26 replies to this topic

[simonb]

Thought others here may appreciate some info about this rather magical device...



This is a USB charger, and seems to be quite quick at recharging high capacity AA & AAA batteries. It takes it about 3.5 hours to charge my 2700 mAh batteries. The coolest thing is that it comes with a "utility" which, under OSX appears as a "widget" and under XP as an "application window" which shows you how much time is remaining to charge the batteries. As it's able to do this, it's obviously an intelligent charger.

Seem to be going for about 15 quid, and this includes 2x AAA rechargeables. Of course, if you're using the cradle and it's powered via your GP2x/AC adapter, you can recharge your batteries while you're somewhere with a power supply...

The device is pretty small and light, the cable wraps away very nicely and it's pretty useful for use as a battery holder to stop you having to find them in your bag, etc..

[Duddyroar]

I've gotta get one of those! Brilliant idea!

EDIT: Ordered!

http://www.needbatte...green-160-p.asp

Amazing value! I've been on the lookout for a new charger and this is perfect.

Edited by Duddyroar, 10 March 2008 - 01:47 PM.

[Gruntfuggly]

Shame they don't do a 4 cell version, otherwise I'd get one...

[simonb]

Shame they don't do a 4 cell version, otherwise I'd get one...

Just buy two ;-)

[grahf]

The Energizer nimh batteries themselves have proved to be fairly shitty, but that is one badass sounding charger! I've been using the Sanyo Eneloop usb charger myself, but the little windows utility sounds cool. I wonder if it would work under gnu/linux via wine?

[Duddyroar]

Mine should be arriving soonish so I'll add to Simon's thoughts when I get chance to give it a test.

[Duddyroar]

My unit arrived this morning so here's my impressions...

It looks and feels lovely, just the right size to carry around.

Charger time is great as far as I'm concerned, although it must be noted that my previous charger took 24 hours to fully charge my AA batteries!

The software that shows the amount of time remaining for charges isn't great - for example, I popped in a set of almost charged AAs and it's showing that there's five minutes remaining...but it's been stuck on that for 10 minutes now.

Still, this is a brilliant purchase for me. I can charge my batteries at work now!

Edited by Duddyroar, 12 March 2008 - 08:00 PM.

[simonb]

The software that shows the amount of time remaining for charges isn't great - for example, I popped in a set of almost charged AAs and it's showing that there's five minutes remaining...but it's been stuck on that for 10 minutes now.

Yeah, I get the same on windows and OSX... I'm using the time not as a definitive, but more like "download speed" info... I'm guessing this is due to it trickle charging the remaining capacity...

"A typical intelligent charger fast-charges a battery up to about 85% of its maximum capacity in less than an hour, then switches to trickle charging, which takes several hours to top off the battery to its full capacity." (from wikipedifilia)

[Duddyroar]

Yeah, that sounds about right. It was on "00:05" for ages then it suddenly said "charging complete".

Anyway, I'm still pleased as punch with this, it's perfect for my needs. I can now charge my batteries both at home and at work and the charge time is faster than my previous charger, so I'm happy. And like you said, it makes a perfect case for storing batteries in and can be easily popped into your workbag to carry around with you.

For just over £10, this is a steal.

[prairiefire]

purchased this two days ago (after reading your review)...and now it's right in front of me.

thanks!

[Craw]

I am running this on leopard but don't seem to see on the widget any time information. Is there a trick to getting this showing. I wonder if leopard breaks the widget.

[Duddyroar]

I can only speak for Windows XP but whenever you plug the charger in the USB widget prompts to install automatically.

[simonb]

I am running this on leopard but don't seem to see on the widget any time information. Is there a trick to getting this showing. I wonder if leopard breaks the widget.

You installed the widget, can see it, but theres no time indicator? Odd... I'm running 10.4.11 fyi.

[Bluepixie]

That's a sweet little device if ever I saw one! My current charger is an Advan-tec fast charger, it's not great and the company seems to have disappeared. Nice. See below.



I was looking at the Powerex MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyser which is a beast but sports the price tag to match. I don't want my batteries to get wreaked by my charger (like the Advan-Tec), but don't really want to plump £50 for a charger! Maybe something like this?

I like the look of this charger, but do the batteries get hot when charging? Like burny bruny hot? Major problem with my current charger you see. :S

Edited by Bluepixie, 30 April 2008 - 12:54 PM.

[Duddyroar]

Nah, the batteries don't get that hot. They get warm, but not so warm that you can't handle them.