Customer Reviews

Digital Concepts AC/DC Rapid Charger with 4 AA Rechargeable 1800 MAH NIMH Batteries

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

*This is a 1000ma charger, which will cook 2 or 4 batteries at a time. It simply chargers them too fast, with too high amperage, with too much heat generated.
*If you only want a fast charge, it's fine. If you want long lasting batteries, try the MAHA 401. 201, or RipVan 4000N. I own all three, plus a Collett.
*I use AAA and AA NiMH batteries in motorcycle communicators, MP3 players, digital camera, Garmin GPS. I got this Digital Concepts charger for Xmas. It is the worst of the four I own for prolonging battery life, but does charge fast for quick tops offs.

I purchased this unit after researching rechargeable batteries and the quirks of my digital camera. After at least 5 full 14 hour charge cycles, I was still only able to get about 10 shots (sometimes less) before the "dead battery" warning and camera shutdown. (I had used other batteries successfully so I was confident that the problem was not with the camera.) Seeking a clue, I called Sakar. (I had been to the website first: their recommended site "sakarhelp.com" with its frequently asked questions section didn't exist and they did not acknowledge my e-mail as the site indicated.) I was on hold for over an hour until finally getting to speak to a technician "Steve" who was less than helpful. He was intent on telling me that all cameras worked differently (I knew that!) and that he couldn't tell me anything other than maybe all 4 of the batteries I had were bad; no suggestions for testing or any other helpful feedback. I had read that sometimes several charge/discharge cycles were necessary before NiMH batteries worked properly (he had no input or feedback on that possibility either), so after the problems with the equipment, the customer "disservice" and total lack of assistance from Sakar, I'm pulling the plug on this unit. Can I rate it LESS than 1???

I recommend you NOT purchase this product. I charged 6 sets of batteries before a trip and discovered that the amount of charge I got from this charger gave me only enough juice for 2 photographs - without flash! Thankfully, I had a set of batteries I charged with a different charger, that had been sitting in my flash attachment for 2 weeks. I took those batteries out, put them in my camera, and they lasted the rest of the day. Can't even give this one star because the company leads you to believe that your battery is charged when the fact is, it's only charged enough for 2 or three photos. This is based on the usage in RAW mode in my 5 mpx camera.

I bought these with my digital camera a little less than 2 years ago and looking back, these are absolutely horrible. The worst being last week when one of the batteries exploded while in the camera.

This being my first set of rechargable batteries I didn't know what to expect. Like everyone else has said, these things get very warm during charging and they do not last very long. At least not in my digital camera, which is an Olympus C-4000. They have absolutely zero shelf life. Don't expect to use them a day or 2 after you charge them. If I could have given them 0 stars, I would have.

For those cold days you can warm your batteries and insert them in the fingers of your gloves. Just don't expect them to have a charge that lasts longer than 3 minutes in your digital camera. I'm picking out something different.

While the model I bought is similar to this one (CK1005) it is doing the same exact thing everyone else reports. I tried charging all my rechargable batteries a couple of times with this charger and NONE of them work in my digital camera! At first I thought it was my camera until I put two ordinary AA batteries in it and it worked fine! What a waste of money. I'm buying a better more reliable brand. Thanks everyone for your reviews, otherwise I wouldn't have known what was going on!

I bought an 8 pack of these batteries to use with my Monster brand battery charger. I thought there was an incompatability issue until I started researching this brand of batteries. They would "charge", appear to have a full charge. Within a day or two of just sitting on my workbench they were dead. If I used them right after charging they worked for a few minutes then die. These batteries SUCK.

I bought my first charger 5 months ago and still works perfect. No problems with the batteries or the charging process. It gets hot but you won't burn. I decided to get my second charger because for $ 10-$14 you can normally get only the 4 2000mah batteries. The charger works perfect at home and in my car. Works for me.

This unit charges batteries very fast (Hence the name Rapid Charger), It does make the batteries very hot during charging, I believe that it might damage the batteries in the long run, But so far it seems to work correctly, The provided 4 batteries are only 2000mAh (*New Updated*) which are worthless, My 4 year old Creative 1800mAh Batteries are better even after all these years of use.(You get the point?) The A/C adapter is good for only 120V AC, wish it had dual A/C selection switch for use in other countries, Car Charger adapter is added bonus, But that is rarely used. There are better products out there, But for the Price I think it does it's job okay.

I have an Olympus digital camera and I use these batteries for it. They not only last a long time, they keep taking a charge. I have no problem with it at all. I take a lot of pictures, and often forget to turn off my camera. I have three sets of 4 batteries(my camera takes 4 batteries). I rarely have to dig into the third set...no matter how many pictures I take. I highly recommend this item. It has served me well for a long time...it'll be 2 years in December 2005. Also, the charger...and the spare batteries are priced great!