SDS100/SDS200: **SAFETY ALERT** SDS100 battery severely swelled

[spikestabber]

Has anyone made a battery bypass for this thing yet? My original 'fat' battery puffed over a year ago and I've been running without it ever since, however silly me threw the old pack away without first harvesting the BMS circuit, I would have simply used a supercapacitor duo to simulate a battery pack so the sdcard playback actually works, and it might keep the scanner up long enough to power off gracefully as the voltage drops.

 

[buddrousa]

Or you could just buy a replacement battery.

 

[spikestabber]

Why? I don't even need it, and given it spends time in the car, the summer heat kills the pack in 6 months or less from what I see in this thread, worthless for $100, might as well trick the device into thinking it has one!

 

[JoeBearcat]

General charging tip: Do not leave the battery on charge after it is charged.
This will accelerate the demise of the pack/cell regardless of cell chemistry.
Also do not let the cell/pack run down completely.

 

[darkness975]

General charging tip: Do not leave the battery on charge after it is charged.
This will accelerate the demise of the pack/cell regardless of cell chemistry.
Also do not let the cell/pack run down completely.

What about in the scanner itself? I leave mine plugged in and it turns green.

 

[JoeBearcat]

Charging in the scanner on the SDS100 is not as bad as it was on older models (the SDS100 charger is a smart charger), but I recommend an external charger if you have more than one battery pack.

 

[darkness975]

Charging in the scanner on the SDS100 is not as bad as it was on older models (the SDS100 charger is a smart charger), but I recommend an external charger if you have more than one battery pack.

I only have one battery for now. I've been unplugging it when it turns green and I don't have it charge when it's on running.

 

[Ubbe]

I would have simply used a supercapacitor duo to simulate a battery pack so the sdcard playback actually works

I would also like to do the same. How are the battery detection designed so that it knows that there's a battery in place? Maybe it just needs a bleeding resistor to draw some current and then a standard El-lyt capacitor to hold enough power to let the scanner finish its write to the SD card. Maybe it's easier to buy some cheap very small Lipo cells that will fit in the case and use at home when there's external power available? But they need to be able to handle a 500mA charge current.

/Ubbe

 

[JoeBearcat]

As long as the supercap is strong enough to last through a power-down cycle with writing the SD card...

That is the reason for the battery requirement - to prevent SD card corruption.

I don't know how it is detected, but I would guess it's voltage sensing from the battery terminals.

 

[Ubbe]

That is the reason for the battery requirement - to prevent SD card corruption.

How is that solved in the BCD536HP and SDS200 when used in a vehicle where the voltage fluctuates a lot when you start the engine or the power plug makes its way out of the cig plug connector?

Logically it should be the exact same risk of corrupt SD cards regardless of scanner type and there's no real reason to inhibit SD card recording on the portables when used without internal battery. Does the BCD536/SDS200 have an internal battery backup? No, but they actually would need it to keep them powered for 10 seconds at a power failure.

/Ubbe

 

[buddrousa]

The short answer is that is how Paul designed the scanner.

 

[Ubbe]

The replay buffer has a 240 sec maximum that will require 4MB of memory. That buffer are using the SD card memory, adding wear and tear. Surely there has to be a spare 4MB RAM somewhere to be reserved for that use. Then it would also be technically possible to use replay at the same time as user recording.

/Ubbe

 

[JoeBearcat]

How is that solved in the BCD536HP and SDS200 when used in a vehicle where the voltage fluctuates a lot when you start the engine or the power plug makes its way out of the cig plug connector?

Logically it should be the exact same risk of corrupt SD cards regardless of scanner type and there's no real reason to inhibit SD card recording on the portables when used without internal battery. Does the BCD536/SDS200 have an internal battery backup? No, but they actually would need it to keep them powered for 10 seconds at a power failure.

/Ubbe

When you are starting the car, the scanner is probably not fully powered on, and is not in RECORD mode.

Otherwise, it is not 'solved'. That is why it is recommended to use the power control on the scanner rather than relying on ignition power.

 

[W4KRR]

I took my battery off the external Uniden charger, and was having trouble getting the cover closed on the scanner. It's a good thing I didn't try to force it! Luckily I found a replacement on Amazon for $44.51. The swelling can be subtle.

 

[buddrousa]

Yes I found 2 the same age original large battery release date the same way this week

 

[scanfreqer]

I have 2 large and 1 thin battery and charger. I usually rotate them around. Always have one fully charged, and one in the charger(it's usually full) and one in the unit plugged in charging, most of the time while I'm using it. I mostly use the thin one when I go out so it's usually charged. So far I haven't had any problems. Sorta related as I broke the battery clip, maybe from using it too much? I have a new clip on the way.

 

[BigC801]

so my big battery just swelled today, was just sitting not in the scanner at the time.

 

[iMONITOR]

Well that's just swell!

 

[bravo14]

I have 2 large and 1 thin battery and charger. I usually rotate them around. Always have one fully charged, and one in the charger(it's usually full) and one in the unit plugged in charging, most of the time while I'm using it. I mostly use the thin one when I go out so it's usually charged. So far I haven't had any problems. Sorta related as I broke the battery clip, maybe from using it too much? I have a new clip on the way.

Clip made too cheap. The battery does swell up after time and the clip breaks cause of the pressure of the battery. That happen to me a few months back after I bought a replacement from Jon and I bought 2 new ones for backup. I don't charge my battery in the radio I use the external charger.

 

[n1chu]

“The battery does swell up after time” is somewhat misleading, giving the impression it’s expected, normal battery behavior. It’s not. It’s an indication of a battery gone bad. The clips that Jon made are stronger than the OEM ones but don’t expect them to keep a battery from swelling. If the battery is going to swell it will. I’ve had a battery swell in my Apple IPhone but never in my SDS100. (I just jinxed myself!) Kudos on always charging the battery outside the radio. Upman is on record recommending the same.

lithium batteries come in varying degrees of chemical makeup, some swell, some swell and create excessive heat, sometimes catching fire and/or exploding. I’ve never heard of a fire or explosion by a Uniden Ion battery, possibly due to Uniden choosing a type of Ion battery less susceptible to causing excessive heat and fire/explosion but Samsung had a batch of batteries in their smart phones that caused fires, some of which caused personal injuries. And Fitbit has just issued a recall on some of their watches for bad Ion batteries.

Going forward, as Upman recommended, always recharge your battery outside the radio to be safe.