it *IS* an issue. It's almost like there isn't a solid consistent connection. Plugging it in causes the computer to hang whilst reading the drive. Nothing will recognize it. Unplugging the scanner in any way (even after safely ejecting/unmounting the drive) causes the SD card to become corrupt.

I've tried multiple SD cards, multiple USB cables and now even multiple computers. All with the same result.

I never had any of the cable trouble, my usb cable always worked with ARC 536Pro, even during the trial stages. I've used safe eject and just unplugged the cable. Never had an issue. I never took the sd card out of the scanner since I installed the 8 gig the day the 436 arrived.

Just out of the blue the other day I now have a corrupt card. I think this is a very poor design.

 

[XTS3000]

Just because you see the SD Card Corrupt message, doesn't always mean the card is actually corrupt.

I've had SD Card Corrupt message close to a dozen times. From 0-day to around June, no problems. Then once every few battery changes, then every battery change. Reseating the SD card corrected the problem, a few times had to reseat the card 2 or 3 times before it started working again.

Had to think what's changed from 0-day to today that could cause card contact problems. High humidity level is the only thing that's changed drastically since 0-day. My indoor humidity levels have more than doubled since January. That lead me to start thinking about the actual card contacting the SD pins on the scanner. Due to the different metals on the card vs the pins, corrosion could build up simply due to dissimilar metals. Moisture would only speed this process up.

As posted earlier, I cleaned very carefully the card and SD contacts. Since then, been through 7-8 battery changes without a single SD corruption. Cleaning the card did the trick for me.

 

[sibbley]

Card is corrupt. Can't format it, can't scan it. In the radio it just keeps restarting the scanner after the prompt to do clear user data. With the card in the radio, Sentinel won't even recognize it.

 

[JamesO]

Card is corrupt. Can't format it, can't scan it. In the radio it just keeps restarting the scanner after the prompt to do clear user data. With the card in the radio, Sentinel won't even recognize it.

I have both situations happen to me. First card became corrupt in my 536HP and NOTHING would recover it.

Then my original 436HP card gave me a problem when changing batteries once. I tried to reset the car a number of times, no luck, being lazy I swapped the 436HP and the replacement 536HP card and both scanners booted without issue.

I have been too busy/lazy to check and swap the cards back to see what happens.

I will probably replace the original 436HP card that is now in my 536HP with a new, large SD card.

 

[Exivus]

Okay, so I grabbed a card reader. Popped both cards in (the original and the 32GB SanDisk card I bought to replace it) and reformatted both perfectly. Cleared user data and started working in Sentinel for the first time without any problems.

So the problem I have is clearly focused on the port of the scanner. Different computers, different cables, different SD cards have yielded the same result. The connection just goes in and out constantly to the point that you can barely even format the card, much less read/write to it.

 

[LIScanner101]

Despite dozens of inadvertent unpluggings of my PRO-18 - which causes the scanner to just shut down cold (I don't use batteries) my scanner has never had a corrupted card incident. I have no spare cards nor do I think I will ever need one.

I'm inclined to think that there is some sort of spontaneous intermittent connection to the card on the new Unidens. Yes, I understand that JamesO sees the problem during power interruptions - but then that would mean the power management system is buggy. Both? Neither? Unsure.

 

[XTS3000]

Most people are probably running the instant replay feature, which is constantly writing voice files to the SD card, so yes, the SS card is constantly being accessed and written to.

 

[LIScanner101]

Most people are probably running the instant replay feature, which is constantly writing voice files to the SD card, so yes, the SS card is constantly being accessed and written to.

Hmmmm, very interesting. I wonder if the corruption issue would go away for a large portion of users if they weren't doing that? That is, of course, if they ARE using that feature, we'll have to see who chimes in with what.

 

[sibbley]

Most people are probably running the instant replay feature, which is constantly writing voice files to the SD card, so yes, the SS card is constantly being accessed and written to.

I don't use the recording or replay feature on my 436. I record using the PSR-800, I like the setup better.

 

[LIScanner101]

I don't use the recording or replay feature on my 436. I record using the PSR-800, I like the setup better.

OK, so we have a user here who doesn't use the record feature yet his card got corrupted. Has UPMan ever addressed the numerous questions on this issue for you guys?

 

[Exivus]

I've given up on the issue, honestly. Just going to return mine. All the hours of frustration just aren't worth it.

My $.02 on this: I think the product has a defect from my experiences and all the information I've collected and read.

I called Uniden, after two days of not even getting through; on the third day I got through and was hold for an hour to even speak to someone. When I did get through, I did not feel as if I was a valued customer overall. The rep was dispassionate and I was fed a few lines of policy and was left at the mercy of a long repair window and was unusually reminded that I would need to prove that I actually bought it from an authorized dealer, as if I was the problem and my call was assumed to be illegitimate from the start.

I asked the rep if they were aware of these problems and the severity of them for those affected and I was read to an official statement that simply said "we're not aware of any problems". The end.

Honestly, I'm pretty disappointed. For $500 I got exactly the opposite of what the sales videos and brochures (much of what I dug into to research about this product and the company supporting it).

Again, YMMV - if the scanner doesn't have this sort of breaking element to it, then I'm sure the experience is better and different. For those that have to struggle to figure out the problems and then be handled in a similar way by the supporting company, it's bad.

 

[freqhopping]

Most people are probably running the instant replay feature, which is constantly writing voice files to the SD card, so yes, the SS card is constantly being accessed and written to.

Unless I'm missing something in my settings there is no way to completely disable the caching of audio. Only change the duration from a minimum of 30 seconds to a max of 240.

While it has been handy to hit replay a few times or start recording after the fact and still being able to save the audio, I would disable it most of the time.

 

[JamesO]

The purpose of this thread was for users to document what SD card issues they may have run into so there could be single, collective snapshot of data so trends could possibly be identified either by the community or Uniden.

Time will also tell if too may write cycles start causing problems with these cards. Not sure if any of these types of issues ever occurred in the HP-1? I have an HP1 and have yet to have an issue with the SD card, but this is not my daily use scanner.

But the more reports with facts that come in, hopefully a picture will start to emerge as to what may be going on. There may be a number of different failure modes well.

 

[rjdj2000]

Well I have gotten back from vacation and have tried to regain control of the SD card. As I powered down the scanner and volia... SD Card error again... Have tried to format it on 2 different Mac machines again and it is a no go. Even tried SD Formatter after the Mac try and still no go. So I think this time the card is dead. So here I sit with a $600 BOAT ANCHOR until I can get another SD card. Once I do I am rolling back the firmware 1 revision and see where that gets me. UPMAN are you seeing any of these posts in this thread?? Care to comment on any of this?? Is there a way to TURN OFF the Replay??? As so far I have only nailed it down to this feature that caused my SD Card to die.

Had to report back in about my 536HP from my post above on 6/22 where I was able to recover the original card.

Last night something came onto the scanner that I wanted to replay as I missed it. Went to hit Replay on the scanner and nothing. Would not beep or even replay anything. At this point I didn't shut it down as I know what will happen. SD error same as last time, so I went into the menu and got to the replay settings. I tried to review and nothing was there. I am on the latest firmware for the 536 so I am not sure what is going on. As said before, this scanner is attached to a 12V battery that is being charged while the scanner is in use. I have ran another scanner this way for 2+ years and now this one. So there is no chance of a power dropout (which has happened in the past few days due to major storms coming through the area) but while on the battery like it is, the scanner just kept on going as if nothing had happened. I am headed out for a little R&R for a week next week so won't have time to mess with it until I get back. I think I am going to try to fallback one revision of the firmware to see if it resolves the no replay issue that corrupts the card. As I know if I try to turn it off now it will corrupt the card. Will post back if it works or not.