SDS100 "NOS" - New Old Stock

[Lucifer_Morningstar]

Recently ordered from a vendor mentioned here, an allegedly new
SDS100. They claim Uniden shipped it to them a month or so ago - so
one would expect the firmware to be pretty recent.

Instead, I boot up the unit, and the firmware version is 1.05.01 ,
which was almost 4 yrs ago ! Why would the factory load software
from 2018 ?

It's being returned. Vendor response was pretty much "not happy
with it, return it, sorry for the trouble".

I wanted a recent production run unit to avoid the risk of any early release
manufacturing defects (ie. the "cold solder joint" display issues reported
on here, and other quirks).

Wondering if the NOS (new old stock) units being shipped at discounted
prices is what's actually happening - the reason for the discount.

Sent email to different vendor requesting confirmation of a "fresh"
factory unit before placing order for a 2nd go at it.

 

[phask]

Your screwup. That old firmware might still be installed at the plant in Vietnam.

It's a 5 min. procedure to update. It's also one of the first 2 things to do with a new scanner

- Just like buying a new PC and spending 2 hours doing updates -

 

[captainmax1]

The manufacture date is in the serial number. You should have looked before jumping to a conclusion.

 

[GTR8000]

Your screwup. That old firmware might still be installed at the plant in Vietnam.

The recent SDS firmware addresses revised hardware for newer production models. That firmware was released to the public in June, so presumably had already been in newer production units with the revised hardware for some time prior to that. We're at the end of August, so any scanners that were shipped from Uniden within the past month or two should've had that revised hardware and thus the latest firmware.

While I agree that the serial number should've been checked before sending it back, it stands to reason that the scanner he received was not manufactured within the past few months if it had firmware that old in it. In fact, it's basically impossible, as the older hardware is incompatible with the revised hardware.

 

[Randyk4661]

I would doubt there is old stock anywhere due to the shortage of units with the chip shortage and overseas shipping delays during the pandemic.
There is a way to tell when the unit was made by the serial number, others will have to chime in on how to do this.
If the unit was made within the last six months chances are some of the problems have been fixed.
Firmware updates are easy to do yourself. Database files will be out of date as well as they are updated every week with Uniden.
You can do both in a very short time, alot faster than ordering a new unit expecting the most recent firmware and database to be installed unless you pay the supplier do it for you.

Have some patience, there is a steep learning curve just on learning how to program and use the scanner.

 

[fxdscon]

Sent email to different vendor requesting confirmation of a "fresh"
factory unit before placing order for a 2nd go at it.

A vendor can easily check the year of manufacture before they ship it to you without even opening the box. The portion of the serial number that's printed on the outside of the box shows the year that the unit was manufactured. The serial number information contains only the year, not the month or day.

The first digit after S/N shows the year of manufacture. The second digit after the S/N is the assembly location (8=Vietnam). The last 6 digits show the sequence number of the build for that year, which does not correspond to a month or day.

The first number after S/N...

8=2018 (first released)
9=2019
0=2020
1=2021
2=2022

This one was manufactured in 2018.

 

[Lucifer_Morningstar]

Was looking for the S/N decoder.
First digit in the S/N is a 1
So it was built in 2021 ?
And we're already 8 months into 2022.
Will definitely be returned.
Don't want to risk possible future issues with the display, etc.

 

[jtwalker]

Guess you haven’t heard about delays in ocean freight coming from SE Asia to US. You are not likely to find a unit with 2022 manufacture date, until 8/2023 😉

 

[RandyKuff]

This guy just bought his from Scanner Master like a couple of weeks ago... When they came back in stock... It's a 2021..
Excuse me.... More like under a week ago...

SDS100/SDS200: - Manufacture date

How do you de code and find out when your sds100 was made?

forums.radioreference.com

 

[Lucifer_Morningstar]

Anyone know the year when "new" hardware (presumably with corrections for manufacturing
defects that plagued the early production runs) were introduced ?

 

[fxdscon]

Anyone know the year when "new" hardware (presumably with corrections for manufacturing
defects that plagued the early production runs) were introduced ?

This post from late 2021 indicates that the cold solder joint issue was addressed in production. Serial numbers or dates were not given by Uniden.

SDS100/SDS200: - Like a Brick

Ok new issues with SDS 100 today, Has been working fine up until this morning. 1) can't adjust volume, switches between 4 and 5, If I really push on the volume switch it will work correctly for a short while (minutes) then goes back to switching between two levels, say 4 and 5 or 8 and 9 etc...

forums.radioreference.com

 

[Lucifer_Morningstar]

The recent SDS firmware addresses revised hardware for newer production models. That firmware was released to the public in June, so presumably had already been in newer production units with the revised hardware for some time prior to that. We're at the end of August, so any scanners that were shipped from Uniden within the past month or two should've had that revised hardware and thus the latest firmware.

While I agree that the serial number should've been checked before sending it back, it stands to reason that the scanner he received was not manufactured within the past few months if it had firmware that old in it. In fact, it's basically impossible, as the older hardware is incompatible with the revised hardware.

Yes, this is what doesn't add up -
1. S/N , first digit being a "1" = 2021
2. Loaded firmware (as-built/received) = 1.05.01 which is 4 yrs old. Why would Uniden
load 4 yr old firmware into production units off the line last year ? makes no sense.

Anyone know what the hardware changes were ? (exclusive of the manufacturing
processes for the "cold solder joint" issues). Since if chips were changed on the new
units, it implies (seemingly) that 1.05.01 firmware is upward compatible - but still
doesn't explain why the factory is loading 4 yr old code.

 

[GTR8000]

Yes, this is what doesn't add up -
1. S/N , first digit being a "1" = 2021
2. Loaded firmware (as-built/received) = 1.05.01 which is 4 yrs old. Why would Uniden
load 4 yr old firmware into production units off the line last year ? makes no sense.

Anyone know what the hardware changes were ? (exclusive of the manufacturing
processes for the "cold solder joint" issues). Since if chips were changed on the new
units, it implies (seemingly) that 1.05.01 firmware is upward compatible - but still
doesn't explain why the factory is loading 4 yr old code.

You've got it backwards. The latest firmware is backwards compatible with units that have the original hardware; the older firmware is not compatible with newer production units that have the revised hardware.

If the scanner came with older firmware, then it does not have the revised hardware.

As for the reason a scanner manufactured in 2021 would have firmware that old, it's probably because no one at Uniden saw fit to make sure that the latest firmware was loaded into newer production units. Of course that should change now that the revised hardware requires the latest firmware in order to function correctly.

 

[sallen07]

As for the reason a scanner manufactured in 2021 would have firmware that old, it's probably because no one at Uniden saw fit to make sure that the latest firmware was loaded into newer production units. Of course that should change now that the revised hardware requires the latest firmware in order to function correctly.

This.

It is almost certain that the revised hardware which required new firmware was due to a component no longer being available, and is totally unrelated to the fix for the cold solder joint problem. While we may not *like* the fact that the factory where Uniden scanners are built hasn't modified their build procedure to always load the current firmware, the simple truth is that they didn't HAVE to do that ... until now.

I bought an SDS100 a couple months ago. It too was made in 2021. I have no idea what firmware it had on it because the first thing I did was use Sentinal to update the database and load the current firmware.

My bet is that the scanner you recieved was not "NOS" but WAS from the batch that vendor just recieved.

 

[fxdscon]

While we may not *like* the fact that the factory where Uniden scanners are built hasn't modified their build procedure to always load the current firmware, the simple truth is that they didn't HAVE to do that ... until now.

I bought an SDS100 a couple months ago. It too was made in 2021. I have no idea what firmware it had on it because the first thing I did was use Sentinal to update the database and load the current firmware.

Exactly....

It's the same with the date of the database in the SD card type scanners when you purchase a new unit... the database can be a couple of years out of date, or even older.

That's specifically why the owner's manual has this under the heading of "Setting Up Your Scanner - First Steps"

Follow the steps provided on pages 10 and 11 to update the scanner’s firmware and radio database to the latest versions.

 

[wtp]

NEW OLD STOCK .

did everyone forget what old means ?
i would have been very happy to get what i paid for, and that is what you paid for.
NEW, as in unused.
OLD, as in older unit.

keep it, update it yourself. and be done with it.

 

[Lucifer_Morningstar]

My bad ... it was *not* represented as an NOS unit.
I was suggesting it "might be" an NOS unit - due to the old firmware in it.
Firmware updates are not the issue here.

The principal concern is a possible future failure of the display
(just as it goes out of warranty). Manufacturing processes are one and
done, hence harping on it. Not interested in rolling the dice when the
risk can be managed in advance.

But based on what's being shared here. There really is no way to
determine if year 2021 units are susceptible to that failure mode or not.

 

[sfb88]

One thing to consider is how the factory 'loads' firmware. They may not take the time to read the firmware into the individual scanners. They may buy PROMS preloaded with the firmware by the thousands and build the scanners with them. Logically they would use up the supply of older chips as long as they were using up the older hardware in building the scanners.

 

[kc5igh]

This has been an interesting discussion!

I no longer have the boxes in which my two SDS100's were packed, so how does one determine the year they were manufactured by the serial numbers on the radios themselves?

Thanks in advance.

-Johnnie (KC5IGH)

 

[fxdscon]

This has been an interesting discussion!

I no longer have the boxes in which my two SDS100's were packed, so how does one determine the year they were manufactured by the serial numbers on the radios themselves?

Thanks in advance.

-Johnnie (KC5IGH)

-
look at the tag on the rear of the scanner, inside the battery compartment. The first digit after the "Z" indicates the year of manufacture. The one in this photo would be 2018.

383Z88005943