MRC Super Brain 989

[PeterV]

http://209.2.68.15:8011/pics/super_brain_989.jpg

Latest from www.modelrectifier.com

SUPER BRAIN 989
Item # RB989

Price: $189.00
New item soon to be released

The Super Brain 989 “do-it-all” AC/DC charger will make short work of recharging & rejuvenating any battery pack from 1-8 cell lithium, 1-25 cell NiCd/NiMH & 6-24 volt lead acid and gel cell batteries. The Super Brain 989 has many new features and proprietary technology that makes it the new top choice for all RC drivers and pilots. From recreational hobbyists to pro-racers to seasoned flyers, the Super Brain 989 has it covered!

The Super Brain 989 has a genuine peak detect charge rate of 0.10 to 10 amps for NiCd and NiMH cells, and constant current/constant voltage of up to 1.2c max for charging lithium cells. There’s programmable battery cycling and conditioning, with selectable charge and discharge rate from 0.10 to 10 amps. That’s right, up to a “real” 10 amps! Temperature sensing & control too, with the included temperature probe. The Super Brain 989 is a complete AC/DC charger and comes with its own 10-amp power supply. MRC built in a 24-battery pack profile/memory feature & built-in safety confirmation to help put the correct charge in your different battery types. We included a motor break-in feature with adjustable time and output to make light work of conditioning your competition motors prior to installation.

The Super Brain 989 will accept everything from single cell glow igniters, receiver packs, transmitter packs, main power packs of all types and field packs for your starting and field equipment. Special booster circuits give you 1-30V output for bench testing and to power a comm lathe, tire truer, and portable bench tools too!

From Planes and boats, to nitro and electric radio control the new MRC Super Brain 989 Charger is simply the best of the best!

> AC/DC Thermal Controlled & Fan Cooled Battery Charger, Including 10 Amp Fan Cooled AC Power Supply

> Patented Micro Peak® Technology Included for NiCd & NiMH packs

> Charges: 1 to 25 NiCd / NiMH Cells, 1 to 8 Cell Lithium, and 6-24 volt Lead Acid/Gel Cell Batteries

> Cell Range of: 100-19,900 mAH

> Charge Rate of: 0.1A up to 10.0A for NiCd / NiMH, and 1.2c max for Lithium Cells

> Discharge Rate of: 0.1A up to 10.0A with Adjustable Cut-off Range

> Adjustable Peak Sensitivity

> 24 Battery Profile/Memory Storage with Safety Confirmation (MRC SafeGuard™ Technology) & profile history recall

> Auto Cycle Mode (1-9 cycles, 1-199 minute delay per cycle) For Battery Conditioning

> Adjustable Trickle Charge Feature

> Temperature Cutoff Range from 110°-160°F

> Motor Break-in Feature with Adjustable Time & Output

> 1-30VDC 10A (120VA) Adjustable Output for Comm Lathe or Tire Cutter, etc

> 10A AC Power Supply, Temperature Probe, & Assorted Connectors Included

[Scomp87]

My thoughts:

$190... a gues you have to pay a pretty penny to get all those features... but definatly wait to buy a few used neh?

10 amps... awesome! lets go destroy batteries!

does anyone else think this thing looks a bit cheesy?

[AEoffroader]

190 isn't very much considering it comes with its own power supply. The orion advantage charger is 180 and doesn't have a power supply nore anywhere near that number of features. And that is just the price on mrc's web site, i'm sure it will go for a little less on the street

[guver]

What is the max wattage of the charger?

[rckid11]

Yep, it does look pretty cheesy IMO. I would buy a different one just because of the looks...lol

[electro21]

It's $169 on tower and good luck trying to find a charger that has the same features for that price

[Casper]

Duratrax ICE for $129 :rolleyes: Oh sorry for the thermal cutoff you need the 8.99 probe for at total of $138. The only thing the ICE will not do is Gel Cells and I am not sure I need a peak charger for my starter box. A wall charger is only $10. The charger looks nice though. It looks small and I am sure will be a great charger. It has all the features I would want in a high end charger. Now we just need to put a speaker in a charger put an MP3 player in it! :eek:

[YoKoMo-MX4]

I owned a 'Super Brain' charger once ... never again though. My particular 959 (the purple cube) went POOF, literally up in a cloud of smoke. It is a good thing I didn't leave it unattended since it probably would have burned the house down. Flames shooting out of the 'vents' was not a pleasant sight! Before that event it was prone to false peaks and overheating. My local hobby shop quit carrying the 959 and 969 models because the quality just wasn't there. While I cannot say for certain the quality of this 989, my experience with MRC chargers makes me very leery of this model, site unseen.

The idea of lots of features in a compact and low price package is nice, but can they come through on quality?

'nuff said,
MX4

[electro21]

I owned a 'Super Brain' charger once...
The idea of lots of features in a compact and low price package is nice, but can they come through on quality?


I too owned the 959 and it false peaked a lot and I called MRC about that and asked them if this charger had the same issues. The rep stated that the 989 was a new design. Can't wait for the reviews.

[AEoffroader]

While the Ice is only 129 or 138 with temp probe, it doesn't come with a power supply. Then again if you already have a PS then you can sell the one that comes with the super brain.

[Casper]

Super brain has the PS inside. I did forget that part! LOL I have had a PS for so long I forget about AC/DC stuff! :o

[AEoffroader]

I knew I shouldn't have abreviated 'power supply' :p what was I thinking? lol

[guver]

989 use the seperate ps and is the same one as th 977, 120 watts or so.

The BEST thing about this charger is going to be it's max power capability in addition to it's high voltage capability. We just don't know what that is and MRC probably doesn't either, yet.

[fastharry]

I owned the purple charger a long time....still have ..though I upgraded to the 969 a couple years back,.,....that charger sat outside charging battery's in 110 degree heat at the HPI challenges..went with me to England to race the hpi worlds..and has never given be a dimes worth of trouble....I even started using it instead of my millennium pro twins during winter buggy racing..(and did not notice a difference on my pro match packs...)...

Tim at MRC let me upgrade to a 977 for 35 bucks few weeks backits been charging starter box batterys 2 at a timewith no let up...a great deal....with a 10 amp power supply...

I have no issues with MRC..great chargers....and fantastic customer service.....

[sasonrally]

I haven't had a problem with my MRC charger. I guess there is always one or two taht mess up. Mine is still going strong after 3 years.

Although the look leaves a lot to be desired I hope we hear some reviews soon.

[trailranger]

If you already invested in a decent 20+ AMP power supply, go with ICE..but if you haven't spent the $50 for a power supply, this seems like a winner. Less pit clutter too since everything is in one nice cheesey package.

[Cain]

I had an MRC 959 when they first were around and depending on how much use I put into it, it could get hot. When we did the fan mod however, it ran fine. Also, if you didn't set it on the stand it was very prone to over heating.

This looks nice. If I wasn't satisfied with my Quasar Pro, I would look into this.

[t4boy]

does anyone else think this thing looks a bit cheesy?
Since when were MRC chargers classy? First they were a black box, then a purple, then black again! Now they actually have multiple colors! :cool:

[littlej72]

Have had three 959's first one took a smokey dump.. but... aside from shipping they replaced it and I never had a problem again. I am going to assume that they had problems with early models. The later ones definately run cooler in my opininon and are trouble free. As far as false peaks, I had one but the pack was really old.

[guver]

989 use the seperate ps and is the same one as th 977, 120 watts or so.

The BEST thing about this charger is going to be it's max power capability in addition to it's high voltage capability. We just don't know what that is and MRC probably doesn't either, yet.

2 corrections:

The 989 included ps is 150 watts and the charger is 108 watts. :cool:

[NORTEX-T1FK]

This is a great charger. I got one couple months ago and I love it!!

[WheelNut]

Yeah its an awesome charger just don't hook your batteries up backwards because the charger will go up in smoke instantly!

[pauster]

I found it for $139 here ...

http://www.airsplat.com/Itemdesc.asp?ic=AC%2DBC%2DMRC%2DB989&eq=&Tp=

[R ole]

well, I hope its good I just ordered one from tower. 139.99! If I had a PS I most likely would have bought the ice but I guess I will see how it works

[wyattburp]

I'm lovin' my 989. It's a great charger, and an excellent upgrade from my ole Pirahana!

[electro21]

do you have an false peak issues like the old 959?

[NORTEX-T1FK]

This charger is great for charging Lipos too. You just "Set it and forget it" :p . Yeah, its that simple. It wont let you over charge them plus the tempreture node will shut it down if it gets too hot(which is hard to do in the first place).

[Overtorque]

I have not experienced any false peak issues. This charger is simply awesome. Much better than the ICE for the $, IMO.

[ElectricThunder]

This charger is great for charging Lipos too. You just "Set it and forget it" :p . Yeah, its that simple. It wont let you over charge them plus the tempreture node will shut it down if it gets too hot(which is hard to do in the first place).
I just wish it had an integrated balancer...:( (yes, that's my biggest beef with lipo chargers....)

[NORTEX-T1FK]

I just wish it had an integrated balancer...:( (yes, that's my biggest beef with lipo chargers....)You dont need a ballancer for 2s lipos. Just 3 and up need to be ballanced. This is what more than a few people have told me about lipos through my research.

[guver]

Although the chance of imbalance gets greater as the number of series cells increase, 2S can have as much imbalance as a 10S. Or more.

[rob_s]

I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these. Anyone else have any experience, good or bad?

[guver]

I have mostly good experience and have ben using it regularly for alll my NI packs.

One bad experience I had is with a lipo , it had a fluke. The rate went real high.