From what i heard on discussions regarding NiMH batteries and chargers is, you better get a charger with circuitry to detect battery voltage during the charging operation. NOT just a timer feature. Most of these "1 hour charger" or "smart fast chargers" really only operate on a timer. So if you're batteries aren't fully drained, then that one hour quick charge may be overkill for the batteries. Also, these timer based chargers really DUMP a shi!load of energy to charge them real quick...which is a bad thing in the long run - seriously reducing their useablity and chargeablility. This is a serios issue when these batteries cost 10-20 dollars.
I don't know much, and i'm sure a lot of my terminology is wrong, but all i know is the cost difference between the cheepy chargers and the really effective ones isn't much. I just bought a MAHA 204f smart charger and 4-1600Mah AA batteries for about 40 dollars. THat's about 20 or so dollars more than what Rayovac is offering, but from what i read in it's specifications, this thing packs the power for it's money.
The charger is capable of charging 2 sets of batteries independantly. It doesn't work on a timer, instead, it monitors the batteries during the charge then shuts down when it has reached it's optimum charge. It takes about 3 hours to charge 4AA 1600Mah batteries, and after it charges, it goes into trickle mode. That means it keeps "SLOWLY" charging the battery while it's left in. Since NiMH batteries have a high discharge rate, you won't have to worry about useing half dead batteries as long as you have them plugged in. The charger also has the ability to condition the batteries - meaning it drains the batteries down to 1 volt before it starts to charge them.
Well that's my review. I've just started using them in my digital camera and so far so good!
...Spend the extra 20 dollars and feel secure in your purchase. Wouldn't you only want the best for your power hungry equipment?
