Sanyo NiMH Quick Charger NC-MDR03W is it Intelligent???

[ViReN]

I just saw this at local Radio Shack with 2 Eneloop Batteries. Do you think this charger is "Intelligent"

Here are a couple of pictures of opened charger.

Front of PCB

Back of PCB

Back Sticker

Your help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bones]

I just saw this at local Radio Shack with 2 Eneloop Batteries. Do you think this charger is "Intelligent"

It is according to Sanyo:

http://www.sanyohk.com ... code=XU9XKXRI

 

[ViReN]

From the Site

• Including 2AA x eneloop batteries
• Charge 2AA or AAA only 3 – 4 hrs, when charge completed the indicator light OFF automatically.
• 2 individual channels can charge different capacity of batteries together.
• "Alkaline Battery Detection" can detect non-rechargeable or damage battery. The indicator will stop automatically about 40 seconds.
• Temperature & peak voltage protection.
• Auto 100-240V.
• Weight: 76g only (most light and quick model)

This seems to be a good charger especially considering it as a "Travel Charger". It packs more than it's weight....

Are there any similar small footprint and small sized chargers that are intelligent?

 

[Bones]

Are there any similar small footprint and small sized chargers that are intelligent?

This one is USB powered and known to invoke envious glances:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com ... p=2026943

Regrettably, it doesn't appear to be readily available in North America yet, but Online Shops in Hongkong delivers for a not unreasonable fee:

http://www.onlineshop.com.sg .. products_id=3659

 

[ViReN]

Bones, Thanks

USB Charger looks good... but cannot use for the travel (as i don't carry laptop with me most of the times)

Not sure if NC-MDR03W has the DeltaV/DeltaT Termination or it's just a Timer based charger with voltage detection....

 

[Bones]

Not sure if NC-MDR03W has the DeltaV/DeltaT Termination or it's just a Timer based charger with voltage detection....

Me neither, simply because I have yet to find complete documentation on the damn thing.

If you want to be sure though, you could go for the model MDR02 instead, which definitely has the full suite of controls (detailed at the very bottom of this page):

http://www.energy.sanyo.com.sg ... chargerproduct

Although it's only shown in a lovely pink or blue on the above-noted page, it is available in white at Ritz Camera (and other retailers I presume):

http://www.ritzcamera.com ... product142140185

 

[koala]

Call them up and see what they say...
http://www.phihongusa.com/html/smart_chargers.html

 

[koala]

Ok I just tested this to a Sanyo charger.

Two cells, 1 fully charged, 1 partially depleted(70% full). Put them in. Keep watching the LED status every once a few minutes. When it's done the fully charged cell should be cool-warm, the partially depleted cell should be warm-hot.

This means the charger is intelligent and two independent channels. A timed based charger will charge your cell at a fixed length of time whether it is full or empty. Should be easy to tell from a timed based charger to smart charger.

 

[ViReN]

Thank you very much koala, this is such a good news.... wow....
especially if you compare it for the price that it is available at local Radio Shack ($15) for 2 Cells and this charger...there is lot of electronics inside.... big chips.... perhaps some programmable ones too and some memory on board....

It offers much more than it's price I must say....

the best part is... .it has a temperature sensor charges AAA cells at different current (350+ mA) and AA Cells at (650+ mA)...i just measured these with an elcheapo (300 cents) digital multimeter....and it's size relatively to other chargers is very compact.

also when the charge light is off there is a small amount of current flowing about 20-50 mA (not sure if it was due to my meter error or)

Compared to other charger (Energizer Smart Charger) costing $40+ !....

 

[lowks]

Tried it out a couple of times with a fully charged cell and it seems to be that this is a smart charger. The most confounding thing to me though is, I have the manual with me and it claims to be a timed based charger! :huh2: ?? Why downplay the capabilities of the charger that way ?! I put this gem of a charger aside for months thinking that I bought the wrong thing and that it was a dumb charger.

 

[samgab]

One thing I notice is that it appears to have only one thermistor (PT1 on the PCB) shared between both bays. This means if either cell reaches the max cutoff temp, both bays must cut off charging, as there is no way for the single thermistor to determine which cell has triggered the overtemp.

 

[mojo-chan]

Can you read the text off the surface mount chip on the back of the board? It looks like some kind of microcontroller, which would suggest that it is intelligent.