Soshine SC-C3 Intelligent Rapid Charger

[UnknownVT]

This charger has been discussed on CPF - it's the one like the Sony BCG-34HRM(F4) (link to Amazon)

I got it from DealExtreme (in Hong Kong) - link to their Page on the charger.

there is now some cosmetic difference with the one I got -
mine was backordered - so it may have come straight from the factory or distribution warehouse - ie: it may be of pretty recent manufacture.

It looks the same as the main pic on Soshine's own page on the charger.

One of things I noticed was the UL mark on the bottom of the card -

BUT this is not reflected on the label of the charger itself -

So this is open to speculation -
do they have or not have UL listing?

Another discreprency is the AAA charge current -
on the label it is shown for AAA as 525mA x2; 263mA x4

But the back of the card shows -

for AAA 1-2pcs 640mA; 3-4pcs 320mA.

The latter higher current specs for AAAs is also on the specs at Soshine's own page on the charger.

"AAA Charge Current: 640mA when charging 2 AAA rechargeable Batteries - 320mA with 4 AAA Batteries"

The instruction sheet -

also show the AAA charge current to be 640mA x2; and 320mA x4 (bottom right corner of second page).

Although it's obviously still open to doubt -
I think the higher current is correct.

I am not an expert on chargers - this is probably the most sophisticated charger I have to date - I have now charged separately 2x 1000mAh AAA NiMH which were depleted in my MP3 players - they were low enough to cause the players to power down.

I charged them singly (so the charger has independent channels) and they both reached full in less than 1 hour. When used in the MP3 player - the battery indicator showed full (whereas from my old charger - sometimes they would not quite show full)

The batteries did not get hot - only just noticably warmer - possibly toward the +ve end.

Another thing to beware of is that the cable supplied has a European round pin plug.

However the socket/recepticle on the charger itself is for a pretty standard equipment cable - but be sure to get the version that is rounded -

There is also an one-button Refresh function which I haven't tried yet -
I have a set of 4 NiMH AA's that are a bit marginal - so I'll try those later - and report back.

Overall I like this charger - especially for the price I got it $13.98 shipped.

I placed my order at DealExtreme on Jan/16 - the charger was backordered - so it was not shipped until Jan/25 - DealExtreme offered the option to cancel the order the day before - fortunately for me I didn't, as it was shipped the very next day...... despite airmail - it still took its time and arrived yesterday Feb/11.

There are more pics at the DealExtreme page
especially the Users' photos where there is one of the circuit.

 

[AdamThirnis]

I got one of these from DX - came with the 2-pin plug. Can't go wrong at the price. Mine is very noisy though - makes a high pitched squeal.

 

[UnknownVT]

Mine is very noisy though - makes a high pitched squeal.

Yes, I noticed that there wre some complaints about noise in the reviews over at DX -
fortunately mine does not seem to make any noise - even when I hold my ear close. So no complaints there for mine.

I just tried the Refresh on my marginal 1800mAh NiMH AA's - a pair -
if I place them side-by-side then the left one would flash error on start up (eg: position 1&2, or 2&3)
however if I place them apart (1&3) then the charger will start charging - I was doing that to confirm about noise.

But when I placed the batteries apart (1&3) and press the Refresh button the charger again will flash error -
I think it's the batteries - they are as I said marginal - I normally would have tossed them, except I now use them to maintain the clock in an appliance that I use with an AC adaptor.

So those are on charge now, and I'll check when the charger thinks they're "full", then see if the Refresh works then.

But since the batteries really are marginal - this may not be such a valid test.

However the fact that the charger actually recognized that there was something amiss with the batteries is a good indication.

(note about the marginal batteries - JWin brand 1800mAh - bought Sept/2003 used extensively in digicam for 21 months, cycled with 2 other sets of 4 (RoV 1600mAh) - so probably about 100 cycles, discharge was to camera powering down - C/2 charger - but now although they do still charge up to just below 1.4V their "flash Amps" on my DMM are < 1Amp (my other NiMH manage about 3.5-4A), and after 1 day ~0.75A - marginal is the best word for them)

EDIT to ADD - the "Flash Amps" on my cheapo DMM always seemed much lower compared to others' reports (by about 2.5x). I am only using these as a relative indicator for the health of the batteries and NOT absolute readings.

 

[UnknownVT]

So those are on charge now, and I'll check when the charger thinks they're "full", then see if the Refresh works then.

It took the charger about 2.5 hours to end the charge on 2 of these marginal 1800mAh batteries - this is over the expected time of about 2 hours. However although they did get noticably warm - they were not hot at any time.

DMM shows fresh off the charger voltages - 1.577V and 1.591V, with flash amps at just over 1 going down to about 0.82A more or less as previously.

EDIT to ADD - the "Flash Amps" on my cheapo DMM always seemed much lower compared to others' reports (by about 2.5x). I am only using these as a relative indicator for the health of the batteries and NOT absolute readings.

I then tried the Refresh on these - again next to each other (and in pos 1&4) the charger still flashes error. In pos 1&3 or 2&4 the charger will charge, but using Refresh will flash error.

I also tried one battery at a time - will charge in any position, but flashes error if the refresh is tried (for both the freshly charged marginal batteries).

So I guess these "marginal" batteries are just too far gone, and I cannot use the refresh on these.

I may try my other old batteries - 1600mAh RayOVac NiMH in the refresh cycle tomorrow.

 

[jzmtl]

Doubt the UL symbol is legit, probably just included it in the slew of symbols because everyone else has one.

 

[UnknownVT]

Doubt the UL symbol is legit, probably just included it in the slew of symbols because everyone else has one.

I don't think their previous packaging had the UL symbol -
and previous discussions on CPF pointed out this charger did not have UL listing -
that's why I commented on the appearance of the UL symbol on the packaging.

 

[UnknownVT]

I may try my other old batteries - 1600mAh RayOVac NiMH in the refresh cycle tomorrow.

The old RoV 1600mAh would not do a refresh either (flashes error).

So I have a Kodak Pre-Charged (2100mAh LSD) in the refresh cycle -
it only just finished the discharge after about 3 hours
(the battery was used in a 1AA flashlight for a reasonable while, but probably still had quite a bit of charge left) -
it has just started the charge cycle - which I would expect to finish in about 2+ hours.

 

[Bones]

It's good to get some definitive feedback on this charger UnknownVT.

It is the only one I know of in this price range with the essential refresh function.

I don't think their previous packaging had the UL symbol -
and previous discussions on CPF pointed out this charger did not have UL listing -
that's why I commented on the appearance of the UL symbol on the packaging.

The largest e-commerce company in China claims it has the CE certification for sure, which I tend to believe is at least as stringent as the UL certification:

http://worcell.trustpass.alibaba.com ... SC.C3.html

I was reviewing the prior thread you mentioned, and it would be interesting to see images of the latest circuit board if you are up to a dismantle.

You may recall there was a detailed comparision with the Sony's circuit board in that thread.

YGXX user image of the Soshine SC-C3 circuit board:

http://www.ygxx.com/UserFiles ... 200653213134436.jpg

YGXX user image of the Soshine SC-C3 circuit board underside:

http://www.ygxx.com/UserFiles/2006-5/3/200653213135401.jpg

PCHome user image of the Sony BCG-34HRMD circuit board:

http://att.jd-bbs.com/day ... FXqtIUMT26xP.jpg

PCHome user image of the Sony BCG-34HRMD circuit board underside:

http://att.jd-bbs.com/day ... XBzg3NWvZleP.jpg

YGXX source page:

http://translate.google.com/translate ... ygxx.com

PCHome source page:

http://www.google.com/translate ... pchome.net

Prior thread referenced:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com ... t=181600

 

[UnknownVT]

Refresh -

The charging part of the cycle has finished it was about 2 hours possibly less, but more than 1.5 hours.

The Kodak Pre-Charged 2100mAh - read 1.486V off the charger - flash amps on my cheapo DMM was about 3.9A - then the voltage was 1.466V.

EDIT to ADD - the "Flash Amps" on my cheapo DMM always seemed much lower compared to others' reports (by about 2.5x). I am only using these as a relative indicator for the health of the batteries and NOT absolute readings.

So it seems that the battery has had a reasonably full charge -
I can't really say anything about the Refresh - as this Kodak Pre-Charge was in good shape to begin with.

But the refresh does seem to work (discharge then charge) with a battery in reasonable condition.

Pity it doesn't seem to want to work with marginal batteries - that is what I would want it for - to resuscitate marginal batteries.

My old RoV 1600mAh NiMH AA I would consider in (surprisingly) good condition - used a lot but never to my knowledge abused - so I was kind of disappointed that the refresh didn't work with that.

 

[mattheww50]

Doubt the UL symbol is legit, probably just included it in the slew of symbols because everyone else has one.

UL Symbol isn't legit. If it was Legit there would be an ID next to it. The Sony version has the ID, which is the UL file number for the listing. If you make a UL listed Product, you have to show the listing file number next to the UL symbol, it is spelled out in the UL listing agreement.

I know because I have been involved in the manufacture of UL listed equipment.

 

[UnknownVT]

I currently have two Digital Concepts/Sakar 2500mAh NiMH in refresh cycle.

These were bought from WalMart June/2006 last used on New Years Eve in my dSLR and were used until depletion (camera powers down). Despite the lesser known almost "generic" brand I think they are in pretty good condition -
I had charged up the set of 4 on the day - they lasted the entire gig - taking 529 shots - mostly without flash but lots of review (using LCD screen) the batteries powered down the camera during an extended review of the pics at home - this is well in excess of the specs or the reported average of 300-400 shots for 2500mAh NiMH.

Since my strategy is to charge up the set on the day of (or night before) any extended shoot, I haven't charged these since.

I again used one pair - they would individually or as a pair, in any position, start charging fine, and start the refresh cycle fine - ie: no errors.

Observations -

1) Discharge indication - on all the batteries I've tried so far that will do the refresh, I have only seen the bottom segment showing on the battery icon - unlike the progressively downward indiction shown in the instructions or on the back of the card.

2) The instructions say to insert the batteries before plugging in the charger. I have found on mine I can insert a battery any time after it's been plugged in and turn On, and the charger will recognize the new battery, test it, and start charging seemingly fine.

It's well over 1 hour since I started the refresh cycle on these 2 depleted 2500mAh Sakar/Digital Concepts NiMH AAs - and the discharge cycle still has not finished. I'll probably check every 20 mins to see of I can catch the end (or at least see if the charging cycle has started)

 

[UnknownVT]

Observations -
1) Discharge indication - on all the batteries I've tried so far that will do the refresh, I have only seen the bottom segment showing on the battery icon - unlike the progressively downward indiction shown in the instructions or on the back of the card.

I take that back......
at just under 3 hours I saw one of the battery indicators show completely empty (ie: no segments) while the other still had the bottom one - so perhaps the Kodak Pre-Charged 2100mAh LSD NiMH I used previously in the Refresh didn't have as much charge as I thought?

Anyway - after more than 3 hours but less than 3hr 20min - the charge cycle has started, when I looked the segments were UNeven - one was flashing only the bottom while the other was on the second segment (they are both now on the second - unfortunately I can't remember for sure which was on the lower segment on charge).

I expect these to finish charging in about 2+ to 2.5 hours. Will report back then.

Then will try a freshly/fully charged battery in the refresh cycle and see if it starts with more segments than just the bottom one on discharge.

 

[UnknownVT]

I expect these to finish charging in about 2+ to 2.5 hours. Will report back then.
Then will try a freshly/fully charged battery in the refresh cycle and see if it starts with more segments than just the bottom one on discharge.

Perhaps I'm now just talking to myself....

Under 2 hours one of the batteries showed full charge - the one that discharged quicker. The other still had the uppermost segment flashing, may be some 10 mins later, with total time still just under 2 hours the charge completed for both.

Either of the freshly charged batteries will now show all the segments on the Refresh discharge cycle (just like the instructions show) -
and when I press the refresh button again to abort the discharge, will start charging with only the bottom segment flashing, but within moments climb to only flashing the uppermost segment.

The measurements I got on these were
(FA = Flash Amps - current taken direct with my cheapo DMM set on 10Amp scale) -

EDIT to ADD - the "Flash Amps" on my cheapo DMM always seemed much lower compared to others' reports (by about 2.5x). I am only using these as a relative indicator for the health of the batteries and NOT absolute readings.

1) 1.464V; FA = 3.4A --> 1.425V
2) 1.468V; FA = 4.07A --> 1.455V

compared to the other pair which should be depleted - uncharged -

3) 1.270V; FA = 3.0A -->1.260V
4) 1.273V; FA = 3.0A -->1.265V

The batteries straight off the charger were just lukewarm - ie: only just warm to touch.

I have my other pair 3 & 4 on the refresh cycle now.

 

[UnknownVT]

I have my other pair 3 & 4 on the refresh cycle now.

The discharge cycle finished at about 3 hours again with one indicating "empty" about 12 mins before the other.

Charging took about 2hrs 10 min - with the one that discharged slower reaching "full" about 3 mins earlier (battery #3).

Readings fresh off the charger (again only warm) -

EDIT to ADD - the "Flash Amps" on my cheapo DMM always seemed much lower compared to others' reports (by about 2.5x). I am only using these as a relative indicator for the health of the batteries and NOT absolute readings.

#3 1.445V; FA = 3.75A --> 1.422V
#4 1.467V; FA = 4.18A --> 1.447V

Looks like in this set #2 and #4 are strong, whereas #1 and #3 are weak - with #1 the weakest.

So I attempted to Refresh #1 and #3 -
BUT #1 showed error.

So I tried it on its own in positions 1 thru 3 it would charge but soon as I pressed Refresh it showed Error - this was not the case earlier when I checked. Perhaps it's because the battery had cooled down? But it managed the refresh fine even when it was depleted.....

Anyway by placing #1 in position 4 then turning on the charger - allowing it to check then start charging - I can press the refresh and start the discharge cycle - indicator shows all segments.

I could then insert battery #3 in another position and it would also check and go into discharge mode (I tried pos 1 & 2 - it is now in pos 2).

The indicator does start with all segments showing and after some minutes the top segment would be gone.

It seems, so far, that the discharge cycle takes about 3 hours regardless of state of charge/depletion level -
we'll see in about 3 hours, I have been wrong already with guesses.

 

[Mr Happy]

Your flash amps seem pretty low, though. I can get nearly 8 amps out of a cheap Chinese cell and about 10 amps out of an Eneloop. Either your cells are bad or your flash amp current is being limited by the high resistance of your meter. Do you have a flash amp reading from a known good cell on the same meter to compare with?

 

[UnknownVT]

Your flash amps seem pretty low, though. I can get nearly 8 amps out of a cheap Chinese cell and about 10 amps out of an Eneloop. Either your cells are bad or your flash amp current is being limited by the high resistance of your meter. Do you have a flash amp reading from a known good cell on the same meter to compare with?

No, I suspect it's probably the high resistance in the cheapo DMM (link) I'm using.
eg: eneloop AAs fresh off the charger only read just about 4Amps.
Now I know for certain it's not reliable for higher currents.

I have another meter, which I know is accurate - but that only has currents up to 3Amps. The two meters do agree quite well for lower currents - probably < 2Amps.

So I tend to qualify my readings by pointing out it is a cheapo DMM,
My own use is for relative indication, as opposed to an absolute reading.

Re: discharge time - I was wrong (again) - it's now 4 hours since the discharge started on batteries 1 & 3 (the lower 2 of the fully charged) and the indicator is still both on the lowest segment. So this going take more time and obviously this proves that it is NOT 3 hours to discharge regardless of state of charge/depletion
- so either that Kodak Pre-Charged 2100mAh LSD NiMH AA was much lower than I thought, or it manages to discharge faster?

 

[Mr Happy]

No, I suspect it's probably the high resistance in the cheapo DMM (link) I'm using.

I measure the higher currents I mentioned using the $2.99 Harbor Freight meter pictured at the bottom of the thread you linked to. I bought a bunch of them. They are pretty neat for the price, aren't they?

 

[UnknownVT]

I measure the higher currents I mentioned using the $2.99 Harbor Freight meter pictured at the bottom of the thread you linked to. I bought a bunch of them. They are pretty neat for the price, aren't they?

Now that's interesting - I thought for all intents and purposes the Harbor Freight DMM was basically the "same" as the one I got.

Maybe there's something not right about the 10A scale measurements - like I said the lower currents seem to agree with my old analog meter - but I have always noticed my "Flash Amps" seemed much lower than others report. I'll make a note of that by editing my earlier posts so people are not misled by my "Flash Amps" readings.

Pity I don't have a Harbor Freight close by.

Back to the charger - it took 5hrs 44mins to finish the discharge cycle on these recently fully charged batteries. I had to interrupt and stop the charge after about 48mins as I didn't want to leave this on overnight while I was sleeping.

The charge has started again at 10:47AM -
at ~10:55am batt3 on segment3 - while batt1 was still on seg2
by 11:03am both on seg3.

 

[Mr Happy]

With something like the flash amp measurements the resistance of the test leads could affect the result. I have some leads where the wire is just mechanically attached to the plug by screwing down the cap and is not soldered at all. Over time oxidation would turn that into a high resistance connection. Not good.

My biggest complaint with the Harbor Freight meter is that it doesn't have a zero adjust for resistance measurements. If I touch the probes together it reads about 0.4 - 0.5 ohms before I start.

 

[UnknownVT]

With something like the flash amp measurements the resistance of the test leads could affect the result.

Thank you for that....

Funny, I was making sure I wasn't doing something wrong/stupid -
as I have an extra lead attached all the time to the 10A scale socket (as well as the two supplied leads in the other standard sockets). So I removed that lead, replaced it with the supplied lead - and I got even lower readings for my flash amps - so maybe the supplied leads just aren't very good?

Are you using the supplied leads to get your more realistic flash amps?

EDIT to ADD -
Eureka! - Thanks Mr Happy - your hint about the leads got me to try my other leads from my old analog meter - I made them up myself - so I know they are old but good/well soldered.... and guess what? my flash amps are now at least getting to be more realistic - eneloop AA just charged

1.492V; FA=3.9A --> 1.468V
BUT on my "proper" leads FA=8.9A - not quite the 10amps you got but at least closer and more realistic.......
better yet, when I cleaned the lead plugs, the flash amps went up to aboout 9.8A... now we're talking.
a BIG thank you for the hint

Unfortunately I can't get back to the fresh off the charger readings until I do more charging - but I can now give the FA reading at least at the battery's present state........

Back to progress on the charger -

at about 12:30pm the charge finished (I was on-line so wasn't watching) so total (interrupted) charge time was in the region of 2.5hrs which seems reasonable.

Readings fresh off charger
(note my "Flash Amps" are not accurate absolute measurements, but merely a relative indication of battery state/health see notes in my earlier posts in this thread) -

batt1 1.457V; FA=3.25A --> 1.439V
batt2 1.450V; FA=3.75A --> 1.441V

EDIT to ADD - New Flash Amps reading - about 1.2hrs after charging

batt1 FA = 5.7A
batt3 FA = 9.0A

*So maybe there is something amiss with batt1 and the others are propping it up in the set.......

So despite the extra refresh cycle these remain the lower/weaker of the set of 4.

So far I like this charger a LOT - it seems to work well - as expected -
the charge cycle inspires confidence that it can at least monitor the charge state - and seems to stop the charge at about the right level.
Batteries only get lukewarm.
Mine is silent.

The only things I'm a bit disappointed in is the Refresh - it works fine with healthy batteries - BUT seem not to want to refresh older batteries which is exactly what the refresh would be useful for........ (also the Refresh balked on batt1 as reported above - and I thought batt1 was pretty healthy - but maybe not see * above the Flash Amps was only 5.7A vs 9A of the other battery)

I bought this so that I could charge batteries one or two at a time - which it does fine. With 1 or 2 batteries the charge current is about C/2 - so about 2 hours charge from empty......

For 4 batteries the charge current drops to half that so C/4 which makes it a bit slow - my older charger is at 900mA for 4, so I'll still use that for sets of 4.

The specs over at the Soshine page -

"Capable of charging 1, 2,3, or 4 batteries at a time.
Can charge up to 4 AA or 4 AAA NiMH Rechargeable Batteries.
Includes 4 Soshine 2500 mAh Super NiMH Rechargeable Batteries - Great Batteries
Totally automatic selectable Refresh (Condition) Function.
LCD Battery Charge Indicator - shows each battery as it charges - shows charge level at a glance.
Worldwide voltage capable - 100V ~ 240V AC 50~60 hZ.
Fully capable of Charging all capacities of AA and AAA NiMh rechargeable batteries.
Will even charge the higher capacities of the future.
Automatic analyzes each battery - to determine battery state prior to charging.
Automatic detection of defective batteries.
Automatic Charge Level Detection - for termination once your rechargeable batteries are fully charged.
Automatic Temperature Monitoring - as your rechargeable batteries charge - prevents heat damage.
Automatic Cut-off Safety Timer Feature - Protects your rechargeable batteries from over charging
Automatic Alkaline Battery detection - prevents charging of non-rechargeable batteries.
Requires NO heavy AC adapter - Power Supply is built into the S0shine battery charger.
Includes 6' AC Power Cord that plugs into any standard US style 100V AC outlet.
AA Charge Current: 1050mA when charging 2 AA rechargeable Batteries - 525mA with 4 AA Batteries
AAA Charge Current: 640mA when charging 2 AAA rechargeable Batteries - 320mA with 4 AAA Batteries
Can be used Internationally with any suitable Adapter Plug
Protective flip up LID with vents for heat disipation as your rechargeable batteries charge.
Input Power: AC 100~240V 50/60Hz 7 Watts
Dimension(mm):150*94*52
131g/pcs "