SDS200 Amperage?

[darkness975]

Hi all,

Whether it is sooner or later, I am sure that I will be getting an SDS200. Does anyone know what the amperage of it is? I have 3 of my scanners currently plugged into the same power strip (HPII, SDS100, and BCD325P2).

The place I live right now has really old and crappy wiring. The plugs are basically all on a single 60 amp line (including the refrigerator). I live modernly, so I have my TV, PS4, Modem/Router, the scanners, Microwave, Toaster Oven, etc.

I guess what I am wondering is what the power usage of the SDS200 is, for those that have the unit and can measure it.

I don't want to have all 4 of these units running and then trip a breaker.

I usually have those 3 above listed units running while also on the TV and PS4 and occasionally the microwave with no issues thus far.

Thanks

 

[UPMan]

Depends on volume and whether it is actually receiving something, but less than 750 mA, in any case. I ran 4xSDS200 and 2xBCD996P2s off the same power supply and draw was less than 3A total for all (but not all had audio when I measured).

 

[darkness975]

Depends on volume and whether it is actually receiving something, but less than 750 mA, in any case. I ran 4xSDS200 and 2xBCD996P2s off the same power supply and draw was less than 3A total for all (but not all had audio when I measured).

Hmm that is a lot less than I was expecting, especially for running that many at once. I guess I am just paranoid since I had one of those portable heaters in the past and it tripped a breaker. Granted it was a 1500 watt heater that was on high in addition to the fridge, tv, ps4, and modem/router.

But since it seems that the scanners pull way less draw than I thought I should be alright.

Now to start saving for the new scanner ... and new phone ...

 

[kruser]

Hmm that is a lot less than I was expecting, especially for running that many at once. I guess I am just paranoid since I had one of those portable heaters in the past and it tripped a breaker. Granted it was a 1500 watt heater that was on high in addition to the fridge, tv, ps4, and modem/router.

But since it seems that the scanners pull way less draw than I thought I should be alright.

Now to start saving for the new scanner ... and new phone ...

BIG difference between a portable heater, fridge and a scanner! A typical wall wart power supply for a scanner only draws about 1/4 of an amp on the 120 volt AC side of the wall wart (and that is probably high, probably more like 1/10th to 1/5th of a watt or so. The specs UPMan gave is the current consumption when running it from a 12 volt power supply.
If you are worried about tripping breakers, watch the loads of heaters and fridges or microwaves, they will trip things quickly.
Basically, anything that cooks, heats or cools will draw a fair amount of power. A good rule of thumb is to never load up your circuit breaker more than 80% of its rated capacity. A 1500 watt heater will draw about 12.5 amps if it's a 120 volt heater.

You could run about 50 SDS200's using the same amount of power the heater uses going by the 1/4 amp rating!

 

[darkness975]

BIG difference between a portable heater, fridge and a scanner! A typical wall wart power supply for a scanner only draws about 1/4 of an amp on the 120 volt AC side of the wall wart (and that is probably high, probably more like 1/10th to 1/5th of a watt or so. The specs UPMan gave is the current consumption when running it from a 12 volt power supply.
If you are worried about tripping breakers, watch the loads of heaters and fridges or microwaves, they will trip things quickly.
Basically, anything that cooks, heats or cools will draw a fair amount of power. A good rule of thumb is to never load up your circuit breaker more than 80% of its rated capacity. A 1500 watt heater will draw about 12.5 amps if it's a 120 volt heater.

You could run about 50 SDS200's using the same amount of power the heater uses going by the 1/4 amp rating!

I haven't used the heater since.

But valid points.

Thanks!

 

[kruser]

I haven't used the heater since.

But valid points.

Thanks!

I forgot but if you only have a 60 amp circuit, that is probably a single phase 230 volt service. So that should really give you two 120 volt circuits with each capable of 60 amps at 115 volts.
60 amp service used to be the standard in many areas back in the day. Most areas today call for 230 volt 200 amp service at a minimum today.

If you do have a double pole 60 amp breaker or two 60 amp main fuses (230 volts), try and balance your loads equally so you are drawing about the same from each 60 amp phase.
If you really only have one phase feeding a single pole breaker or single fuse, you are SOL and just need to be carefull!

 

[iMONITOR]

I haven't used the heater since.

Almost all 1500W electric heaters have a Low/High switch in addition to the thermostat temperature control. Setting that switch to Low will usually draw 750W (half) as much amperage. The other thing you can do that will help a lot is invest in a some Wemo remote control outlet switches. You can control them with your SmartPone Amazon ECHO or Google Home device. That will allow you to juggle around power distribution manually or even automatically based on the time of the day/night, allowing you to use more or less power when and where needed. You can temporarily disable certain outlets to prevent accidental usage reminding you to turn Off other devices before turning other ones On. The Wemo app lets you check the status of all Wemo devices. I recommend Wemo over other similar products because they are very reliable and one of the very few capable of switching a full 1800 Watts (15Amps) @ 120VAC.

I use Wemo Smart Plugs to manage power distribution within my home when using my generator during power outages. This allows me to use a smaller, quietier generator while maintaining the power to devices when they need it. ie; I might turn off the deep freezer when I need to let the sump pump run, or turn off the refrigerator for a couple hours while I use an electric stove burner, etc.

Wemo Mini WiFi Smart Plug
Wemo Mini Smart Plug

I bought my first house back in 1974 and I had a 60A service for the entire two story bungalow. When my current 2600 sq ft home was built I had a 200Amp service panel installed. Problem solved! The old fuse box (not breakers) in my first house back in 74 looked similar to this:

 

[N8TXX]

Hmm that is a lot less than I was expecting, especially for running that many at once. I guess I am just paranoid since I had one of those portable heaters in the past and it tripped a breaker. Granted it was a 1500 watt heater that was on high in addition to the fridge, tv, ps4, and modem/router.

But since it seems that the scanners pull way less draw than I thought I should be alright.

Now to start saving for the new scanner ... and new phone ...

You have nothing to worry about running multiple scanners, as everyone has said, they hardly use any amperage.
The SDS200 is a joy to use.

 

[mrkelso]

Depends on volume and whether it is actually receiving something, but less than 750 mA, in any case. I ran 4xSDS200 and 2xBCD996P2s off the same power supply and draw was less than 3A total for all (but not all had audio when I measured).

Next time make the measurement with all volumes set to 4.

 

[kruser]

Next time make the measurement with all volumes set to 4.

I don't know, seeing a total current draw under 3 amps for six scanners with an active NOAA channel being heard with the volume level at four on all six is not out of the question.
I'd say on average, a current draw of under a 1/2 amp per SDS200 and even less for each of the 996P2s. And that calculates out to much less on the 120 volt AC input side of a power supply of course.

If I were going to run six radios on a common 12 volt supply, I'd go for at least a 10 amp minimum myself.
Even really good quality linear supplies will run quite warm if you load them up with as little as 50% of their rated continuous load.
A switching type supply verse a linear supply will usually run nice and cool at only 50% load but then you run the risk of the supply spitting out tons of EMI/RFI. Not usually a problem for scanner frequencies but if you are into HF and lower, a switching supply can kill your signals!

 

[iMONITOR]

Uniden doesn't seem to publish the current requirements of the SDS200 or the current capability of it's recommended AC adapter.

 

[kruser]

Uniden doesn't seem to publish the current requirements of the SDS200 or the current capability of it's recommended AC adapter.

Nope, You need to read the fine print on the wall wart itself! You would think it would also be printed on the radio chassis.
I thought that was a requirement for some devices?

You must figure they would not supply a wall wart that just meets the max current draw. So a wart rated for say 750 mA may only see an average load of 400 to 600 mA going by standard practices as well as radio operating parameters. I'm sure there are times a radio like the SDS200 could reach the max the wall wart is rated for but it would be for very short durations. Times when the audio is cranked to 100% and a heavy bass filled voice talks for example while all backlights are running at full brightness! If the supplied wall wart cannot meet those current requirements, then it is undersized plain and simple. They need to be sized about 20% greater than whatever the max load could ever be.