Health & Personal Care : Rayovac Universal Battery Charger for Rechargeable AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-Volt Batteries |
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Rating:  - * Bulky, heavy, but surprisingly smart and versatile ... I already have at least half a dozen smart chargers in the house, including top-of-the-line models such as the La Crosse BC-900 and Maha C9000, but I still wanted this Rayovac "Universal Battery Charger" (PS3) for the following reasons: 1. It can accept C, D, and 9V batteries in additional to the standard AA and AAA cells. 2. It can handle rechargeable alkaline cells in addition to the standard NiMH or NiCd cells. 3. It has the potential to recharge up to 8 AA or AAA cells at once. So far, I'm very satisfied with this charger. Of course it is bulky and heavy. But that's to be expected for an unit that can accept four D-cells at the same time. For home use the size and weight is not an issue at all. I'm happy to report that this charger is a lot smarter than I previously imagined. Unlike a typical dumb charger in this price range (for example: the Energizer CHFCV Overnight Family Charger), the PS3 has four independent charging channels. That means I am free to charge different cell in any channel. Each channel comes with a status indicator LED, which goes out once the cell is fully charged. But most of all, this charger is smart enough to recognize the difference between NiMH cells and alkaline cell, and can pick the correct charging method accordingly. When an unknown cell is inserted into the PS3, the charger first starts off with a trickle current (800mA peak current at 10% duty cycle, or an average current of 80mA). Based on the voltage profile of this cell, the PS3 can determine whether this is an alkaline cell, or a NiMH cell. After two minutes, the duty cycle is increased to 60%, so the average current is now around 480mA. For a NiMH cell, charging will continue until a negative dV/dt is detected, in which case it switches back to trickle current again. But for an alkaline cell, charging current will gradually decrease with higher terminal voltage until it reached 1.65V. The Rayovac PS3 is designed to recharge the Rayovac 'Renewal' brand of rechargeable alkaline cells (which are now discontinued). The user manual warned against charging ordinary disposable alkaline cells, but I experimented with it anyway. So far, I have observed very good results with recharging Duracell alkaline AA cells. Of course, the capacity of a recharged alkaline cell is lower than that of a fresh cell, and it drops with each subsequent cycle. But since I can squeeze another half a dozen cycles out of an exhausted alkaline cell at no additional cost, I really should not complain. Back to the charger itself, I do have a warning about its claim of "recharge up to 8 AA or AAA batteries". It turns out that each of the four charging channels can accept one to two AA or AAA cells, but the two cells are electrically connected in parallel. So in case somebody accidentally placed two cells of different battery chemistries (NiCd, NiMH, or alkaline) in the same channel, the one with lower voltage will discharge the other one. The charger may also get confused and fail to terminate correctly in such case. So it is safest to only put one AA or AAA cells in each channel. Rating:  - * Wide Compatibility: AAA thru D and 9V; NiCad, NiMH and rechargeable alkalines ... A basic no frills charger with broad compatibility. I bought it because it will recharge all of the standard sizes and it also recharges the old rechargeable alkalines. Recommended. Rating: - * Great, highly recommended ... This is the second one I order, I gave one as a gift. I can only say that it works very well. Rating:  - * Very bulky ... I ordered this item based on very positive reviews however what I failed to notice was that this is a very bulky product. I wanted to have it so that I can charge my camera battery. However when I recieved the product I realized that I cann't carry this easily with my camera as it is so bulky. I haven't used the product yet so it might be good in terms of functionality but won't be much useful to me due to its size when there are lot of compact products already available in the market. Rating: - * Pretty good charger.. but.. (could be a little better).. ... I have used this Rayovac for some time now (model PS3) and here are my thoughts... It is a pretty good charger for different sizes except for 9V. It charges my for rechargable Energizer C's just fine (rayovac doesn't sell rechargeable c's, I have checked everywhere). The unit smells funny when charging like a heated-plastic smell. (don't stand by it) It takes the entire overnight to charge your batteries. (could be faster) Overall good, I would suggest to the makers to test and eliminate the smell and to get recharging abilities much faster. 3 1/2 stars. |
The real joy of the set, however, is nine NBA playoff games presented as they were originally broadcast and almost in their entirety. They last about 90-100 minutes with TV introductions and post-game interviews, but minus halftime, commercials, and some slower moments. The games include such absolute classics as the game in which rookie Magic Johnson started at center in place of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the 1987 "baby hook" game against the Boston Celtics. If you're used to watching current NBA games you might be tempted to just skip to the end, but it's surprisingly rewarding to watch the game develop, to watch the game's superstars strut their stuff (or see a couple of 1972 reserves named Phil Jackson and Pat Riley), and to observe how radically the sport has changed over the years. Variable picture quality and technical glitches are unavoidable (even the 2002 game looks washed out), but this is the first time complete or nearly complete NBA games have been available in the home-video era, and they probably still look better than the VHS tapes you've been saving over the years. Yes, it'd be easy to argue about which games from the Lakers' long history should have been included, and the highlight videos don't have a ton of replay value, but the NBA Dynasty series is a major milestone in archived sports. --David Horiuchi
