User's Manual

23 ·
MC3000
· 22
MC3000
CUT TEMP
The temperature cut-off. It is the temperature of the battery, or more precisely the temperature at
the slot sensor, at which the program will stop with an abnormal program termination message. A
safety option, it can protect batteries against unexpected overheating. While recommended for
better air circulation around the round battery, measurement of battery temperature will be
particularly off when the battery is left hanging suspended between the contacts.
CUT TIME
The timer cut-off. Stops the program with an abnormal program termination message when the
total time has reached this value. Primarily devised as safety option, it could also be used for
intentional program stops after a given time of operation, for example in conjunction with the Zero
or -Zero parameters of the Storage operation mode.
TERMINATION
The termination current of the CV-phase of Li-Ion battery charging algorithm, also of NiZn. When
reaching TARGET VOLT, e.g. 4.20V, this option will hold the voltage constant while automatically
reducing the current down to the specified value before it terminates the charging routine. A high
termination current serves battery health but will not charge the full battery capacity. The
parameter defaults to 10% of C.CURRENT, an industrial standard. "Zero" means an ever
decreasing charging current: not good for your patience or battery but allows to produce quasi-
constant 4.200V battery voltage if that’s what you’re after. OFF means no CV-phase once the
target voltage has been reached.
D.REDUCE
Discharge Reduce. Applies to the discharge routine of a program. Inversely similar to the CV-
phase of Li-Ion battery charging algorithm, when reaching CUT VOLT, this option will hold that
voltage constant while automatically reducing the current down to the specified value before it
terminates the discharging routine. Setting this option will extend the discharging period beyond
the time for normal discharge cut-off, discharge even more electric charge, but never let the
battery fall below the cut-off voltage. Since battery offline voltage tends to recover after a
discharge process, reducing the discharge current helps to reduce the extent of recovery. "-Zero"
means that the discharge current will continue to decrease, approaching 0A infinitesimally;
beware, this could take forever and may also not serve battery health. Not terribly useful in most
cases, the Storage operation mode does profit from this option though.If you are confused, just
turn it OFF.
RESTART VOLT
The restart voltage. Applies to programs which end with a charging routine. When such a program
has finished, the voltage of bad-health batteries is prone to decline rather fast due to self-
discharging phenomena. Setting this value for example 0.05V lower than TARGET VOLT will
guarantee a minimum battery voltage when removing the battery. Naturally, one cannot set it
higher than the TARGET VOLT parameter. What exactly will happen when the voltage has
dropped by the 0.05V? That depends on the firmware version. Generally speaking, the slot
restarts some charging. For all operation modes the factory default is OFF.
DELTA PEAK
Delta-peak sensibility. A technical parameter to control charge termination of NiMH/NiCd batteries
through the commonly recommended negative delta voltage -dV or -dV/dt method, or through the
zero delta voltage method, 0dV or 0dV/dt. When charging a healthy specimen at constant current
the voltage graph normally peaks around full charge completion. A higher setting will ensure that
this peak has been passed with certainty but will also charge longer than necessary. "0dV" will
terminate the charging when the peak extends to a voltage plateau, i.e. does not show a well
defined voltage drop. The latter may happen with old batteries or at very low charge rates or both.
As a rule of thumb, use -dV for topped off charging and 0dV as no-brainer in all other cases.
TRICKLE C.
Trickle charge. A small constant current applied after the charging routine, available for
NiMH/NiCd batteries only. Once set, it applies to all rest phases after charging routines, in
particular to finished slots which ended with a charging routine. Trickle charge helps to keep the
batteries topped off, i.e. fully charged. A too high value may overcharge and keep the battery
heated, which would not serve battery health. The factory default is OFF.
Save To
Always defaults to the present program number in the slot under consideration. Allows the user to
save the entire modified set of program settings under a different program number, leaving the
original set of program settings intact. The parameter "Slots" facilitates setting up slots with
identical programs. It allows the user to save the changes to the present program number but also
copy the entire program including its program number over to all other three slots by overwriting
their currently assigned programs; in currently active slots, the new program will not become
active until the ongoing program has finished.
Example: You're editing PROGRAM[03] in slot#1, generating a "[03*]" in #1 so to speak. The last
row in SPV defaults to Save To [03]; depressing the ENTER button would just save [03*] to [03]
and make it the active program in #1. Depressing the ENTER button on Save To [05] would save
[03*] as program[05], overwriting whatever PROGRAM[05] has been before, and return to TOV;
the original [03] stays intact in #1, untouched. If slot#2 was assigned with [05] before, then #2
would be now ready to run "[03*]" so to speak. Depressing the ENTER button on Save To Slots
would first save [03*] to [03] and then make it the new program in all slots.
SLOT PROGRAMMING VIEW (SPV)SLOT PROGRAMMING VIEW (SPV)