SkyRC MC3000 preliminary report

Full review: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/37135

This is definitely not a review, but just my first impression from the MC3000 (It was supplied by Gearbest).

If you are thinking about preorder or not, this might help a bit.

The charger looks like any other analysing charger at first glance, but it is considerable more robust and the functions are not exactly the same.

It has multiple user interfaces, the simplest is a "dummy" interface that is very useful for people that ordered the charger without realising what it is. To really use the charger you need to select advanced user interface. This also means that you cannot just drop a cell into the charger and charge it, you have to fill in a specification on how to handle the cell. You can save these specification (Up to 30), but has to remember the number.

It looks like the charger can do a lot of stuff, but I am not very far in my testing yet.

I have two charger curves ready:

This is a perfect LiIon charge curve.

This is also a very good -dv/dt charge curve.

I do expect the final result will be very good, but it is some weeks away, where I will charge/discharge/test many more cells. I.e. do not take this report as my final conclusion.

Until now the only negative impression is the user interface, but with all the functions in the charger it is very hard to make a easy to use user interface.

I am thinking very hard about replacing 6-7 of my most used charges with two of these, the only hold back is the user interface.

PS. I have not played with the computer and phone interfaces yet, maybe they are easier to use.

Update 30/11:

Some comments about the user interface (I have not really looked at the test data yet):


I do still not like the numbers, when looking at the charger I just get four numbers for the slots, no information about what the slots will do.
If I want to see what is hidden behind a number it is just one keypress, then I can see the program, use up/down to change program number and enter to confirm program number.
To start the programs only a short press on enter is needed. I.e. if you put in a new batch of batteries and the shows program numbers are correct, just press enter to start.

When you change a program, like selecting another charge current, some other parameters in the program will also change, i.e. to get exactly what you want it is a good idea to check the full program, when you do a change (Selecting a program will not change it).

My guess is that I will need 6 LiIon charge program, 4 for 4.20 volt with different currents, one for 4.35 volt and one for 3.6 volt. I might need one more if the charger can charge at very low current, but there might be problems with termination (I will have to look a bit more on that).

During charging I have sometimes checked my voltmeter and the charger display and they always match within 1 digit when charging LiIon.

Nice! Another hold back for me would be the price :Sp

:smiley:

Thank you, HKJ - Very good of you to post this report.

-Chuck

That is definitely an issue, but I doubt you will find this much functionality cheaper in the near future.

Should drop to around 70$ in a year or so :slight_smile:

Compare it to the SkyRC NC2500, the MC3000 is much more advanced and will be more expensive. The NC2500 is more than two years old, i.e. it will not drop that much in price and the MC3000 has to be considerable more expensive.

I doubt your $70 estimate.

thanks HKJ!

now i am even more afraid of the box the customs hold since Wednesday on the way to me :smiley:

Thanks HKJ. You made an interesting comment in that you may replace a few chargers with this if its ok. What chargers would they perhaps take the place of?

Two single channel hobby chargers, mostly used to discharge LiIon cells when I am testing chargers (2xLiIon discharge).

A four channel hobby charger that is also used to discharge LiIon cells when I am very busy (4xLiIon discharge).

Two Powerex MH-C9000 both used for discharge and charging of NiMH (8*NiMH charge/discharge)

Xtar VP1 & VP2 used for charging LiIon cells (4xLiIon charge).

With two MC3000 I would have 8 channels that can charge and discharge both LiIon and NiMH, that would be a nice upgrade to the above, but I am still a bit scared about the user interface. I like to just put the batteries in the chargers, without doing a lot of button presses. Maybe I just need to use the MC3000 a bit more to get used to it or maybe running one in dummy mode will be enough.

I wonder if the Bluetooth connection would make this easier?

you already can load the softwares (PC and mobile and have a sneak ;))

http://www.skyrc.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=20&product_id=219 (bottom of the page)

Thanks for the test! It helped me make my decision, wasn’t sure about to order or not.

since it seems possible to load/save the profiles i hope that the “Pros” will share their settings with the “n00bs” (like me;))
so we can use the power of the charger and our cells even better.

i think thats another plus for the MC3000
quality and abilities of a hobbie charger made available for more people

Most parameters are fairly simple, but when you have a long list of parameters with strange names it can be a bit daunting, at least the first few times.

The manual has a good explanation of the parameters.

This is good to hear. I pre-ordered mine a few weeks ago now, so it’s nice to know that it looks like I have made a good purchase.

i was told there will be a delayed delivery from the manufacturer…. :frowning:

Looks like we should expect to see the longest charger test report you have ever written! Perhaps with 3 or 4 chapters :wink:

It is going to be a long review, I will probably not cover all the functions, but stuff like phone and computer might each add a chapter.

At first I will do my standard charge/discharge test, when they are finished I will do a couple of other test to get the feel for the other functions in the charger. I could probably use months to do all the test I would like to do, but I have to do the review considerable faster than that.

Maybe you can post the standard charge/discharge test in the 1st review, and the additional functions you can add later n your second post as some of us like to know how good it is a standard charger before conisdering it, while some already made up their minds to get this charger, and would like to know how the additional functions will suit them.
Just my 2 cents.
Cheers