quanshun battery charger question - need help

[KM4IY]

i bought a couple of HT's in an Ebay auction.   the charger that came with them is quanshun.  there was no information in the box about it.  i can't tell when the charging cycle is over, there are 3 lights...

far left is labeled Y-DI and is sort of yellowish and is staying on all the time*
middle is labeled HS and is green, it stays off all the time*
far right is labeled SC and is red, it stays on all the time...

*
there is a slide switch on the back with an H (high?) and L (low?) setting... the Y-DI is lit when the switch is set to the H position.  the HS is lit when the switch is set to the L position.

i have put batteries into the slot and have let them stay overnight... the light (whichever) never goes out.  the batteries test charged.

is there NO indicator if the cycle is over?  does it not stop charging when the battery is charged like my other desktop chargers do?  do i need to put this on a timer to shut it off when i forget to?

i've looked all over the web for information, but can't come up with anything.

maybe you can help me?

many thanks...
KM4IY

[KD0REQ]

could be a dirt-cheap voltage charger, once the battery is up to voltage, it basically stops charging all of its own.

could be it's a smart charger if you have Lithiums in the radio.

probably a voltage charger with the "charge" LED in series/shunt with the voltage... once they equalize, current draw drops, light goes out.

-- opinion based on taking apart chargers in the past, finding nothing fancy, and moving on... no specific knowledge of this unit, which probably did not take thousands of hours of engineering time.

[KM4IY]

many thanks for taking time to reply to my question... i have had the same experiences with chargers, like you... this one is a little different.

i'm not sure if i should post a link, many forums frown-on/forbid the practice.  if you need a reference, several like it are listed under kenwood th-79a auctions in ebay.

i agree with what you say, however, the lights never go out, none of them.  i have other desktop chargers that perform as you say and that's what i expected to see with this one.

i have several good packs with these HT's and some are supposed to be new ones.  i dislike the idea of burning them up.  i'd rather pay for a charger than a new pack.

i guess i'll end up doing that... having burned up batterypacks in the past by using what turned out to be faulty chargers... one even nearly started a fire if i hadn't happened into the shack and witnessed the meltdown.

thanks again!

[W5FYI]

A good test would be to buy or build a new battery, put it on the charger for up to 24 hours and see what happens with the LEDs. If any LEDs are lit without the battery attached, but with the unit plugged in, it is probably a "power on" indication. If a LED illuminates when a dead or weak battery is attached, it's probably a "charging in progress" LED. At some point within 16 to 24 hours, the battery should reach full charge, at which time any "fully charged" LED should illuminate.  Of course, a lot depends on the type of battery the charger was designed for; NiCd, NiMH, lithium, etc, and the battery's voltage and amp-hour or charge rating. GL

[KE3WD]

I would arrange to hook up one of my DMMs as a DC voltmeter directly across the battery terminals while charging and monitor what's going on.  Use of a DMM with a recording or at least a "Min/Max" memory would be a plus.


73

[KM4IY]

the batteries that came with the HT's are supposed to be new ones... i put a PB-32 6volt 1K mAh pack on the charger and kept it there 24 hours.  it was discharged to the point the HT was shutting down...  in that 24 hours, the lights didn't change... the battery, when metered was at 7 volts.   the charger is obviously working, but i'd like to know how long to charge these.

i'd guess 8 hours on the 6v pack, what about 9.6 volt packs?

too bad it doesn't shut down on its own.  i think i might buy one that does unless someone can come up with a user sheet for me.  surely i'm not the only person using this charger.

thanks for all of your replies... i really do appreciate you taking the time to think about it and post your thoughts...

73 KM4IY

A good test would be to buy or build a new battery, put it on the charger for up to 24 hours and see what happens with the LEDs. If any LEDs are lit without the battery attached, but with the unit plugged in, it is probably a "power on" indication. If a LED illuminates when a dead or weak battery is attached, it's probably a "charging in progress" LED. At some point within 16 to 24 hours, the battery should reach full charge, at which time any "fully charged" LED should illuminate.  Of course, a lot depends on the type of battery the charger was designed for; NiCd, NiMH, lithium, etc, and the battery's voltage and amp-hour or charge rating. GL

[KM4IY]

after thinking it over, i knew there had to be a way... and was working on it, but so much math was giving me a headache.  i found there are actually battery charge calculators on the web that do the thinking for you.  all you have to do is enter the data and it does the rest.

sooo.... using these, i've solved my problem

just bing search battery charge calculator

thanks y'all

73 - KM4IY

[K1CJS]

The LEDS are probably just there to make the unit look fancy.  A marketing gimmick.  Sounds like one of the LEDs is a power on indicator and the other two are there just to let you know what position the switch on the back is in.