Product page : ( Please read ) http://www.xtarlight.com/05-chanpin/p-001-1.asp?styleid=339&style=Charger
HKJ review : https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/32916
A 4 Bay USB charger from Xtar :
Xtar VC4 :
I hope everyone has visited the product page ? I really dont want to repeat everything said by the manufacturer .
In a nutshell we have a 4 Bay USB charger that can charge Li-ion and Ni-hm batteries . I have tried this charger VIA my computers USB port as well as a Wall to USB adapter . All the video is with the Wall adapter . And I cant help but feel the wall adapter can not really supply enough power for more than one or possibly two batteries to be charged in reasonable time . Perhaps there is a USB wall adapter out there that can supply more power , I just dont have one .
Anyhow back to the charger itself . It is a quality charger , nothing about it feels cheap or nasty , it terminates properly ( Charge ) and does not trickle charge . I swapped Li-ion and Nimh around in the bays at random , and had no issues . ( Charge rate may be affected ) Never did the charger try to undercharge or overcharge the batteries as I swapped them around .
First video is the charger charging AAA Ni-mh batteries . You can clearly see the pulse charging taking place .
Second video is just the CH button:
Third video is with a Li-ion batteries , and I move the second battery about .. ( Interesting result with USB Wall adapter ) I just dont have the space on my desk to try this with the computers USB port , just lack the space .
A very interesting charger , but I cant help but feel that it is limited by the power that the connected to USB port can supply , which is going to be the limiting factor to performance with multiple batteries . I would have really liked to have seen a 12v power supply connection so that the charger could see its full potential .
Conclusion:
Another excellent product from Xtar , unfortunately limited by the power that the connected to USB port can supply . I dont think USB was ever meant to be a High Power Port / connection , and when you charge 4 batteries , you will need quite a bit of power to make the charger operate at factory specifications . So if you really want this charger please keep in mind that you may want a decent USB wall adapter that can provide the power needed .
Now aside from getting power from a USB port , this is an excellent charger and the only way to have made it better would have been to include a 12v power supply or connector to supplement the choice of power .