La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger Reviews

• Battery charging and maintenance done right

  
  By AVPNQUVZWMDSX on 2005-10-25
  Ni-MH batteries have become ubiquitous over the past decade. Their low cost and ever-increasing capacity make them a great alternative to alkaline batteries. Of course, you need to keep these batteries charged... And that's where things get complicated.
  
  Charging Ni-MH batteries is the result of a compromise. A low current is gentle on the battery and maximizes its lifespan, but a full charge takes hours.
  A high current will recharge the battery much faster, but put more strain on it, causing it to wear out prematurely. It also requires careful monitoring of the battery's electrical characteristics to prevent damage.
  
  Most of the chargers you can find on the market today use one or the other of these methods. The fast chargers, especially the cheap ones, excel at one thing: destroying perfectly good batteries, because they lack the monitoring circuitry to control the charge current and detect when the battery is full. The slow chargers are usually better, mainly because it's harder to design a really bad slow charger. Unfortunately... they're slow.
  
  The BC-900 is a completely different breed: it lets you pick the charge current for each individual battery, has very sophisticated monitoring circuitry that controls the charging process, and is also capable of "renewing" batteries by running full controlled discharge-recharge cycles.
  
  I was a little skeptical that a fairly inexpensive product would be so thorough, but after reading all the 5-star reviews on Amazon I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did: it's all it's cracked up to be, and more. I ran all my AA and AAA batteries through it; some of them had been destroyed by my previous charger, and it weeded those out right away; some were in pretty bad shape, but a refresh brought them back to life at almost full capacity.
  
  The pleasant surprise was to find out all the freebies that come with the charger: four AA and four AAA batteries to get you started, four C-cell adapters, four D-cell adapters, and a nifty carrying case.
  
  The less pleasant surprise: it can take several days to refresh batteries. I suppose this explains why the box didn't contain a cigarette lighter car adapter. Also, different batteries will take a different amount of time to complete a similar charging cycle. The charging slots being individually powered and monitored, it's not a real issue, since you can yank out any cell that's finished charging and insert the next one that needs recharging as soon as the little LCD screen warns you it's done.
  
  As far as I know this is the best charger you can buy. It's reliable, gentle on the batteries, has useful capabilities not found on other models, and comes with a lot of extras. It's more expensive than your ordinary cheap slow charger, but the increased battery lifespan more than makes up for the price difference.
  
  Highly recommended.
  
  

• Showdown: Maha MH-C9000 vs. La Crosse BC-900

  
  By AOEAD7DPLZE53 on 2007-09-16
  I have a La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger since nearly two years ago, and I'm very happy with it. When the Maha Powerex MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer was announced, its looked even better on paper than the BC-900. So I also bought the C9000 one month ago. Here is my assessment for those two chargers:
  
  First, let's get the similarities out of the way. Both the BC-900 and the C9000 are powerful battery analyzers/conditioners which can also be used as your everyday battery chargers. Both chargers accept one to four AA or AAA cells with independent charging currents. Both come with universal (100-240V AC) adapter.
  
  Next, the differences:
  
  1. SIZE:
  First thing you'll notice is that the Maha C9000 is HUGE for a 4-AA-cell charger. It is about twice as large as the BC-900 (see my Customer Image for size comparison).
  
  Larger size makes the C9000 less suitable as a travel charger. However, as a home charger this is actually an advantage. Extra spacing between cells allows better cooling, and also makes it easier to remove individual cell.
  
  2. CHARGING CURRENT:
  The BC-900 can provide charging current from 200 to 1000mA for 4 cells, or up to 1800mA for two cells. The C9000 can charge from 200 to 2000mA for all four cells. So if you routinely need to charge cells in a hurry, the C9000 is better.
  
  However, due to the complicated key sequences involved (for example, to charge 4 cells at 2000mA, you need to punch in 48 key strokes!), most sane people will probably leave the C9000 at its default current of 1000mA.
  
  3. DISPLAY:
  The BC-900 has a 4-column LCD panel that shows the status (capacity, voltage, current, or time) of all four cells either simultaneously, or individually. The C9000 sports a LCD display with back-light. It is BIG, it is BRIGHT, and it works really well - as a NIGHT LIGHT!
  
  The biggest problem with the C9000's display is that it can only show one status for one cell at any one time. It constantly toggles from one status to another, then from one cell to the next. If you have 4 cells in the charger, it takes 48 seconds or more (depending on the current activity) for the display to cycle through all 4 cells. There is also no way to pause the display. So if you missed one reading, you have to wait for it to cycle through again.
  
  4. ANALYZING / CONDITIONING FUNCTIONS:
  The BC-900 has an easy-to-use 'DISCHARGE/REFRESH' function that can be used to recondition old cells. The C9000 has a similar function called 'CYCLE', but it is very tedious to use (see the USER INTERFACE section for details).
  
  In addition, the C9000 also has a 'BREAK-IN' mode which supposedly should be applied to new cells before first use, or to really old cells that have not been charged for years. Beware that this operation takes at least 39 hours to complete, so I doubt many people would actually use it.
  
  5. DEAD CELL DETECTION:
  If a cell is completely drained (battery terminal voltage drops below 0.5V), the BC-900 thinks it is shorted and therefore refuses to charge it. This has caused a lot of frustrations among users, but there is a way to work around it (see my BC-900 Customer Image for details). The C9000 is smarter in this aspect. If the battery terminal voltage is too low, it automatically starts charging at 125mA until the voltage rises above 1V, then it continues with the programmed charging current.
  
  The C9000 also measures battery internal resistance when a cell is first inserted. If the user inserts an alkaline cell (which has much higher internal resistance), the C9000 displays 'HIGH' and refuses to charge it. This is a good safety feature, except that it also incorrectly rejected most of my NiMH cells bought four or five years ago. So I cannot use the C9000 to charge or recondition those old cells, even though the BC-900 reports that they still have around 1000mAh of capacity left.
  
  6. USER INTERFACE:
  With the BC-900, you can select the operation and current for all cells simultaneously, or you can change them indivdually by using the cell-selection buttons. The only limitation is that once the charging current is fixed, you cannot subsequently select a larger current without removing all cells.
  
  The C9000 has four completely independent charging circuits that can be programmed to different currents. This may sound great at first, but in practice it soon becomes a burden, because you often need to press dozens of key stokes to program all four cells.
  
  For example: If you want to recondition four cells on the BC-900, you'll go through the following sequence:
  - insert in all 4 cells at once
  - press MODE to select DISCHARGE/REFRESH (2 keystrokes*)
  - press CURRENT to select charging current (2-3 keystrokes)
  * Note: need to press and hold MODE for 1 second for the first keystroke
  
  On the C9000, you can insert in all 4 cells at once, but you have to program them one at a time. Which means:
  - press UP/DOWN to select 'CYCLE', then 'ENTER' (2-5 key strokes)
  - press UP/DOWN to select charging current, ENTER (1-11 key strokes)
  - press UP/DOWN to select discharging current, ENTER (1-6 key strokes)
  - press UP/DOWN to select number of cycles, ENTER (1-13 key strokes)
  Congratulations! You just finished programming the first cell. Now repeat that for the other three cells.
  
  
  BOTTOM LINE:
  The Maha MH-C9000 is, without a doubt, the most powerful NiMH AA battery analyzer/charger in the consumer market. However, certain design issues (such as a single-status LCD panel and ridiculously long programming sequences) make it difficult to use for multiple cells. For most of my routine charging and maintenance of NiMH cells, I'll continue to use my old La Crosse BC-900.
  
  Nevertheless, I don't regret buying the C9000, because it was a lot of fun for me to try out all its functions. Plus I now have a really cool (but expensive) night light.
  
  
  

• Customer service a joke - possible unsafe product

  
  By AAWXL12IG75OS on 2006-07-20
  I have owned one of these chargers for over 1.5 years and when I read that others were having problems with overheating I was concerned. I saw a good deal on this unit and decided that I would order a new one for myself and one for my father figuring I would get the newer safer version. We were both shipped the old version 32 and my father's was defective and had to be replaced. He was shipped another old version, but at least the second one workd.
  
  I called LaCross tech support and was unlucky enough to speak with Chris, who told me that version 33 was exactly the same as V32. I mentioned what I had learned on the web about the differences between them and he insisted again that it was the same unit, NO DIFFERENCE, and he would not replace my unit with a current version. The new version has been out for many months and yet the date code and version number was the same on my new unit as the one I pre-ordered when these were first released over 1.5 years ago. If they have decided to change the cut off temp to a lower value, as I have learned here and several other places, than they should quit shipping the unit that is known to overheat and melt the charger, damage batteries, and possibly your home. I wonder why they are up front with some and lie to others? In the past I have praised this charger in the forums but not after dealing with customer support that lies. I am no longer comfortable leaving batteries in the unit while at work or sleeping, and I sure didn't want to give an unsafe gift to my father. I would now give this zero stars if that was an option. Too bad since I liked the features enough to buy another and give as a gift.
  
  

• I would like to rate this charger higher.

  
  By A7MGTFQGXR8KL on 2005-10-20
  I would like to give this item 5 stars because it is well made and does a real good job of charging the batteries. But it tends to be temperamental. I had some batterys that were really dead and it would not attempt to charge them. It just said they were null. I put them in my other charger and they did fine in there. But there were some batteries that really were null, that I would not know about if it had not told me.
  
  The other problem is that it is a little difficult to figure out how to use. The default setting is fine and maybe that is all most people will ever need. But the instructions are not really adequate, and the print in them is very small.
  
  Still, this maybe the best charger out there right now. I would stay away from the cheap chargers for two reasons. They do not know if a battery is any good or not. Often in four batteries only one is bad and it is nice to be able to identify the trouble maker. The second problem with the cheap chargers is they do not detect very well. They do not know for sure if your battery even needs charged. So they can burn up your batteries.
  
  This is what happens. You have one battery that is bad. You do not know that and assume your batteries need recharged. The good batteries then get over charged which shortens the life on them and the bad battery will not take a charge. But you really don't know what the problem is because the cheap chargers do not tell you that there is a problem. This charger says NULL, so you know you have a problem with a battery. If it is able to solve that problem, I still don't know. But it is nice just to know which batteries are the trouble makers so you can set them aside and not allow them to get in the way.
  
  Weeding out the bad batteries makes this unit a worthwhile investment. I am sure it will hold up good also.
  
  
  

• Be sure you get the correct version. Amazon has a great return policy.

  
  By A1DR598T55WDTC on 2006-03-12
  The first charger I received was version 32 in a plastic display case. Compartment three did not work and the mode, display, and current buttons would not respond. I e-mailed LaCross and they wanted me to send the defective one back before they would send me a new one. On the other hand, Amazon was terrific. They sent me a new one immediately and I had 30 days to return, prepaid, the old charger. The second version came in a cardboard box. It was version 33 and it works perfectly. The version number shows immediately when you connect the charger to an electic outlet.
  
  
• Dangerous product - mine melted down
  By A7J16JOSW4C2H on 2007-03-02
  I had the BC-900 for almost a year when I woke up one morning to find that it had melted down while charging batteries overnight. Luckily it was sitting on a non-flammable surface but if it had not, it probably would have caught fire and burned my house down. The batteries were all black and charred and the charger was warped from the heat. Before this, I had no problems with the charger and would have been able to write a stellar review. I doubt I'm the only one with this experience and don't think it's worth the risk for anyone, regardless of the other positive reviews. You have been warned...
  
  
• BC-900 fries
  By A1POD1RAAASRO9 on 2006-10-02
  I've had a BC-900 for a little over a year. I love its capabilities. It was a 5 star until now. I don't know what version it is, it is not shown on the unit itself. Two weeks ago it completely fried a set of 4 AA NiMH. They were bubbling hot. The BC-900 is melted in the center section. Scary. Seemed close to being on fire or exploding the batteries. I'd like to get another one but the fire hazard is scaring me away. BTW, I called LaCrosse Tech Support and the woman I talked with said she was not aware of any such problems with it. Huh???
  
  
• a great battery charger!
  By AXI7QBVKYRKS6 on 2005-02-26
  The La Crosse BC-900 is an intelligent battery charger for 1 to 4 AA or AAA batteries at a time. Each channel is independant of the others, and you can mix battery sizes and functions in each channel independantly.
  The charger has 4 modes. Charging mode is the default, but it also has a discharge mode, test mode (discharges, then charges back up again, and shows capacity of the battery), or refresh mode (repeats the test mode up to 20 times, until it doesnt see an improvement in the test result).
  Each charging channel has an LCD readout that can show the charging current, the voltage of the cell, the capacity of the cell (in ma if under 2.0 amps, or in amps if it is a 2000ma cell or higher) in test or recharge mode, or the time it has been performing the function it is currently doing. It is the readouts which make this charger exceptional! It can help you identify under-performing batteries, and makes it easy to match cells by the actual battery capacity, not a guess just because the batteries were from the same package.
  You can charge batteries at different charging rates, ranging from 200ma up to 1.8a. You can be charging at different rates in each channel, but just need to keep in mind that the charging rate you choose in channel 1 will be the maximum charging rate on any other channel. Keep in mind that while you do have control over the charge rate, if you charge at too high of a value, the cells can heat up quite a bit. The unit does have thermal shutoff to protect the cells, but heat can damage nimh cells. The default rate is 200ma which is a gentle charge rate even for AAA cells, but if you are using AA batteries, you will probably choose a higher charge rate.
  If you choose the discharge, test, or refresh functions, you can choose the discharge rate. With the test and refresh functions, the discharge rate will always be 1/2 of the charging rate. It will discharge the battery down until the voltage of the cell reaches 1 volt. In test and refresh functions, it will then charge the battery back to full capacity.
  The charger also comes with a canvas bag containing 4 AA 2000ma cells, 4 AAA 700ma cells, and 4 battery adapters which allow you to use AA batteries to power C or D cell devices. It makes a handy carrying case for the charger, extra batteries, and a camera, film and accessories. You can sling the strap across your shoulder, or use the belt loop to carry it on your belt.
  
  
• Really cost effective and well designed
  By AEWYZOB8G3MBQ on 2007-02-19
  I must say that I thought all chargers were more or less the same. After purchasing a myriad of chargers and batteries I now realize that the various batteries and chargers make all kinds of silly claims that rarely meet expectations. I use AA NiMH batteries for some electronic devices (mice, radios, etc.) and my two Canon cameras. Since my S2 and S3 cameras have a healthy appetite for batteries I decided to check out some reviews and buy from Thomas-Distributing. They are an excellent, if pricey, source for rechargable batteries and chargers. The array of choices is dizzying. I now own two LaCrosse BC-900s that I purchase from Amazon at a much better price. Thomas-Distributing also sells the full line of Maha chargers that seem to garner top ratings but I think the Maha model that is similar to the LaCrosse, costs more and offers fewer features. I own two lower-end Maha chargers and I think they are great. But, the flexibility and information offered by LaCrosse makes this model the best and quite possibly the only charger for AA/AAA batteries that you will ever need. The AC adapter is external and adds bulk so this charger is perhaps less compact than those all-in-one plug in the wall types. But the features built into this model make this my absolute favorite. Other chargers require that you charge two batteries together and the LaCrosse allows you to charge up to four batteries independently at separate rates using separate functions. This is important if you have different batteries with different capacities. The display allows you to monitor each battery for current/time/voltage/capacity side by side. This way you can refresh one battery while discharging one battery while charging one battery... you get the idea. Unlike the Maha model, the display shows all four battery status levels side by side. No scrolling through menus for each battery one by one. At a glance you can check each battery and compare it to the next battery. Most chargers from department stores or camera shops are designed to rapidly charge the battery within a few hours. The high current does charge more quickly but generates heat and reduces the effective life of the battery. Furthermore, those blinking lights don't have accurate meters so you have no information about the true capacity and no idea about the condition of your batteries. Some chargers have a conditioning button which discharges and recharges but still does not give any accurate information. The LaCrosse lets you charge, discharge, measure, recondition and effectively revive batteries. I usually use the lowest default current and refresh my batteries over one week. This takes time but brings my batteries to full capacity. The maH capacity of the battery printed on the battery is often overstated so here is your chance to compare the brands of batteries. (I think the Powerex and Sanyo batteries from Thomas-Distributing are the best.) If you are in a big hurry simply choose a higher current and rapidly charge your batteries. Did you know that any device using multiple batteries will have a battery life limited by the battery with the lowest capacity? Let me explain, If you have four AA batteries that state 2400 maH capacity each, if one battery is weaker than the true 2400 mah (lets just say 1800 maH) then the combination of all four batteries in your device will function to a capacity of only 1800 maH. I'll illustrate... bought four expensive 2400 maH batteries and found that they would run out faster than my old 1800 maH batteries! Using the LaCrosse I discovered that one battery had a capacity of only 1500 maH and the other three were about 2200 maH. I refreshed all four and they all exceed 2500 maH now! Now I take several hundred photos on a single set of batteries. After purchasing eight chargers and throwing away most of them, it's clear that this is the one charger that really shines. It will save you money by reviving old batteries. The price is great and the charger comes with a set of AA and AAA batteries. The included battery adapters may come in handy in an emergency if you need C batteries for a flashlight or toy. My only complaint is the external AC adapter which makes it less portable; I think this is really a minor quibble. If you prefer a rapid charger without all these features check out Maha. Hope this helps.
  
  
• Horrible to Useless Support. Buyer Beware
  By A358Y2SX3CIN7O on 2006-05-23
  This product appears to be a luck of the draw. I received a blister pack v32 and it was immediately defective. After searching the internet I was informed of the problems with the laCrosse and that a newer v33 has less problems.
  
  Contacting Lacrosse support was and appears to be a simple process considering it was a new product and I have all the information. I went thru the laborious task of getting an rma and waited for the newer version.
  
  what I received was the same version and apparently the newer v33 was not available. An email exchange was also pointless as it came down to be the fact I'm lucky to get an exchange and it was working perfectly?!
  
  Amazon was gracious to accept a return but I do not recommend this product for anyone other than those who consider themselves to be knowledgable of rechargable batteries. From experience, I find brand name products like energizer or panasonic are better in quality than anything you hear from the internet because if things break down, you at least have an option of returning it and getting some decent support. Also they have less possibility of dying, for example my powerizer C,D,9v all died after a 1-3 charges and they cost over 50 dollars!. You will save with name brand rechargables and some upsizers and 9v alkalines than you would possibily get from no name rechargables.
  
  
• Poor Build Quality, Inadequate Thermal Protection, Fire Hazard
  By AL10GP3DTO34S on 2007-09-02
  This unit is poorly made and presents a fire hazard. I would not buy again.
  
  When I first plugged in the unit, screen was partially blank. Disassembled (4 exterior screws, 4 internal) to find rough plastic molding edges and loose screws, resulting in the lead to LCD not making contact. Cleaned things up, reassembled, worked OK for about twenty charge cycles. Then it melted down, literally -- the casing is distorted, and when I opened it up I found melted plastic under the push buttons. There appear to be thermistors positioned in the battery compartment, but they're clearly inadequate. And even if I felt safe using it again, it's broken, since the buttons are inoperable.
  
  
  
• BC-900 Alpha Power Battery Charger has a major design flaw
  By ACDJ42KA0TB2B on 2007-05-29
  La Crosse Technology BC-900 Alpha Power Battery Charger has a major design flaw. It cannot be the only battery charger you own, or you have throw out a lot of good batteries.
  
  I read couple of review says it rate good (but empty) battery to null and cannot recharge them. I ignored it and purchased one for my out of town trip. I took this charger as my only charger for the trip. I had new Sony batteries, only used a few time, however, all power was drain in my PDA device. When I put the battery in the charger, it says null and cannot recharge them. I cannot use my device anymore during the trip.
  
  Some suggested that you have to keep your old battery charger, and it is true that you can recharge it using old charger and then put it back in La Cross battery charger. However, if this is your only charger, then you have to throw away a lot of good/new batteries if they are empty, since it cannot charge an empty battery. This is a major design flaw.
  
  If this is your only battery charger at home, consider the problem. If you want bring this charger to a trip and you only want bring one charger with you, consider the problem.
  
  This charger has many excellent features that others don't offer, but one deadly major design flaw.
  
  
• Very good charger with one major problem
  By A2OLUFN9R9NN6L on 2006-03-30
  The charger is very good as said by other reviewer. I noticed one problem during usage: ther charger refuse to charge over-discharged batteries. These batteries' voltage are near 0 volt. The charge simply display NULL. My other chargers can charge these without problem. I must use other chargers charge them for half minutes and then use this charger to charge them. This is very annoying!
  
  
• Bad product, bad customer service
  By A2ZIA6W5I3I1QF on 2006-10-30
  I bought the charger. Charged batteries that weekend. Worked fine. A couple of weeks later I tried to charge batteries. It didn't work. Did all the things I was suppossed to do off the website. Didn't work. Sent an email. Got no response. Sent another email, got a good response: will extend the warranty since they were currently out of stock. However, no information about what to "do." Sent another email. Got a response: I had to pay to ship it to them to fix. They refused to send a prepaid shipping label, "That's the warranty policy."
  
  
• Worthless Product, Rude Customer Support
  By A3LSI6YA2AWAUM on 2006-07-21
  I ordered one about 6 months ago. It never worked. It would initialize normally, but once batteries were put into it, the charger would reset and initialize itself every 10 seconds or so. I sent it back for replacement and after talking to the rudest customer support person, got a RMA number. They sent me a new one and this one does the exact same thing! This is with any capacity of battery I use. Maybe the newer version is better (mine is a version 32), but this one is a complete disappointment.
  
  
• Amazon ships old version 32
  By A3K8BQA8A95Y55 on 2006-09-09
  I just received my charger yesterday - it's version 32 which has been reported to suffer from overheating problems, with some risks of fire hazards.
  
  Version 33 has been available for a few months - why does Amazon ship older, inferior versions where there are known to be problems ?
  
  I will likely try to exchange, but return email advised me to purchase a 2nd unit & return the 1st - seems that there's a good chance I'll get the same version again.
  
  
• Best thing since PV chargers...
  By A81TKBFT404MW on 2005-12-16
  This is an excellent state-of-the-art charger, I got this along w/4 Sanyo 2500 NiMH mAhr batteries. The only thing I don't like is the Display button being a bit stubborn to react, but it does it's job (push a certain way & reacts better)... It is however extremely versatile.
  
  The display & interface are pretty simple & straightforward with 3 Current, Display & Mode push buttons. There are 4 basic charging modes: Charge, Discharge, Refresh & Test. Charge can be set to 200, 500, 700, 1000, 1500 or 1800 mA current charge (1500 & 1800 are just for compartments 1 & 4) each battery is independently charged & monitored.
  
  When 1st charging (@ 200 mA), I noticed it WAY prematurely read FULL on 2 of the new batteries. Reinserting them will restart the charging cycle, 2 had to be reinserted several times, but all batteries "finished" @ 1.46 volts. They are new batteries (which I hear need to be broken in 3-5 charge cycles anyway).
  
  From the start, the Display button was very useful, you can select from Voltage (V), Current (mA), Time elapsed (hh:mm) & Capacity (mAh/Ah). All are on 4 independent displays (1 for each battery) & 4 selections can be displayed for each battery all-at-once or independently. So when FULL read prematurely on those 2 batteries & reinserted, I kept track of mAhrs accumulated where it was "quitting" after the 1st 200-750 mAhrs or so... After charging I let them "top off" w/the float charge, took 2 out after 4 hours & 2 after 12. 1 of the Sanyos took 2850 mAhrs straight from the start!
  
  I only use a quick charge or discharge when the batteries warrant it for reconditioning, not new out of the box. Maybe not as accurate as a Fluke voltmeter, but relatively it's all I need to see what batteries are bad/good & can also match cells for pack performance.
  
  As for a quick charge being better for battery life cycles, it isn't, same goes for the physics of battery resistance & heat involving number of discharge cycles. For both NiCAD & NiMH chemistries, there's a tradeoff between internal resistance & construction with capacity & C rates for charge & discharge. NiCAD excels @ power, NiMH @ capacity, both are excellent performers depending on what you need them for...
  
  The unit trickle charges 5% of charge rate, so for 200 mA that's 10 mA trickle charge. Self-discharge is about 1-2% per day or 1-2 mAh, so to be safe I'd cycle it on a timer for longer periods (weeks/months). The lower capacity Sanyo AA NiMH's are also more robust when it comes to a trickle charge current, better able to handle any oxygen generated during a long term "trickle overcharge" (relative to NiMH self-discharge rate). I wouldn't be too nit-picky about this, but wouldn't ignore it either.
  
  This is an easy carry small travel sized unit, being a 4-cell AA or AAA NiMH/NiCAD charger Including 4 LCD displays/buttons. The separate wal-wart plug-in unit is rather long but skinnier compared to traditional wal-warts, so fits in a side-by-side traditional plug but juts out more on the bottom.
  
  My 2nd charger is a small DIY PV panel & charge controller (where I learned years ago about temp compensation & tapered charge...), which I take on the road when there's no AC-DC power sources around, also charges @ about 200 mA/cell. Hmmm, a solar panel for a 3 volt/4 amp wal-wart on the BC-900?
  
  A nice investment, it's "future proof" & hopefully should last through the years (it past "break in")... Highly recommended.
  
  
• Great charger but with a major achilles heel
  By AW50YJKKHKN5S on 2007-11-29
  This charger is probably the best charger that I've used, when it works.
  
  However, as another reviewer has indicated, if the batter drops below 0.9V, the charger will not "see" nor charge the battery. So if you have a battery that was discharge and hasn't been used for a couple of months and you put it into this charger, it will not charge! The charger displays null.
  
  I called Lacrosse tech support (507 895-7095) and they told me that's how the unit is designed.
  
  The only workaround that I've found is to put the batteries into a different (Energizer) charger to get them charged far enough to 0.9V, then put them into the BC-900.
  
  This is just a bad design, IMHO. Other chargers have different ways of dealing with this (including my Energizer charger, or the MAHA).
  
  So bottom line is that if you are charging batteries everyday, you won't run into this problem, however, if this is your only charger I would not recommend it at all.
  
  In hindsight, I would have chosen a different charger, probably the MAHA C9000.
  
  
• If you value your life don't buy it
  By A6MKPM8TA1HRT on 2008-02-29
  Today, after a few months of light use the Lacrosse BC-900 charger caused a major meltdown. Fortunately, I caught it in time before it started a fire, it had heated the 4 eneloop AA batteries so hot they scalded my finger and I quickley unplugged the wire from the back and used a back of a plastic comb to pry the frying hot batteries. The 4 LCD's were still reading 200 after nearly a day, usually it switches off and they say full, after an overnight charge. I would stay away from Lacrosse after this scary experience.
  
  
• Beware of firmware version 32 ...
  By A37SXKIQMQD33O on 2006-04-16
  HI ! I bought this a couple of months ago. Let me tell you all the problems I found:
  
  1) Changing its operating mode is NOT done in a "scientific way": According to the manual, I got to press the Mode button for a second, right after placing all the batteries, and I got an 8 seconds window to do so. NOT TRUE: Most of the time I cannot achieve mode changing. I press it for a second, softly, then hardly, they I change my pressing time, then I get frustrated and press it repeatedly, etc. SOMETIMES I MANAGE TO CHANGE THE MODE ... but it is rather erratic in behaviour and very frustrating.
  
  2) Values in display, specially for second battery display (counting from my left) go berserk: It even managed to say that a battery mas null (not usable) (when this first happened to me, I THREW away that battery) ... THen it happens it is not true: You pull the other batteries out, place that battery in the FIRST charging place, and it just get charged normally.
  
  3) Once (that is: I was around and noticed it) the wall-transformer started making a noise, like a motor. It was very weird. I was in a hotel room at that time, watching TV, and while the charger transformer started with the noise, the TV got all distorted, so I think that it was doing some class of shortcircuting internally that affected the TV.
  
  In short: I thought I was buying a keeper. IT is NOT RELIABLE. I read over the net, that firmware 32 causes problems 1) and 2) ... and you should get at least firmware 33. I bought mine in amazon. I don't know HOW you can ASK for firmware 33 before buying.
  
  
• Be wary of drastic price fluctuations
  By A1LIULRG2TFAYY on 2007-05-27
  I''m just writing this for everyone's benefit. I have not purchased one of these yet because of the drastic changes in price. I don't know whether it has to do with the supply/demand, seasons or what. Nevertheless, the price of this item is ridiculously volatile. Have I seen this happen much worse for other items, sure, but hey everyone including myself wants to get a good deal. It takes time out of your life requesting the difference from Amazon, and hey, time is money. Here's a pricing timeline.
  
  Starting price: 34.99
  12/23/06 39.99
  1/12/07 34.99
  1/14/07 39.99
  1/15/07 36.99
  1/16/07 39.99 (3:51am)
  1/16/07 36.99 (9:52am)
  1/17/07 39.99
  5/10/07 37.19
  5/27/07 47.95
  5/27/07 49.99 (As I speak)
  
  Hope this helps.
  
  
• Correction of a previous reviewer...
  By A2LDHJSP3Y6D9Q on 2007-11-22
  This is in response to Eric Olstad's review on Oct 10, 2007...
  
  Eric wrote:
  "I was hoping that it would be able to detect how much power is currently in the battery, but it doesn't."
  
  You don't mean power, you mean current capacity. And, yes, the BC-900 can determine this, but it, or any other charger/analyzer, cannot just "determine" remaining current capacity with the wave of a magic wand. The analyzer must discharge the cell at a user-set rate of current, and it calculates the current capacity based upon the discharge current and how long it took to discharge.
  
  "It just detects the heat coming from the batteries and that's how it knows how not to overcharge."
  
  Wrong, wrong, wrong. The BC-900 terminates charge primarily by sensing the slight drop in voltage which occurs just as the cell becomes fully charged. It is state of the art detection. In addition, there are two other ways in which the BC-900 will terminate, and they are both safety features in case you are trying to charge bad cells which may not provide sufficient voltage drop at end-of-charge. First, there are indeed heat sensors under the cells: one under cells 1 & 2, and another under cells 3 & 4. Under normal operation, the ECU does not terminate charge based upon these because under normal operation (good cells, not charging at too-high a rate for the cells capacity) the cells do not get hot enough for these sensors to tell the ECU to stop the show. Only if something goes out of bounds and the cells heat above 127 degrees Fahrenheit will the temperature sensors come into play and halt charging. If this happens, the charger stops charging and the charging current display will suddenly show "000 mA". This occurs in pairs, that is, if cell 1 and/or 2 overheats, current is shut down to both cells 1 & 2. Likewise, if cell 3 and/or 4 overheats, the current to bay's 3 & 4 shuts down. Only one cell in the pair must overheat to trigger charge cessation to both. I have verified this with a non-contact IR thermometer while charging four low capacity cells at too-high a rate. This is the only feature on the BC-900 which is not truly independent across all four channels. Once the current shuts down to the cells, they begin to cool. Once safely below the trigger temperature, the current will ramp back up over the course of about two seconds and you are back in action charging away again. But if you have triggered the over-temp safety feature by charging at too-high a rate, it will just shut back down again a while later after the cells heat up again, so it makes more sense to heed what the charger is trying to tell you("000 mA") and reduce the charge current.
  
  The second fail-safe feature is a maximum current limit. Some cells, especially older, neglected NiMH charged at low rates (200 mA) may not provide sufficient end-of-charge voltage drop for the ECU to halt charging, but at such slow charge rates neither will the cells become overly warm, so the temperature sensor will not tell the ECU to shut things down either. In this scenario, the charger will stop charging after it has put a maximum amount of current into the cell, the upper limit of which is set by La Crosse. I have forgotten the figure. Nonetheless, given such redundancy, I find it hard to imagine how one could "expect a little more from this product!"
  
  
  I own two V.33 and one V.32 of the BC-900. Obviously, I am a fan, but I would like to voice a couple gripes I have with the unit. First, someone mentioned their unit freezing up. Both software versions can occasionally freeze up (most notably just as the fourth and final cell terminates), or the ECU may suddenly disallow certain user input, necessitating a hard reset (which is just unplugging and plugging back in). It can be a pain if you are a day or two into a refresh and it occurs, causing you to lose your capacity data. It does not happen very often, but often enough for me that I did some research and found a cure. It seems the problem can be tracked to noise in the provided power supply. The solution (not to be performed by your average consumer) is to solder special filter capacitors across the inputs on the circuit board. I have done this to all three of my BC-900's and have not had a single incident of ECU freezing in several months since. Again, the freezing is not terribly frequent, but buyers should be aware that if it does occur on their unit that it is pretty much "normal" when using the included power supply.
  
  Another gripe, pretty much universal, is that the button operation is marginal. Sometimes you can push a button and nothing happens. A firmer-than-should-be necessary push is needed. What is more frustrating is some of my buttons will occasionally "bounce." That is, you push the button once, but the display cycles through two functions instead of just the next one. La Crosse really could have sourced better switches for probably no more cost.
  
  Another gripe that may or may not come into play for some users is how the unit holds the "maximum accumulated capacity" in memory. If you use the "refresh" feature, the cell will be discharged as the accumulated discharge capacity is shown on the display. When the cell is completely discharged, it will begin to charge back up, but while doing so it will hold the maximum discharge capacity in the display all throughout the charge and second discharge. At the end of the second discharge, the first maximum accumulated capacity display will be replaced by the value determined in the second discharge.
  
  Stay with me, here. Sometimes it is very useful to know simply how much capacity a cell has without having to put a cell through multiple refresh cycles. One would think to use the "discharge" function, which will discharge the cell while showing the accumulated discharge capacity, then recharge the cell. Where La Crosse really dropped the ball is that as soon as the cell discharges completely and begins to charge back up, the accumulated discharge capacity is erased from the display and the "accumulated charge" is displayed. "Accumulated charge" is a worthless piece of information which means nothing. La Crosse should have arranged for the maximum discharge capacity to be held in the display during the "discharge" mode just as in the "refresh" mode. Of course, you can just do one-half cycle in refesh mode, but then you have to make sure you babysit the charger in order to catch the maximum discharge capacity displayed during recharge, but halt the cycle manually before it begins the second discharge. Depending on the charge/discharge rates you selected, this window can be as brief as an hour or less before it begins to discharge again.
  
  Most likely any BC-900's sold today are V.33. The learning curve to discover and master all the programming features of the BC-900 can be a little steep for some. When you select your desired mode and current settings, the display will hold this value for several seconds in case you change your mind and want to select another mode or current setting, then sensing no additional input, the display will flash once and begin the cycle. While getting up to speed on learning my V.32 BC-900, sometimes the display would flash once and begin the cycle before I had time to figure out what to do next, or figure out where I was while reading the next step in the manual. Well, I think this was a point of contention and frustration for many, so with V.33 La Crosse has excactly doubled the amount of time which passes before the display will flash and begin the cycle: 8 seconds for V.33, up from 4 seconds for the V.32. This is great when you are teething on the unit. But once you are up to speed, you understand the modes and what they do, and in what order they are acccessed by each button push, this doubled delay then becomes excruciatingly long, especially when you want to insert and program four cells with different charging modes and parameters! You have to insert the first cell, manually select it's charging bay, select the parameters, and then wait... and wait... and seemingly wait some more... until the display finally flashes once and the cycle begins for that cell. Then you have to start it all over again with the second cell, and so forth. Once you are up to speed, and you begin programming the unit for multiple modes, this really becomes a tiresome hinderance. Note that V.33 units with the 8 second delay are and/or were shipped with V.32 user manuals which still specify a 4 second delay.
  
  One parting thought... some believe, as I did, that cooling the batteries while charging is doing them a favor. I installed a muffin cooling fan above my chargers for this purpose. Problem is, I quickly found out that by not allowing the cells to heat up at end-of-charge, termination was being missed very often. I would see the cell voltage rise to 1.50 - 1.54 volts (a normal range for termination) and then just hang there indefinitely, never terminating charge. Within 1-2 minutes of turning the cooling fan off, all four cells would terminate in quick succession. This was repeatable to the point of not possibly being a coincidence. The moral is, if you must use a cooling fan, do not use it during the final stages of charging. Once you see around 1.45 volts, shut the cooling fan off. If you can't be present to monitor the voltage, it is better to just leave the fan off altogether, because if the charger misses termination and you continually dump near an ampere of current into already-charged cells, your cells will croak prematurely.
  
  I do monitor impending termination if using the fan, and I also recommend using a fan during "discharge" mode, or the discharge cycle of the "refresh" or "test" modes if discharging multiple cells at higher discharge rates. This is because when the cells are discharging, they create a lot of heat inside the cramped enclosure, and it can get very hot underneath, which can only lead to a shortened life span of the charger. La Crosse has designed some ventilation slots on the under side of the unit, but then they made the four little "teats" on the bottom less than 1/8" high, allowing for basically no convection airflow from bottom to top to keep the cells cool. I purchased four self-adhesive rubber feet that are about 3/8" high and mounted them near the stock teats. This allows for some real convection to get started, and when combined with the fan, the guts of the charger barely get warm now. At the very least, toss a couple pencils under your unit, and you'll double the height the unit sits above the table. If you do not use a fan (as most will not) then it is that much more important to provide this increased clearance, as convection will be your only source of cooling.
  
  Currently Amazon has the BC-900 on sale again with free shipping, and everything mentioned above notwithstanding, it's still all I can do to not click that "Add to Cart" button and make it an even four BC-900's sitting on my shelf in the laundry room!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Best Charger Yet...Worth the $50 hands down!
  By A1O4SEJSUAKOSX on 2005-06-18
  I cannot say much more good about this charger than has already been said by the other "5 star" reviews. It is the best charger with the MOST functions to test and extend the life of any NiCad or NiMH AAA's or AA's. The great thing about this charger is when it finishes charging, it gives a trickle charge and ACCURATELY monitors the temperature during this and during regular charging which will help to extend the life of your batteries.
  
  I currently do not even use the 2000 mAh batteries that came with it in favor of some new Panasonic 2300 mAh...but I am sure I will use the LaCrosse batteries in the future when the Panasonics are old. I guess 2000 mAh NiMH batteries are not that bad...but the 2300 mAh are a little better!
  
  I did not want to pay $50 for a charger but bad luck on the cheaper models pushed me into it...boy am I happy I did. I think this is a pretty new model as of early 2005 so keep up with the reviews and ALWAYS shop around on line first!
  
  
• Keep a spare cheap charger just in case
  By AKSXU6WZTBW95 on 2005-10-22
  I use this set few month now. Like it a lot. It did it suppose to do as stated. Couple users already mention that it won't charge the "bad" battery. I have 16 Lenmar rechargeable batteries, 13 of them shown "null". I then use the spare Energizer old charger to charge them for few minutes, then switch to this LaCrosse charger. Turn out these batteries aren't dead yet, but close to. My 2000mAh Lenmar batteries were down to 40mAh at first recharge. It took long time to refresh all of them. But this charger brings them back to 400-600mAh. It still far from 2000mAh, but they are better than nothing. I have no problem to refresh other brand batteries.
  My summary: This is a very good charger. Keep the old one handy when you purchase this one. Also, don't buy Lanmar batteries. You get what you paid.
  
  
• Pays for Itself in Rescued Batteries
  By A24J2Y1O22JYZX on 2007-10-20
  OK, I guess I'm a bit of a gadget freak. There I said it. When I saw all the modes and read-outs on this thing, I knew I had to have it. And I haven't been disappointed. I keep it on my desk so I can look over and watch the read-outs and hit the "display" button to switch between time in cycle, total capacity, charge rate, etc. just because I can!
  
  I bought it because my recently purchased Strathwood solar lights were not performing that well. Some work great, lasting for hours every night, but others were just not lighting up for more than 20 or 30 minutes (and some not at all). I suspected the batteries were at fault, and I was right.
  
  When I removed the "600 mAh" NiCd AAs from my solar lights (all 24 of them), after about 6 weeks of use in the lights, and put them in "TEST" mode in the BC-900 charger, I found that many of the batteries were only capable of 15 to 50 mAh (milliAmpere hours) after a normal charge/discharge cycle. I used the BC-900's "REFRESH" mode to cycle through a few discharge/charge cycles and was able to bump these batteries back to between 400 mAh and 600 mAh each, so next spring I'll replace the batteries (the lights are at our summer home) and expect to get much more consistent and reliable performance out of the solar lights.
  
  The charger can't work miracles (it was not able to revive my 8-year old low capacity NiMH batteries that hadn't been holding a charge and had been sitting unused in a drawer for years), but it did a good job revitalizing a few newer NiMH and NiCd batteries that had been subjected to poor charging from cheaper "fast chargers" and simple timed battery chargers. If you have a few NiCd or NiMH rechargeable batteries that are not holding a charge for very long, then it's worth running them through the RC-900's TEST and REFRESH cycles - you may just find that you're able to squeeze some more life out of these old batteries, which is better for the environment and for your pocketbook.
  
  I had been looking at a Maha charger with similar features, but after an excellent comparative review by "NLee the Engineer" I went with the LaCrosse RC-900 instead. It's very simple to use, and offers charging speeds from 200 mAh all the way up to 1800 mAh which can charge up your 2000 mAh AAs to full capacity in a little over an hour if you need a "quick fix." Charging at higher rates than that generally isn't a good idea and can impact the usable life span of the battery.
  
  Also, the charger comes with some LaCrosse brand NiMH batteries (4 AA, 4 AAA) which all tested close to their rated capacity (2400 mAh for the AA, 800 mAh for the AAA) as well as a decent case to hold the batteries and charger. It even comes with C and D size "shells" so you can use standard AAs in devices which require C and D batteries (just don't expect them to last very long).
  
  All in all, an excellent value and one that will pay for itself in very short order.
  
  
• I am impressed - very good charger.
  By ARC7QMDO889XX on 2006-11-18
  I just received my BC-900 today. This charger does not look anything like my previous chargers; there are many buttons that perform many functions. To be safe, I dig into the manual and started reading. I am very impressed with what it can do. I am charging the supplied AA batteries right now; everything seems to work fine. I can't wait to start refreshing some of my old batteries. This charger gives me another dimension in knowing more about the batteries that I am using. I know the battery capacity at any time; I know when the battery is becoming bad that it can be discarded. One more thing, the supply manual print letters are small but clear. If you refer a better manual, it can be downloaded from the company web site in PDF format. The web address is www.lacrossetechnology.com.
  
  A day latter...
  I completed charging the four supplied AA batteries rated at 2.4Ah at 200mA (without any discharge). To my surprise, one battery comes out at 2.4Ah; two at 2.7Ah and one at 3.2Ah. I used the two matches 2.7Ah right away to drive a wireless device that needs two AA batteries. This charger actually gives individual rating of each of the battery after completion. I really appreciate the extra information that this charger give about my batteries. The price for this charger with all the additional items is really competitive.
  
  
  
• Best charger for the money
  By A2AMSRZ766PB6L on 2007-02-22
  I've been using Maha chargers for the past 5 years. First MH-C401FS and after it literally burst into flames - the MH-C808M Ultimate Professional Charger w/LCD Display.
  
  MH-C401FS was a great charger. Until it burnt down any way (BTW - Maha replaced it free of charge and did not even ask if it was still under warranty; which it was not). However, MH-C401FS lacked the discharge / refresh feature. Despite of what Ni-MH cell manufacturers would have you believe - these batteries DO suffer from memory effect. Not nearly as bad as the old Ni-Cd batteries used to. But they are not immune to memory affect none the less.
  
  The more expensive, 8 position MH-C808M does include a 'refresh' function and can also charge C and D cells - but many other shortcomings make it a joke of a charger considering it retails for close to a hundred bux and calls itself Professional. Just to name a few - the LCD is really more an eye candy than actual useful display with pretty battery icons that look nice - but don't provide any real information. The LCD does not tell you at all how much charge is in each cell. The so called independent circuits of the MH-C808M are not all that independent. It turns out that in discharge mode - the charger waits around until all cells are drained before it starts charging again. Finally, by default it charges using high current setting. It's great for those who suffer from ADD and also don't realize that juicing their batteries with 1 amp or more is detrimental to long term battery life. Not so great if you want to be kind to your cells and have to remember to adjust the settings every time you pop in a battery to recharge.
  
  BC-900 solves all the shortcomings of both of my previous Maha chargers and adds some nice extras to boot. Default charging current is a very low 200mA - which is gentle on the batteries and will insure longest possible life cycle. It takes a long time to recharge modern cells with such low current (i.e. overnight) - but unless you are in a rush - there really is no good reason to shorten battery life by fast-charging them. If you are in hurry - you can set the BC-900 to charge with MUCH higher current (and thus much faster).
  
  Unlike in the MH-C808M - the LCD is actually informative. And unlike Maha's latest MH-C9000 - information for all cells is displayed simultaneously without cumbersome and time consuming cycling through each of the 4 slots. It's just awesome to be able to know EXACTLY how much capacity each battery has. This way you can pair up batteries of similar ACTUAL capacities for a more consistent behavior. I have probably 30 AA cells from Powerex and Enrgizer (plus some new Eneloops from Sanyo). While some people swear by the Powerex cells - I have discovered that my Maha chargers have reduced all of the 2200 mAh to a mere 1600 to 1800 mAh after 3 years of not so intense use (and nowhere near the 1000 theoretical cycle figure claimed by the manufacturer). Energizer 2500mAh cells did a bit better as they only lost about 300mAh capacity in that same time. Surprisingly enough - the 1850mAh Energizer cells - the oldest ones I have and the ones with most use - are STILL at their original capacity. Perhaps these results speak to the quality of the batteries. Or the somewhat crazed race to higher capacity (achieved all too often with bogus claims or through the trade off of faster self-discharge). But I have a feeling that never EVER completely draining the batteries - because this feature was not available on the MH-C401FS that I used for so long - has contributed to loss of capacity.
  
  The BC-900 should help prevent my new batteries from rapidly loosing capacity. Because it has the 'discharge' function - I can completely drain each cell every time it charges to avoid the memory effect from ever becoming a problem. Also - I can run the 'refresh' cycle which will repeatedly charge and discharge each cell up to 20 times until no further capacity increase occurs. In fact - I have used this function on a several of my older cells. It's worth noting that at the lowest current level of 200mA (and most 'gentle' one on the batteries) it takes a week or more to 'refresh' a high capacity AA battery. This is not a complaint as it's possible to select much higher current. I prefer not to do it because I'm in no rush and lower current chargers batteries more thoroughly and keeps them usable for more charge-discharge cycles. But it's something to keep in mind. Fortunately - with each of the battery slots TRULY independent from one another - I'm able to use two slots to run 'refresh' on some batteries while keeping 2 other slots open for when I need to charge batteries for immediate use.
  
  I've read some reports of BC-900 melting down or damaging batteries. I'm guessing this was happening at much higher current settings than what I use, because at default super-slow (and super thorough) 200mA setting - batteries are hardly at all warm to touch. Even at the end of charge cycle. Also, some people have reported channel isolation issues and even devised solutions by adding capacitors to the circuit board. I have not had any of the isolation issues. But again - it's possible that they only become apparent at higher current settings.
  
  All in all - this is an AWESOME charger at a very attractive price. You will actually need to read the manual to take full advantage of all the features. Which I count as a plus. By the same token - this charger is too complicated to use for some - for example my mother. I will be replacing her Maha charger with a Sony unit (Sony BCG-34HRMF4 with 'refresh' function). Extra functionality of the BC-900 would be lost on her and thus it's not worth paying the premium for features she'd never use any way. As long as you know what you are getting yourself into (more complicated than normal user interface and potential for over heating / channel separation issues at higher current settings) this is probably the best charger under fifty bux one can get. If it wasn't for its inability to charge C and D cells - it would be the best charger ever produced. Maybe next model ;-)
  
  
• More a computer then a charger
  By A3FCHX9Z4ACPA on 2006-02-18
  I've bought this charger to charge 10 batteries and maintain them in a good condition. 8 of those 10 batteries came with the charger itself. Of course they were the first ones I tried to charge. IT appeared that even after using "refresh mode" the best of those 2000mAh battaries can do only 1800. The others were much worse. Same about AAA ones - they barely reached 500.
  
  I'm actually not a "pro" who maintains dozens of rechargeable battaries, so most probably this charger is not for me. I'll keep it and use just like any other charger, even knowing that it can do more. If you don't know much about how battaries work probably you don't need this charger - it will be more confusing then usable. Try to get something cheaper. People who use lots of batteries will probably find this device more useful.
  
  And the last: the quality of the bag and the adapters is unexpectedly low comparing to the quality of the charger itself.
  
  
• Great product! Still v32 NOT v33
  By A3IPSECQAUAT8V on 2006-10-03
  Received mine October 2nd and it is v32 instead of the v33. This charger requires that you read the manual but it is worth the effort. Prbabaly the best feature of this charger is its ability to discharge the battery first. This eliminates the "memory effect" that plagues most NiCad batteries. The second nicest feature is the ability to refresh your batteries wherein the charger discharges and recharges the battery until it has been "refreshed" to its greatest capacity and then displays the refreshed battery's actual measured capacity!
  
  In the test mode the battery will be fully charged and then discharged to determine its capacity and then the battery is charged again. Afterwards the battery's capacity will be displayed. So, no more guessing about whether a battery is still good or not!
  
  This charger also allows you the ability to choose the charging current! The slower you charge the batteries the longer they last. But there are always those times when you need your batteries charged quickly and this charger is up to the task.
  
  The charger does get hot if you use the fastest charging rates but it also has an automatic turn off switch that engages if the unit gets too hot. I've not actually had the unit get to this point so I cannot comment on whether or not it works.
  
  I cannot imagine a battery charger with better features. I wish using it were a bit more intuitive but the instuctions are comprehensive and you should have no problems. I can recommend this product heartily!
  
  
• Now version 33
  By A3PRYB0IANMTNL on 2006-11-28
  Just received it today. I'm testing it right now, not much information. But one thing that I want you guys know is, now Amazon is shipping version 33. So, feel free to order from Amazon.
  
  

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