Squad101
Member
Im not comfortable using that battery. I ordered the big battery & the cover and one of those latches off eBay.
SDS100/SDS200: **SAFETY ALERT** SDS100 battery severely swelled
- Thread starter maus92
- Start date
Ubbe
Member
As stated, there have never been any reported accidents with Unidens batteries. It seems to be a quailty issue, some cells will swell regardless of how they are handled and could also happen to your new battery. I don't know what could happen if you then use a 3:rd party extra strong latch. That would be my concern using a non standard component.
/Ubbe
/Ubbe
…kind of like “design following function” (or is it the other way around?), the cover latch designed to break if and when a battery swells while inside the radio. If the latch WAS designed to give way, that tells us Uniden was aware this swelling could occur… in which case, Uniden should have noted this possibility and warned against replacing the broken latch with a stronger one like the one I have, ordered online from the guy who was offering a 3D version made from a stronger material. I say “was” because I don’t believe he is still offering the latch… I haven’t seen any posts directing those with broken latches to contact this guy in a long time.
Ubbe
Member
It's usually written in the terms of usage that if you replace any component with a non factory one the warranty do not apply and any legal matters about getting compensation for damages cannot be done if you modify your device. There must be a reason to why Uniden have their battery held together by electrical tape and not glued and not using a hard plastic shell.
/Ubbe
Obviously I have no idea, but I seriously doubt Uniden had the foresight to design the battery door clip to be a safety device and break on purpose.. The same as the hole in the back cover isn't a cooling vent (it can't be, it's covered with foam tape). Next thing will be the CSJ issue was by design to prevent overload or some other silly reason.
I'm waiting on my cable company to tell me that outages are on purpose to give my eyes a break from watching TV.
I'm waiting on my cable company to tell me that outages are on purpose to give my eyes a break from watching TV.
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I have never heard of this, so I suspect it is not related.
That said, if that theory were true, can you imagine the liability of those selling stronger latches? In fact, the latch was made stronger by Uniden several years ago.
But again, I have never heard of that design being intentional.
Add me to the list of users with a bloated SDS100 battery. My battery had stopped charging correctly and the charge indicator started blinking about a minute after connecting charger. I decided to look into it and attempted to remove the battery. I couldn't budge the latch with my fingers and used a screwdriver to pop it loose. There was a lot of pressure on the latch from the swelled battery. I tore into the pack and the defective cell was obvious. Bum deal. It lasted ~5 years . I always attempted to charge it correctly and kept a proper charge on it.
Just Uniden’s way of saying it’s time to buy a new battery! LoL! Happy that it did not damage the radio!
paramedic228
Member
There are 24 pages of comments now on this topic; way too many too read through to find out EXACTLY what Uniden has to say about this subject. I think most people are aware of the dangers of Lithium Ion batteries, although some are MORE dangerous than others. Can someone pint to Uniden's commentary on this subject? I have been through two batteries and will not buy any more until some solution is found for this problem for this EXPENSIVE scanner.
Doubtful Uniden will comment officially. I believe you can power the SDS100 using the data cord attached to an external battery.
doc62
Member
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- Apr 5, 2013
- Messages
- 144
You can power it with a USB cord. i do that in my Tacoma with no battery installed.
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- Oct 24, 2013
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- 723
Can Uniden make stronger and longer lasting batteries for the sds100? Longer than 8 hour battery life.
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2013
- Messages
- 723
I Dont wanna carry another portable charger pack around. I have enough of those
Uniden not going to give you more than what they have. More battery wouldn’t fit anyway.
Battery technology continues to grow. Who knows what NASA (where weight and size is paramount) is playing with. I imagine a smaller, longer lasting battery is a possibility, but at what cost?
Consumer products are competitive by nature, the better the battery the more the cost. As it is (and this is just me surmising what happens) Uniden provided the specifications to build its current offering to whoever makes the battery and they charge Uniden for a bigger battery, Uniden in turn passes any extra cost on to the consumer. (Yes, Uniden offered the bigger battery free of charge to those who purchased the first batches of the radio that came with the smaller battery but I expect they made up any losses the larger battery cost them by offering an external charging station, charging slightly more for it and did the same for replacement batteries.
Luckily, the chemistry makeup of Uniden’s batteries do not lend themselves to overheating to the extent they cause a fire or explosion… At least there have been no reports of this that I have seen, just swelling.
But the swelling battery problem is not large. We only hear from those who experience it, and, rightfully so. I know if I experienced it I’d be posting here also. But, knock on wood, I haven’t experienced it with the 3 batteries I own, the original small one and two larger ones. Overall, out of all the radios sold, the swelling issue is a very small percentage of the total. Again, it’s my “reasonable” assumption.
Consumer products are competitive by nature, the better the battery the more the cost. As it is (and this is just me surmising what happens) Uniden provided the specifications to build its current offering to whoever makes the battery and they charge Uniden for a bigger battery, Uniden in turn passes any extra cost on to the consumer. (Yes, Uniden offered the bigger battery free of charge to those who purchased the first batches of the radio that came with the smaller battery but I expect they made up any losses the larger battery cost them by offering an external charging station, charging slightly more for it and did the same for replacement batteries.
Luckily, the chemistry makeup of Uniden’s batteries do not lend themselves to overheating to the extent they cause a fire or explosion… At least there have been no reports of this that I have seen, just swelling.
But the swelling battery problem is not large. We only hear from those who experience it, and, rightfully so. I know if I experienced it I’d be posting here also. But, knock on wood, I haven’t experienced it with the 3 batteries I own, the original small one and two larger ones. Overall, out of all the radios sold, the swelling issue is a very small percentage of the total. Again, it’s my “reasonable” assumption.
I find it inexcusable that a lithium battery would swell this much in just over a years’ time.
I bought the scanner brand new, sealed from Bearcat Warehouse last year (8/23). The scanner has never, ever been exposed to extreme heat or extreme cold. It stays with me at home 95% of the time.
I noticed Thanksgiving 2024 that the battery was taking a long time to charge, I pulled it out and suspected it was starting to swell when I looked at the top part (silver color with the “Made in China” sticker) and could see slight rounding when looking edge on (it wasn’t flat like it used to be).
I ordered a new battery and the day or arrived, I installed it into my SDS100 and the charging time returned to normal. Incidentally, why does the scanner need to charge the battery after it’s been used on external USB power via the supplied power adapter and cable?
I left the battery out to sit in the same place to see what would happen, and within three weeks, the attached photo is the end result. Not good.
Normally, I run the scanner off USB external power using the power adapter and cable it came with from the factory, so I really don’t understand how the battery went bad in such a relatively short period of time.
I have the scanner to set to charge only when the scanner is powered off/not charged while powered on via USB external power.
I know this issue has been brought up countless times before via other threads, but seriously, this much swelling in just over a year?
I’ve had lithium battery powered devices in various sorts and never saw a battery swell like this in such a relatively short period of time.
Could this be a serious quality control issue, or is it going to be dismissed as just yet another “fluke?”
I bought the scanner brand new, sealed from Bearcat Warehouse last year (8/23). The scanner has never, ever been exposed to extreme heat or extreme cold. It stays with me at home 95% of the time.
I noticed Thanksgiving 2024 that the battery was taking a long time to charge, I pulled it out and suspected it was starting to swell when I looked at the top part (silver color with the “Made in China” sticker) and could see slight rounding when looking edge on (it wasn’t flat like it used to be).
I ordered a new battery and the day or arrived, I installed it into my SDS100 and the charging time returned to normal. Incidentally, why does the scanner need to charge the battery after it’s been used on external USB power via the supplied power adapter and cable?
I left the battery out to sit in the same place to see what would happen, and within three weeks, the attached photo is the end result. Not good.
Normally, I run the scanner off USB external power using the power adapter and cable it came with from the factory, so I really don’t understand how the battery went bad in such a relatively short period of time.
I have the scanner to set to charge only when the scanner is powered off/not charged while powered on via USB external power.
I know this issue has been brought up countless times before via other threads, but seriously, this much swelling in just over a year?
I’ve had lithium battery powered devices in various sorts and never saw a battery swell like this in such a relatively short period of time.
Could this be a serious quality control issue, or is it going to be dismissed as just yet another “fluke?”
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I_am_Alpha1
Member
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- May 21, 2014
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- 271
This has been a known issue for many years. Over two years ago, I did a post on rebuilding the battery pack. It's still working fine today.
forums.radioreference.com
SDS100/SDS200: - SDS100 Battery Rebuild
Has anyone done it yet? I got the dreaded swollen battery after two-years of ownership. It's the big battery. Amazon has the cheapest replacement that I've found...nearly $50. Last year I did allot of work on 18650 harvesting and pack building, so I thought I'd give this a try since...
paramedic228
Member
I did, finally, get responses to my email(s) to Uniden customer support. Here is the first part:
"
We are so sorry to hear that you are having issues with the battery of your unit swelling.
While it is possible for the SDS100 to always remain on its charging cable with its battery still in it, it is not recommended. The reason for this is that the chemical make-up of the batteries will begin to degrade over time and react in such a way that can compromise your unit to become either inoperable or damaged due to the battery becoming expanded. At this time we do not have any information in regards to a newer battery for the SDS100 with a different chemical makeup. Should you need any additional information please see the yellow flyer provided with the products retail packaging.
To prevent the potential expansion of the battery in the SDS100, it is recommended to charge the battery, remove the battery from its housing, and place it in a cool and dry storage location in the event of an emergency. Once you remove the battery you can supply power to the unit via the USB cable as shown in the attached image. The only function that may not work while the unit is connected to the usb for powering is the recording function.
A replacement battery for the SDS100 can be purchased from our website at..."
"
We are so sorry to hear that you are having issues with the battery of your unit swelling.
While it is possible for the SDS100 to always remain on its charging cable with its battery still in it, it is not recommended. The reason for this is that the chemical make-up of the batteries will begin to degrade over time and react in such a way that can compromise your unit to become either inoperable or damaged due to the battery becoming expanded. At this time we do not have any information in regards to a newer battery for the SDS100 with a different chemical makeup. Should you need any additional information please see the yellow flyer provided with the products retail packaging.
To prevent the potential expansion of the battery in the SDS100, it is recommended to charge the battery, remove the battery from its housing, and place it in a cool and dry storage location in the event of an emergency. Once you remove the battery you can supply power to the unit via the USB cable as shown in the attached image. The only function that may not work while the unit is connected to the usb for powering is the recording function.
A replacement battery for the SDS100 can be purchased from our website at..."
