SkyRC NC3000 Pro Charger#

• Specifications
• Introduction
• Charger in use
• Dimensions
• Battery compatibility
• User interface
• Testing a battery charger and analyzer
• Tests
• Thermal Images
• Conclusion
• Product page

Specifications#

Brand/model	SkyRC NC3000 Pro
Modes	Charge, Discharge, Cycle, Break-in, MaxBoost, Turbo
Input Power	USB-C PD, QC 30W
Charge Protocol	QC2.0, QC3.0, PD3.0
Battery Type	NiMH, NiCD
Battery Count	4
Battery Sizes	AA, AAA
Charge Power	Max 22W
Discharge Power	Max 15W
Charge Rate	0.2-3A with 0.1A increments
Discharge Rate	0.2-2.5A with 0.1A increments
Trickle Charge	10-300mA or Off
Target Voltage	1.47-1.8V
Discharge Cut-off Voltage	0.5-1.1V
Battery Capacity	100-5000mAh
-ΔV	1-20mV
Working Environment	0°C/32°F ~ 40°C/104°F, 5-75% humidity
Storage Environment	-10°C/14°F ~ 70°C/158°F, 5-75% humidity
Weight	380g
Dimension	134*105*61mm
Firmware updatable?	Yes (via Bluetooth)
Review date	July 2025

Introduction#

The SkyRC NC3000 Pro is a USB-C PD/QC powered Battery Charger and Analyser for NiMH/NiCD batteries. It supports AA and AAA battery sizes.

It has six modes:

1. Charge
2. Discharge
3. Cycle
4. Break-in
5. MaxBoost
6. Turbo

The charger has a colour LCD, a PORT button and a clickable scroll wheel button to control it.

The charger can also be controlled via the SkyCharger app for Android or iOS over Bluetooth.

Here is a video review and demonstration:

SkyRC kindly sent this charger for review. I have not been paid for this review nor have I held back my opinions of this charger.

Packaging#

The SkyRC NC3000 Pro comes in a relatively compact box with plenty of foam to protect it.

Features and specifications are on the side and on the back of the box.

There is a QR code for the SkyCharger app. The app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

The following is included in the box:

• SkyRC NC3000 Pro.
• Quick start guide.

Quick Start Guide#

User Manual#

The SkyRC NC3000 Pro has a QR Code for the user manual available under the Settings Menu.

The following URL for the user manual is opened when scanning the QR Code:
https://www.skyrc.com/files/293?open=1

Charger in use#

The SkyRC NC3000 Pro is pretty big for a four slot battery charger and analyser that takes AA and AAA batteries. This is mostly due to the fans.

There is a PORT button and a scroll wheel button to control the SkyRC NC3000 Pro. The quality feels really good.

The positive and negative terminals work well with button top AA and AAA batteries.

The four rubber feet are massive and they feel durable.

There are fans near the USB-C port and there are multiple vent holes to cool everything down.

Dimensions and weight#

Dimensions#

I took the following measurements using a digital caliper.

Measurement	Unit (mm)
Charger height	63.70
Charger width	105.48
Charger length	133.91

Weight#

I took the following measurements using a digital scale.

Weight	Unit (g)
SkyRC NC3000 Pro	395

Battery compatibility#

The SkyRC NC3000 Pro accepts button top AA and AAA NiMH/NiCD batteries.

User interface#

The SkyRC NC3000 Pro has two buttons to control it:

1. A PORT button to select the slot.
2. A scroll wheel that can also be pressed down to act as a button.

There are two ways to select a slot:

• Press the PORT button. The display will change to a screen for slot 1, 2, 3 or 4.
• Scroll up or down from the main screen. The number 1, 2, 3 or 4 will be highlighted. Press the PORT button or the scroll wheel to select that slot.

From the slot screen, press the scroll wheel to edit the configuration, and then select Start.

I highly recommend reading through the Quick Start Guide.

I found the user interface to be very intuitive.

You can also use the SkyCharger app for Android and iOS to control the SkyRC NC3000 Pro.

Testing a battery charger and analyzer#

I started by reading HKJ’s web page “How do I test a charger” to figure out how to measure the voltage, current and temperature of a cell in a charger.

I used a 1W 0.1 OHM resistor, copper tape and kapton tape to create a shunt to measure the voltage so that the current could be calculated.

I decided to use parametrek’s ble_meters script to record the data from two Zoyi ZT-300AB Digital Multimeters with Bluetooth connectivity.

After assembling the shunt, I tried to determine the resistance of it so that I could calculate the current:
https://www.robotroom.com/Measuring-Low-Resistances.html

I measured a resistance of roughly 0.1 Ω using a Fluke 117C Digital Multimeter.

The ble_meters script sees what the Zoyi ZT-300AB has on the display.

For example:

The voltage measured across the shunt might be 0.99mV when there’s a pre-charge current of 100mA.

A 300AB that’s hooked up to the shunt will display 00.99mV and ble_meters will have 0.00099 V.

I can use Ohm’s law (V=IR or I=V/R) to determine the current based on the voltage displayed and the known resistance value of the shunt (0.10173809 Ω).

I = V / R = 0.99mV / 101.73809 mΩ = 0.00099 / 0.10173809 = 0.00973087 A = 9.73 mA

In the interest of transparency and to help others try to measure battery chargers, here is a charger_plot.py script that I created based on bmengineer’s RuTiTe to generate graphs showing the voltage, current and temperature over time.

To measure the temperature, I taped a type K thermocouple to the cell with Kapton tape.

DISCLAIMER: My results may not be very accurate because. A 2A charging current might end up being read as 1.95A or 2.05A. There may also be gaps in the data where Bluetooth connectivity has dropped. I restarted tests where too much data was lost.

Tests#

Room temperature: 21 C

I have measured the voltage, current and temperature of NiMH cells while charging and discharging them in a the SkyRC NC3000 Pro.

The temperature was measured with a Type K thermocouple.

The voltage was measured with a Zoyi ZT-300AB Digital Multimeter.

The current was calculated by measuring the voltage across a shunt with another Zoyi ZT-300AB Digital Multimeter.

The start and finish voltages were measured with a Fluke 117C.

Here are the test results!

Battery Type	Task	Current	Cell	Link
NiMH	Charge	2000mA	LADDA AA NiMH 2450mAh	Results
NiMH	Charge	2000mA	LADDA AA NiMH 2450mAh	Results
NiMH	Discharge	-2000mA	LADDA AA NiMH 2450mAh	Results
NiMH	Cycle	1250mA	LADDA AA NiMH 2450mAh	Results
NiMH	MaxBoost	1000mA	eneloop pro AA NiMH 2450mAh	Results

NiMH Charge #1#

Firmware: 2.43
Battery Type: NiMH
Mode: Charge
Capacity: 3500mAh
C Current: 1.30A
Target Volt: 1.65V
Cut-off Timer: Off
Restart Volt: Off
-ΔV: 5mV
Trickle Charge: Off
Current Mode: Fixed

Battery: LADDA AA NiMH 2450mAh

Measurement	CH1
Start Voltage	1.206
Finish Voltage	1.494
Capacity (mAh)	2498
IR (mOhm)	44
Time (hh:mm:ss)	02:05:04

NiMH Charge #2#

Firmware: 2.43
Battery Type: NiMH
Mode: Charge
Capacity: 3500mAh
C Current: 2.00A
Target Volt: 1.65V
Cut-off Timer: Off
Restart Volt: Off
-ΔV: 5mV
Trickle Charge: 50mA
Current Mode: Fixed

Battery: LADDA AA NiMH 2450mAh

Measurement	CH1
Start Voltage	1.216
Finish Voltage	1.484
Capacity (mAh)	2490
IR (mOhm)	43
Time (hh:mm:ss)	01:21:03

NiMH Discharge #1#

Firmware: 2.43
Battery Type: NiMH
Mode: Discharge
Capacity: Off
D Current: 2.50A
D Cut-off Curr: Off
D Cut-off Volt: 0.90V
Cut-off Timer: Off

Battery: LADDA AA NiMH 2450mAh

Measurement	CH1
Start Voltage	1.474
Finish Voltage	1.187
Capacity (mAh)	2487
IR (mOhm)	40
Time (hh:mm:ss)	01:03:15

NiMH Cycle #1#

Firmware: 2.43
Mode: Cycle
Capacity: 3500mAh
C.Current: 1.00A
D.Current: 1.00A
Target Volt: 1.65V
D.Cut-off Voltage: 1.00V
Cut-off Timer: Off Resting After C: 10min
Resting After D: 10min
-ΔV: 5mV
Cycle Mode: C->D
Cycle Count: 3
Current Mode: Fixed

Battery: LADDA AA NiMH 2450mAh

Measurement	CH1
Start Voltage	1.192
Finish Voltage	1.181
C1 Capacity (mAh)	2484
D1 Capacity (mAh)	2510
C2 Capacity (mAh)	2484
D2 Capacity (mAh)	2509
C3 Capacity (mAh)	2483
D3 Capacity (mAh)	2509
IR (mOhm)	44
Time (hh:mm:ss)	16:58:05

NiMH MaxBoost #1#

Room temperature: 13 C

Firmware: 2.49
Mode: MaxBoost Capacity: 3500mAh
D.Capacity: 300mAh
C.Current: 1.00A
D.Current: 1.00A
Target Volt: 1.65V
Resting After C: 10min
-ΔV: 5mV
Current Mode: Fixed

Battery: eneloop pro AA NiMH 2450mAh

Measurement	CH1
Start Voltage	1.299
Finish Voltage	1.370
Capacity (mAh)	300
IR (mOhm)	42
Time (hh:mm:ss)	02:18:11

Internal Resistance#

The internal resistance detected by the SkyRC NC3000 Pro is very similar measurements by a FNIRSI HRM-10 and a Zoyi ZT-DQ02 LCR Meter.

Battery Type	Cell	SkyRC NC3000 Pro	FNIRSI HRM-10	Zoyi ZT-DQ02
NiMH	LADDA AA NiMH 2450mAh	32 mOhm	30.53 mOhm	30.60 mOhm
eneloop	eneloop pro AA NiMH 2450mAh	24 mOhm	22.36 mOhm	22.51 mOhm

Thermal Images#

I used a Zoyi ZT-R01 IR Thermography Multimeter to take thermal images of the SkyRC NC3000 Pro while using Turbo mode to charge a LADDA AA NiMH 2450mAh cell at a rate of 3A.

Room temperature: 12 C

Time (mm:ss)	Max Temperature
00:00	13.5 C
01:00	14.1 C
02:00	14.7 C
03:00	16.1 C
04:00	18.3 C
05:00	19.6 C
06:00	23.9 C
07:00	29.3 C
08:00	30.5 C

Turbo mode finished charging a random LADDA AA NiMH 2450mAh cell after 8 minutes and 20 seconds.

Conclusion#

The SkyRC NC3000 Pro Battery Charger and Analyser has become my main AA and AAA charger for 1.2V NiMH batteries.

I really like the user interface and the controls. I prefer the feel of the physical buttons and speed of the scroll wheel compared to capacitive touch screens that can be slow.

It would be even better if I could discharge a battery to 0V. The NC3000 Pro has a 0.5V cut-off.

It is great to see USB-C input being used!

I can highly recommend the SkyRC NC3000 Pro if you are looking for a 1.2V NiMH battery charger and analyser.

Pros:#

• Excellent build quality.
• Good user interface.
• Physical buttons and scroll wheel.
• Colour display.
• USB-C PD3, QC2 and QC3 input.
• 3A charging.
• 2.5A discharging.
• Fans and vents for cooling.
• Beep (alarm) that can be adjusted or turned off.
• SkyCharger app for Android and iOS.
• Firmware can be upgraded.

Cons:#

• -ΔV is limited to 1mV to 20mV. 0mV would be nice for some situations.
• Cycle is limited to 3.

Product page#

SkyRC NC3000 Pro at skyrc.com