SDS100/SDS200: Slow scan rate on SDS100

[tones54]

Realizing this is going to get boxed up and shipped to Texas, I thought I would bounce this off the folks in the forum.

A few days ago I noticed my SDS100 was oddly silent. Knowing that the area I live in is very unlikely to run for a half hour with no radio traffic of any kind, I restarted the scanner. Same thing. Now, I realize that on occasion, things can be oddly quiet, but this seemed really unusual. I powered it down and called it a night.

The next day, I powered it up and transmissions abound. Ten minutes later, silence took over. While watching the display I payed attention to the frequency scan rate. When it went silent, that scan rate (speed of the frequency roll through) slowed dramatically--at times seemingly stopping. And there it stays. It does scan through its programming slowly. But it rarely, if ever, hears anything.

After doing this for a while I noticed that the common factor appeared to be heat. The longer it ran, the warmer it became. As it grew warmer, its performance grew sluggish, and eventually, it fell silent. Anyone come across this one before?

 

[n1chu]

First, check your squelch knob. It may just be a coincidence that it occurs after it heats up… the scanner’s threshold voltages may change slightly once warmed up. If you have the squelch set on the hairy edge it may work fine until it warms up, and the squelch slows the scan rate because it needs to be pushed up a notch.

 

[tones54]

The squelch trick did not have any impact. Guess it's off to the Lone Star state. A bit frustrating that a $650.00 scanner is having problems after 14 months of moderate use.

 

[MStep]

The squelch trick did not have any impact. Guess it's off to the Lone Star state. A bit frustrating that a $650.00 scanner is having problems after 14 months of moderate use.

As you may have noticed, some folks here like to "monitor" (pun intended) the Uniden repair services, so if you do ship it back, please keep us updated on how long your repair took and how well they repaired the radio. Problems involving intermittent and heat-related issues are sometimes a bit more difficult to troubleshoot, so especially interested in what they find. Thanks.

 

[hiegtx]

The squelch trick did not have any impact. Guess it's off to the Lone Star state. A bit frustrating that a $650.00 scanner is having problems after 14 months of moderate use.

Unfortunately, what you are describing includes symptoms that have been linked to the cold solder joints that have been reported quite a few times. Hopefully, once it goes in for repair, they will get it rectified & returned to you with much delay.

 

[tones54]

As you may have noticed, some folks here like to "monitor" (pun intended) the Uniden repair services, so if you do ship it back, please keep us updated on how long your repair took and how well they repaired the radio. Problems involving intermittent and heat-related issues are sometimes a bit more difficult to troubleshoot, so especially interested in what they find. Thanks.

Just for kicks I put a gel pad (the kind you put in the freezer) on a towel and lay the SDS100 on it sideways and it came back to life in a matter of a few minutes, so it is definitely a component overheating and malfunctioning.

I will definitely keep all of you in the loop.

 

[sfb88]

If you are really curious, get yourself a can of circuit cooling spray, open up the scanner and when the problem occurs spray different components one by one. It may show you which one has the heat problem. When I worked in ambient air quality monitoring we used to do this to troubleshoot air quality sensors.

 

[mc48]

FYI, You can use an inverted can of Dust Off as a component cooler spray.

 

[JoeBearcat]

FYI, You can use an inverted can of Dust Off as a component cooler spray.

I would not recommend that on a powered unit. (or spraying anything into it while it is powered)

 

[tones54]

UPDATE to the saga: On December 31, 2021, Uniden received my SDS100. I know because they signed for it. Three weeks later, having heard nothing, I call. I am told they have done nothing because NO PAPERWORK was sent with it. Interesting. There was an unsealed white envelope placed on top of the original Uniden box. It contained the repair form and a check for the flat rate fee.

They promised to look into it. Two weeks later, I get the same sob story from a different rep. Now, I am back in the "we'll look into it" cycle.

UPDATE to the update: They finally got back with me. We'll see how it works out. Still unhappy, but, at least there is progress.