User manual LA CROSSE TECHNOLOGY BC-700

[. . . ] Never use any power cable and transformer other than those originally supplied with the charging unit. The rechargeable batteries may become hot during charging (especially when high charging current is chosen). User shall take extra care when taking out the batteries after charging. 5. The Charging unit 6. FEATURES: The Charging unit Charging the rechargeable battery in various current value (200, 500 or 700 mA) Individual LCD display for compartments Charging both "AA" and "AAA" rechargeable batteries simultaneously 3 4 Overheat detection to protect rechargeable batteries from over-charging Minus delta voltage (-dV) detection for charge termination Damaged batteries detection Discharge mode (first discharging and then charging) to remove memory effect of rechargeable batteries Refreshing old rechargeable batteries by discharging/ charging cycles Test function to check the capacities of rechargeable batteries Different Charging/ Discharging functions can be launched independently and simultaneously to each rechargeable battery in the compartments Various display modes during charging/ discharging ­ the charging current (in mA), time elapsed (in hh:mm), the terminal voltage (in V) and accumulated capacities (in mAh or Ah) Compartment Number keys CURRENT key DISPLAY key MODE key Compartment Number key Press and release the Number key to select a particular battery compartment for charge modes and/or display mode adjustment. FUNCTION KEYS: There are three easy-to-use function keys and four number keys in the charging unit: MODE key The mode key shall first be pressed and held for about 5 seconds to activate the mode change. [. . . ] Or if the rechargeable batteries are kept placed in the compartments, trickle charging will start. The trickle charging current is around 5% of the selected charging current to keep the rechargeable batteries full. "Full" sign is shown -The battery is fully charged 11 12 batteries drops to a safe level. If overheat conditions continue to occur, the rechargeable batteries shall be taken out to cool down and then charged at a lower current. Then user may also select a different discharging current (see Table 2) by pressing the CURRENT key, within 8 seconds after inserting the batteries. (The display will blink once to indicate the setting has been confirmed and the current cannot be changed afterward. ) Discharging current: 250 mA When the battery is overheated the charging ceases automatically. For a new rechargeable battery it is recommended to charge it with 200 mA current for re-conditioning it from the long storage status. Discharge Mode DISCHARGE MODE Discharge mode will first discharge the rechargeable battery then charge it. By pressing the MODE key within 8 seconds after inserting the rechargeable batteries, the Discharge mode can be selected. (The mode key shall first be pressed and held for about 1 second to activate the mode change. The subsequent pressing of the mode key will enable to toggle between the "Charge", "Discharge", "Test" and "Refresh" mode. ) Note: The discharging current is always set to be half of the coming charging current whose upper limit is 700 mA (see Table 2). Therefore user is recommended to carefully select the discharging current so that the charging current afterward will not be too high. DISCHARGE MODE Current User-selected Discharging 100 mA current Thereafter Charging 200 mA current 250 mA 500 mA 350 mA 700 mA 13 14 Finally batteries will be fully charged in discharge mode and "Full" will be displayed. If user presses DISPLAY key at this time, "charge" icon instead of "discharge" icon will be displayed. Note: By pressing the MODE key within 8 seconds after inserting the rechargeable batteries, the Refresh mode can be selected. (The mode key shall first be pressed and held for about 5 seconds to activate the mode change. The subsequent pressing of the mode key will enable to toggle between the "Charge", "Discharge", "Test" and "Refresh" mode. ) Then user may also select a different discharging current by pressing the CURRENT key (see "Note" in Discharge mode and Table 2), within 8 seconds after inserting the batteries. (Or the display will blink once to indicate the end of setting and the current cannot be changed afterward. ) It may take up to several days to finish the refreshing process, depending on the selected discharging current. The maximum refresh current is 350 mA. REFRESH MODE Old rechargeable batteries and those have not been used for a long time require refreshing. This mode is automatically launched after rechargeable batteries are fully charged and kept at the charging unit. The signal "Full" will be displayed on the LCD. 500 mA 250 mA 700 mA 350 mA 17 18 DISPLAY MODE INFORMATION User can use different display modes to monitor the rechargeable battery condition during the different operations (see below figure and Table 4 to 7). Different display modes are exhibited: Charging current, Time, Voltage and Capacity Table 4. Various displays in Charge Mode Various displays (toggled by pressing DISPLAY key) Stage in Charge Capacity mode Voltage (V) Current (mA) *Time (hh:mm) (mAh/ Ah) During charging Full stage Instantaneous Battery voltage Charging current Trickle charging current Charging time elapsed Accumulated capacity Different operating modes Table 5. Various displays in Discharge Mode Various displays (toggled by pressing DISPLAY key) Stage in Capacity Discharge mode Voltage (V) Current (mA) *Time (hh:mm) (mAh/ Ah) During Discharging Discharging time Capacity during discharging current elapsed discharging Instantaneous During charging Battery voltage Charging current Charging time Accumulated elapsed capacity Trickle charging Full stage current 19 20 Table 6. Various displays in Refresh Mode Various displays (toggled by pressing DISPLAY key) Stage in Capacity Refresh mode Voltage (V) Current (mA) *Time (hh:mm) (mAh/ Ah) During Instantaneous Discharging Discharging time Capacity during discharging Battery voltage current elapsed discharging processes Capacity During charging Instantaneous Charging time determined in Charging current processes Battery voltage elapsed last time discharging Maximum battery Instantaneous Trickle charging Elapsed time of capacity Full stage Battery voltage current last discharging determined in discharging Table 7. Various displays in Test Mode Various displays (toggled by pressing DISPLAY key) Stage in Test Capacity mode Voltage (V) Current (mA) *Time (hh:mm) (mAh/ Ah) Charging time During charging Charging current "--- mAh" elapsed During Discharging Discharging time "--- mAh" discharging current elapsed Capacity of the Instantaneous During 2nd 2nd charging battery Battery voltage Charging current charging time elapsed determined in discharging Capacity of the Trickle charging Discharging time battery Full stage current elapsed determined in discharging Note: · *The timer will be resumed and counted from 00:00 again after the time elapsed is longer than 20 hours. [. . . ] Due to storage and shipping times, you should charge your batteries fresh out of the package. All rechargeable batteries need to be used in a product "under load", then charged, used, charged, at least 5 times or more to reach full 29 capacity. It is not recommended to "condition" batteries until after they have bee charged and used 10 times. As you use your batteries they will gain greater capacity and last longer. [. . . ]