Motorola Talkabout MT350 problem / question

FRS / GMRS Radios
#1

I have two MT350’s which were purchased recently (Jan’14). Both battery packs charged up just fine initially and haven’t needed charging until a few days ago. I tried to charge the battery pack in one of the radios (let’s call it A) and nothing happened, by which I mean the little scrolling battery icon that should show up on the display did not appear. I wondered if it was a bad battery pack and swapped it into the second radio (B) where it charged fine. The pack from the 2nd radio (B) went into the suspect radio (A) and the scrolling battery icon now appeared but even after 14 hours was still scrolling although the battery did appear to be at least partially charged. Does this sound as though radio A is bad, that is has faulty charging circuity?

Second question: how does one reset the programming in the MT350? Just removing the batteries for a short time doesn’t appear to do it but maybe they need to be out for an extended time?

#2

I just purchased a set of three Motorola Talkabout MT352TPR radios with NiMH rechargable battery packs and had a similar problem. Two would not take an initial charge. The battery light would not flash when plugged in. The problem was the black plastic coating around the battery pack. The round openings for the negative contacts were not quite centered. If I pushed down on the battery pack it would start charging. So, I enlarged the opening in the plastic coating with an Xacto knife and that solved the problem. Hope that helps.

#3

I purchased a pair of MT350Rs. Both worked fine when I initially used for an out of town trip…but a couple of weeks later I switched on and the AUDIO in one of them was very very weak. I can hear the tones when the volume is turned way up, so I can tell all the other functions of the radio are there, and it transmits and receives. These are brand new…and no physical abuse or anything like that. Anyone experienced this before?

#4

It sounds like a weak battery. Is it fully charged?

#5

Yes sir. I even tried with fresh alkaline batteries…still the same.

#6

Is everything low, including the tones and button beeps? If so, the radio may be damaged or defective. These radios carry a one year manufacturer warranty, so you may need to call Motorola.

#7

Well…decided to just randomly fiddle with it…and I pressed the red emergency signal button at the top…and what do you know…it activates the loud emergency tone. After that…voila! All the tones and audio are normal again.

Oh well, hope maybe someone else would learn from this experience I posted.

Thanks all!

#8

I have the same issue with one of my pair of MT350R. Unfortunately, your Red Button solution did not work for me. I was not as lucky. Mine have been sitting in a drawer. I charge them every 3-6 months. I don’t know when they last worked correctly. I’d hate to toss them out.