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La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger
Studio : La Crosse Technology
by La Crosse Technology
Brand : La Crosse Technology
Model : BC-900
Publisher : La Crosse Technology
Material Type : Nylon
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Color : Blue
EAN : 0757456993430
UPC : 757456993836
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 366 reviews)
List Price : $69.95
Our Price : $39.95
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Battery charger; charges AA and AAA batteries simultaneously
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4 separate LCD displays; 4 modes; heat monitor prevents overcharging
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Comes with 4 AA and 4 AAA rechargeable batteries
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Also includes 4 C- and 4 D-size battery adapters and durable travel bag
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Measures 5.1 by 3 by 1.5 inches
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Product Description |
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PRODUCT FEATURES:All modes automatically default to 200 mA charge;Charge both AA and AAA rechargeable batteries simultaneously;Overheat detection to protect over-charging. |
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Best and most versatile charger |
This charger does it all, can perform the same or different functions simultaneously on any number of AA or AAA NiMH cells from one to four, in any combination: charge, discharge, test or refresh. It allows you to find out what the ACTUAL mAh capacity is (this may take a couple days or longer if the batteries are refreshed, discharged and recharged repeatedly until the individual cells reach full capacity), and what an eye opener that is when compared with the manufacturer's rated capacity. For me this was one of the most important features, because I've always wanted to know what the batteries' true capacities were. But for someone who doesn't want to take the time to do that, and it does take time, a quicker (if less thorough) capacity test can be done instead.
Some users may just want to use it as a battery charger, and for that purpose it's still about the most flexible unit available -- certainly at this price. It can charge any number of cells up to four, AA and AAA mixed and of different brands and capacities if desired, and at different user-selected charging rates for each cell if desired. Outstanding! |
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A nifty charger |
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All the numbers and information give me a better sense of security that the charger knows what it's doing than the black box, 1 led type chargers. |
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Small charger, BBBig power adaptor |
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Don't be fooled by the picture. The power adaptor is more than half of the charger! |
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Good product |
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This unit came with the latest version of the chraging program on it. The unit works well. It is used every day without any issues on the lithium batteries. However, if you have some old rechargeables that are completely dead this unit does not always start. So to address this I pop the "dead" batteries into a an old Radio Shack charger. This jumpstarts the batteries with a very small base charge. Then I put the batteries in the new La Crosse charger to condition them. |
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Items in the box as of Sept 4, 2008 |
I'd wager that many of you are comparing this to the Maha Powerex MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer as I was. The reviews by NLee that compare the two were quite helpful in providing background information. I was going to get the MH-C9000 but it included less stuff than the BC-900, it was more expensive than the BC-900, and it wasn't sold directly by Americancivilwar so there would be additional shipping charges on top of the higher product cost. Based on those factors the BC-900 wins the price / performance comparison against the MH-C9000 right now.
One of the things that I was wondering, and you may be as well, is specific information on the capacities of the included batteries. Reading through the reviews it looks like La Crosse bumps up the included battery capacity periodically. The shipment I received today had 2600 mAh AA batteries and 1000 mAh AAA batteries and the charger had firmware version 35 on it. The side panel of the box does state what capacity the included batteries are. That's handy if you're in a brick & mortar store and have the box in your hands and can read the side panel, not so handy when you're ordering online and can't pick up the box.
The adapters are the same as before: AA goes into the C adapter which then goes into the D adapter. I doubt if that will change since it saves space. The case is the same as well. I agree with one of the other reviewers that it would be nice if the main compartment was actually segmented and padded to protect the charger. Not a huge thing but it would be nice.
The display is mighty handy for picking out suspect batteries. The La Crosse charger immediately showed two of my Powerex batteries were at a much lower voltage than the others even though they were all charged a few days ago. I'm pretty sure that at least one of them my old Maha 401 charger periodically didn't like. I've currently got the BC-900 putting them both through a refresh cycle.
And yes, you could check the voltage with a multimeter as well. That assumes that you have a multimeter, know where it is, that it has charged batteries, and that the cat / dog / other pet / child hasn't chewed through the test leads. I don't know about you, but by the time I manage to find the multimeter & it's pieces I've already forgotten why I was looking for it. Having the information in the charger itself means I (and probably you too) can check out suspect batteries when you're charging them without getting sidetracked and forgetting. |
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