RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good?

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good?
View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> Radios, Batteries, Clubhouse and more >> Batteries & Chargers >> RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good?

Page: << < prev 1 [2] 3 next > >>

Login

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/19/2004 11:03:29 PM

Bob101

Posts: 845
Joined: 9/30/2003
From: Rural, TX, USA
Status: offline

It's junk. I had one - threw it away after a while. If you value your batteries and the things that are attached to them RUN don't walk away from this charger.

(in reply to Mike01)

Post #: 26

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/20/2004 1:20:49 AM

Mike01

Posts: 643
Joined: 12/29/2003
From: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Status: offline

From your other posts it sounds like you had a bad unit.

However, most problems with this charger arise from user error. It has a lot of parameters and people just get it wrong sometimes. Even Red the battery man mistakenly thought the charger always cuts off a 1700mah because he failed to understand how it works.

It's a 100 dollar charger, and it has a lot of capabilities and comes ready to go in the box. This makes it desirable and accessible. When someone buys a 300 or 500 dollar charger, you pretty much know that they know how to use it. You don't spend that kind of money and just plug it in and start playing with buttons without any clue of what you're doing....at least not usually.

With the less expensive chargers, you get everyone from junior high school kids to halfwits buying them up and fiddling with the settings and messing up their battery packs.

I can get the 969 to terminate a charge just as a pack reaches approx 125 degrees F, which is considered by many (e.g. Pro-Match racing) to be an optimal temperature at the termination of a NiMH charging cycle. Now that’s precision.

I don’t know what more I could ask for in a NiMH charger.

(in reply to Bob101)

Post #: 27

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/21/2004 3:31:48 AM

Mike01

Posts: 643
Joined: 12/29/2003
From: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Status: offline

One thing I never mentioned...

When you get a new battery pack, or a matched pack that has been sitting around for a while, the voltage of that pack on the first charge can (and usually will) be erratic.

For example...I usually charge most of my NiMH batteries with a peak threshold of 15mv. This lets them reach approximately 125 degrees F just as the charger cuts off.

However, when I get a new NiMH pack, if I try to charge it at that voltage, it will sometimes "false peak" a couple of times before reaching maximum charge. This is not just the Superbrain...this is true of most peak detecion chargers (but not all battery packs). This is one reason why it is good to initially charge a new (or long dormant) pack with a "wall wart" charger or at a low amp rate.

I usually don't bother...I just hit the start button again (and again) until it hits maximum capacity (which you can tell by it's voltage and temperature). I have noticed no adverse effects in the long haul.

It has been my experience that a six cell NiMH pack will usually peak at about 8.84 volts (approx) before beginning to drop.

Once the pack has been charged and discharged, it will behave normally.

If you are serious about your batteries, I seriously recommend an infrared thermometer....if you're charging without monitoring exact temperature of your packs, you really have no idea what is going on with your batteries.

Once you determine a proper threshold for a battery pack, you will no longer need to monitor it and can trust the charger. The Super Brain 969 is a good, if basic, peak charger. It is capable of properly charging a NiMH battery pack if it used correctly.

(in reply to Mike01)

Post #: 28

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/23/2004 3:39:38 PM

NavyE6FE

Posts: 174
Joined: 1/14/2003
From: Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Status: offline

I went thru 3 Tritons before I tried a 969. Then the 969 showed me what was wrong with the triton. The triton would work good for a month or so then it would only discharge or charge a few hundred mah(when set to cycle) and if it discharged 200 mah it might only put back 75 or take out 75 and put back 250. All 3 ended up doing this. I got the 969 and the very first time I used it, it only ran about a minute, I looked at the display and the voltage was all over the place. Pressed charge again and the same thing so I started to investigate and found one of the lead wires was broken, replaced it and it worked like a champ. The other thing with the triton, I would plug it into the tx for a quick charge no problems, then I did this with the 969 no voltage reading, no charge. I thought something was wrong then I remembered there is a diode in the tx circuit. So how was it that the triton could charge with the diode in place? One last thing I found out from my LHS, if you are doing high amp charging/discharging, use heavy gauge wires it makes a difference on how well the charger works.

(in reply to Mike01)

Post #: 29

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/7/2006 12:51:09 AM

jl_sheehan

Posts: 2
Joined: 4/7/2006
From: rochester, MN, USA
Status: offline

I am not sure if you can help me with this seemingly stupid question..... if you set the super brain to 15 minutes instead of the automatic 40 minutes will the batteries be charged in 15 minutes while charging two batteries at 2.5 amps? please e-maile me at jl_sheehan@yahoo.com

(in reply to Mike01)

Post #: 30

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/8/2006 7:44:03 PM

guver

Posts: 8975
Joined: 3/7/2003
From: LaGrange, OH, USA
Status: online

No, it will simply turn off after 15 minutes. It will deliver 15 minutes worth of charge.

_____________________________

you hear that silence?

(in reply to jl_sheehan)

Post #: 31

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/9/2006 2:44:53 AM

NavyE6FE

Posts: 174
Joined: 1/14/2003
From: Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Status: offline

If you want to charge 2 batt. you have to set each batt. seperate. If you want the batteries fully charged, just set the charge amps and press the start button. If you change the time, charge amount, etc that is what the charger will do.

(in reply to guver)

Post #: 32

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/10/2006 3:02:45 AM

kx250ryder

Posts: 1387
Joined: 8/23/2005
From: Queen Creek, AZ, USA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: jl_sheehan

I am not sure if you can help me with this seemingly stupid question..... if you set the super brain to 15 minutes instead of the automatic 40 minutes will the batteries be charged in 15 minutes while charging two batteries at 2.5 amps? please e-maile me at jl_sheehan@yahoo.com

It does not default to a 40 minute charge. What is happening is that you are connecting your batteries to the charger, and it is using its default settings, and with those settings it is detecting that your batteries are at peak charge in what happens to be 40 minutes for your batteries at that rate.

Using the timed charge feature should only be to set the minimum time that you want a cell to charge. You should let the charger determine when to quit by using your delta peak threshold setting (5mv per cell for nimh and gell cell types, 5-8mv per cell for nicd).

If you set the charger to 15 minutes, it will only supply current to charge the batteries, and then quit after 15 minutes (not checking whether or not it is fully charged). Your best bet, would be to take the number written on your batteries and do the following:

for AA cells:
divide number (capacity) on battery by 2000, and set this as your charge current (amps). So 2400mAh battery gets charged at 1.2 amps (or less, for better cell life). A fully discharged battery should take 2-3 hours at this setting.

For C cells:
divide number (capacity) on battery by 1000 and set this at your charge current (amps). So 3300mAh battery gets charged at 3.3 amps (or less). A fully discharged battery should take 1-2 hours at this setting.

For 12 Volt gell cells:
divide number (capacity) on battery by 5000 and set this to your charge current (amps). So a 7000mAh (7Ah) battery gets charged at 1.4 amps (or less). A fully discharged battery should take 5-7 hours at this setting.

Your charger will determine the number of cells you have, and the type of cell chemistry you have. All you really need to do is set the current using the above system, and leave the rest for the charger to decide (thus the name Super Brain). However, if you charge a battery, and then charge another battery using the same channel, it would be wise to either unplug, and then plug back in the charger, to make sure that the charger goes back to auto detect mode, and does not retain any user inputted values from the previous charge. If you are charging a battery on the other terminal and don't want to power down the charger, make sure you set the number of cells, the current, and the delta peak threshold to ensure that any previous information is erased.

For Li-Po cells:
Send your charger in to MRC to get upgraded to MRC 977 software (free). Then plug the battery in and let the charger make the decisions on how to charge it. These are highly volatile types of batteries, and you should keep a close eye when charging them.

_____________________________

". . . the same thing we do every night Pinky, try and take over the world." -- Brain

(in reply to jl_sheehan)

Post #: 33

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/10/2006 3:45:13 AM

guver

Posts: 8975
Joined: 3/7/2003
From: LaGrange, OH, USA
Status: online

Guess what I found out? The 977 does not use a cc/cv charge for lipoly. It uses a constant charge until something around 4.3 volts then goes to a trickle charge. Not the best.

_____________________________

you hear that silence?

(in reply to kx250ryder)

Post #: 34

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/10/2006 12:26:38 PM

huey-pilot

Posts: 300
Joined: 7/12/2002
From: Enterprise, AL, USA
Status: offline

I had my 969 upgraded to the 977 software, works great. To charge Li-Po cells the charger has to be set to the number of cells and the charge rate that you want. The charger does not go into trickle when finished, it just beeps then shuts off.

(in reply to guver)

Post #: 35

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/10/2006 4:31:59 PM

guver

Posts: 8975
Joined: 3/7/2003
From: LaGrange, OH, USA
Status: online

advance the screen to the "rate" screen and check. I will check mine again.

_____________________________

you hear that silence?

(in reply to huey-pilot)

Post #: 36

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/11/2006 3:29:16 PM

mclintock

Posts: 1090
Joined: 2/5/2004
From: Brighton, MA, USA
Status: offline

Stated before, but to be sure-
Call MRC if you have the 969 and they will give you the address to send it in for the free upgrade to 977 internals.
You will still have the weaker external 12 adaptor of the 977, but all the ranting and raving about the lipo charging problems of the 969 will no longer apply. This free update replaces the whole circuit board, buttons and all. It also seems some of the annoyances of the settings going to default values are fixed, although if you wait until the trickle cycle is over after the peak, it does clear the paramaters of the last charge, but we never leave the batteries of any type charging un-attended anyway, do we?

_____________________________

Clint

(in reply to guver)

Post #: 37

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/12/2006 2:24:55 PM

Prop Nut

Posts: 1558
Joined: 5/4/2004
From: Coral, MI, USA
Status: offline

FYI,
MRC does not do the hardware upgrade free, its 30.00 but they do upgrade the AC powersupply to a 10 amp system along with the upgrade. What I was told this morning is that you send them your 969 and they send you a 977. They were very helpful and patient with me. My 969 has already been upgraded when it was sent out as it was one of the last of the production run so I dont need to send it in unless I want the AC powersupply to also be upgraded. I never charge more than one pack at a time but that might change as I purchase more Lipo's so I might send it in. The Tech gave me simple instructions for charging lipos. Hope this helps.

_____________________________

Scope? Listerine? Or Prop Wash?

(in reply to mclintock)

Post #: 38

RE: MRC Super Brain 969 Pro any good? - 4/12/2006 2:39:41 PM

mclintock