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La Crosse Technology BC-700 Alpha Power Battery Charger - USD $37ish Delivered Amazon.com

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First post, be kind.
Been looking for a smart charger since getting some Turnigy and eneloops? This model has most of the features of the older deal here: http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/75843 but charges at a max 700mAh, so is a little slower.
High AUD and pretty cheap shipping coinciding with about the lowest price in the last year according to camelcamelcamel make this the best deal about for a smart charger, imho.

EDIT: appears to be out of stock as the link now defaults to a 3rd party supplier and if you drill through to Amazon supplied it says "usually ships in 2 to 3 months".

EDIT 2: looks like more stock, but the price is slightly higher.

Price History at C CamelCamelCamel.

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closed Comments

  • +2

    Glad to be of assistance ;)

    • +3

      Did i miss something?

  • got 1, was waiting for a drop in price as well.thanks op

  • does anyone know how this older bc-700 compared to the bc-900?

    • The main difference is the bc-900 has the option to charge the batteries faster.

      • Thanks mate.

  • +2

    I wish I have 28degrees card..:(

  • +2

    I have a BC-700 and it's fantastic, one of the best gadgets I own. Really easy to use and reliable, it makes it easy to identify dead and dying batteries pretty much at a glance. IMO slower charging current means longer lasting batteries. The main difference is that you don't have the option of a faster charge.

  • Bought! Thankyou

  • +1

    Does one need a plug converter to use this in Australian power sockets?

    • +2

      Yep, I bought one earlier and it's a US plug.

      • Thanks mate.

  • Ordered, thanks. Great deal.

  • +3

    You can add these eneloops for just an extra $3 shipping (when using slow shipping method + group items for fewer packages):
    http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-eneloop-Pre-Charged-Rechargeable…

  • Hey guys, Im currently doing a refresh on my batts using the BC1000, how do you know that it's done? Been 24 hours and it still says "refresh"

    • +3

      a refresh takes ages, days in fact. just leave it there, don't do anything, and when it's done it will display "full" on each individual battery indicator.

  • What do you need to buy to be able to plug it into a power socket?

    • +1
      • Hahaha thank you… I thought there might be more to it than that (like a voltage converter?)

        • You will find with most electronics these days that they can work with 120v (USA) or 230v (Australia) and all that is required is that the plug physically fit into the socket. If you are a real cheapo you can always bend the american plugs to fit in our socket - but I wouldn't recommend this haha.

        • Would it be possible to just replace the power supply? What voltage/amp rating/plug does it use?

        • wouldnt replace the power supply, its very sensitie to voltage/amp difference, but you can just bend the pins and it works fine

    • or go to your local chemist/Big W/travel shop for one

  • Just purchased with bundle batteries and super battery pack

  • Can this do Lithium ion batteries like the 18650?

    • According to the manual I have for the BC-1000, it only does NiMH and NiCd batteries.

    • Nope. For a good budget lion charger check out the XTAR WP2 II charger on ebay. It's around $20 and very popular on some forums.

    • Or if you're really tight, you could try this @ $7.79:
      http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ultrafire-Charger-WF-139-14500-17…

      • I have one of those and it works very well. It has overcharge protection. The only issue is that the beeping is ludicrously quiet which means you'll have to pay attention to the blinking lights when it's done charging.

  • Wow amazing price. I had the BC700 previously and it was a great charger.

  • +1

    I got 1 of these about 6 months ago from Amazon. Works great. Just need a US to AU adapter plug for the power transformer.
    I like how you can see capacity and toss the dodgy batteries before they cause problems.

  • How does this compare to the legendary Maha Powerex MH-C9000?

    • +1

      I have both and various other Maha chargers as well. I prefer the MH-C9000 as the programing is more flexible. I could charge all four channels (batteries) at much higher current than the B700 at the same time.

      • I have same Q - I'm new to this more advanced type of battery charging but plan to get some eneloop/LSDs and want to maximise life from those and existing NiMH batteries I have.

        As a newbie, will I really get the benefit out of the 2x cost C9000?

        Does the BC700 have the same type of "automatic" modes which will automatically diagnose batteries that need discharge / recharge …..

        Aside from the faster current what capabilities does the C9000 offer?

  • Should I place my order in USD or AUD, which will save more guys?

    • If you have a 28 Degree Card, choosing USD and letting the card convert it for you saved me money last time I bought from Amazon :)

      • I don't have one unfortunately, so I should go with AUD I guess?

    • +1

      Good question.

      Few things:

      1. The Amazon exchange rate jumps around with fluctuations in the actual exchange rate – I know this as when I bought mine it was AUD33.40, but it now comes up as costing AUD33.53.

      2. Amazon charges a fee for this, but doesn’t want to say exactly what it is, but it can be inferred. AUD/USD is 0.95269 (from http://themoneyconverter.com/usd/aud.aspx) & Amazon will variously charge you either USD33.92 or AUD33.53 (at time of writing), but if there was no fee you would have expected it to be 33.92x0.95269 = AUD32.31, so the % markup is about (33.53/32.31 -1) ~ 3.8%. This strikes me as a high fee, so no wonder Amazon doesn't want to tell us.

      3. Thing is, my credit card charges me 3% on conversions from foreign to Oz currency, so there’s not really much in it for me at least … though if my calculations are right I was probably marginally better off paying for it in USD. Of course I did it in AUD cos it’s only now I worked it all out…..

      Using PayPal adds another level of complexity…

      My brain hurts.

      • Thank you so much for your reply, much appreciated!! Just ordered one…

      • A little correction with (3) above, the conversion would actually be from Oz currency to US currency, given my money is in AUD and i'd be seeking to pay for something in USD.

        Goddamn i can be pedantic.

        • After having been charged a conversion fee both by nab Visa as well as amazon on a sizable past purchase made in AUD I now double and triple check to make sure it's USD.

          Hit by both amazon AND nab, ouch.

        • I don't get it.
          If you had AUD set in Amazon, what additional currency conversion can there be?

          But i think you're right, for most people paying in USD will probably be best given the Amazon fee appears to be so high.

        • Maybe conversion fee was the wrong term but it was a nab fee of some sort that added another $5 or $6 above the amazon AUD price that I was charged.

          Just checked the statement, it was an international transaction fee.

        • OK. Now i get it. You may have been hit with the international transaction fee regardless.

          I use a pre-paid credit card: http://auspost.com.au/personal/where-to-buy-loadandgo-card.h…
          As far as i can tell they just charge me a 3% conversion fee, and a small $0.09 transaction fee.

        • Some banks charge for foreign purchases, regardless of the currency.

          Just get a 28 degrees mastercard, or Bankwest cards are similar I heard.

        • Bankwest Platinum credit cards don't charge international transaction/FX fees (similar to 28 degrees). Unfortunately Bankwest cards charge an ATM withdrawal fee from the credit card even if your account is in credit (unlike 28 degrees).

          All things considered, 28 degrees is a better card for foreign transactions and getting cash out at foreign ATMs (when you have your account in a credit balance).

        • How does one change from USD/AUD and vice versa on Amazon?? I can't seem to find the option anywhere.

          Edit: I think I figured it out. It's currently out of stock so it does not let you use the currency converter. I'm presuming it's in USD.

    • Yep - all links lead to the Amazon deal.

  • Fantastic timing! I was just looking for a good quality NiMH charger for my parents. Also ordered the 8-pack AA Eneloops.

  • Thanks for sharing!

  • For those wanting a comprehensive review of this thing, and comparisons with the BC-900 & BC-1000 & Maha PowerEx MH-C9000, look no further than the various reviews/FAQ's by NLee the Engineer:

    http://www.amazon.com/review/RK62EGS3P082I/
    http://www.amazon.com/review/RZCMBYAN3QKN3

    I was waiting for the MH-C9000, but at this price point for the BC-700 I went in…and you never know with Amazon - tomorrow the BC-700 might be back up at $46.

  • Cheers got one!

  • Is this better than my Maha LCD?

  • This is probably better value than the BC1000 kit, as I found the batteries supplied were overstated capacity.

    http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/75843

    If you need the adapters for C and D cells, faster charging and a bag the the upgrade may be worthwhile. Sort of like optioning a new car. Bonnet protector anyone?

  • Post button needs a debounce fix.

  • Just ordered one,

    Says delivery ETA is 15th October (2 months)

    WTF?

    • Seems excessive for an 'In Stock' item. FWIW my order made yesterday had the 'shipped' email this morning.

      • Normally we get stuff from Amazon (US) in less than 14 days, with expedited deliveries in as little as 4 days.

    • My order said 27 Aug - 7 Sep 2012.

      I think they're getting hammered, esp as the deal is also listed elsewhere including slickdeals.net

      • Got mine today 27 August…looks kinda puny.

  • Thanks for the heads up on this one OP, just placed my order using Amazon currency convertor at $33.53 delivered. As it is such a long lead time before delivery (says it may be delivered anywhere from Oct 17th to Jan 7th 2013, I understand that paying with their currency convertor locks in today's exchange rate, if I elected to pay using my Commbank MasterCard in US $, the exchange rate is the one that is on the date they despatch.
    Have I got that right? From using mainly UK Amazon I pay in UK Pounds with anything that is available now, anything that is awaiting stock several weeks away I use their convertor and pay at my Dollar level on the day.
    I know the AU to US $ has been moving around a bit lately, but I think the rates at the moment are in our favour.

  • how do i pay with paypal? (i have enough PP USD credit)

    if not, is it disadvantageous to pay with commbank's debit mastercard? (I dont have a 28degrees)

    cheers

  • Hi,first time user on Amazon.com. Where do i click to find out postage and handling fees. Thanks in advance.

    • go all the way to checkout just before finalizing the order

    • I only paid like $6 for postage.

  • I hope this is as good as a charger like this: http://www.amazon.com/IMax-Digital-battery-Balance-Charger/d…

    As thats what ive been using to charge anything.

  • I notice the BC-1000 is still available for $USD57 shipped. According to CamelCamelCamel this is its lowest price also:

    http://camelcamelcamel.com/La-Crosse-Technology-Battery-BC10…

  • +1

    I am tossing between this and the 1000 that comes with batteries http://www.amazon.com/La-Crosse-Technology-Battery-BC1000/dp…

    • That's a really good deal too.
      I guess depends on if you already have lots of eneloops (like me) or not.

    • o.O Bugger that seems better and has more charging power (not that I would use that fast charge power)

    • I've moved to using LSD batteries for everything now. The Turnigy ones from hobbyking are about as good as eneloops and being able to rely on them not to go flat is worth the small premium over normal NiMH.

  • Anyone getting "We're sorry. This item can't be shipped to your selected destination. You may either change the shipping address or delete the item from your order. " ? If yes, how did you get around it ?

    • Are you buying the one supplied by Amazon? They also offer units supplied by 3rd parties which won't ship abroad.

      • Yeah, sorry. Looks like Amazon are out of stock now. I've expired the deal.

  • Seems like amazon ran out of stock and other stores are selling it

  • it shows up as $24.43 + $4.99 shipping for me but then says "This item can't be shipped to your selected destination" when I get to checkout.
    Ah ok, should have refreshed this page first, just saw the comments above.

  • +1

    Just use this deal then and you get batteries as well :D
    http://www.amazon.com/La-Crosse-Technology-Battery-BC1000/dp…

  • With Amazon.com as seller it's now saying 2-5 months.
    Show's over brothers & sisters…

    Amazon ticks me off sometimes - having to dig down to see if the other sellers will ship to Oz, and even when they do it's often at ludicrous rates.

    • http://www.shipstoaustralia.com.au/ is handy for searching amazon for AU deliverable stuff.

      • Ooh. Thanks.

    • Or, sign up for "1-Click Checkout" and each product page shows you if it will ship to your address

  • For those ordering the BC-1000 are you selecting any other good deals to combine it with? i.e. more batteries or cases etc?

    • All included -> Case & Batteries.

    • I have just ordered the BC1000 with a few books, and another headphone.

  • I'm pretty sure this deal is back on:

    1. Amazon shown as seller.

    2. Price now USD 29.79 (up from USD 26.93), which is still a good deal.

    3. When i go through the order process it says: "Estimated delivery: Sept. 7, 2012 - Sept. 13, 2012". Though on the product home page it does say "Shipping this item to your default address may require an additional 2 to 3 weeks to process" - not sure if this is in addition to the timeline provided on order.

    4. Total price now incl delivery is: USD 36.78 (or at time of writing AUD 36.37).

    If you missed out, i'd still go for it…

    • I can confirm the above. The units appear to now be in stock, just bought one for 36.60 USD including shipping from Amazon. That'll do me nicely.

    • price is back to USD 26.69

  • +2

    Geez, I spent the time to post this deal again (updated) because this one was expired due to no stock. The price was slightly different and I linked back to this deal for reference.

    Then my post is deleted as a dupe, this one magically gets a price change and is unexpired. The edit from the original post that mentions that stock is only available from a third party is no longer true and should be removed.

    Wish I didn't waste my time now, I'll know better next time :-)

    I think I'm going to go for the Maha/Powerex MH-C9000 which I've found for about $60 delivered.

  • Bought one and an Aeropress for about $65 delivered.

  • Just got this e-mail from Amazon:

    Hello,

    We have good news! We're able to get this part of your order to you faster than we originally promised:

    "La Crosse Technology BC-700 Alpha Power Battery Charger"
    Previous estimated arrival date: September 24, 2012 - September 26, 2012
    New estimated arrival date: August 28, 2012

    • Just purchased one as it still said "In Stock". After payment was told delivery is estimated at Nov 2 - Jan 20, 2013. When I refreshed the product page it now says delivery to my location can take an additional 2-5 months. Delivery address was in Brisbane so hopefully will get another e-mail shortly as zzyss did that delivery is now earlier than expected.

  • Got my charger today!

  • :( ordered on the 14th!

    "Your shipmenti has been flagged for review of the contents prior to export 2012-08-16T20:19:25-05:00 Elizabeth NJ US"

    shipmenti :)?

    Duff5000: damn that was an awesome idea. Wish I thought of it. Aeropress is in my new wishlist

  • I went a different way. I ordered the Maha/Powerex MH-C9000 (not from Amazon) for about the same shipped price as the La Crosse BC-1000 (from Amazon). I like the reviews of the Maha (for features and build quality). Got various eneloop sets that each come with battery boxes. That's me set for rechargeables for the forseeable future!

    • Edit: found a better place to ask my question…

  • Some useful info on the BC-700, including pdf of manual (though it is slightly different to the manual that came with mine):

    http://www.lacrossetechnology.com/bc700/

  • Now that I've received the Maha/Powerex MH-C9000, I'm really glad I got this one. It seems well built and just watching it do its thing with the new batteries today (break-in mode) was great. I read that Maha makes great stuff and it looks true based on this item.

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