Hi All,

We seem to get an ever expanding rage of portable kit that can use
rechargable batteries.

I have a really old 'overnight' chargers that can take 4 x D cells
and has been doing so (4 x 4000mA Nicads) for my 'used daily' National
Panasonic GX 300 radio (for I've just worked out the last 20 years ..
they don't make em like that any more) ;-)

Anyroadup, along with many RC pack / programable chargers I have an
"Ansmann Power Line 5" (4 way, AAA to 4) auto chargers that seems ok
for *some* cells but has issues with others (like cooking them or
spiting them out etc).

So I've been looking for a 'bulk' (12 x) / individually monitored
charger that would cover AAA and AA's and treat them gently .. charge
them in a 'few' hours rather than a few mins!

The frustrating thing is the range of (miss)information you find for
the same product .. some sites saying it's a 'fast' charger and others
'.. specifically designed to charge your batteries slowly and gently
..." shrug.

I noted from a previous thread a Vanson charger sold by 7 Day Shop
(under another brand) that seems to do what I need but is only 4 way
(and I wanted (say) 12 way (eg RC TX = 8 + RX = 4 x AA or her CD
Walkman 2 x AA + portable speakers 4 X AAA or 12 x AAA for the
daughters MP3 player g etc). Ok, at 7DS prices I could buy 3 of
these for less than the price of say an "Ansmann Energy 16" but that's
more clutter in our small house? ;-(

But the 'technical details' from Ansmanns own site for that model are
far from 'technical' ..

http://www.ansmann.co.uk/en/index.ht...&pr2id=&appid=

So it shows for an AA a charge current of 700mA but on Vanson 1800,
Panasonic 2000, GP 1800 or even a Uniross 2300mA NiMH, they all
suggest a 'Quick Charge' current of ~ 450mA?

Hmmm ..

They also have a little charge calculator ..

http://www.ansmann.co.uk/en/calculator_chargingtime.htm

And for a 2300mA NiMH AA it shows for the 'Power Line 5' a charging
time of 3.1 hrs and the Energy 16 = 3.9 hours (so there *are*
differences between models at least g).

So, anyone found a decent charger for (mainly, now) NiMH AA and AAA's
that does the job from flat in 4-5 + hours then drops to trickle with
individual cell monitoring etc please? I don't mind spending a bit of
money on it as an investment ...

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. I have also built many chargers in the past (constant current /
voltage limited etc) and have seriously considered doing so again just
to give these cells an easy ride .. ;-(