SDS100/SDS200: sds100 is it junk?

[rbluesky]

So ive been reading out here that theres a serious battery issue. then uniden came out with a new larger battery which will swell when not in use and becomes unuseable. poor engineering for a 750 dollar radio. the stock battery gave out in 3 to 5 hour. not much usage. i would never buy one of these Hsnd helds

 

[KevinC]

Ok. Thanks for letting us know.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

. then uniden came out with a new larger battery which will swell when not in use

Had my extended battery for 5 years now. Not an issue for me. If you're concerned about it, simply remove the battery

 

[rbluesky]

Ok great to hear !! Thanks

 

[WaveFront]

I think the current battery is the least of the problems, if at all. It seems like the SD100 far from perfection, but there is not really a general alternative. Junk? No. Long over due for an update? Yes.

 

[nessnet]

The battery in your car dies.....
Does that make for an entire POS car????
No.... it's just a bad battery.

The SDS radios certainly are far from perfect, but they DO do some things rather well.
It all depends on what you are looking for a hand held radio to do.
(And, there always is the 200, which is basically the same radio, and it does not have a battery at all).

 

[hexagon_keyhole]

Ok. So, I guess existing SDS100 owners should…?

 

[ArloG]

Not really a scanner guy. Unless you can consider the IC-R8600 mainly a scanner. Ness says the battery in your car dies. Yeah of course with all of the electronics in them these days, even when the car is off and the ECU goes to sleep. There's still milliamps of "keep alive" current being drawn. Or if you're lucky enough to have a Ford, the phone-home module forgets to go to sleep. Big problems there.
Anyone pondered checking for current draw when this radio is off using a battery?
Or checked if even after charged and plugged in if the battery is warm to the touch?
Hmmm?

 

[scanfreqer]

It seems obvious you will never buy one,but no one here really cares. You don't know what your missing on. LOL. I bought mine probably 4 years ago and survived the broken battery latch and had to go for repair for the cold solder joint. I would buy another one,even knowing what to expect.

 

[nessnet]

Ok. So, I guess existing SDS100 owners should…?

Buy another battery.....(?)
Remember, batteries in most all cases are considered consumables - they all need replacing from time to time....

 

[jaspence]

I bought a SD100 even though my GRE/Whistler radios handle the simulcast in my area very well. I don't consider it junk and would have not paid the price for junk. However, nothing is perfect. Wading through the menus and programming is boring and tedious. The Whistler software may not do as much, but it has everything I need for a satisfactory scanning receiver and it much quicker to navigate without excessive button pushing and knob twisting. The SDS battery is ok, and I understand the need due to the SDR, but Whistler battery life and cost are both big plus factors when you have long power outages alkalines work when you can't recharge NiMh or Lion.(last outage here was 1 week long). The big "E" is not a problem here and used where it should be with general comms open.

 

[donc13]

So ive been reading out here that theres a serious battery issue. then uniden came out with a new larger battery which will swell when not in use and becomes unuseable. poor engineering for a 750 dollar radio. the stock battery gave out in 3 to 5 hour. not much usage. i would never buy one of these Hsnd helds

Very easy answer... THEN DON'T BUY ONE.

 

[icemantim8]

Very easy answer... THEN DON'T BUY ONE.

Wait...you forgot for present your answer in the form of a question Most basic Jeopardy rule!!! Haha j/k

 

[KK4JUG]

is it junk?​

What the hell kind of question is that? Those problems come from a very vocal minority and Uniden fixed them. My 100 is a relatively early model and had cold solder problems. They've been fixed. I'm extremely happy with my scanners (both 100 & 200). Virtually every manufacturer has problems.

There are no other scanners that have the versatility of the SDS100/200. You can listen to almost everything to which you're entitled. Incidentally, don't every buy a Ford, Chevy, Kia, Ram, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, etc., ad nauseum, because I heard they had problems and had to do recalls.

To answer your question, No, it isn't.

 

[a417]

17 y/o account, and more than half of his 29 posts have come in the last 45 days.

Troll much?

 

[RaleighGuy]

So ive been reading out here that theres a serious battery issue. then uniden came out with a new larger battery which will swell when not in use and becomes unuseable. poor engineering for a 750 dollar radio. the stock battery gave out in 3 to 5 hour. not much usage. i would never buy one of these Hsnd helds

How does one pass judgement on a product they've never owned, and thousands of owners praise and recommend daily in these forums? If you are pre-judging the SDS100 scanners, on behalf of Uniden, thank you for never buying one.

 

[WRQS621]

Was the OP talking about the SDS100 or a Tesla?

 

[radio3353]

So ive been reading out here that theres a serious battery issue. then uniden came out with a new larger battery which will swell when not in use and becomes unuseable. poor engineering for a 750 dollar radio. the stock battery gave out in 3 to 5 hour. not much usage. i would never buy one of these Hsnd helds

That's good because your $750 would be better spent on basic grammar, spelling, punctuation and sentence structure lessons. Did you get beyond 3rd grade yet?

 

[pb_lonny]

Unless you own and have used one yourself, you are basing this on other peoples experiences...

 

[rbluesky]

What happens when UNIDEN does NOT support the sds100 any longer and you can NOT fine a battery
OR even get it repaired this is closer than you think! ans of course you DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO REPAIR this radio
by your self ! even if you could try and get a service manual from UNIDEN good luck