This thread somewhat died last fall..... Does anyone know if these concerns have been addressed in the current version?
It is required to remember the program numbers or press a key, on the initial screen there is no hint on how the selected program works.
Default time on LiIon is 3 hours, this is to short.
When terminating on time or capacity, no capacity information is saved.
Break_in shows charged capacity, not discharge capacity.
Backlight always requires a keypress to turn on, putting a battery into the charger will not turn the light on
Factory calibration do not match specifications.
The PC software requires a high screen resolution
NiMH charge curves looks messy on PC, an option to hiding measuring pauses would be nice.
PC software saves csv files at wrong location.
It is not possible to copy programming from one charger to another, people with more than one charger (That will be me) must enter each program on each charger!
The Bluetooth software is not stable and do not work on all phones.
Strange coding on the usb output, why not use a chip to automatic get the best coding?
Iām interested in answers in some of these questions too (the program number issue for example and the USB coding) since Iāve been looking at the charger from time to time.
What I know is that most people use Data Explorer instead of SkyRCās software and that Bluetooth is considered a lost cause, but mostly due to the bad app. There has been a redesign of the case and and also a switch in suppliers so itās a lot stronger now.
I will eventually buy one. But not until the issues brought up by members here are addressed.
I have QC issues with SkyRC. And they have no USA based warranty support. Here is some info on another of their productsā¦the B6 miniā¦ā¦
Here is a graphic example of why Iām very skeptical of SkyRC products. They seem to lack in design skills.
Here is an Authentic SkyRC B6 Mini. You can see the USB port. Notice that the PC board holding the USB port is somewhat of a peninsula (or finger) sticking out with the USB port at the end. What happens is that it takes VERY little pressure while inserting and removing the USB plug to cause this fragile part of the PC board to flex slightly each time you connect or disconnect the USB cable. In very short order, the solder connections crack because the board flexes, leaving the USB port inoperative.
Itās this kind of dumb engineering (or lack of) that give me very little confidence in SkyRC products. That combined with no USA based place to get warranty service. Not to mention all the reports of MC3000 problems here on this forum.
The points marked in red are the fragile points that break easily as the board flexes. There really is no excuse for this kind of design foopahs.
It doesnāt take an engineer to see that putting the USB port on a flexible part of the PC board like this is inexcusable and does not instill product confidence imo.
My advice with these is to get a dedicated USB cable, plug it in ONCE, and leave it plugged into the B6 mini. Only unplug it from the Computer.
I have to agree bout this company. Great features/function, much less attention to production engineering, packaging, etc. However I must say SkyRC was very responsive to me from contacting them on their website, though they deferred to GearBest for the replacement cover.
Ohhh - finally after long delays, I got a replacement cover for the MC3000 from GearBest!! Well, typical for GearBest, the packing of such a light plastic housing was totally wrong, bad, sloppy, cheap --- I'd use more descriptions but think you get the picture. Even though it was in a thin plastic bag in the standard cheapo very thin bubble wrap lined bag, I though it survived but noticed a small piece of plastic in the bag, and of course it's a piece broken off the tip of one of the spring tab/studs -- the exact reason why I ordered/needed a replacement!
Looking it over, the 4 spring tabs/studs are the only thing sticking out from the housing, so of course are susceptible to being broken off when nothing is protecting it from getting banged around in shipping.
Tom,
Iām not exactly sure what type plastic the housings are made from but you might look into Weld-On plastic adhesives for repair. If the plastic breaks that easily I doubt itās ABS, maybe Polypropylene.
I use Weld-On for a lot of plastic repairs and they are usually as strong (or stronger) than the original part.
SkyRC (IMO), has very poor engineering and design. As mentioned above, the mistakes they make are simply inexcusable.
They may have good EE designs, but the physical designs of their PC boards and housings is poor to awful. (again, imo)
Itās THE reason I have not purchased an MC3000. Well, that and lack of after sale supportā¦and a shopping list of user suggested improvements that members here have pointed out need to be madeā¦ā¦and have not yet.
Itās also the reason I continue to pursue using a Data Logger with my B6 mini and Accucell.
Not sure if the Xtar Dragon has this capability (exporting Data).
Probably has to do with something getting lost in the translation and they thought English speaking people would like getting a lot of āBangā for the Buckā?
But āGoodBangForTheBuckā didnāt sound right.
I used an epoxy glue to re-attach the broken stem from shipping. I'm trying to assemble it, but it's a freak'n nightmare - no instructions, the 4 sliders to get into position is totally, insanely nuts!
It's sitting there on my bench in pieces, and I don't have faith the stem will hold up when all back together. Been way too bizy to spend that kind of time this needs. Hope to get back to it soon.
Any chance you could post a photo of your repair and the innards youāre trying to reassemble before closing it up?
I think many others have had (or will eventually have) this same problem.
True, but the WP2 cost 5 times less than a MC3000. BTW, Iāve owned 10 Xtarās including 2 of the first gen WP2ās and never had problems with any of them. Iāve since given my WP2ās away to friends and theyāre still working 5 years later.
Here's the replacement case that had a stem snapped off, and with the stem repaired with a supposed good epoxy glue:
Here's the mess:
I looked it over again and can't begin to understand how it's possible to work in this space and get everything aligned up perfectly. Nothing fits snugly.
They glued the connectors with really tough stuff so can't work on it in pieces. I got all the buttons, display and boards moved over ok, I'm just stuck on aligning/assembling the sliders.
K, think (thought) I found a way to assemble it. For the 6 screws securing down the back cover, I had only 5. For some reason couldn't get them to tighten the case completely - just a hiar worth of looseness. Tried it anyway - oh boy... One of those long slots popped out, angled now in the case - of course I tried this with a cell and power, so.... The charger reset, and then noticed the distinct smell of burning electronics. Turned it off. I straightened out the slot, and this time held the case tightly together and the screw actually tightened it all up. So it's working - but on only 2 slots - the 3rd and 4th. 1st and 2nd are dead - don't recognize a battery, so sure something critical went up in smoke for those 2 slots. So I'm worse then when I started - I had only one dead slot, now I got 2 dead ones.
Now that I know how to assemble it, might have to take a looksy to see if I can see what burnt, and if it's replaceable. Or buy a new one? Really wanted to charge 4 cells at a time with this - got lots of SRK style lights now...
I also had trouble putting the MC3000 together after fixing a broken post. In the process the whole thing stopped working when one of the rails slipped and probably shorted something. Just like you couldnāt close the case all the way. Got an error message about the ADC after getting it sorted.
Thereās isnāt anything similar on the market so just bought a third one. At least now both of them have the new case with better posts.
Here is the list that members came up withā¦ā¦ā¦The thread died so I didnāt see where these were resolved. Maybe in another thread?
It is required to remember the program numbers or press a key, on the initial screen there is no hint on how the selected program works.
Default time on LiIon is 3 hours, this is to short.
When terminating on time or capacity, no capacity information is saved.
Break_in shows charged capacity, not discharge capacity.
Backlight always requires a keypress to turn on, putting a battery into the charger will not turn the light on
Factory calibration do not match specifications.
The PC software requires a high screen resolution
NiMH charge curves looks messy on PC, an option to hiding measuring pauses would be nice.
PC software saves csv files at wrong location.
It is not possible to copy programming from one charger to another, people with more than one charger (That will be me) must enter each program on each charger!
The Bluetooth software is not stable and do not work on all phones.
Strange coding on the usb output, why not use a chip to automatic get the best coding?
