Bearcat ubc125xlt charging whilist switched on?

[sciac2001]

Will my ubc125xlt be charging whilst scanning and plugged in to electric socket?
Thanks.

[JGR]

Yes but at a reduced charge rate and like most modern electronics it will stop charging when full to avoid stressing the battery pack.

[sciac2001]

Thats great, thanks.

[Scan125]

The UBC125XLT charging circuit is time controlled and NOT battery level controlled. You can set the charge time on the scanner (or via a program such as Scan125) but this charge time starts when the USB cable is plugged in. So if you set say 2Hrs and unplug/re-plug the USB cable at two hours then the battery will be charged for another 2 Hrs.

As pointed out by the previous poster then if the scanner is powered on then the charging current will be reduced so if a charge period of 2 Hrs is normally OK for your usage then maybe 3 Hrs will be required if the scanner is powered on.

I may have some more specific data on charging currents from when I designed the Scan125 Control Program and it's battery monitoring function. If/when I get an opportunity I'll dig through my files to see if I still have that information. Alternatively anybody with a multimeter can make simple measurements themselves.

[sciac2001]

Cheers.

[rozbiff]

Yes but at a reduced charge rate and like most modern electronics it will stop charging when full to avoid stressing the battery pack.

The bearcraps use time-based charging so can easily cook the cells.

[Minus1]

Don't do it unless you absolutely have to, you will dramatically shorten the lifetime of the batteries.
Use a separate charger, and only charge the batteries for as long as necessary.

[JGR]

Then amend my comment of it turning off, as they are bit behind the times if they do not have charge disabling on the units as is so common these days.

[StandingWave]

According to the manual on page 21, it only charges when turned off. Pages 32/33 shows the recommended charge durations which seems to depend on the mAh capacity of the batteries.

[Scan125]

OK I've just pulled out my original tests/design notes and:

1) With scanner off and plugged into a USB port/power then the battery charge current is 200mA
2) With scanner on and plugged into a USB port/power then the battery charge current is 0mA

So I'll gracefully retract my statement that with the scanner on and the power connected then the battery charge current will be reduced.

However every time the scanner is plugged into a USB port/power and it is not turned on then the scanner will deliver 200mA to the batteries (even if fully charged) till the charge time expires. So in reality it is this latter scenario that can overcharge and damage batteries.