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(More customer reviews)I've only had this a week, but since there are no reviews I'll throw one up, so to speak.
I have other chargers - a BC9009 and a Maha C800s - if I've remembered the models correctly - and I like 'em both. So why did I buy this one?
Well, for one thing, it's half the price of a Maha charger, and the charging current doesn't look to be as high. Why is that good? Because I like to be easy on the batteries. The Maha charger has one flaw as far as I'm concerned, the "soft" charge should be the default, not the "fast" charge that heats the batteries up. Since the tiny LCD wording saying "soft charge" is so hard to read, I sometimes miss getting it on, and shorten the lives of the batteries unnecessarily, which annoys me when it happens. So I've taken to keeping a charged battery in the maha at all times to hold it in "soft" mode... which turns it into a 7-cell charger.
Now the Maha does pulse charging, which is supposedly better, while from what I can tell this one doesn't. However, I seem to be getting a lot of utility from it. It does allow you to slap in a bunch of different batteries, and only charges them as long as they need. In the real world, this often means a fairly fast charge even without heating them up.
The unit being reviewed seems physically as sturdy as the Maha charger. It has spring clips rather than the more premium clips in the maha, but actually some of my batteries, like panasonics, are too short to complete the circuit in the maha, while they work fine in this one. This one also seems to be more accepting of nearly-dead batteries than the maha - I often have to jump through hoops to put a slight charge on a cell to get the maha to even recognize it.
Another thing I like about this one is that it comes with both a 110v power supply and a 12v car adapter. One reason I like this is that I have a 12v solar power system, and that means this charger can be seamlessly switched to that system, just at a time when my need to recharge batteries (power outages, etc) may be highest.
I imagine that this "Hi Tech" isn't as high tech as the Maha, but it may be high tech enough to be a good deal at half the price. I find the display to be easy on the eyes, the ergonomics to be decent, and the cycle time to be about like the Maha on "soft" mode... only I don't have to push a button to get it to that mode.
Frankly, Either of the 8-bank chargers is more use to me than the BC-9009, which also doesn't do pulse charging and was pricy. It is capable of some tricks the others aren't, but who has the time to program it? I find I keep it in a drawer and only use it when I have the time to run batteries through a time-consuming testing process.
So I'm giving this 4 stars at the current price of $30. And if I haven't come back to change it, then my opinion hasn't changed - I always go back and edit a review if my opinion of the product changes.
So far, so good.
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Hitech iC-808UL-LCD 8 Bank Smart Quick Charger/ Discharger with LCD Display for AA, AAA BatteriesHitech iC-808UL-LCD smart quick charger charges 1 to 8 units of AA and AAANi-MH/ Ni-CD rechargeable batteries in 1 to 6 hours. 8 individual chargingchannels with 8 LCD indicators showing charging status. Microprocessorcontrolled for fast and safe charging, with Negative delta Voltage (V)detection. Reverse polarity protection that prevents damaging the charger andbatteries if batteries were installed incorrectly. Equips with smart featuressuch as alkaline battery detection capability, temperature protection (toprevent overcharging), short circuit protection and safety timer function.iC-808UL-LCD supports universal voltage (100V-240V) and comes with a car DCcharger. Excellent for digital cameras and portable electronics. Recommended touse with Yuasa AA and AAA rechargeable batteries (batteries not included).Charge current for AA size batteries: 500mA (max)Charge current for AAA size batteries: 250mA (max)*Charging Time:AA size battery (2000mAh) : 2 to 4 hours (1 to 4 cells for left and rightcompartment)AA size battery (2500mAh): 2.5 to 5 hours (1 to 4 cells for left and rightcompartment)AA size battery (2700mAh): 2.7 to 6 hours (1 to 4 cells for left and rightcompartment)AAA size battery (850mAh): 0.8 to 1.6 hours(1 to 4 cells for left and rightcompartment)AAA size battery (1000mAh): 1 to 2 hours (1 to 4 cells for left and rightcompartment)*Actual charging time may vary depending on the cell's discharge level, capacityand condition. Longer charging time may occur when the charger is used in thetemperature above 35C.
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