Whistler handhelds -- power off when external power lost

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AggieCon

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Would anyone be willing to test something and share results? I am interested to see which Whistler handhelds behave correctly.

While scanning with rechargeable batteries, plug the scanner into an external power source. Turn of the power (unlpug it, etc.) and does the scanner continue to scan or does it turn off?

Also, if you have one that works reliably, I might be opening to buy it from you. I leave them with rechargeable batteries and plugged in to attempt to achieve reliable monitoring. No better off having a handheld with batteries if it still dies when power is interrupted.
 

BrianG61UK

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When external power is removed my WS1088 crashes and you lose any recordings made since it was powered on.

Not very impressive.
 

highmaster2

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My TRX-1... Scanning with rechargeables - plug USB cable into USB power source and then plug USB cable into scanner - unit shows charging - unplug USB cable and scanner never misses a beat.
 

W3DMV

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I have a PSR-800 and a WS-1088.
With batteries in place and AC power charger plugged
in, the scanner operates properly. When I unplug the
charger, the scanner continues to operate with no
interuption.
 

AggieCon

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Howdy,

Thanks for sharing.

Can you clarify please: Are you just unplugging the cord from the scanner or causing some sort of power disruption such as unplugging the USB from the power (hot) side, turning off a surge protector, flipping a breaker, etc.

My scanner usually does not fail when the USB is unplugged from the unit, though it does blink out for a few milliseconds.

The issue here is not power stability while programming, etc. but while leaving unattended or for emergency NWS alerts, etc.

I am using a USB cable to an A/C adapter. It also does the same when using a DC adapter in the truck. Works better plugged into a computer but still sometimes problems.

Justin
 

AggieCon

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Thanks. I am going to consider this one "not just me." However, if someone does have one that is truly stable, I would consider buying it.
 

W3DMV

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My test yesterday involved removing the USB cable at the
scanner.
Today I left the cable and charger conected and switched
off the power strip which caused the scanner to crash.
Indications from Whistler says this was done to protect
the SD card from corruption which makes sense. It's easier
to turn the scanner back on than dealing with the SD Card.
I'm gonna pick up a small UPS which should fix the glitch.
 

BrianG61UK

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My test yesterday involved removing the USB cable at the
scanner.
Today I left the cable and charger conected and switched
off the power strip which caused the scanner to crash.
Indications from Whistler says this was done to protect
the SD card from corruption which makes sense. It's easier
to turn the scanner back on than dealing with the SD Card.
I'm gonna pick up a small UPS which should fix the glitch.

Removing the power (either removing USB or disconnecting "charger" from the AC) makes the scanner crash and is the only way I have ever corrupted my SD card.

To summarize: It was not done like this to stop corruption IT'S THE ONLY WAY I'VE EVER GOT CORRUPTION.
 

AggieCon

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I think Brian is right on this one... A hard stop is definitely risking data loss or card corruption. It's not like there is a delay where it flushes everything, at least for mine. It dies immediately.

Probably a hardware issue. But definitely something that should be warned about in big print in documentation. Some people, dare I say, use these for life and safety purposes. A weather alert standby is not useful if the scanner is dead.
 

Ed6698

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It says on page 11 of the user manuals for the handhelds not to do what you are wanting to do.

My mistake, I put the wrong page number in post, corrected it to page 11, sorry.
 
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AggieCon

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I see nothing relevant on page 10. On page 11 it does recommend this, which is solid advice considering the circumstances (though I have never experienced problems when plugging it in).

Always turn the scanner off before connecting or disconnecting power sources.

Nowhere does it talk about how the scanner is defective and will almost certainly fail to function after a power interruption. For those who use scanners as something other than a play toy, situations in which power interruptions occur are often the most critical times to have the scanner functioning.
 

DJ11DLN

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I have the 2 RS models converted to WS-1080 spec. Both before and after the conversion if you had the scanner powered on batteries and plugged it in, you could unplug either and it wouldn't miss a beat.

However, if the scanner was plugged in prior to being powered, it would power up on external power and unplugging it caused it to stop. This would also sometimes would scramble the SD card.

It seems to be all about the state the scanner was in when powered on, external power or batteries. That's just what I've observed.
 

DJ11DLN

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I have the 2 RS models converted to WS-1080 spec. Both before and after the conversion if you had the scanner powered on batteries and plugged it in, you could unplug either and it wouldn't miss a beat.

However, if the scanner was plugged in prior to being powered, it would power up on external power and unplugging it caused it to stop. This would also sometimes would scramble the SD card.

It seems to be all about the state the scanner was in when powered on, external power or batteries. That's just what I've observed. I don't know how powering it on batteries and then plugging it in for backup during the critical situations you describe would work from a reliability standpoint. A surer thing would be to connect the USB wart through a UPS and let that take care of backup duties.

Or just get a weather radio with SAME alert.
 
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