La Crosse Technology BC-700U - Manual (Page 3)

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During charging, the different displays- Charging current (in mA), Time elapsed (in hh:mm),
Terminal voltage (in V) and Accumulated capacities (in mAh or Ah) may be toggled and
selected by pressing the DISPLAY key (refer Table 4).
After the rechargeable battery is fully charged, “Full” will be shown on the display and the user
may take out them at this time. If the rechargeable batteries are left in place 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
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NOTE:
z The current cannot be altered once the setting has been confirmed in the initial stage.
This prevents the user from changing the current setting accidentally while setting other
rechargeable batteries. If one wants to change the applied current afterward, the
rechargeable batteries must be taken out and inserted again.
z The current setting of the first charging compartment restricts the maximum charging
current of the other rechargeable batteries. For instance, if the first compartment
rechargeable battery is set to charge at 500 mA, then the second, third and fourth
rechargeable batteries can be only set to charging at a maximum current of 500 mA.
Therefore, place the battery with the highest expected charging current in Compartment
1 first. To release the restriction of setting charging current, user must take out all four
rechargeable batteries from the charging unit.
z To change the operating mode during charging, one can press the MODE key (for
selecting all rechargeable batteries) or NUMBER key then MODE key (for selecting
individual rechargeable battery). 8 seconds after the last key press the LCD will blink one
time to indicate the end of changing.
z When overheating conditions occur (over about 127°F (53°C)), usually due to too a high
charging current selected), the charging will be stopped immediately and the display will
read “000 mA”, the charging process will only resume once the temperature of the
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rechargeable batteries drops to a safe level. If overheating conditions continue to occur,
the rechargeable batteries must be taken out to cool down and then charge at a lower
current.
z For a new rechargeable battery it is recommended to charge it with 200 mA current to re-
condition it from the long storage status.
DISCHARGE MODE
Discharge mode will first discharge the rechargeable battery then charge it. It is for removing the
memory effects of rechargeable batteries.
When the battery is overheated the
charging will cease automatically. “000
mA” will be displayed.
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Press the MODE key within 8 seconds after inserting the rechargeable batteries; the Discharge
mode can be selected. Then select 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.)
NOTE:
z The discharging current is always set to be half of the charging current whose upper limit
is 700 mA (see Table 2). Therefore the user is recommended to carefully select the
discharging current so that the charging current afterward will not be too high.
z Hold the MODE key for about 1 second to activate the mode change. Press and release
the MODE key to select the “Charge”, “Discharge”, “Test” and “Refresh” mode.
Discharging current: 250 mA
Discharge Mode
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Table 2. DISCHARGE MODE Current
User-selected Discharging
current
100 mA 250 mA 350 mA
Thereafter Charging
current
200 mA 500 mA 700 mA
Finally, batteries will be fully charged in discharge mode and “Full” will be displayed. If the user
presses the DISPLAY key at this time, "charge" icon instead of "discharge" icon will be
displayed.
REFRESH MODE
Old rechargeable batteries and those that have not been used for a long time require refreshing.
This process will recover the optimum capacity of the rechargeable batteries. Press the MODE
key within 8 seconds after inserting the rechargeable batteries; the Refresh mode can be
selected.
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Refresh mode will start with discharging the rechargeable battery, then charging it. The
repeated discharging and charging cycles will be launched until no further increase in the
measured capacities is estimated or 20 cycles, whichever comes first.
NOTE:
z Press the MODE key within 8 seconds after inserting the rechargeable batteries; the
Refresh mode can be selected. (Hold the MODE key for about 1 second to activate the
mode change. Press and release the MODE key to select the “Charge”, “Discharge”,
“Test” and “Refresh” mode.)
Refresh mode (the battery is
being discharged)
Discharging current: 250 mA