Electronics

LaCrosse's versatile Alpha Power Battery Charger

LaCrosse's versatile Alpha Power Battery Charger
LaCrosse Alpha Power Battery Charger
LaCrosse Alpha Power Battery Charger
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LaCrosse Alpha Power Battery Charger
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LaCrosse Alpha Power Battery Charger

March 6, 2009 Batteries are essential for the daily operation of many of the tools that we depend upon in the home or office. Without the modern rechargeable battery, the costs of running these devices with disposable batteries would be prohibitive, but why have a seperate charger for each type of battery? Featuring an LCD display that keeps you informed of the charge status for each battery, the LaCrosse Alpha Power Battery Charger is capable of charging all NiCd and NiMH "AA" and "AAA" rechargeable batteries and can charge AA & AAA simultaneously.

The features

The LCD display keeps you updated on terminal voltage (V), current (mA), time elapsed (hh:mm) as well as accumulated capacity (mAh or Ah) for each of the four battery compartments. You can select a charging current from 200 to 1800 mA and either slow charge for extended battery life or fast charge for when you need your batteries in a hurry. The charger has over-heat detection to protect over-charging and will not charge defective batteries.

Operational modes

The battery charger has four different modes for Charge, Discharge, Refresh and Test mode. The discharge mode is used to discharge any residual capacity if required, before charging. The Refresh mode can help to restore old re-chargeable batteries to their optimum condition.

Standard features

The LaCrosse comes standard with four of C and D sized battery adapters that can be used for connecting AA batteries to devices requiring size C or D batteries. Also included are 4 X AA NiMH 1.2V and 4 AAA NiMH 1.2V rechargeable batteries, a nylon carry bag and an AC power adapter. The cost: USD$79.95.

LaCrosse Technology via ThinkGeek.

David Greig

1 comment
1 comment
rgorman
I have one of these. The ability to charge a single cell is very valuable. The other chargers I have seen are designed for recharging pairs of cells. Thus if you charge a pair of cells that are not of equal states of charge, one will be both overcharged and the other will be overcharged. Many new LED flashlights use 3 cells and many MP3 players use one.
This device enables me to charge only one cell at a time. It also displays the voltage, the amount of charge that has gone into the cell. By popping a cell in and reading its open circuit voltage I get to know if it is fully charged