SDS200 Hum Reports

[torishu]

Installed my part. My results are exactly as you describe.

I'm worried I've got a $700 paperweight on my hands being that waiting for the part took me out of the return window.

I lived with the light bleed on the right side of my SDS100 (no, not the reflection; the screen seems to be put in at an angle) and now this. I'm starting to regret getting involved with Uniden products at all. :-(

For now I've put it in the closet, just for the sake of my blood pressure. I may ultimately give it away just to feel better about the whole thing. It's acceptable for free, I suppose. Not for $700, though, IMO.

 

[m42duster]

I'm worried I've got a $700 paperweight on my hands being that waiting for the part took me out of the return window.

I lived with the light bleed on the right side of my SDS100 (no, not the reflection; the screen seems to be put in at an angle) and now this. I'm starting to regret getting involved with Uniden products at all. :-(

For now I've put it in the closet, just for the sake of my blood pressure. I may ultimately give it away just to feel better about the whole thing. It's acceptable for free, I suppose. Not for $700, though, IMO.

If selling it on eBay, people will ask if it's the early batch.

Sent from my moto g(6) (XT1925DL) using Tapatalk

 

[AKJohnny]

I'm worried I've got a $700 paperweight on my hands being that waiting for the part took me out of the return window.

I lived with the light bleed on the right side of my SDS100 (no, not the reflection; the screen seems to be put in at an angle) and now this. I'm starting to regret getting involved with Uniden products at all. :-(

For now I've put it in the closet, just for the sake of my blood pressure. I may ultimately give it away just to feel better about the whole thing. It's acceptable for free, I suppose. Not for $700, though, IMO.

Don't give it away. If it's in the closet, box it up and send off to Uniden repair. That will control your blood pressure for a few weeks and hopefully it'll come back in a much more acceptable condition. If not, then give it away.

 

[torishu]

OK. I did some experimenting because I just didn't care anymore.

I took the scanner apart again and I played around with the NMP200 part. I tried offsetting it a millimeter here and there. While I ran the scanner. Like I said, I just didn't care anymore.

No difference.

But I DID notice a difference when I would press down on the piece -- the hum was all but gone.

I tried with the inner metal case attached and I just could not press down hard enough with it on to mitigate the hum like I could when I directly pressed the piece down. This is why Uniden wants you to apply some force when screwing the inner metal enclosure back in but I just could not make firm contact.

So what I did was thicken the NMP200 part by applying about eight or nine layers of copper foil tape to the visible surface while the piece was still installed. I added a couple layers to the inner metal piece where it touched the NMP200 part as well.

Put it together and the hum is nearly gone. I can hear it from a foot away if the room is perfectly studio-quality silent, but it's not that bothersome. From an arm-length away, I can't hear it any longer. After applying the vanilla fix, I could still hear it from across the room.

I believe the factory part is as thick as it can be while still being able to wedge between the display and the plastic, but it needs to be just a little thicker in back to make proper contact with the inner metal enclosure.

Also, for those of you having the same issue I was having, if you take off the outer enclosure and look at the inner metal enclosure from the back while it's still installed, you may notice that it's ever-so-slightly concave. Mine is. It bows outward ever so slightly preventing proper contact with the piece and probably why the hum is worse for some of us than others.

The hum is now at the same level, maybe a little less, as the write bus hash noise. My fanless laptop almost makes more noise writing to the SSD (I know -- look up "ASUS SDD noise" if you're curious).

I feel comfortable purchasing the protocol upgrades at this point. I find the hum to be acceptable, though I won't be buying a second SDS200 that I had planned on until summer at the earliest, if at all.

 

[cognetic]

I'm worried I've got a $700 paperweight on my hands being that waiting for the part took me out of the return window.

I feel you. I’m still waiting on TheHumFix part, the vendor would not accept a return at just under 3 weeks from shipment, and my particular unit is not handling simulcast any better than an old HP1 & 2 I have laying around. It’s brand new and out of the box has had problems.

My plans to replace the rack mounted & mobile 536s with these SDS200s are on hold indefinitely.

Admittedly, after all these years and a multiplicity of transceivers, receivers, & scanners with various issues... this particular experience has soured me on Uniden... for now anyway... we need better competition.



-cognetic

 

[torishu]

I feel you. I’m still waiting on TheHumFix part, the vendor would not accept a return at just under 3 weeks from shipment, and my particular unit is not handling simulcast any better than an old HP1 & 2 I have laying around. It’s brand new and out of the box has had problems.

Absolutely. Waiting for the part took me out of the return window and didn't acceptably help the problem initially. There should be recourse for people who just want their money back in that instance. I'd take it even now because I don't appreciate having to MacGyver the fix to work OK on my unit. I want an out-of-the-box scanner with no hum like some others have received, not a rigged solution that gets me 90% of the way to what they have.

My first experience with Uniden in recent years was with the SDS100. It works fine but the display is offset so the light bleeds on the right side and blinds me while looking at the display. But I hate sending off such expensive equipment to get lost in the post. Now the SDS200.

I never had these problems with the other products listed in my signature. They just worked out of the box.

But, boy would these be good-looking units if I could get good ones!

 

[maus92]

The noise after installing the shield bridge part fix is barely noticeable using the internal speaker. I am going to reinstall it to see if more pressure will make any difference. I have not installed the latest firmware yet, but will later today. Overall, the radio performs satisfactorily on the P25 700/800 simulcast systems that I primarily monitor, and much better than the 436 / HP-2 / 996P2 that the SDS200 (and 100) replaced.

 

[werinshades]

I just performed the modification even though my issue wasn't as bad as some I've heard here. Been using an external speaker since I received the unit and the only noise I received was low enough that wasn't noticeable unless I had total silence.

Followed the video, and after removing the strip took a couple of alcohol preps to clean the surface of the glue remnants left and let dry for a few minutes. Took me about 15 minutes from first screw removal to last screw installation. I wasn't going to order the part initially and perform the modification but looked very simple to do which it was.

Happy to report any remaining noise that I had is gone. I'm using the latest firmware and "Audio Off" setting has been returned to "Infinite" setting.

 

[ArtU]

Where can I find the link to order the part I need to shield the noise ? My vendor told me it was available on the Uniden site to order; I searched there and here and could not find it. Thanks in Advance.

FYI my scanner with the bad screen had very little noise, the replacement has a little more noise that is fixed when you press on the cover.

Art

 

[UPMan]

NMP200 - Uniden

 

[scnrfrq]

Where can I find the link to order the part I need to shield the noise ? My vendor told me it was available on the Uniden site to order; I searched there and here and could not find it. Thanks in Advance.

FYI my scanner with the bad screen had very little noise, the replacement has a little more noise that is fixed when you press on the cover.

Art

The part is here. No cost, including free shipping using the coupon code NMP200.
NMP200 - Uniden

 

[ArtU]

Thank you !

 

[m42duster]

Thank you !

Took me close to 13 days to get it.

Sent from my moto g(6) (XT1925DL) using Tapatalk

 

[teknishun]

Where can I find the link to order the part I need to shield the noise ? My vendor told me it was available on the Uniden site to order; I searched there and here and could not find it. Thanks in Advance.

FYI my scanner with the bad screen had very little noise, the replacement has a little more noise that is fixed when you press on the cover.

Art

It has been my experience that if you have the latest firmware - the one that just came out last week - and if
you set the AMP timer to 100ms or 500ms (the default is Infinite) then the hum will be completely gone.
My SDS 200 used to have the hum from the instant it was powered up and even before it had received
a transmission. After I did the firmware adjustments described above the hum is now completely gone.

I have been asking in various places if the shield bridge part is really necessary at all now that they have a
software fix for the same issue. I have ordered the part but it has not arrived yet.

So far I have not received an answer to that question.

 

[torishu]

I have been asking in various places if the shield bridge part is really necessary at all now that they have a
software fix for the same issue. I have ordered the part but it has not arrived yet.

The firmware fix will gate (mute) the amp when no transmission is being received. The hum will still be present when transmission is received. You will hear it underneath the voices if you listen closely enough or when somebody holds the transmission open while not saying anything.

How much this bothers you probably depends on your level of OCD. It seems mine is pretty high but the hum was also pretty loud on my unit.

 

[cabletek73]

Adding my two cents and a high level of OCD, installed "the part" and have honestly noticed no difference.
Seems the same with the foil I tried also, no change from having either one in the radio. Reading here, I have updated the FW and set the AMP timer to 100ms which as stated, completely eliminates the issue when nothing is being received. (Yes, I paid very close attention to the installation also). When there is something being received its quite noticeable to me. I am disappointed to say the least. I imagine at some point Ill be sending this to Uniden to do whatever can be done.

 

[cabletek73]

Adding my two cents and a high level of OCD, installed "the part" and have honestly noticed no difference.
Seems the same with the foil I tried also, no change from having either one in the radio. Reading here, I have updated the FW and set the AMP timer to 100ms which as stated, completely eliminates the issue when nothing is being received. (Yes, I paid very close attention to the installation also). When there is something being received its quite noticeable to me. I am disappointed to say the least. I imagine at some point Ill be sending this to Uniden to do whatever can be done.

Updating - Following Torishu's advise above and not having any copper tape available, I took my "tin foil" square and inserted it above Uniden's copper insert, this improved things quite a bit and confirmed an extra layer or two does help. I am still using the 100ms timer but this seems somewhat more acceptable. Thanks for the tip.

 

[torishu]

I took my "tin foil" square and inserted it above Uniden's copper insert, this improved things quite a bit and confirmed an extra layer or two does help.

It was mentioned in a thread, probably earlier in this one, that copper would work even better than aluminum foil for the interim fix and that UPMan would have suggested it if more people had it readily available. I assume this would also hold true in this instance so if you were to pick some up, it might give that extra push toward even more acceptable results. It's worked for me and I've run the scanner all day without the intolerable hum returning. (There's still hum if you really go hunting for it, but it's very tolerable from more than inches away.)

Plus, with copper tape you won't run the risk of the foil becoming dislodged and doing more harm than good.

 

[Karnax]

I am betting on its called the "blowing smoke" tactic.

I have just received one from them with no hum.

 

[HNguyenLy]

I have just received one from them with no hum.

Was this a repaired unit, a new replacement, or did you just try the luck of the draw and purchase a new one directly from Uniden? I currently have my unit in for repair for the second time and will be extremely disappointed if the problem is not addressed this time around.