PSPower DC204 Two Channel Battery Charger - Tester and USB Power Bank for Li-ion NiMH NiCd 26650 18650 AAA AA C subC

The DC204 is reminiscent of the La Crosse BC-700, with the main difference that the BC-700 only charges NiMH/NiCd batteries, while the DC204 can charge both NiMH, NiCd, and lithium cells. With a few exceptions, the external appearance is remarkably similar, and the control interface and LCD screen are very similar. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the two shared some sort of common ancestry in the form of a similar charge-controller chip.The main visual difference is that the DC204 has spring-loaded sliding contacts to allow for cells of different length to be inserted, while the BC-700 only allows AA and AAA cells to be inserted.The DC204's LCD screen had a nice, clear, white backlight (see photo) that automatically turns off a few seconds after the last button press.The two charging slots are completely independent, and can charge two totally different types of batteries without confusion. In the photo, it's discharging (for capacity testing) an eneloop AA cell and a Samsung 18650 cell I ripped from an old laptop battery.By default, the charge current is 500mA, which is perfectly reasonable and safe for NiMH and NiCd cells, as well as lithium cells. One can manually select a charge current of 1000mA if desired, which is a bit high for AAA NiMH cells, but perfectly fine for AA NiMH and most lithium cells like 18650s.It has the handy feature (which was my primary reason for purchasing) of being able to test the capacity of batteries. It does this by first charging a battery to full capacity, then discharging it at 500mA (the discharge current cannot be adjusted, and is always 500mA) until it's "empty" (I need to do more tests to determine exactly what the "empty" cut-off threshold is), then charges it back up to full again at the user-specified charge current (either 500mA or 1000mA). This testing seems reasonably accurate: I tested the same eneloop AA NiMH cell in both this charger (charging at 1000mA and discharging at 500mA) and the BC-700 (charging at 700mA and discharging at 350mA, the closest I could get it in comparison) and the DC204 reported a capacity of 2300mAh while the BC-700 reported a capacity of 2080mAh. It's not clear where the extra 220mA is coming from, but it may just be a measurement fluke (I only did one test on each charger) or that the two chargers define "empty" to be at a slightly different level.Interestingly, the DC204 tests the capacity by measuring the amount of charge flowing during the discharge process (from full to empty), while the BC-700 measures the amount of charge flowing during the charging process (from empty to full). Since both start and end at full, the results should be similar, but there's clearly some subtle difference.The BC-700 shows a live display of the actual amount of current flowing into or out of a battery (e.g. 704mA, then 702mA, then 698mA, etc.), while the DC204 only shows the nominal (e.g. 500mA exactly) current. It's unclear if either charger keeps track of the actual charge current to determine capacity, or if it only uses the nominal value. If one uses the actual current while the other uses the nominal, this might explain the discrepancy in reported capacities.It is unclear if it offers a low-current "trickle charge" to keep batteries topped up if left in the charger. I'll do some tests and update the review.Conveniently, the DC204 uses 12V DC as it's input voltage, and so can be easily powered by a car battery or other common 12V supply. The BC-700 requires a 3V power supply at relatively high current, which is a bit harder to find. The power adapters for both chargers are specified to work at both 120V and 240V AC nominal input voltages at 50/60Hz, and so should work anywhere in the world with a simple plug adapter to convert the US-style plug into whatever plug is used in a different country. Annoyingly, the DC power input jack is on the right side of the charger's body, rather than on the back.If one or more lithium cells are inserted and the AC power adapter is disconnected, a USB-A port on the back can provide up to 1000mA to devices like mobile phones. In essence, the charger becomes an ersatz power bank. I can see that being convenient in some situations.The DC204 has reverse-polarity protection, so if you insert a cell backwards (which can happen easily with flat-top 18650 cells or really anything if one is inattentive) into the charger neither the cell nor the charger will be damaged. Simply pop out the reversed cell and re-insert it correctly.It also measures the internal resistance of cells, but it's unclear how accurate this is. It measures the internal resistance of eneloop NiMH AAs at around 40-60 milliohms, which is reasonable, but every single one of my Samsung 18650s (all taken from the same laptop battery) show as having internal resistances of 125 milliohms. That's a reasonable value, but it's odd that all six cells would have identical resistances with no variation whatsoever (the capacities of each, as measured by the DC204, differ by several hundred mAh between cells).Overall, the build quality seems quite reasonable. I wouldn't go around tossing it off of buildings or giving it to gorillas (or toddlers) to play with, but it doesn't appear flimsy or easily breakable in normal household use.If one needs only to charge NiMH or NiCd AA or AAA cells, I'd prefer the BC-700 due to it having four slots and more options. I'm also a bit more confident of the BC-700s capacity measurements. However, if one wants to charge both NiMH/NiCd and lithium cells and wants similar information and tests, the DC204 would be an excellent choice and I recommend it.

Well worth $20. You could easley pay double that to get all the features of this charger. First I have to point out that the usb outlet in the back isn't for charging a phone or something while the device is plugged into the wall. Its actually dead when the AC plug is being used. What it is for is actually cooler. By putting 2 fully charged li-ion (18650) batteries into the charging slots the unit becomes a portable usb power supply. The measurements are accurate, it charges thoroughly & the 2 slots work completely independent of each other. You just can not ask for more for so little money. Last thing to point out. When testing batteries it doesn't drain the battery & then measure how much it puts in. It first charges them & then measures how much power it drains out of the battery before charging them one last time.

This is a no frills charger that actually works pretty good! It does what it says it is suppose to do.. It seems quite accurate and have tested all my 18650 batteries. It identified a few batteries with issues. It also identifies batteries with fraudulent ratings which seems to be common with many Battery seller's claims on mah ratings.I have found the discharge test to be accurate to with in 50 and 100 mah of the my battery's rating. It can start a 0 volt battery which many chargers can't. Having the option to select the current charge rates of 500 or 1000 mah is critical for smaller batteries. The charge and discharge process does take several hours to complete. I like the fact that it is 12 volt so you have power source options. Small enough to throw in a go bag. If you are like me and are acquiring more flash lights and gadgets that run on 18650 and such, you need a few decent chargers and especially one that can run tests from time to time.My only complaint so far is the screen is kind of hard to read for me. I wish the back light could be turned on and remain on. The instruction manual is written in a rather Chinglish way, but totally understandable. I have had only one malfunction where the timer clock got stuck on a certain time and no longer was recording time elapse. It has not happened again. One thing I wished this Charger did during the Discharge Test, was record the mah put back in the battery as well as the mah drawn. It only records the Discharged mah when in discharge mode. The charger seems safe and does not get hot during charge/discharge, but the batteries do get warm. I don't think it is a good idea to charge batteries and leave them unattended. Have an area where you can contain a fire if you happen to have an exploding battery. Many of these Chinese batteries are unprotected. Not certain all the safe guards with this Charger, but so far is doing a great job!PS: Picture is of a test I ran on a Fraudulent mah claim of a seller on here claiming 6800 mah. The Discharge Test result was 2328 & 2393 That Seller is relabeling the batteries as 6800 mah and the PSPower DC204 discharge test concludes they are only 2400 mah

This unit was one of the only one I saw that had a USB port. I tried the charger using 18650 batteries and it worked fine. Reported full when finished. The backlight only stays on for a short period but, you activate it anytime by just pushing the mode button. That was no instructions in the box. When I tried to charge my phone, nothing happened. I tried other things that utilize a USB but nothing was there. I since returned to amazon and ordered a different charger without a USB port.Short story, it seems to work fine charging batteries and reporting specifications of your battery but I can't comment on the USB output because it wasn't there. I would recommend this but only if it is ordered from a place where you can return it hassle free if you discover a problem.Update: In returning the product, it took to long to get a refund. Had to call Amazon twice and finally got it. I say too long cause it was over 10 days.