LA CROSSE BC700 Alpha Power Battery Charger Instruction Manual

: June 17, 2024
: La Crosse

Table of Contents

Alpha Power Battery Charger
Get Started
Change Operation Mode and/or Charging Current
Operating Modes (Charge, Discharge, Refresh, Test)
Charge batteries in different modes at the same time
When to Discharge/Refresh Batteries
Display Readings
Insert AAA batteries
How long does it take to charge batteries?
Follow Us on Social Media
Warranty and Support
FCC Statement
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

LA CROSSE BC700 Alpha Power Battery Charger Instruction Manual

Alpha Power Battery Charger

IMPORTANT: The charger is restricted to charging NiCd and NiMH rechargeable batteries only

Get Started

Plug the 12V 0.75A AC/DC cord to an outlet then into the battery charger.
Insert the battery/batteries to be charged. Within 8 seconds. “Charge” (default mode) and the battery voltage will show.
Allow charger to sit for several hours to charge the batteries.

Change Operation Mode and/or Charging Current

Hold the MODE button until the display changes. Then press and release the MODE button to change modes. (Charge, Discharge, Refresh or Test can be selected).
Press the CURRENT button within 8 seconds of the last action to select the charging current. (200, 500 or 700 mA).
Eight seconds from last button press, the display will blink once and the batteries will start selected action. The charging current can no longer be changed. You can reset the current by taking out all the batteries out and repeat the above steps
Press the DISPLAY button to view various display modes.
Stage in Charge mode| Various displays (toggled by pressing DISPLAY button)
---|---
Voltage (V)| Current (mA)| Time (hh:mm)| Capacity (mAh/ Ah)
During charging| Instantaneous battery voltage| Charging current| Charging time elapsed| Accumulated capacity
Full stage| Trickle charging current

Note: Although the individual charging bays can be operated in different modes, the charging current of the second, third and fourth charge bays cannot be set higher than that of charging bay 1.

Operating Modes (Charge, Discharge, Refresh, Test)

Regardless of operation mode, the batteries will end up fully charged.
Charge: Charge up the rechargeable battery (it will automatically switch to trickle charge after battery is full).
Discharge: Discharges the battery then charges it one time.
Refresh: Batteries will be discharged and recharged up to 20 times or until the charger cannot remove additional charge. The battery will receive a final charge and has reached its capacity.
Note: Refresh may bring an old rechargeable battery back to the optimum condition.
Test: Batteries are charged to full, then discharged to measure capacity, then recharged to full. Capacity is measured in Ah/mAh.
Note: During Discharge, Refresh and Test modes, the Discharge current will be half of charging current selected.

Charge batteries in different modes at the same time

Example: Charge 2 batteries, Test 1 battery & Refresh 1 battery.

Plug the AC power cord to the power source.
Insert batteries in bays 1 & 2
“Charge” will be displayed in the LCD as Charge mode is the default mode.
Within 8 seconds:
- Press the CURRENT button to select the charging current at 200, 500 or 700 mA.
- After 8 seconds, the display will blink once to confirm.
Insert the third battery in bay 3.
Within 8 seconds:
- Press the BAY 3 button. The No. 3 display will flash.
- Press the MODE button to select the “Test” mode.
- Press the CURRENT button to select the charging current for bay 3 test mode: 200, 500 or 700 mA.
- After 8 seconds, the display will blink once to confirm.
Insert the fourth battery into bay 4.
- Press the BAY 4 button. The No. 4 display will flash:
- Press the MODE button to select the “Refresh” mode.
- Press the CURRENT button to select the discharge current in the refresh mode: 100, 250 or 350 mA.
- After 8 seconds, the display will blink once to confirm.
The “Full” sign will be displayed once the battery is fully charged from any operating mode.

Trickle Charging

Once the battery is fully charged from any of the operating modes, the charger will give a small amount of current to the batteries to maintain the fully charged level.
Trickle charge is automatically launched after batteries are fully charged and kept in the charging unit.
The signal “Full” will be displayed on the LCD.

Determine Current Battery Voltage

Insert the battery into the charger.
Press and release the DISPLAY button until V (voltage) and a number show in the display.
The number will be the current voltage of the battery.
Note: This is not the capacity of the battery only the current voltage. To check capacity use the Test mode.

Determine Battery Capacity

Battery capacity is determined by counting the amount of power removed from a fully charged battery.

During the Test mode the rechargeable batteries will be:

Charged fully
Discharged to determine the battery capacity
Charged fully again for use.
The discharge capacity in (mAh) or (Ah) will be estimated and shown after the discharging ends.
Note: Once the discharge cycle is done, the discharge capacity reading will not change as the battery is fully charged again.

TEST MODE: Insert the battery for “Test” into the charge bay. Within 8 seconds:

Press the BAY button. The corresponding display will flash.
Press the MODE button to select the “Test” mode.
Press the CURRENT button to select the charging current in the test mode: 200, 500 or 700 mA.
After 8 seconds, the display will blink once to confirm and end changes.
The discharge capacity in (mAh) or (Ah) will be estimated and shown after the discharging ends
TEST MODE Current

User-selected Charging current| 200 mA| 500 mA| 700 mA
Thereafter Discharging current| 100 mA| 250 mA| 350 mA

When to Discharge/Refresh Batteries

If you use a radio or camera for short times then recharge the batteries, it is best to use the Discharge/Refresh cycle occasionally to refresh the battery.
Note: Discharge current will be half of charging current selected.
Old rechargeable batteries that do not seem to be charging should be refreshed. The Discharge/Refresh cycle will discharge then charge the battery up to 20 times or until the charger cannot remove more capacity from the battery in discharge mode, it will charge the battery full, and complete the refresh cycle.
Note: Discharge works best after the batteries have been used under load at least 5-10 times. DISCHARGE MODE Current

User-selected Discharging current| 100 mA| 250 mA| 350 mA
Thereafter Charging current| 200 mA| 500 mA| 700 mA

New Batteries do not show Full Capacity & Charger says FULL.

Rechargeable batteries improve capacity over time.
Charge batteries before their first use or after a long storage.
Then, use the batteries in a device (under load), charge them, use them, charge them, 5-10 times before “refreshing” the batteries.

000 on the display

You are looking at Time Elapsed “0.00 h”.
If overheating occurs (usually due to high charging current selected), the charging will be stopped immediately and the display will show “000 mA”.
The charging process will only resume once the temperature of the rechargeable 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.
When the battery is overheated the charging ceases automatically. “000 mA” will be displayed.

Display Readings

Milliamp: “mA” is the charging current or speed of charge.
Milliamp hours: “mAh” is the capacity of the battery or the amount of charge added to a battery.
If a 2600mAh capacity battery is already half full when you charge it you will not add 2600mAh of capacity to the battery. Amp hours: “Ah” is the capacity of the battery or the amount of charge added to a battery.
When the mAh (Milliampere hour) reaches 2000 the display switches to Ah (Ampere hour) by moving the decimal point.
One mAh is 1/1000 of an Ah.
Time elapsed: “h”. Shows the charging time.
Voltage: “V”. measures battery voltage.
NULL: Will show when:
No battery is in the charging bay.
The battery is below .9 volts and the charger thinks the battery is damaged so will not charge it.
You may want to invest in a small charger/holder that will bring the battery back above .9v when attached for 20-30 seconds.
The battery can then be charged in our charger.

FULL: Will show when the battery has completed its charging cycle. The FULL display may alternate with a trickle charge display

Various displays in Charge Mode

Instantaneous Battery voltage

Insert AAA batteries

Look for a narrower silver curve, below the AA battery connection. This is the clip that holds the AAA batteries.
Slide the negative end of the AAA battery in this narrow curve.
Press down on the positive end of the battery until it is in the charging bay.

Can I Charge or Test other types of batteries?

The BC700 is designed to be used with NiCd (Nickel Cadmium) or NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries only.
Charging other types of batteries may damage the charger or the batteries.
Note: Some brands of NiMH rechargeable batteries require a specific type of charger. Please look on the specific battery packaging for this information.

How long does it take to charge batteries?

Charging time varies depending on capacity, depletion of a battery and charging current selected.

Charging Time with various charging current

Size of battery| Battery Capacity| Charging current selected (mA)| Estimated charging time
AA| 2600 mAh| 700| ~3 hr 35 min
500| ~5 hr
200| ~13 hr
AAA| 1000 mAh| 700| ~60 min
500| ~100 min
200| ~5 hr
Specifications

Input voltage for AC/DC adapter : 100-240 VAC Output voltage for AC/DC adapter (AC6): 12V 0.75A
AC Cord # KSAF0121200075HU
Charging current range: 200 mA – 700 mA
Max charging capacity(capacity of rechargeable batteries): 3000 mAh
Dimensions (L x H x W) of Charging unit: 2.95” x 5.11” x 1.57”(75 x 130 x 40 mm)

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Cautions

The charger is restricted to charging NiCd and NiMH rechargeable batteries only. Never adapt this charger to other types of batteries such as alkaline, lithium, carbon zinc or other types that are not specified.
The charging unit shall be used only at normal indoor room conditions.
Always follow the charging instructions for the rechargeable battery. Observe the recommended charging current of the rechargeable batteries.
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). Take extra care when taking out the batteries after charging.
Unplug the charging unit from the power source when not in use.

Warranty and Support

La Crosse Technology, Ltd. provides a 1-year limited time warranty (from date of purchase) on this product relating to manufacturing defects in materials & workmanship.
Before returning a product, please contact our friendly customer support or visit our online help:
Phone: 1-608-782-1610
Online: www.lacrossetechnology.com/support
View full warranty details online at:
www.lacrossetechnology.com/warranty_info.pdf

FCC Statement

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy, and if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

This device must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter.

Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

This device may not cause harmful interference, and
This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may undesired operation.

Caution!

The manufacturer is not responsible for any radio or TV interference caused by unauthorized changes or modifications to this equipment. Such changes or modifications could void the user authority to operate the equipment. All rights reserved. This manual may not be reproduced in any form, even in part, or duplicated or processed using electronic, mechanical or chemical process without the written permission of the publisher. This booklet may contain errors or misprints. The information it contains is regularly checked and corrections are included in subsequent editions. We disclaim any responsibility for any technical error or printing error, or their consequences. All trademarks and patents are recognized.

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