I need help with this. Scanner battery....

[5.0Trunk]

I have had my uniden scanner for 11 years now and the battery pack doesn't hold a charge anymore. I am thinking of rebuilding the pack myself and this is where I need help. The battery pack is a Ni-Cad pack and it is a 600mAh \ 7.2 volts. When I open the pack it has 6 batteries wrapped up inside. I need to know what 6 batteries I need to buy to rebuild this.

Thanks

Bill

 

[snakebite]

get the best nimh aa cells you can find.
sanyo or panasonic are the best.
i rebuild these all the time.

 

[5.0Trunk]

Thanks for the reply.

I need to know what 6 batteries that I need to get. ? mAh \ ?volts

 

[laynlow]

The higher the mAh the longer the battery will last.

 

[5.0Trunk]

But what about ?volts. Since I need 6 batteries, will each battery need to be 1.2volts each?

Thanks

 

[B@rt]

Trunk, a single NiCad cell is 1.2 V.
Just make sure you get the same size as the original cells for your replacements. Battery technology has evolved, so you should be able to find cells with a higher mAh.

Hope this helps,

 

[was_jlh]

Bill, 6 cells, that's a pretty big pack for a scanner. Which uniden model is it?

Joe

 

[Marked]

Voltage in series is added.
Voltage in parallel is the same.
Current in series is the same.
Current in parallel is added.

6 cells in series is 7.2V then
7.2/6= 1.2V each

6 cells in series is 600mAh then
600mAh each.

Cell voltage run around 1.5V for non-rechargeble
and 1.2V for rechargebles.
Batterys are made up of multiple cells.

 

[5.0Trunk]

Thanks for all the replies. I have a Uniden Bearcat 200XLT.

I went to radio shack and picked up 6 ni-cads aa and they are 1000mAh. It looks like its charging.

Thanks

 

[laynlow]

Quote: Bill, 6 cells, that's a pretty big pack for a scanner. Which uniden model is it?

I have a radio shack Pro-92 that is also a six cell scanner. Four or six batteries is the norm. The handhelds really drain the batts quickly. I am using RS NiMh rechargables and I believe they are 1200mAh. Monster cable has some out that are 1300mAh and come with a charger.

The RS have worked well for me though.

 

[was_jlh]

"Four or six batteries is the norm."

ok, been thru my share of HH's - uniden, icom,
sony, yupi - have never seen a six-cell battery in one.

Glad it seems to be working, 5.0. I assume by your handle that you're into trunking?

Joe

 

[Hemingray]

If the scanner is a Uniden 100XLT or 200XLT, it uses six standard size AA NiCD "solder tabbed"
cells in the heat-shrink wrapper. I replaced the cells in mine several years ago, with NiMHs and they work fine, I get over twice the run-time on a charge. It does take a few charge/discharge cycles to get the full capacity out of them.

Yuh, when I'm not messing with LEDs I'm sweeping the airwaves. Used to be a frequent reader and contributor of the "strong signals" website.
and, before modding flashlights, I was modding scanners for extra frequency (including cellular)
coverage, more memory channels, faster scan speed, etc. Got into that when Radio Shack came out with their "neutered" PRO-2004 scanner.

/ed B in NH and RF-land

 

[dano]

The Uniden 100XLT and 200XLT scanners had a problem with the circutry for the "low battery" indicator. Chances are, even with new batteries, the scanner may show a "low Batt" indicator, and shut itself off, EVENTHOUGH the battery pack is o.k.

--dan

 

[Gene]

Sorry to dig this out of the pits but Dan, I too have a Uniden Bearcat BC100XLT that I bought about 15 years ago and have never heard of the indicator problem. Just out of curiosity where did you get your info? I did a lot of research on the web about the 100XLT a couple of years ago on the scanner sites. Folks told me they were one of the most trouble free and best scanners Uniden ever made and not one mention was ever made about the low battery indicator. I have to agree because it's never had a hiccup in all these years.

Also scanners sit around for quite awhile unused sometimes, (my BC100XLT does anyway), and wouldn't NiCads be better in this situation than NiMH cells?

Snakebite, would 6 of the 2000mAh's work and would the original walwart that came with the BC100XLT be enough to charge them?

I have to admit I'm new to NiMH's having aquired a MAHA MH-C401FS charger with the new 2000mAH Powerex AA's awhile back. These cells last a long time between charges! It really does seem they would last much longer than the NiCads IF the walwart will charge them and Dan's reference to the low battery indicator problem isn't fact, (not saying it isn't Dan!).

 

[sflate]

I've also had my trusty Uniden 200xlt for almost 20 years without a problem,except the battery. When I first got it I remember performing a mod (changing or removing a SMD zener diode) to disable the automatic voltage shutoff since the diodes value was way too high and only gave me about 3 hours use. After clipping the diode I got about 9 hours use on fully charged pack. I recently replaced the batteries in the pack by using 6 AA NiMh 1800Mah from Thomas-Distributing. If you buy the ones with the solder tabs it is very easy to solder them together and tape around them. Be advised that while these are 3 times the original capacity it also takes 3 times (or more) as long to charge. It can take 2-3 DAYS before these are charged, and even then I'd bet they weren't FULLY charged by the built-in charger circuit. FYI, I just (2 days ago) bought I VERY tiny Icom IC-R5 (Shortwave/Scanner/TV/AM-FM/Air/Etc.) that I LOVE. It is more sensitive than my 200xlt and I can't believe I can hear 1/2 way across the world from a radio smaller than a pack of cigarettes. The only drawback is that it isn't very loud compared to the 200xlt (100mw to 500mw)but I find that due to the size I can carry it everywhere. To bring it back on-topic - The IC-R5 is also nice since it takes 2 AA batteries, which I always have a spare set inside my AA Mini-Mag (Madmax,Bad-boy, or Lambda depending on my mood!)

 

[Gene]

sflate,
Thanks much for your input. My auto-shutoff must not be a problem because I still get around 8-9 hours from a charge. I rebuilt my battery pack using NiCads just a few months ago before I knew about NiMh's. Next time I'll do what you've done and use them. I figured the stock wall wart charger would take MUCH longer to charge the NiMh's than the 14 hours to charge the NiCads. I've rebuilt the battery pack about 4-5 times in the past and the NiCads just don't seem to last over the long run. It's too bad Uniden didn't include an AA accessory pack with these because when you remove the battery pack, the actual scanner is only about the size of a pack of short cigarettes!

I've heard about those Icom's and they are tiny! For me though, my old Uniden does the job. I live in a very rural area and power outages are a way of life here and that's about the only time I use it anymore. Thanks for the tip on the NiMh's with the solder tabs from Thomas Dist.!