Test/Review of Charger Opus BT-C3100 software V2 update

[koyotee]

It’s still in your dreams

[deckart]

It would be the OPUS v. 3 or 4

[leaftye]

@alternety

A question a bit at an angle to the thread. What would be the best "hobby" charger to replace the Opus with better results and maybe more features? Assume that a power supply will be available.

The problem is the cradle if you still want convenience. If you are happy with wires and magnets, then there are many decent choices.

[Ramblings]

Can always make your own cradle extremely easily.

[aoeu]

I’ve got a CR123A battery on Discharge cycle. Starting voltage indicated 2.8v. I’m discharging at 300mA. Selecting DISPLAY and changing it to voltage display shows 3.30v. How is that possible that the voltage has risen? Or is that the discharging voltage?

[HKJ]

@aoeu

I’ve got a CR123A battery on Discharge cycle. Starting voltage indicated 2.8v. I’m discharging at 300mA. Selecting DISPLAY and changing it to voltage display shows 3.30v. How is that possible that the voltage has risen? Or is that the discharging voltage?

Be careful with the modes, some of them includes charge, before discharge:

• CHARGE: Charge battery with 200 to 1000 (2000) mA.
• DISCHARGE: Discharge battery with 200 to 1000 mA.
• DISCHARGE REFRESH: Discharge and charge the battery 3 times.
• CHARGE TEST: Charge, discharge and charge the battery, show how much current was discharged.
• QUICK TEST: Measure the internal resistance of the battery.

[aoeu]

It is definitely on DISCHARGE mode, I selected it specifically. Something is wrong with it though. Timer is not counting it’s just on 0:00, but the mAh count is going up. It’s up to 1826 now. Impossible for a CR123 battery. I’m not sure if this is a fault with an old cell or charging bug.

[leaftye]

@Ramblings

Can always make your own cradle extremely easily.

Just making one is easy. Making one that easily handles any 1-4 cells and shows the charging/discharge info for each cell isn't so easy.

Now I may have just shown how little I've used my hobby charger. It would have to be wired in parallel to handle any number of batteries between 1 to 4 cells, but will the hobby charger tell the capacity and internal resistance individually for each cell during a discharge test? If not, I'll be rewiring and adding plugs to a 4 port charger to more easily change from parallel for charging and to series for discharging with 1-4 cells.

[deckart]

You are discharging a battery that’s already discharged.
Is it gonna blow up ??
We need HJK for this issue.

You are overloading the battery.
1.8 amp hours in a cr123.
Get out of the house right now.

[cat_eyes_evil_twin]

@deckart

You are discharging a battery that’s already discharged.
Is it gonna blow up ??
We need HJK for this issue.

You are overloading the battery.
1.8 amp hours in a cr123.
Get out of the house right now.

what’s going on with this battery ???
why did this happen ??

[aoeu]

@gauss163

@aoeu

I’ve got a CR123A battery on Discharge cycle. Starting voltage indicated 2.8v. I’m discharging at 300mA. Selecting DISPLAY and changing it to voltage display shows 3.30v. How is that possible that the voltage has risen? Or is that the discharging voltage?

What type/model CR123A? If its voltage profile does not match any of the standard supported types (e.g. 3.7v nominal for Li-ion) then it may confuse the automatic cell type detection heuristics. Maybe if it thinks the cell is completely discharged and you select discharge then it will recharge it first? Has anyone tried that? The manual doesn’t say what happens if you try to discharge a Li-ion cell already at/below the 2.8V end-of-discharge voltage.

Ok' I'm getting confused about the starting voltage now. I know I measured them about 2 weeks ago and they were at 3.05 or so. When I put it in the charger it initially showed 2.8 before I started selecting mode and current changes. It's a PANASONIC CR123A. The authenticity or quality I can not guarantee as it was purchased 10 years ago from an ebay seller. However the fact that it still holds some charge at all is pretty amazing even if it was a fake. I can run another test to see what happens again and record the actual figures. But otherwise the fact remains that the charge increased during a DISCHARGE cycle and the mah count was up around 1850~.

Deckhard I don't believe there is any danger in discharging an already low battery, even if that was what I was doing. It will just go flat.

[deckart]

@aoeu

@gauss163

@aoeu

I’ve got a CR123A battery on Discharge cycle. Starting voltage indicated 2.8v. I’m discharging at 300mA. Selecting DISPLAY and changing it to voltage display shows 3.30v. How is that possible that the voltage has risen? Or is that the discharging voltage?

What type/model CR123A? If its voltage profile does not match any of the standard supported types (e.g. 3.7v nominal for Li-ion) then it may confuse the automatic cell type detection heuristics. Maybe if it thinks the cell is completely discharged and you select discharge then it will recharge it first? Has anyone tried that? The manual doesn’t say what happens if you try to discharge a Li-ion cell already at/below the 2.8V end-of-discharge voltage.

Ok’ I’m getting confused about the starting voltage now. I know I measured them about 2 weeks ago and they were at 3.05 or so. When I put it in the charger it initially showed 2.8 before I started selecting mode and current changes. It’s a PANASONIC CR123A. The authenticity or quality I can not guarantee as it was purchased 10 years ago from an ebay seller. However the fact that it still holds some charge at all is pretty amazing even if it was a fake. I can run another test to see what happens again and record the actual figures. But otherwise the fact remains that the charge increased during a DISCHARGE cycle and the mah count was up around 1850~.

Deckhard I don’t believe there is any danger in discharging an already low battery, even if that was what I was doing. It will just go flat.

ok is this a 3V lithium primary. ?? Never mind.

[cat_eyes_evil_twin]

if you use charge mode, the cr123 might charge if it is already 2.8V… then, it might stop when full or maybe you could remove it at 3.2V
also, with a usb jack and leads we can test our phone batteries, etc.

[wight]

@cat eyes evil twin

if you use charge mode, the cr123 might charge if it is already 2.8V… then, it might stop when full or maybe you could remove it at 3.2V
also, with a usb jack and leads we can test our phone batteries, etc.

This is exactly the sort of thing gauss163 was just telling you not to do. Do not do that.

Also if you are imagining using leads to attach the USB port of anything (cellphone included) to a charge bay, stop right now. Check the manual and only do what it says.

[Ejected_Filament]

Its OK if you do it under water to help with cooling

[cat_eyes_evil_twin]

@Ejected Filament

Its OK if you do it under water to help with cooling

that is a good idea,
but which one needs to be underwater,
the cr123, or the phone battery ???
—
it must be the 123 because the phone battery is 3.7V li-ion

[wight]

@cat eyes evil twin

@Ejected Filament

Its OK if you do it under water to help with cooling

that is a good idea,
but which one needs to be underwater,
the cr123, or the phone battery ???
—
it must be the 123 because the phone battery is 3.7V li-ion

Don’t put the battery underwater! He means that you have to be underwater while operating the charger. Use the bathtub. Just hold your breath and reach your hands out to work the controls.

[alternety]

You really do not want to submerge most Li battery chemistries. If you manage to cause containment to fail, the Li will react with the water. Applying water to a Li fire will generate heat and hydrogen which will intensify the fire/explosion.

[aoeu]

Yes you have to be very careful when mixing batteries and water. It can cause a maillard reaction. hehe

[deckart]

This would not charge cr123s or 14250s.
My i4 will not charge 3.6V 14250s
How can I charge them ?