Walther

My Feedback: (1)

Would any of you good people have the manual for the Litco Multi-cycle? I am not able to find mine. (it has only been 20 years).

Thanks Tom.

jazzboy

My Feedback: (1)

Did you have any luck finding a manual?

Cheers,
Andy

Walther

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No sir I did not.

Highflight

My Feedback: (4)

I don't think there ever was a "Manual" on the Multi-Cycle. If I recall correctly from about 20 years ago when I bought a new one from Litco, it was just a single 8-1/2" x 11" sheet that was typewritten on one side.
Even though I sold it when I replaced it with the "brand new" Alpha-4 at the time, there's a very slim chance that I might still have an extra copy of it somewhere in my file cabinet in the garage. I recall that I made some extra copies so that I would have one if I tore or damaged the original. I'll look.

Let me ask, though; the Multi-Cycle was pretty darn simple with just the single red button (two, actually...one for TX and one for RX side) to push to get the process started. What is it you need to know?

jazzboy

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for the reply. I was curious if the charge and discharge were two separate operations. It seems if you press the button quickly nothing happens but if you hold it, 12:00 appears and then disappears.

Cheers,
Andy

Highflight

My Feedback: (4)

Well, it's been a long, long... long time [X(] ... but if memory serves me correctly, the way it worked was that if you just plugged in the connector to the battery, it simply began charging and took it to full charge using a Delta-V trip point to stop the charge.

And, IIRC, the only function of the red button was, as you suggest, to start the discharge cycle after which it would automatically go into charge mode when done cycling.
So; just plug in the battery without touching the red button and the Multi-cycle is just a charger.
But plug in the battery and THEN push the red button, the Multi-cycle is a cycler/charger, and when put into cycle mode with the red button, the display would constantly call out the time (not mah) of the discharge cycle.

So here's my WAG about some things that might be going on where you press the cycle button and the screen goes blank.
There are only two possibilities that come immediately to mind, but there could be more:
1. Your battery might be low, so it kicks into the charge mode immediately. That would explain the beginning screen reading but then going blank. The voltage could simply be so low that the Multi-Cycle just goes into it's charge mode and bypassing a discharge altogether.
2. Perhaps an even more likely possibility is this: Did you notice that there are several wires coming out of each side of the Multi-Cycle, not just two? That's because you use whichever wires match the voltage of your pack. It's possible that you chose the wrong two wires for your pack and that the Multi-Cycle is reading the pack based upon a different voltage than the pack actually is.
I lean toward this second possibility because if you were using a wrong pair of wires, I think (although not positive) that the indication would be the same as what you are getting and which looks like what I describe in possibility #1.

Wow. I'm doing pretty good with a memory of an old guy.

jazzboy

My Feedback: (1)

Thank you! I think it might have been low voltage as the battery charged up perfectly. I will verify the read out the next time I charge it.

Cheers and thanks,
Andy

PS you have a great memory, period!

HavinFun

My Feedback: (4)

I recently aquired one of these Alhpa 4 chargers and this is what I found while searching for a manual, hope this helps you guys out.

http://home.att.net/~LitcoSys/review.htm
http://home.att.net/~LitcoSys/al4.htm
http://home.att.net/~LitcoSys/djn.htm

Walther

My Feedback: (1)

I was thinking that there was a recall feature on this so you could see how long the battery pack lasted.

Highflight

My Feedback: (4)

Walther; I was going through some really old reference material that I have on file tonight and came across the original sheet of the Multi-Cycle "manual". It's just a single sheet printed on one side, but that's all that came with it and is all you need since it really is a simple to operate charger.

If you still want it, PM me and let me have your ISP email address because you can't send attachments through the RCU email system. It'll answer any questions you have about the Multi-Cycle.
I'll scan it and turn it into a jpg and send it along if you still want it.
I'd post it here in the thread but I think the RCU people might not like that because there could be some kind of copyright issue or something.

Edit: By the way, I noticed a handwritten note I added at the top of the original that is so faint that the scanner didn't pick it up. But it was my own note that dated the day I received it from Litco... Mar. 3, 1986. So I bought mine 24 years ago, and I recall that I bought the "brand new" Alpha-4 about a year later or so (my recollection) which is why I ended up selling the Multi-Cycle.
Man, the things a person buries in their memory... [X(]

Let me know...