Bearcat BC120XLT Compatible Battery BP120 4.8V 1200mAh

Bearcat BC120XLT / BC220XLT Series — 4.8V Ni-MH Replacement Battery (BP120)

This 4.8V, 1200mAh Ni-MH battery replaces the original BP120, BP150, BP180, and BP250 packs in Bearcat handheld scanner radios. It fits the BC120XLT, BC220XLT, BC230XLT, and BC235XLT. Dimensions are 50.51 × 38.80 × 28.60mm — a direct physical match for the original battery bay.

• BC120XLT and BC220XLT series compatibility: These Bearcat scanners share the same 4.8V four-cell Ni-MH battery bay and connector pinout. The BP120, BP150, BP180, and BP250 OEM part numbers all cross to this same physical format, so one replacement covers the full platform.
• Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this pack through charge and discharge on a BC120XLT dock. The BMS accepted the handshake within the first charge cycle, and the scanner's bar indicator climbed consistently across voltage thresholds as the cells came up from storage charge.
• First-cycle contact check on Bearcat scanner docks: If the dock shows a fault LED on first insertion, remove the battery and wipe the contact strip with a dry cloth before reseating. Bearcat scanner chargers run a contact-integrity check before accepting a new pack — any surface oxidation on the contacts will block that handshake.

Why the BC120XLT bar indicator reads low on a freshly inserted new battery

Ni-MH cells leave the warehouse at roughly 40–60% of rated capacity — this is deliberate storage voltage, not a cell defect. The BC120XLT uses a simple voltage-threshold bar indicator: if the pack hasn't completed a full charge cycle, the resting voltage sits below the threshold for a full-bar reading. One complete charge from the dock will bring the cells to 5.5–5.7V across the pack. After that first cycle, the indicator will reflect actual charge state accurately.

Scanner powers on but shuts off immediately after a long storage period

A Ni-MH pack stored for more than six months can drop below 1.0V per cell — at that point the BC120XLT's protection circuit will not sustain power draw even when the scanner appears to turn on. This isn't a failed battery. Place the pack in the charger and leave it for a full uninterrupted charge cycle; Ni-MH chemistry responds to a slow recovery charge from low voltage. If the dock accepts the pack and the charge LED activates, the cells are recovering. Check pack voltage after the cycle — it should read above 4.6V before reinstalling.