ISDT N8 Questions

[dgpretzel]

Folks,

I just bought an ISDT N8.

Might anyone be familiar with this model, and be able to answer some questions?

I am disappointed with the "manual" that came with this charger. It is inadequate and incomplete. The manual refers to features (such as "Capacity Plus") that do not appear on the actual charger, and also fails to explain features (such as "Activation Mode" and "Analysis Mode") that do exist. There seems to be two different aspects to the term "Activation" on the actual hardware, but neither is explained in the manual. Most disappointing of all (and important enough that I think I will send it back to Amazon) is the complete inability to report the DISCHARGE CAPACITY. (I'm still familiarizing myself with it, so I apologize if it can really do this, and I just missed it.)

So, just a couple questions, for starters:

1) Among the battery types that can be selected, two of the choices are "NIMH" and "Eneloop". Those terms are not mutually exclusive. What does this charger do differently with these two settings? All Eneloops are also NIMH. Could it be that ISDT uses the term "Eneloop" mean any low self discharge battery (cell)? What else could it be? So, maybe "Eneloop" should be selected for any NIMH battery that is low self discharge?

2) Does "Activation" in the main menu of the actual charger (as opposed to "Activation" in the "Task" submenu) mean what the manual refers to as "Capacity Plus"?

I was seduced by the pretty display and graph capbility, but, that's really just cosmetic, and I would rather have functionality that is what it should be (determination of discharge capacity, for example), and documentation that is complete and accuratate.

I tried to email IDST, but their mailbox is full (and has been for the past 2 days I have had this charger). I wonder if they have simply abandoned email tech support.

Thank you for any comments.

DG

 

[treek13]

Not sure if this will help you but this review does have some information on Activation Mode & Analysis Mode - Review of ISDT N8

By the way, he's a member here & his reviews are an awesome resource. Highly recommend checking his site before any cell or charger purchases.

 

[dgpretzel]

Thank you, treek13.

I am returning the ISDT N8.

I just find the failure to report the Capacity in Analysis Mode is unacceptable. Why bother having an analysis mode if the result is not reported?

I also find the complete absence of any information about "Activation Mode" or "Capacity Plus", and the duplicate use of the term "Activation" for two separate features to not be acceptable.

Other things, such as no explanation for having NIMH and Eneloop as battery type choices were not show-stoppers, but are ambiguous, and do not inspire my confidence.

I did an experiment using the Analyze Mode on two old Eneloop cells I had (I don't know exactly how old they were, but they are Sanyo 1900 mAh cells that had not ever been used much, but had sat in an audio device, unused, for years. I got them out and ran them through the Analyze Mode. I do not know the discharge capacity it measured (didn't happen to be sitting watching the charger when it finished the discharge portion of the cycle). But, I did notice that, at the end of the recharge, it pushed the voltage to 1.52 volts before it terminated. (I think I briefly observed a terminal voltage higher than that on another similar (Sanyo 1900 mAh Eneloop.) My Maha C9000, which I have been using for years, stops at 1.47.

All this makes me not trust the ISDT device. So, back it goes.

So, I'll look for another 8 bay charger/analyzer (they seem to be much harder to find than 4 cell chargers). I'd really like something like a Maha C9000 (or, since that is now deprecated, a C9000Pro) that has 8 bays. But, the available 8 bay models don't seem to be as comprehensive.

Oh well. Back to shopping.

DG