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Rechargeable
batteries often have their life shortened, or capacity reduced, by using
poor quality battery chargers. Overcharging will damage a battery, and
repeatedly recharging without cycling to a full discharge before
recharging can reduce the battery capacity due to memory effect. New
batteries will have a longer life if charged properly, and some
previously damaged batteries can be recovered to nearly their original
capacity by an intelligent charger. The La Crosse Technology BC700 is
such a charger. The BC700 package includes
the intelligent charging unit, and ac adapter. The BC700 is the
same charger as the BC-900 model, but without the batteries and carrying
bag.
In any of its four operating modes,
you can use the BC700's automatic charging feature or manually select the charge
current to accelerate the charging time. An informative LCD panel displays
numeric and graphic data on the condition of your batteries.
With the AlphaPower
BC700 battery charger, you eliminate the negatives of
shortening a rechargeable battery's life by recharging it when it is not fully discharged and of overcharging it. The
BC700 is an an
intelligent charging unit that provides quick and optimum charging of AA
and AAA NiCd and NiMH rechargeable batteries.
Here's what the
function keys on the BC700 are used for. The BC700 has four battery
compartments, each with a numbered key. These number keys are used to
select a particular battery compartment for charging and to display the
operating mode. The MODE key is used to select any of the four operating
modes described below. The DISPLAY key lets you scroll through the various
displays. These are charging current (in mA), time elapsed (hh:mm),
terminal voltage (in V), and accumulated capacity (in mAh or Ah). In
conjunction with the number keys, you can select the charging mode and
view the displays individually for each battery compartment. Finally, the
CURRENT key lets you select the amount of charging current to be applied
if you wish it to be more than the factory-default 200 mA. The
BC700 has four user-selectable operating modes: Charge, Test, Refresh,
and Discharge. Here's how they work: In Charge Mode,
when you place a battery in the BC700, the unit displays the
voltage and the charge level of the battery. The BC700 then begins charging
(at the factory-default 200mA) up to the
maximum voltage and then switches to Trickle Charging when the battery is
fully charged. As an alternative to automatic 200 mA charging in all four operating
modes, you can manually select any of several higher charging
currents, depending upon how many batteries are in the charger.
The Discharge Mode is used for removing the memory effects of
rechargeable batteries. In Discharge Mode, the batteries are
discharged and then recharged at lower current levels. Finally, the batteries
are charged at their full capacity.
In Refresh Mode, old batteries and those that have not been
used for a long time can be recharged. The Refresh Mode recovers the
optimum capacity of the rechargeable batteries by repeating discharging
and charging cycles until no further increase in measured capacities
occurs.
In Test Mode, the batteries are first fully charged and
then discharged to determine their capacities. Next, the
batteries are charged again, and the capacity in mAh or Ah
(milliamp-hours or amp-hours) is shown after the charging ends.
Trickle Charging is a feature that automatically turns on when a
charging cycle is complete. This keeps the batteries freshly charged
until you need them.
With charging, discharging, refreshing, and capacity testing functions as
well as individual displays for its four charging compartments, the BC700 AlphaPower Battery charger is reliable, user-friendly, and ideal for use in
home or office
and while traveling.
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