I use my MC3000 strictly stand alone and find the UI ok - I got like 10-12 programs set up for different charge levels, etc.. It's a beast - can charge 4 26650's at 3A. I use it a lot, almost every day.
For now I’ve given up on using my PC and Android phone with the MC3000.
Recently was able to salvaged some old 18650 batteries from an old Dell laptop battery consisting of eight 18650 batteries.
Wasn’t able to initially charge the 8 x 18650’s as they measured zero voltage.
Using my USB battery charger I was able to charged them up to a voltage to around ~2.5 volts? With the higher battery voltage the MC3000 was able to charge them.
With 18650’s Lithium’s at zero voltage the MC3000 could not recognize a 18650 battery installed in a slot. With higher (18650) voltages under ~2.5 volts (uncertain of the exact cut-off voltage) the MC3000 recognized a battery installed in the slot but produced an error “Check Voltage” and would not charge the battery.
Once the USB charger brought a 18650 up to certain voltage and I think too a higher mah capacity, the MC3000 was able to charge them ok.
There’s a useful ‘cheat sheet’ for the MC3000 (highly recommend to print out as a hardcopy reference):
http://www.skyrc.com/Charger/Multi-Channel/MC3000_Charger
It’s true the MC3000 monitor program is clunky, and hard-coded resolution harks back to software of ancient days…
In the cheat sheet, it mentions to hold down the Slot Nr button to attempt ‘re-activating’ the zero-volt cell (MC3000 will display ‘No Battery’ but supposedly charge it at a low current when button is held down continuously) .
Also, in the MC3000 unit’s Setup screen (hold down the Stop button, when no batteries are charging, until it shows SETUP screen), there s a Names setting, which defaults to ‘Default’, change it to ‘Parameter’, that should show the charging/discharging rate in the main display view, slightly better than just showing program numbers.
Based on what I read in the forums, the latest versions should all read HW Version >= 1.3 (there’s an explanation somewhere):
Refer here:
(above post has lots of detailed info about firmware revision changes)
(quoting excerpts from the 2nd and 3rd link below:)
So, most hardware bugs should be fixed already, just the software (MC3000 monitor) which has not been updated and is quirky, and the main MC3000 (unit) UI can still probably be streamlined a bit with a firmware update (which I doubt they’re gonna do)…
I think not being able to charge under 2 volts is by design as I have an Opus charger that does the same.
Holding the slot # button down does accept a zero voltage cell, however when I press return to start a charge routine all I see is an error message “Check Voltage”.
Advanced Options:
- Instead of step 3 you can also press-and-hold a Ready slot number button to START the selected slot immediately with the selected Program number.
———
The same error message occurs using the the advance option, charges only if the lion cell voltage is 2 volts and higher.
For those with broken spring posts here’s a method I used to repair my MC3000. (recommended by another MC3000 owner )
I hope that is the main MC3000 thread.
Today I updated the firmware of my charger from 1.10 to 1.13. Usually manuals say things like “Do not cough during update” or “Use high quality USB cables” and I graciously ignore these recommendations because the are usually not necessary.
But this charger is really picky about USB ports and cables. I soft bricked the charger because of the cable was probably too long. Luckily I found this thread and had a shorter USB cable at hand.
For a few moments I thought I had bricked the charger and converted it into a paperweight. :person_facepalming:
Does this unit measure internal resistance?
It has IR measurement but it is just to give you a general idea, not very precise but enough to know when a cell is damaged and which to discard.
Someone knows the latest hardware revision
Gearbest has the HW 1.4
Thanks
Robert
I suppose as long as the IR measurement of a certain charger is consistent within a certain range, it can be considered as good enough for most consumers…
eg. these chargers all have IR measurement that are somewhat consistent (I only mentioned some popular ones, there are others) :
SkyRC MC3000
Opus BT-C3100
ZanFlare C4
Miboxer C4-12
Opus BT-C100
— any idea if which of the above would have the “best” or most consistent IR readings?
From HKJ’s reviews, the following chargers don’t (again only mentioned a few popular ones) have consistent IR readings:
LiitoKala Lii-500 Engineer
LiitoKala Lii-300 Engineer
NiteCore SC4
I’ve tried the Lii-500 Engineer and the IR reading is really not helpful (even bad cells will sometimes register low “mR” readings).
The NiteCore SC4 is not very helpful on differentiating good from somewhat-good cells (it just shows a low reading usually), but old bad cells will usually show a high reading for IR…
Afaik the latest version has dual fans but I don’t know the version number.
Anyone with the dual fan version? What does it look like?
(I got mine fairly recently from Gearbest - around Sept 2017, but it appears to have only a single fan)
Thanks
You know where I can buy it ?
Robert
Very hard to believe that there is a revision with 2 fans !
Robert
Sorry didn’t believed you, I found a place they talk about it here : SkyRC — IFA 2014 — MC3000 charger-analyzer | Candle Power Flashlight Forum
Post 4989
Thanks
Robert
And here it is on stock and the article description says “2018 version with 2 fans, improved Bluetooth reception and improved plus contacts” Hardware Version 1.3+
There’s mention of a firmware v1.14beta. I wonder what’s new and if it’s available for download?
Can SkyRC MC3000 charge protected/unprotected 20700 / 21700 batteries?
Unproteced might fit but the very long protected ones (e.g. the ones from Acebeam) will not fit. They can only be charged if inserted into a canted position with only slight contact to the positive terminal.