"Omnipotent Power" PR-838 Battery Charger
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆
Summary:
Supported Battery Sizes: | 1 - 4 AA or 1 - 2 AAA |
Supported Battery Chemistry: | NiMH or NiCAD |
Charging Channels: | 4 individual |
Output Power: | 80 - 200 mA |
Approximate Price: | $5.00 |
Available at: | eBay.com |
Pros:
- Very cheap
- 4 independent charging circuits
- Automatic shutoff per-battery when charged
- Low power output is easy on batteries
Cons:
- Low power output takes forever to charge batteries
- Not enough power to run the indicator LEDs with 4 batteries
- Marginal build quality
Features / Value: ★★★★☆
I decided to review an obscure, ultra-cheap battery charger that is sold on eBay and other not-so-fine retailers. This model can be found on eBay by searching for certain buzzwords such as "intelligent charger" or "smart charger". The official model name is "PR-838" according to the label on the package and charger, but it is rarely listed as such online. It generally costs less than $5.00. Or you can go for a package deal that throws in a few cheap NiMH batteries for a few dollars more. For the price, I really can't fault this charger. It charges batteries, and it even has four independent charging circuits, which is very rare at this price level. Most of the ultra-cheap chargers support 4 batteries, but they only have two channels, meaning that either 2 or 4 batteries must be inserted to close the circuit and start the charge cycle. That would be less than ideal for me, as I often need to charge just one battery, or even 3 batteries. So the PR-838 is very flexible in this sense. I can charge just 1 AA, or even 1 AAA and 2 AA cells at the same time. Another surprising feature at this price point is the automatic charge detection on a per-battery basis. I'm not sure if it actually shuts off the power or if it reduces it to a trickle, but I have confirmed that when I insert a fully charged battery, the charge lights comes on for an instant and then immediately shuts off. When I insert one fully charged battery and one dead battery, only the dead battery's charge indicator remains lit. So I am giving this charger a better than average 4-star rating for Features / Value.
Build Quality: ★★☆☆☆
Build quality of the PR-838 charger is marginal at best. But I really can't complain too much for the price. I actually received two of these chargers, one of them free because I thought my first one was defective. The reason is that, upon plugging in the charger, the green LED in the middle lights up without inserting the batteries. This is not what the seller's description claimed, and I thought that the green indicator was to indicate that the batteries were charged. It turns out that it simply indicates that the charger is plugged in (duh). However, another more irritating quality issue is apparent. The charger's labeling says "Omnipotent", which means "All-powerful" or "Limitless power". However, Omnicheap though it might be, Omnipotent it is not. Upon inserting 2 batteries, their individual charge indicators glow bright red. Upon inserting 3 batteries, their charge indicators glow dimly. And when the fourth battery is inserted, all the lights go out. Clearly, this means that the charger isn't pulling enough power to charge the batteries and run the indicators at the same time. However, later on in the charging cycle and especially at night, the indicators do glow dimly, just enough to tell when they shut off at full charge. And indeed, this is a very low-power charger; the packaging claims 80 - 200 mA, which I believe. The charger and the batteries remain cool to the touch during the entire charge cycle. I personally find this to be an advantage, as it doesn't fry the batteries by pumping several amps through them like some "quick" chargers do in this price level. Yet, it does need 12 to 15 hours to charge a few Eneloops. Another quality niggle is apparent in the metal battery contact plates, which are nothing less than a shard of cheap sheet metal in a dimple, in which the battery sometimes remains slightly stuck. For the price, I'm not complaining. But real technology aficionados should look elsewhere.
Summary: ★★★☆☆
The PR-838 Omnipotent charger is anything but Omnipotent, but it should satisfy the basic needs of a new rechargeable battery user on a budget. 3-stars out of 5.
Do you own the Omnipotent PR-838 charger? If so, please give it your own 5-star rating below!