Bad Homepatrol 2 scanner?

[1Tinscan]

I could use some help. I have a Homepatrol 1 which has been great, but almost everything around me has gone to P25 Phase II. I didn't know what happened but my scanner was getting more and more quiet. So, I ordered a Homepatrol 2 from Amazon (wish I had ordered from Scanner Master) as I figured it would be a piece of cake since I owned the HP 1. Well, I set it up and it went to scanning, but when I hooked it up to my computer and opened Sentinel, nothing happened. No Mass Storage showed up, it just kept on scanning. I have tried everything...downloaded Sentinel again and again, but it did no good. So, I hooked up my HP 1 and the Mass Storage came on and Sentinel recognized it no problem. I tried switching out the scandisks, same thing. HP 1 worked great and HP 2 did nothing except keep on scanning. I tried swapping out the USB cord as well. I am no radio tech and have learned by a lot of mistakes, but this has got me baffled. Have I got a bad radio? I am glad that I still have my HP 1 so that I could check out Sentinel and make sure that it was okay. What do you think? Thanks.

 

[jonwienke]

Probably a bad micro SD card in the -2. Try a new card.

Worst case, Amazon has very good customer service for returns and exchanges.

 

[Ubbe]

I tried switching out the scandisks, same thing

Probably a bad micro SD card in the -2. Try a new card.

It didn't help switching cards between HP1 and 2.

Could be a bad usb connector on the HP2.

The recording function works and saves files on the SD card and you have used the latest Sentinel that handles both HP1 and HP2 and use the same computer and USB cable?

Program the SD card seperatly in a SD card reader or get the HP2 returned.

/Ubbe

 

[1Tinscan]

I ordered a pre-programmed larger SD card from Scanner Master with my county as a favorites list and it is due to arrive on Monday. I will try this in my HP2 and see what happens. When I first turned on the HP2, I went through the instructions, and although it referred to downloading the Sentinel into my computer, there was none to download. I downloaded the newest version from Homepatrol. As I said, afterwards, it worked on my HP1 but not my HP2. My HP1 scandisk is indicating that it is corrupted when I turn it off. It was doing this just before I started testing my HP2, but taking out the batteries and reinstalling them got it back to working. Bottom line...I'm going to try my new scan micro card when it arrives on Monday. I tend to believe that I may have received a returned unit. This has happened to me in the past with other items that I have ordered. Amazon is good to deal with so I'm not worried. I think it may be a bad usb connector as well. I tried two different cords and both worked with HP1. They worked charging the batteries in HP2 however. Would that work if it was a bad usb connector? Very confusing. As I said, I am far from being any kind of radio or computer tech. Came into the wonderful world of computers and scanners at an older age. I'll be 65 this year. I love it however and it keeps the old brain cells firing! That's a good thing! I really appreciate the help folks.

 

[1Tinscan]

Oh yea...same PC is being used. I've had this one since I had my HP1. Have not tried the record function yet. Thanks.

 

[marksmith]

I would send it back to Amazon, requesting a replacement. I have done this and had the replacement a day later. Send thst one back.

Something is not right with it.

Mark
536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

 

[UPMan]

From the symptom, I'd suspect a bad USB port on the HP-2.

 

[1Tinscan]

I got the new SD card from Scanner Master and installed it. Made no difference at all. So, I agree that it is probably a bad USB port. I am waiting for the UPS to pick up my HP 2 as it is going back to Amazon. I hope that my new replacement will work.

 

[ten13]

From the symptom, I'd suspect a bad USB port on the HP-2.

I think I have a bad USB port on a '2', too. I'm waiting on a new cable to verify if it's the port or the cord.

In the meantime, what is the procedure for sending the radio (out of warranty) back to Uniden? I seem to read about a "form" that has to be filled out with the info and the credit card number.

Where would one find this "form"?

Thank you.

 

[W8RMH]

I think I have a bad USB port on a '2', too. I'm waiting on a new cable to verify if it's the port or the cord.

In the meantime, what is the procedure for sending the radio (out of warranty) back to Uniden? I seem to read about a "form" that has to be filled out with the info and the credit card number.

Where would one find this "form"?

Thank you.

Uniden - Online Repair Form

 

[1Tinscan]

I got the new SD card from Scanner Master and installed it. Made no difference at all. So, I agree that it is probably a bad USB port. I am waiting for the UPS to pick up my HP 2 as it is going back to Amazon. I hope that my new replacement will work.

Got my new HP2 and it works great! Amazon is amazing when it comes to returns and repIacement. I put in my new pre-programmed scan disk, checked for updates (it had been updated), and have been programming local channels that I want. Everything is working like a charm, reading from my HP2 and reading to it no problem. I love the HP2 especially with the Diamond antenna that I put on it. Made a huge difference. I bought a new TRX1 not long ago and put a Watson W-801 Wideband Super Gainer antenna on it and need to learn how to use it. However, between the two, I think that the HP2 wins out on ease of operation from what I have seen so far. Thanks for all the help. It seems that the Homepatrol forum is not well monitored these days. No response on a couple of my questions. Glad to have found this site!

 

[KG4KHQ]

Bad USB Port

I also have a bad USB port on my Home Patrol 2. I don't mind so much pulling the SD card out of the radio and programming Favorite Lists via the card reader in my laptop. I write my own lists rather than using the lists already in the scanner. It can be a pain to constantly recharge and swap out batteries since I use the scanner in the vehicle and I can no longer use USB power because of the defective port. I own several Uniden scanners and I've pretty much been satisfied with all of them but my biggest gripe is that it appears that Uniden sometimes will go the cheap route. How much more per unit would it have cost to put a better USB port in the scanner or apply a better rubberized coating that did not wear off. I figure it is a bean counter thing, saving X amount of cents times Y amount of units produced, but I would not mind paying some more for better quality.

It is not my intention to bash Uniden here, I've bought Uniden in the past and will continue to buy them in the future. I look at these forums as a way to provide them feedback when they design future scanners. Look at it this way, a lot of companies spend a lot of money on market research but Uniden does not need to do so when they have RadioReference.

 

[KG4KHQ]

Bad USB Port

I also have the problem with a bad USB port on my Home Patrol 2. It’s not too much trouble popping out the SD card and doing programming of Favorites Lists using the card reader in my laptop ( I never use the pre-programmed lists, I like to write my own). Since I use the radio in my vehicle, I’m constantly having to recharge batteries and swap them out since I was powering it via USB in the vehicle. I own several Uniden scanners and I’ve been pretty satisfied with all of them but my biggest gripe with Uniden is that it appears they sometimes go the cheap route on some things. How much more would it have cost per unit to put a better USB port on the scanner or a rubberized coating that did not wear off? I realize that it’s probably a bean-counter thing, saving X amounts of cents times Y amounts of manufactured units, but I would not mind paying some more for better quality.

It is not my intention to bash Uniden here, I’ve bought (and will continue to buy) Uniden scanners. I look at these forums as a way to help provide feedback for them when they design future scanners. Why would Uniden have to pay for market research when they have RadioReference?