BCD436HP/BCD536HP: UHF Reception Issues due to Noise from Battery Compartment

[Fidgety9996]

Well, the cat is out of the bag.

It may be time to discuss this with a class action attorney.

Hope someone in US will take care of that.
I am currently on another continent. They sent me instructions for NON-US customers by email stating they will ship it back to me afterwards. I sent it in for repair.
Now, after the repair they say they will ship only to US or Canada. Great play Uniden!

 

[rbrtklamp2]

Hope someone in US will take care of that.
I am currently on another continent. They sent me instructions for NON-US customers by email stating they will ship it back to me afterwards. I sent it in for repair.
Now, after the repair they say they will ship only to US or Canada. Great play Uniden!

Good to know I'll be sending mine in for the fading screen and reception issues soon too now. Thanks for keeping us updated on it.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[k3fs]

Well, the cat is out of the bag.

It may be time to discuss this with a class action attorney.

The F12J repair confirms our findings on this. Surprised they admitted to it.

Not to mention the false advertising of the Advanced analysis features of the HP 1. Yet to be released, and no updates from Uniden for over a year.

It is way past time to start action.

 

[fdnyfish]

.29 Firmware? all I see is 1.11.20 for my 436HP

 

[u2brent]

Link to FW

You need to do it manually, if you want to participate in the Trial FW.
the most recent one is found here. up to .30

http://forums.radioreference.com/un...gid-display-investigation-12.html#post2770018

 

[Dewey]

...
So it looks like they know about the problem but the faulty devices are still on the market... I bought mine at the end of 2016 and it was still quite old batch with those issues. Shame on you Uniden.

You may want to double-check that. I sent my unit in for the clock repair only, no sensitivity problem nor complaint, yet I still have the "F12J".

 

[rbrtklamp2]

I think you have to mention it in your letter with the radio when you send it in. They do have new boards with the capacitors on them so they know they made a oversight when they shipped units with out them what ever happened to sending a product to QA before releasing it to the public. I wonder if this issue is also causing the problems with trbo decoding. If the signal isn't strong enough it may not decode properly. This could be why so many are seeing false talk groups. Anyway I'll be sending mine in next week and I'll report back what has been changed so we can confirm they acknowledging the issue.

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[ur20v]

Just because you didn't mention it doesn't mean they didn't repair it. I had no problem with my display yet they repaired that along with the clock issue without any mention... maybe you can crack open your radio and confirm or deny the presence of the capacitor?

You may want to double-check that. I sent my unit in for the clock repair only, no sensitivity problem nor complaint, yet I still have the "F12J".

 

[Fidgety9996]

Hope someone in US will take care of that.
I am currently on another continent. They sent me instructions for NON-US customers by email stating they will ship it back to me afterwards. I sent it in for repair.
Now, after the repair they say they will ship only to US or Canada. Great play Uniden!

UPDATE
someone in Uniden finally made logical and responsible decision to send it back to me directly, as they misinformed me earlier. I will report if the issues are gone as soon as i will get the unit.

 

[Fidgety9996]

You may want to double-check that. I sent my unit in for the clock repair only, no sensitivity problem nor complaint, yet I still have the "F12J".

I sent my unit for battery repair campaign and stated in the letter shipped with the scanner that i ask the poor uhf/bat noise compartment to be fixed also with link to this topic on the forums. I am not sure they got the first part (battery problem) but will verify after receiving the unit.

my status page says
"Complaint: WEAK RECEIVE
Parts Used REPAIR COMPLETE. F12J"

 

[KevinC]

I don't believe I've posted one of these before, but the link below shows how much the noise floor is raised when you turn the 436 on.

https://youtu.be/hJWp3FsnwPg

This is with the battery cover off and the spectrum analyzer antenna near the scanner antenna.

 

[k3fs]

Very well done. I think that video is a very good demonstration of the problem.

 

[jonwienke]

I just scored a lot of 100 .001uF SMD capacitors on fleabay, should arrive in a few days. If anyone is interested in acquiring some, send me a PM.

 

[pro92b]

I just scored a lot of 100 .001uF SMD capacitors on fleabay, should arrive in a few days. If anyone is interested in acquiring some, send me a PM.

Folks have been using .01uF so it is not clear if .001uF would be better or worse. It is not known what capacitance value Uniden added to the board as far as I know. A report on the effectiveness of .001uF would give some confidence in its usage.

 

[jonwienke]

When I get them, I will install one and take before and after noise measurements.

 

[prcguy]

Wow, that's a huge problem considering the noise maker is actually the receiver you are trying to use. Looks like much of the 225-400Mhz band is affected in addition to some public service UHF. Turning on an affected 436 could also jam other receivers nearby. I can't believe Uniden is not notifying customers or recalling the product.

I would like to test one with my spectrum analyzer and calibrated EMI antennas if anyone has one in So Cal. I suspect an affected 436 would not pass FCC part 15 specs and that could open a new can of worms for Uniden.
prcguy

I don't believe I've posted one of these before, but the link below shows how much the noise floor is raised when you turn the 436 on.

https://youtu.be/hJWp3FsnwPg

This is with the battery cover off and the spectrum analyzer antenna near the scanner antenna.

 

[jonwienke]

Wow, that's a huge problem considering the noise maker is actually the receiver you are trying to use. Looks like much of the 225-400Mhz band is affected in addition to some public service UHF. Turning on an affected 436 could also jam other receivers nearby. I can't believe Uniden is not notifying customers or recalling the product.

Whoa, there. The range of the interference is measured in inches. As in a 10dB difference or more between the battery door and the antenna connector. Beyond that, it's not something that is going to be an issue.

 

[Fidgety9996]

UPDATE

The scanner arrived and after first tests it is WORSE than it was. Scanner even with RH77CA seems to be deaf for edacs system in UHF while radio just near it receives without problems on much worse antenna.

I have no idea how to comment this... Lot of time and money for nothing...

 

[rbrtklamp2]

UPDATE

The scanner arrived and after first tests it is WORSE than it was. Scanner even with RH77CA seems to be deaf for edacs system in UHF while radio just near it receives without problems on much worse antenna.

I have no idea how to comment this... Lot of time and money for nothing...

So I guess this means we're back to tinfoil and copper tape to fix this issue. Thankfully I haven't sent mine in yet
Thanks for the warning.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[Fidgety9996]

So I guess this means we're back to tinfoil and copper tape to fix this issue. Thankfully I haven't sent mine in yet
Thanks for the warning.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

After this "repair" you will not be able to make receiver better by using the foil. Now it works the other way. When you touch the batteries during operation or apply foil it is WORSE and you can hear noise floor raising.

So they fixed some part of issue but the performance is still pathetic for me.