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Reviews For: Maha MH-C204F

Category: Batteries & Chargers for Amateur Radio

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Review Summary For : Maha MH-C204F
Reviews: 8MSRP: 34.95
Description:
NiCd/ NiMh quick charger for 4 AA/AAA
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mahaenergy.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0084
KI6WDZ Rating: 2012-08-08
Several years use and still going strong Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Like others, I've noticed that the batteries get a little on the warm side when charging. I just keep the lid open and haven't had any issues in the several years that I've been using my charger. I actually have two of them and they both work flawlessly. I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because of the heat issue. But, it's not ruined any batteries and keeps chugging along. Can't ask for much better in this price range.
KF6IIU Rating: 2004-08-06
Should be called an "over-charger" Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have to retract my previous review: This unit pretty much destroyed NiCds I tried to charge with it. Bettery temperatures rise too hot to touch. I'm sure it's destroying my NiMhs as well, and I'm shopping for a better charger that has temperature compensation.

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Earlier 4-star review posted by KF6IIU on 2002-05-20

Good cheap smart AA and AAA charger. No choice between slow and rapid charge, or between NiCD and NiMH - you just put the cells in and they go straight to 400-500 ma for at least a few min until the CPU figures it out, then to slow charge at 50-75 ma. (I measured this) NiCds get pretty hot if charged from fully down. Does not work with old marginal NiCds (this is actually useful for ferreting out dead or dying cells.) Has discharge-then-charge feature. Very little RF noise (forgot which freqs.) Runs off 12V wall wart or cig lighter. Small. I would recommend for NiMH and hi cap NiCds - buy 2 or 3!
K8ERV Rating: 2003-10-03
Good Charger Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Only problem I have had is that it will not charge really dead batteries, I have to start the charge with a more conventional unit. Other than that it works well. TOM K8ERV
W8PAL Rating: 2003-03-07
Excellent Value!! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Flawless operation. Great discharge feature. Haven't tried it with the 12V adapter, but with the supplied wall wart, it's dynamite!
KC2IEL Rating: 2002-11-23
Batteries get hot! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased it as a mobile back-up charger for emergency operations. It seems to work well - but I am concerned about battery damage caused by high temperatures during charging. It heats batteries more than others I have used.
K3DML Rating: 2002-11-22
Easy to use Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I use it with the new 1800MAH NiMH "AA" for powering cameras, flash units, and HT's. It never seems to charge batteries in less than 3 hours as advertised but it does charge them over night. Those new 1800 MAH cells seem to last forever. Buy the Powerex (MAHA) brand batteries. They work as advertised.
W4KXY Rating: 2002-04-23
Great Charger! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just bought one of these today and used it to charge a bunch of NiCD batteries. Simple to use and it does a great job. The only thing more I could ask for is a unit that charges C and D size cells.
KD7MWR Rating: 2002-04-21
Best Charger I have had Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased this charger to recharge my NiMH batteries for kids toys. I also found a use in charging AA batteries for my HT. I found using 1600 mah batteries to last so much longer than the stock Nicad pack. the batteries charge from dead to full in about 3 hours. The charger knows when to stop since it only takes about a half to one hour for partially discharged batteries. I always have a fresh set to go. The only problem I see is the ability to only charge 2 or 4 batteries. This becomes a problem when you need three batteries.

The charger does not auto detect alkaline batteries. I was fumbling through the dark for batteries to charge and accidentally put in alkalines. the batteries made a pop noise and created a mess with a black liquid. I wiped and rinsed out the charger. The next day the charger worked again. I like this charger over the timed charger for charging partially discharged batteries.

I wish there were a charger for C and D batteries based on the same technology.