voyager_663rd

Recently purchased a Polk Tracker II transmitter. Plugged it in and the (wall wart) charger started buzzing. Darn, defective b4 I even get to use it. Getting replaced under warranty but my question is:

Can I use my futaba wall wart (tx charger) to charge the polk radio? The futaba wart says 9.6v, the polk (defective) wart says 9.8v.

The polk plug is the same diameter as the futaba but about 1/8" shorter than the futaba.

Can I still safely use the futaba to charge the polk?

mclintock

My Feedback: (3)

The polarity of the charger matters too, futaba did it one way, JR the other, it's labled on the wart, those radios have diodes inside in case you tried to use one brands charger with the other's radio preventing damage. Otherwise, they are the same.

The polk wart may work even though it buzzes..

richrd

WOW These give me a headache. Hee Hee. None are created equal some are brown an some are black but seriously you must have electrical background experience IMHO to test out an unknown wal wart. Here is the correct check list that MUST be followed 1) does it have a diode to rectify to DC. 2) does it have same polarity plug. 3) does it output correct voltage 4) does it output correct current BTW half wave rectification the power is one half the full wave current is an this can be tested by charging the battery while plotting the charge voltage and stop at V pk… Of course termination of charge is a whole another story
Rich

rctrax

All of the above is not an issue if changing to a futaba charger from a TII charger. They will work as futaba radios and polks are all on the same format[center pos, 9.6 volts 50-60 mills ect..] you can use any futaba charger to charge a TII or TIII radio. The outputs are the same. However that is not to say that all wall-warts are the same. Each one that is made for a specific appliance is designed for that specific appliance. They can sometimes be used for other purposes but here is where the extensive testing is nessesary.

voyager_663rd

I remember reading somewhere about this question (thought it was Red's site?) and all the provided answers are applicable.

I think the quoted answer works for me as for example, polk uses a futaba plug for the trainer plug.

In any case while waiting for you kind folks to reply I discovered that the Polk folk, in their infinite wisdom, allow the battery to just be unplugged from the tx and in that way can be cycled.

I therefore just used my cycler to charge the unplugged battery (till the replacement wart arrives).

Thanks for your help folks.