SDS100/SDS200: SDS-100 battery heat question

[safetypro79]

I noticed that when the battery of my 100 gets low prior to shut down, the case gets warm. I’m guessing this is normal? The battery’s charge normally and LED on the charger goes green during day.

 

[jaspence]

As the battery drops in voltage, it works harder to provide the necessary current needed by the radio. This will cause the internal battery temperature to rise.

 

[safetypro79]

Yes, makes sense the heat maybe transferred to the case or circuit board causing the case warming

 

[n1chu]

The SDS100 runs hotter normally. The plastic housing of the radio acts as a heat sync, the intent is to encourage as much heat dissipation as possible passively. That’s not to say heat generated by a depleted battery doesn’t add to this heat concern, but it’s a software defined radio which by nature uses more power and generates more heat. It’s the reason Scanner Master first studied the question of heat dissipation with the SDS100 before they offered an aftermarket hard leather carry case for the scanner. The intent was not to contain any more heat by putting the scanner in a tight hard leather case like previous offerings with non SD scanners such as the BCD436HP or the BCD325P2. The case comes with ventilation holes at the bottom sides, allowances for air circulation around the bottom sides and back.

 

[iMONITOR]

The SDS100 runs hotter normally. The plastic housing of the radio acts as a heat sync,

Plastic is a very poor material to utilize as a heat sink. They should have integrated some low-finned aluminum heat sink plates somewhere in the case for that purpose.

 

[safetypro79]

Good research on their part as shown with the hard case by caseguys

 

[n1chu]

Plastic is a very poor material to utilize as a heat sink. They should have integrated some low-finned aluminum heat sink plates somewhere in the case for that purpose.

I always assumed they did utilize some sort of heat sync inside the plastic case. But the heat transfer between whatever they do use for a heat sync and the plastic outer case must have satisfied their concerns… otherwise, I would have expected a metal plate on the backside, for better transfer, and a note to hand carry the radio as much as possible, the palm of our hands used to draw heat out of the radio! That’s a bit extreme but I remember a small Kenwood portable ham transceiver I used for the 220MHz band, set to transmit the max power (needed to drive an external amp). That radio got so hot I couldn’t hold on to it! And I went thru 2 of them before I finally dedicated a true 220MHz radio with adequate power for my needs. That’s what I get for trying to do it on the cheap!

 

[fxdscon]

They should have integrated some low-finned aluminum heat sink plates somewhere in the case for that purpose.

.
That actually was part of the original SDS100 design:

SDS100/SDS200: - Hole on backside of SDS100 Unit

Hello, just picked up an SDS100 a couple days ago and I noticed there is a hole on the backside of the unit below the battery clip nipple. What is the purpose of this hole? Should there be some type of screw or cover for the hole? Not sure about it being water resistant.

forums.radioreference.com

 

[Ensnared]

In the winter, I put my SDS 100 near my feet to keep warm.

The battery is the only thing I hate about this radio. I wonder when this battery can be manufactured by other companies instead of Uniden? I prefer having choices instead of buying the only game in town.

 

[JoeBearcat]

They should have integrated some low-finned aluminum heat sink plates somewhere in the case for that purpose.

There actually was a heatsink in the early (non-release) prototypes. It was removed. I don't know exactly why. If you look below the belt clip where the 'vent' is located, that looks like a screw hole for good reason. It was a screw hole. Unfortunately, the person who may know why that was removed is no longer with us. Putting a heat sink into the case was not possible since the case existed before the scanner. However, that could have resulted in the case being too hot to hold. Layers are great at killing technical ideas.