SDS100 Initial Review

[jonwienke]

I live about 1/4-mile from a cell tower. No noticeable issues so far with receiving 800MHz from the next county.

 

[Tim-B]

I live about 1/4-mile from a cell tower. No noticeable issues so far with receiving 800MHz from the next county.

Excellent, thanks. Is this a tower that would normally interfere with other scanners? I have noticed that some towers interfere and other don't. It seems to be towers of the "A" frequency block carrier that interferes with scanners in my area. Most of the ones in my home town that used to interfere don't anymore for some reason but when I go into other towns and in rural areas it can get very bad near cell sites. One time when I drove from Columbus, Texas down to Palacios on the gulf coast I had three scanners with me and they were deaf half the time. Same thing happened on the highway that goes from Sealy to Rosenburg, Texas. In Louisiana where I live I mainly get interference on Interstates and U.S. highways that have older cell sites.

 

[jonwienke]

The pager transmissions from that tower spam the entire VHF band on some of my Baofeng radios. But they don't bother my Uniden scanners unless monitoring a frequency within about 200KHz of the pager frequency.

 

[CQ]

There's OCD and Then There's OCD

Exactly. Squeezing the most life out of a lithium battery takes a little effort. My phone's alarms remind me to plug in and unplug, because my S8+ has a battery that can't be easily replaced, and I don't buy phones every year, so I have to think about battery life. It won't be as crucial on a scanner with a battery you can replace in 20 seconds, but still, money is money.

I've been abusing lithium batteries with different devices by not charging them until fully dead and even storing them fully charged and they still work good enough after neglect.

I just checked a G1 (remember that from 2008?) with the original battery and it still powers on and has at least 1/2 a charge. I grab it from time to time and do a full charge to throw back into my antique drawer. I do that with other stuff as well that I should have tossed out long ago.

They're just batteries and will eventually die.

Now what you probably don't want to do is recharge a dead lithium battery that has been dead for a long time. It could swell and possibly destroy whatever it's in and potentially catch fire.

 

[CQ]

I do not believe that is true for Lithium. And, if you only charge the cell to 3.7V you are probably only giving it a 20-30% charge.

Charge Process:

1. Charge at a constant 700 mA until the charge voltage reaches 4.2V (which is approximately 60% full).
2. Continue to charge at a constant 4.2V until the charge current reaches 100mA, then stop charging (close to 100% full).

Once charge stops, battery voltage will quickly drop below 4.2V (normal, even if the battery is not being used for power).

Can you use the scanner without a battery installed with just DC via USB?

 

[jasonhouk]

Yes, either port will power [emoji3]

Can you use the scanner without a battery installed with just DC via USB?

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[CQ]

I listen to Air band VHF and UHF daily, Using the SDS100 did not go well today, intermod and hanging on most channels. I don't know if I can improve it some or not.

The other odd thing for me is its showing a Con+ system with a network Id of 99h, on DSD and the 436hp it shows Network Id of 153....

Did you have the "intermod and hanging on most channels" problem before with the 436? Were they sharing the same antenna?

I thought I remember Upman saying in one of the earlier threads, the x36 series outperformed the SDS100 on some analog systems.

 

[CQ]

Yes, either port will power [emoji3]

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Good to know, thanks.

That should quell some fears about battery killin'.

 

[CQ]

The scanner comes with a lithium battery has has way more capacity than 3 AAs. Prior to release, some people were whining that the unit didn't use AAs. I was just pointing out that that was a stupid thing to ask for, given the power requirements of the unit.

Someone actually threw in NiCad at one time too. :lol:

What was that 44 moment? The 80s called and wanted their battery technology back.

 

[KevinC]

Did you have the "intermod and hanging on most channels" problem before with the 436? Were they sharing the same antenna?

I thought I remember Upman saying in one of the earlier threads, the x36 series outperformed the SDS100 on some analog systems.

https://forums.radioreference.com/u...100-fcc-approval-time-line-9.html#post2937012

 

[jasonhouk]

Could you have imagined if I showed them this in my very first beta unit?!

Someone actually threw in NiCad at one time too. [emoji38]

What was that 44 moment? The 80s want their battery technology back.

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[buddrousa]

Jason I have seen beta units with no case just boards on a desk wired together

 

[jasonhouk]

Jason I have seen beta units with no case just boards on a desk wired together

Sounds more like an alpha unit to me. [emoji3]

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[CQ]

https://forums.radioreference.com/u...100-fcc-approval-time-line-9.html#post2937012

I knew I saw it somewhere! Thanks for pointing to the exact quote.

 

[CQ]

Could you have imagined if I showed them this in my very first beta unit?!

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UPMan did say they were still tweaking the battery...no sense in spending money on a shell. :lol:

Gotta save your pennies where you can.

 

[wise871]

I’m really liking the SDS100. With this great display and custom colors you know what would make it really make this scanner shine? How about adding CC Only mode back to the custom search. This way we can scan the 700 and 800 range like the XT models and identify and monitor trunk system like we did before, hint, hint.

Yes I know it will show the System ID and the NAC but we don’t get Site ID or voice channels to go along with it and CC Only was such a great tool. Can I ask why it was left out? I understand with the HomePatrol models but the x36 and even more so with the SDS100 I don’t get it. It would just complement the Analyzer function.

Currently we have to take what we discovery and enter it into the radio to get additional information.


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[AKJohnny]

AKJohnny, monitor any Chicago Center, O'Hare or Midway stuff??? If yes, how does it do on the aviation band? Asking for a friend ;-)

Sorry for the delayed response. I am pretty far west so i don't normally listen to those much, but I did try tonight and so far have heard a number of channels from Midway @ 128.xxx & 135.xxx without issue (using my roof antenna). Nice, clear, and strong from Yorkville, IL. Heard nothing from O'Hare yet, but like I said, I'm far away and probably beyond reach.
I'm 32 miles from the STARCOM21 DuPage (simulcast) tower and get pick that up clear and strong, even with my RS-800 rubber ducky antenna. If that means anything.

 

[imd]

The pager transmissions from that tower spam the entire VHF band on some of my Baofeng radios. But they don't bother my Uniden scanners unless monitoring a frequency within about 200KHz of the pager frequency.

Is it a pager tower or a cell tower?

 

[jonwienke]

I believe both, given the strength of the pager transmissions, and the array of standard cellular antennas on the tower. The tower has several non-cell antennas that appear to be VHF, but I don't know for sure which one does what.

 

[AvidHiker]

Just an additional point on the battery's voltage vs SOC, (IME) unless you're talking unusual chemistries or high loads (1C or more), voltage under load is typically pretty linear in relation to SOC in the range of 3.6-4.0V. Yes, just an approximation, but this rule of thumb is well established by the battery nerds in the many hobby forums. When operating below 0.5C (SDS appears to be around 0.2C), a 50% SOC corresponds to roughly 3.7-3.8V under load. This is also the commonly accepted voltage for storage - pretty much any lithium ion battery I've received (and bothered to check), either ordered alone or with a new device, measures in this range (including the SDS).