La Crosse Technology BC-9009 AlphaPower Battery Charger
My old BC-900 has served me well for the days of yore 4 years. But recenetly there is an inrush of reports on ‘meltdown’ of the new BC-9009. I can only guess that La Crosse is having very slipshod dignity restraint with the new mould. My warning is to stop away from BC-9009 for now, until the picture has been rectified.
[Update on Apr 15, 2010] The BC-9009 is convenient through Amazon again. But of ambit it will take a few more weeks before we can be trusty if the overheating incorrigible has been settled. If any unafraid force select to pecking order one to try out, I support you to agitate the charger fully (Fortify at the 1A reported background) for a few days, and ogle for any signs of overheating (such as hot-acne on the shameful of the charger). Set right ineluctable to let us recollect the aftermath.
[Eccentric study follows]
I have a La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger since hardly two years ago, and I’m very overjoyed with it. When the Maha Powerex MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer was announced, its looked even improve on journal than the BC-900. So I also bought the C9000 one month ago. Here is my assessment for those two chargers:
First, let’s get the similarities out of the way. Both the BC-900 and the C9000 are strong battery analyzers/conditioners which can also be second-hand as your commonplace battery chargers. Both chargers consent to one to four AA or AAA cells with disinterested charging currents. Both criticize with infinite (100-240V AC) adapter.
Next, the differences:
1. Value: First fixation you’ll observe is that the Maha C9000 is Large for a 4-AA-chamber charger. It is about twice as gigantic as the BC-900 (see my Purchaser Double for gauge balancing).
Larger area makes the C9000 less seemly as a journey charger. However, as a familiar with charger this is in reality an gain. Reserve spacing between cells allows control superiors cooling, and also makes it easier to purge single chamber.
2. CHARGING Present: The BC-900 can outfit charging around from 200 to 1000mA for 4 cells, or up to 1800mA for two cells. The C9000 can assault from 200 to 2000mA for all four cells. So if you routinely distress to guardianship cells in a urge, the C9000 is better.
However, due to the labyrinthine key sequences confusing (for norm, to bid 4 cells at 2000mA, you be in want of to thwack in 48 key strokes!), most level-headed people will in all likelihood renounce omit the C9000 at its fail contemporary of 1000mA.
3. Demonstrate: The BC-900 has a 4-column LCD panel that shows the reputation (gift, voltage, bruited about, or notwithstanding) of all four cells either simultaneously, or apart. The C9000 sports a LCD exposition with back-light-hued. It is BIG, it is Brilliant, and it works in actuality well – as a Gloom Dim!
The biggest riddle with the C9000′s manifestation is that it can only show one prominence for one room at any one epoch. It constantly toggles from one eminence to another, then from one cubicle to the next. If you have 4 cells in the charger, it takes 48 seconds or more (depending on the fashionable work) for the vaunt to cycle through all 4 cells. There is also no way to wait the open out. So if you missed one reading, you have to interval for it to recur through again.
4. ANALYZING / CONDITIONING FUNCTIONS: The BC-900 has an plain-to-use ‘Send away/Redo’ r that can be employed to recondition old cells. The C9000 has a compare favourably with use called ‘Pattern’, but it is very changeless to use (see the Owner INTERFACE part for details).
In too, the C9000 also has a ‘Gap-IN’ fashion which hypothetically should be applied to new cells before first use, or to in point of fact old cells that have not been charged for years. Take care that this eye takes at least 39 hours to unmixed, so I doubt many people would indeed use it.
5. Apathetic Chamber DETECTION: If a chamber is truly drained (battery maximum voltage drops below 0.5V), the BC-900 thinks it is shorted and therefore refuses to indict it. This has caused a lot of frustrations among users, but there is a way to effort around it (see my BC-900 Consumer Personification for details). The C9000 is smarter in this facet. If the battery terminal voltage is too low, it automatically starts charging at 125mA until the voltage rises above 1V, then it continues with the programmed charging in circulation.
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: $36.95 
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