doc62
Member
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2013
- Messages
- 132
In checked luggage. Lithium batteries are allowed in carry on.
SDS100/SDS200: **SAFETY ALERT** SDS100 battery severely swelled
- Thread starter maus92
- Start date
True what you relate about the cargo plane but it doesn’t necessarily apply to all LI batteries. The chemistry is different depending upon the battery. Apple had an issue as did Samsung with their cell phone batteries swelling and there are reports of those vape cigarette devices actually starting a fire and causing injury. But the SDS100 packs have only swelled to date. And the occurrences reported to the various forums are a very small percentage of the total, meaning we only hear about the ones that swell. Uniden’s Paul Opitz (Upman) RIP, stated ideally, the way to charge their batteries is outside of the radio, using a preponderance of caution… but Uniden does not consider it serious enough to NOT provide the ability to recharge the battery while inside the radio. Much has been written about the issue, especially when comparing Uniden’s battery with a commercial or ham radio LI battery, where the ham and commercial batteries never seem to have issues. I can surmise it’s all about the cost-could Uniden provide a battery designed like ham or commercial radios use? Yes, but not without driving up the cost of the scanner.
Ubbe
Member
The battery for my TYT MD380 have swelled, when used in a charger that only charge to less than 30%. One Samsung phone, I think it was A2, had a battery that swelled and split the display from the phone. My mobile routers 5 year old battery have swelled and needs a rubber band around it to make contact with the router or it will stop working. A friend had his iPhone 5 battery swell but my iPhone 5 did not, but I replaced my battery after two years as the capacity had gone down too much. I've never seen or heard of a professional 2-way portable radio having swelled batteries. But they are probably in use so much that the battery wear out before that can happen.
/Ubbe
/Ubbe
Good input. As a first responder I can attest to commercial grade portable transceivers usage, especially in fire departments. Most portables sit for days before they are put into service, in a charger which is probably a smart charger where it charges and then goes into “conditioner mode”, either it stops charging and checks periodically or floats or simply shuts off altogether… my point is it’s not sitting in a charger constantly under full charging power… “frying”. True, some depts are busier than others but the gear is designed to accommodate either scenario and it's obvious the batteries are built to stringent standards, better than what Uniden is using, mil specs comes to mind. The obvious reason; These pieces of gear need to work when they are needed, no excuse's. I’ve had an iPhone that swelled but never became too hot to handle. Your TYT MD380 battery experience is the first I’ve heard of regarding ham equipment.
Again, my takeaway on Uniden’s offering is simply this, they asked for a battery that could be produced to meet Uniden’s needs without breaking the bank. It appears they had to make compromises in dependability. Make it safe so as not to hurt people (they haven’t burned anyone, exploded or caught fire) and save money using a cheaper design. On the up side, of all the batteries Uniden supplies for the SDS100 it’s my belief the quality control currently used has kept the failure rate very low. What are the percentage rates for failures? It must be well within acceptable limits otherwise Uniden would have offered a better battery.
Again, my takeaway on Uniden’s offering is simply this, they asked for a battery that could be produced to meet Uniden’s needs without breaking the bank. It appears they had to make compromises in dependability. Make it safe so as not to hurt people (they haven’t burned anyone, exploded or caught fire) and save money using a cheaper design. On the up side, of all the batteries Uniden supplies for the SDS100 it’s my belief the quality control currently used has kept the failure rate very low. What are the percentage rates for failures? It must be well within acceptable limits otherwise Uniden would have offered a better battery.
Ubbe
Member
Uniden probably doesn't care, as most battery issues happen after one year when its out of warranty and I'm not sure that battery are even included in warranty. It's like the cold solder joint issue in SDS100 or the hum in SDS200 that they don't allow anyone to send in their scanner to be checked as a preventive way to not let it happen after their warranty expires. CSJ repairs have to be paid for if discovered after the warranty have run out and it seems as they don't modify the head of SDS200 to get rid of the hum if you send it in.
They did do that recall of 436/536 of clock battery and display light but probably cost too much to do, so no more of that type of general recall of products, especially when UPman no longer can argue for it.
/Ubbe
They did do that recall of 436/536 of clock battery and display light but probably cost too much to do, so no more of that type of general recall of products, especially when UPman no longer can argue for it.
/Ubbe
HandiScratchy
Newbie
My MD380 did the same thing last year. It never gets used and was always sitting in the charger. I suspect the majority of sds100 battery failures are desk bound units that are plugged in constantly. I kept the md380 pouch cells outside in my charcoal grill for quite some time after they destroyed the battery case and they never ruptured or caught fire.
tvengr
Well Known Member
Mine was just setting on a desk in the original small battery cover. It was not being charged nor had recently been charged. From what I have seen, the majority of the batteries swell when they are not in use.
Today, I had my pacemaker/defib checked. Afterwards the technician who did the check was happy to spend some time discussing how that device could last so long, 10 years on a battery. His knowledge on the subject of batteries has been enhanced due to all the stories of lithium Ion batteries swelling or exploding/catching fire his patients were relating, asking if the implants were safe. His answer was Yes, the 10 year implants use LI’s. But the specs on these batteries are so much more stringent than the LI batteries used for the routine consumer market that in almost all cases the LI battery is the most expensive part that goes into the devices. With the rampant liability issues of today, especially in the medical field, medical devices such as subcutaneous pacemakers/defib, need to be fail proof.
So, yes, Uniden could spec out a LI battery for the SDS100 that doesn’t swell but it would cost more than the radio!
I am not endorsing Uniden’s choice of specs nor am I damning them. But I’m sure their marketing experience is correct. I only offer this as another reason why, when it comes to the battery Uniden chose. Now it’s up to us to choose if we accept the current battery offering… not that we have much choice, unless we run an external battery pack.
So, yes, Uniden could spec out a LI battery for the SDS100 that doesn’t swell but it would cost more than the radio!
I am not endorsing Uniden’s choice of specs nor am I damning them. But I’m sure their marketing experience is correct. I only offer this as another reason why, when it comes to the battery Uniden chose. Now it’s up to us to choose if we accept the current battery offering… not that we have much choice, unless we run an external battery pack.
Funny the Icom R30 battery does not swell but the price wasn't higher than the SDS100. Maybe Uniden should contact Icom for a better battery.
Agreed. But I believe in their rush to market Uniden used an existing radio case they had in their stable for the SDS100 and didn’t take into account the Software Designed Radio was going to need a much more robust power supply. But the amount of physical space didn’t allow for a physically larger battery pack. So, they took what they had for height and width in the existing battery enclosure, and expanded upon the depth by fabricating a battery compartment cover that extended outwards on the radio’s backside. It’s those compartment dimensions that dictated how the battery needed to sized physically. And of course, now they needed to build that pack en masse. And do it on the cheap, meaning satisfy all safety concerns without lowering their profit margin. (I’m betting they took a hit on their profit margin because their battery needs weren’t addressed until well into the the production stages of the SDS100. Something tells me if they had it all to do over again they would have picked an existing case that uses a clip-on battery pack much like the R30.
I replaced my original SDS 100 battery because it was not charging. That was about a year and half ago. I was sitting listening to the scanners with the sds 100 on my desk. All of a sudden there was a loud noise and the 3 handhelds I have all fell over. The battery on the SDS 100 swelled such that it popped the battery case cover off and shot itself out of the case hitting the wall.
Attachments
It’s the first episode I’ve heard of where the battery door was forced off and the battery shot across the room. I guess there’s a first time for everything. I wished you sent a picture of the damaged battery instead of a battery that doesn’t exhibit damage. Because frankly, what you have described needs additional verification. I doubt it was an explosive event and I am not saying you claim that. The best I can venture is the battery swelled and finally popped the battery cover off. But that doesn’t explain what propelled the battery clear across the room. Unless there was evidence of a minor explosion. Does the defective battery exhibit burns, soot, blackened areas that would have you guess there was a combustion? It’s a reach when all previous reports of damaged batteries related only to swelling.
Oops, sorry… I didn’t realize the picture you sent is actually the defective battery. Sorry.
The scanner was about 5-6 inches from the wall where it was on the desk. Not like it made it across a room. I am guessing that the door on the scanner popped, the battery came out and the scanner falling forward and then sliding back caused the door and battery to hit the wall.
Ubbe
Member
I had the exact same thing happening to me. The notch in the case that the lock mechanism use where ruined so I have to keep the lid in place by a shoestring. I could cut the swelled battery away from the other cells and I'm still using the battery and the two other cells have not swelled for probably a year now.
/Ubbe
Ah, ok. That satisfies my concern about explosion and fire. Thanks for clarifying.
I have learned one thing about the SDS 100 & ventilation. The batteries that have swollen were covered up during operation. Most of the time, I listen to the scanner at night while dozing off in bed. I learned my lesson, but it slips down.
The other really stupid thing I did was put the battery in my back pocket. One developed a crack in the plastic.
Having said this, I wonder if there has ever been a significant fire from this battery. I've seen stories of people's smart phones catching on fire, etc.
I believe I am noticing a degradation of the batteries I own. I am thinking that they need to be replaced.
I am curious. For the listeners who monitor on a "frequent" basis, how long do these batteries "generally" last?
The ones I am using are over two years old.
The other really stupid thing I did was put the battery in my back pocket. One developed a crack in the plastic.
Having said this, I wonder if there has ever been a significant fire from this battery. I've seen stories of people's smart phones catching on fire, etc.
I believe I am noticing a degradation of the batteries I own. I am thinking that they need to be replaced.
I am curious. For the listeners who monitor on a "frequent" basis, how long do these batteries "generally" last?
The ones I am using are over two years old.
Ubbe
Member
No fire or explosion have happened. Unidens batteries are allowed to expand, they are held together by electrical tape, and the battery lid comes off so easily so it can never build up enough pressure to catch fire or explode.
A Lithium-Ion battery's average life span is 2 to 3 years or 300 to 500 charge cycles, whichever comes first. As we put it, a charging cycle is a duration of utilization when the battery is fully charged, completely drained, and wholly recharged
/Ubbe
Excellent response, thank you.
Battery on my SDS100 did the same thing , bloated like a tick . The radio was left abandoned for five months , unplugged on the back of the table. As the p.o.s. had gone deaf for the second time . Happened to pickup the radio and with difficulty removed the battery pack . The pack expanded open like an accordion . Radio was sent to Uniden repair last November , was just billed for it last week . Will have to test if the radio will pickup any signals this time . Have to wonder why my RS96 goes blah blah blah every minute or two . Lucky if SDS100 breaks squelch once an hour . Programmed attempts with both postal code and GPS coordinates . even set the range out to 50 miles hoping to hear something .
