The making of the BLF UC4 charger: the start of a new venture, INTEREST LIST, UPDATE 7 (Well, ramping stopped :/ )

I am interested.

Let’s move away from traditional black body colors for this charger.

Red, yellow, camo or any other body colors with color LCD display.

Just a suggestion.

Please include following safety feature which I think is crucial for a reliable charger:

non-automatic start / restart of charging ◄

Reason: If you have a multichemistry-charger (NiMH, NiZn, LiFePO₄, Li-Ion) you don't really want to work with a default chemistry, usually set to 3.7V Li-Ion cells. Most chargers immediately start to charge with this setting regardless if it's a 3.2V LiFePO or a 3.7V Li-Ion battery. Using these chargers with 3.2V cells is a big risk if you forget to change the setting while charging or - very likely to happen - if you encounter a short power disruption and the charger restarts with the default value while you are not watching it. So, in terms of safety both for your personal health and the battery's health I highly recommend to refrain from automatic charging but to require a button pressed manually to initiate the charging, just like with SkyRC's MC3000.

I would also like the BLF charger to have a "storage charge" mode, i.e. 3.6 - 3.7V with a flexible charge/discharge termination current just as the MC3000 offers.

Yes, great idea! I’m a new flashlight/batterycharger user and currently using a XTAR VC4S which does not have the option to charge 20700/21700 protected batteries. So yes, a ‘do-it-all’ would be welcome. I also support the idea of a non-black charger, and a nice big clear and understandable display (in color). The graphics used on the VC4S are too small and therefor not clear enough for me. (Yes, need glasses, I know)

I’m hardly interested in chargers because I believe that my batteries do not need the amount of TLC that is suggested in the specs. I see a charger as something that just has to charge my batteries and as a luxury my Opus provides mAh measurments, great. Also a charger is not a flashlight, that makes it a lot less interesting.

That said, I do believe in a charger that has a proper user interface, all my chargers are extremely clumsy to operate. A BLF charger does not need to be better than what I have, just easier to operate. There is a tendency by chinese manufacturers to stuff as much functionality in one button as possible so the charger must be operated by multiple clicks, first delecting a channel then multiple click another button. I believe that the operation simplifies enormously if each channel has its own set of physical buttons for the different operations. Similarly, chargers tend to have a display that toggles between the different options, I would like to see all parameters together permanent on display.

And please keep it silent, my Opus drives me crazy!

Maybe we could include a flashlight in it? Maybe package the charger as Q16 with a set of adapter sleeves / blocks for smaller cells so it’s actually a good flashlight?

Actually…I was thinking along the same lines. Normally I’d rather wait longer for a charge than listen to noise. But then - high discharge rates are likely to need active cooling.
And I sure think that some others would prefer faster charging to silence - that’s why I didn’t speak up before.

Definitely interested in a good charger. I hope this comes to reality :slight_smile:

price not over 30 dollar.please

Sounds very interesting…

Everything sounds great and I can’t wait for this idea to materialize! My only suggestion is to put a big high-quality fan on it, which must be quiet and cool the charger and the batteries. :smiley: :+1:

Not forlomov please, I used their Key.It is one big bug.

Another feature interesting to see, is wires (that can be conected to slot contact) to charge non standart batteries(cellphone, photo, and so on)

Subbing.

Didnt SkyRC have a bad track record with HKJ?

Actually the "wireless" capabilities of a device are much more likely to stop working, cause problems, than a cable. A cable is less 5exy but it is will be more trustable.
I've encountered enough problems with wireless devices.. (that need to connect with other things)

But interesting idea for doing a BLF charger. I'm with Djozz, keep the UI easy..

Higher discharge current like 10A+ the charger will need to dissipate around 40W of heat so on in that case we need fan cooling with good heatsink. Also If we want to charge and test battery in the same time with higer currents that also may be a problem for charger to dissipate that heat.

Count me in for one if we can get this thing off the ground. I don’t need another charger, but I do want one.

Please make the slots big enough so you can remove cells without having to kind of ‘pick’ at them from top or bottom with fingernail and risk tearing the wrap.

Great idea.

I like a display for each slot, so when I charge cells that were in the same device, I can immediately see that they all took about the same mAh. I guess I’m too lazy to remember the numbers while cycling through them with a button.

>2. Charging/discharging graphs to a USB driver.
How about logging to microSD or SD instead? Then you can just leave a card in it and get the results and plot them when you want. No cable, drivers, app, etc needed. Easy to leave one living in there so you can check later if something unexpected happens. A clock might have to be added.

Considering the price of the MC3000, this is a lot of features to be asking for at the price currently considered in the OP. Even if BLF were to do all of the hardware design and write all of the software, I'm not sure it would come in for $45.

My charger is a LiitoKala Lii-S1, it is exactly what I needed. you put the cell in, it charges, I can remove whenever I feel the voltage is right.
It was on sale on AE a while ago, holding up since then.

I agree with this. Also translucent plastic colors would be nice, like what was popular with electronics in the past. Then we can see all the internal parts. Maybe even put some LEDs inside so it can work like a night light? I don’t know if that is too crazy of an idea for a charger.

Yeah, programmable RGB LEDs please. And don’t forget the trit slots. Maybe a limited edition Ti/Cu version? :smiley: