Hope I am putting this in the right place. Mods please move it if required.
I have the Eveready battery charger which I purchased with the Eveready GP 2100 mAH NiMH batteries. I have been using the charger and batteries for quite a while (over a year).
My charger suddenly went bust and the 2 colour LED wouldn't come on.
Last night I opened up the charger.
It is a decent design and is based on the Power Integrations TNY264 controller. However I was shocked by the shoddy workmanship. It looked like it was hand soldered with a lot of flux everywhere and even a tiny bead or two of solder stuck on the PCB. I am sure that the surface mount components have been assembled using proper pick and place equipment but the through lead components are certainly hand soldered. And pretty badly at that. I gently cleaned up the excess flux and places where the PCB traces could have short circuit problems. Closed it up and it is business as usual. Works like a charm.
Conclusion about the charger: Good electronics design but bad workmanship. Mechanical design adequate - does its job, easy to assemble and disassemble. Aesthetics and ergonomics - Good.
I have the Eveready battery charger which I purchased with the Eveready GP 2100 mAH NiMH batteries. I have been using the charger and batteries for quite a while (over a year).
My charger suddenly went bust and the 2 colour LED wouldn't come on.
Last night I opened up the charger.
It is a decent design and is based on the Power Integrations TNY264 controller. However I was shocked by the shoddy workmanship. It looked like it was hand soldered with a lot of flux everywhere and even a tiny bead or two of solder stuck on the PCB. I am sure that the surface mount components have been assembled using proper pick and place equipment but the through lead components are certainly hand soldered. And pretty badly at that. I gently cleaned up the excess flux and places where the PCB traces could have short circuit problems. Closed it up and it is business as usual. Works like a charm.
Conclusion about the charger: Good electronics design but bad workmanship. Mechanical design adequate - does its job, easy to assemble and disassemble. Aesthetics and ergonomics - Good.