Ansmann has launched the ACS110 lightweight switch-mode universal battery pack charger. The ACS110 is dedicated for manufacturers of portable industrial equipment and instrumentation but is also potentially suitable for all equipment with battery packs. The ACS110 comes complete with eight changeable output plugs for connection to the battery pack with selection for centre positive or negative. Also, the ACS110’s input voltage of 100V to 240V and universal mains plug set, including UK, European, USA and Australian mains plug options, allow it to be used virtually anywhere in the world.

The device charges both NiCd (Nickel Cadmium) and NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) battery packs for capacities from 500mAh to 6700mAh. A user-selectable pre-discharge option minimises battery memory effect common with NiCd batteries by fully discharging the battery pack prior to automatically starting the charging process. The ACS110 charging process is governed by its custom negative delta peak microcontroller. It starts in test mode automatically detecting the size of the connected battery pack in terms of the number of cells it contains, identifying to the user whether any cells are faulty or if the battery pack is reverse connected.

Once satisfied everything is in order, the charger starts the 800mA fast charge process auto-selecting the charge requirement between 1.2V (one cell) and 12V (10 cells) until it is fully charged when it switches to the 80mA trickle charge to keep it topped-up. A built-in safety timer automatically switches the charger to trickle charge should the cells fail to peak within a 10 hour period. The ACS110 is approved for use in the USA and Canada by CSA, in Europe with CE by GS and Australia with N-Tick.