2slow2matter

My Feedback: (1)

Anyone else have one? Not really asking any technical questions, I'd like to keep this out of the battery forum if possible. Just curious if I have anything to be excited about...

raideron

My Feedback: (1)

From what I see at the field... They are Great chargers, and people
like them very much with no problems that I have seen... I have
been looking at picking one up(ebay) ... Was watching one on ebay
last nite, triton and power source... But forgot about it and it ended:-(

Capt. Nexstar

Yes I have one it works really really great, many of noobs, just kidding, have left switches on and Billy or I have recharged them at the field, really handy.

mars

If I had one Id be excited. Instead Im just jealous.

2slow2matter

My Feedback: (1)

sounds good! I already have a field charger, and I, too, have had my radio switch left on before. Takes FOREVER to charge a completely dead 9.6 V! Anyway, I got this one mainly as a cycler/conditioner, but will surely use it as an extra charger as well!

GRANT ED

I have one, You'll be happy. Just make sure your charge leads are a decient thickness and are not too long.

2slow2matter

My Feedback: (1)

I ordered the charge leads off of Tower, so hopefully that won't be an issue....

Rodney

As Grant Ed says, make sure the leads are short and heavy gage. Also high quality connectors, just a few tenths of an ohm anywhere in the current loop can (and usually does) cause inaccurate results or even prevent proper operation. Steer away from the cheap general purpose leads.

2slow2matter

My Feedback: (1)

I don't mind making my own leads, and I have heavy duty servo wire to do it with, but where can I get a "good" rx battery connector from? Maybe one that is gold plated that I could solder onto the servo wire I have. I'm pretty sure I can get a fairly high quality tx plug at radio shack, but would need the rx connector from somewhere else...

GRANT ED

I use JR radio gear and just used one of their battery leads. I cut the leads off as short as I could and still solder them. I attached some thicker gauge wire with banana plugs, works good. It's not super critical so don't stress if you have to solder onto thin wires for a short distance. Using this setup I get much more consistant charges.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

I also have one. The only problem I have with it is that the manual is confusing.. well, it was with the one I bought which was when it was first released, perhaps they improved the manual.

I posted an inquiry in the battery forum asking if anyone had a step by step process for charging a 4 cell (RX) and 8 cell (TX) NiCad battery but never got a reply. I guess it was a stupid question??? I dunno, but I still don't use it and I should. I also have the Sirius Pro Charger that I use pretty much exclusively for my charging (actually have two, picked one up at an RC auction NIB for $60.00), it charges both TX and RX at the same time. But, I would like to use the Triton from time to time but still find the manual confusing.

I don't know if they have changed the manual from what it was to something more user friendly. What I asked for, and would still like to get, is a detailed step by step on what to do from turn on (connect to a power source) as I said above. If anyone has something like this, I certainly would appreciate getting a copy of that.

Thanks.

DS.

BuzzBomber

My Feedback: (4)

CGR,

To charge your Rx and Tx packs, you will use the exact same procedure, provided they are both NiCads.
First, connect the Triton to a power source. Then, connect the battery to be charged. Next, press the "battery type" button until "NICD charge" appears in the display. If "NICD discharge" appears, rotate the dial until it switches to "charge". Once you have achieved this, press the dial button. The current selection will flash, ie "0.5a". Rotate the dial until you achieve the proper charge current(depends on battery capacity--for Rx and Tx packs I generally don't use any higher than 1C, for example a 600maH pack charges at 0.6a). Press the dial button again and the display will stop flashing. Finally, press and hold the dial button until the display flashes "checking battery". The charger will initiate the charge sequence automatically from here.

-Matt

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Matt, boy do I really appreciate that. I think what confused me was the charge rate for some strange reason. Hell, I'm an electronics engineer and should know that stuff! [X(] Shame on me!!

I guess I was just cautious with playing with something I wasn't totally comfortable with. I will copy your note and take it from there.

Thanks again!

DS.

BuzzBomber

My Feedback: (4)

No problem. I've gotten pretty comfortable with my Triton over the past two years but it WAS somewhat intimidating at first. Those programming flowcharts in the manual are clear as mud. I think I learned more just by fiddling around with the controls with no battery attached.

2slow2matter

My Feedback: (1)

buzz,
one quick question if you don't mind. I got my triton today, and immediately put it to use. I'm currently cycling an 8 cell, 600 mah TX pack that I know needs conditioning, and may in fact be bad. I set it to cycle 5 times, at .6 mah draw out, and .6 mah in. My question is this. Is there a way to recall all of the discharge/charge cycles' information at the end of the deal? I really don't want to sit for three or so hours while this thing cycles and watch the little LCD screen to get information. I'd like to see the D/C and CH mah readouts for each consecutive cycle to see if it got any better during the cycling.
Also (OK, two quick questions), someone on RCU suggested charging the NiCd batteries on NiMH settings so that you can control more parameters--and so that it will top the pack off after a quick charge. Will it not top off after quick charge under the NiCd setting? This was suggested as a way to insure cell balance.
Thanks.

BuzzBomber

My Feedback: (4)

2Slow2matter,

I wasn't positive about the answer to your first question, but I thought I remembered seeing the data recall option. So, I cheated and looked it up. During the cycle, you can recall charge/discharge info by pressing the batt type button once and rotating the dial until "chg/dschg(01)" is on the display. More details can be had on page 15 of the manual.

As far as the question on charging NiCads as if they are Nimhs, Red Scholefield is the definitive go-to guy for batteries. He can probably give you a more authoritative answer than I can. That said, I can't really see any advantage to it. I charge all my Nicads as nicads and my nimhs as nimhs. For Nicads, I use a peak threshold of 10mV/cell, and for nimhs, 8mV/cell. I do find that I get better charges on nicd and nimh batteries if I charge them at a rate lower than their max. allowable rating. Example: I have a GP1100 2/3A nimh pack I use for a speed 480 pylon racer, and said pack has a recommended maximum charge rate of 3C, or 3.3 amps, according to the datasheet that came with it. It will charge at that rate, but it gets hot quickly, it doesn't absorb as much capacity, and the resting voltage at charge end is quite a bit lower than if I charge them at 2 amps.

Hope that helps, and apologies if I rambled on FAR longer than necessary.

2slow2matter

My Feedback: (1)

Buzz,
thank you so much for your help. I should have read the manual before I asked, but it is so much easier to just ask someone who's been there .
I just finished cycling the tx pack I was speaking of, and only got 432 mah of charge into it on the last of five cycles. I'd say it's probably toast!

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Buzz..

Thanks for the very VERY helpful info you gave to 2Slow. Great input. I can say that I asked similar questions in the battery forum and got nada.. nothing. Your two posts were more helpful than you will know.

There is so very much I don't know about batteries. I am not a 'button pusher' and won't just push a button just to see what will happen. Not when it relates to the life cycle of my favorite aircraft!! Losing a battery because of carelessness is just plain nuts and, in this case, can be avoided with a little diligence and a good battery charger/cycler.

In addition to the Triton charger, I have two Sirius Pro chargers and one of his Pro Cyclers. I also have a Hobbico AccuCycle (the older one) which has had some bad press with regard to calibration and accuracy of the discharge/recharge cycle. (there was a forum item I believe in the battery forum about calibrating the AccuCycle using a ma meter but I have not tried it.. I have a real good digital ma meter at home and may do a calibration check on it one of these days). Aaaaanyway, I still use it, but only to do a cursory check of my cells because it is easy. It gives me a very basic idea of the condition of a battery.. ie. an 1100 mah battery cycles at about 1050 I assume it's probably ok and will move it over to the Sirius for cycle and re-charge although that means two different gadgets (the pro charger is just that, a charger, and the cycler is just that.. a drain tool that will not re-charge). It looks like the Triton has the best of both worlds with both cycle and charge capability.

One more question for you while I have you... What redundancy do you use for switches? There is lots of talk, discussion, about dual switches, dual batteries, regulators, and so on. Right now, my setup is very basic and I often wonder if basic is best.. I am seeking opinions (as defined as information based on fact and factual knowledge as opposed to emotional replies.. ) regarding battery connections to the receivers.

Ok.. well, I hope I didn't bore you.. hopefully someone besides me and 2Slow will find all this useful.

DS.

BuzzBomber

My Feedback: (4)

Frankly, my onboard setups are basic as you can get. If I have a plane where the battery leads are easily accessible(mostly in 1/2a and a little bigger planes) I don't even bother with a switch, I just plug into an extension and use an insulated wire tie to keep it secure. On a .40 size sport scale, I just use a single Hitec standard switch and again, make sure all connections are secure, either by taping or tying it. Less to go wrong, the better. I take the switch apart at the beginning of the season to check the contacts, and that's about it. Haven't had a failure yet, knock on wood. However, there is a gentleman in my club who competes in Team Scale and is in the business of building one of a kind turbine models for others. His planes use full redundant systems, even his "basic" Facet Jet Trainer. In flying anything with that sort of potential for loss and "collateral damage", I think the expense and careful planning of a parallel redundant onboard system are warranted. In a nutshell, horses for courses.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Good info and great advice, Buzz. You know, you hear everything from must have redundancy to redundancy causes more failure points, and so on. I guess the more paranoid one becomes the more redundancy one wants.. to a point that is. As you said, with regard to the investment and the potential for disaster, safety is paramount.

Thanks for the info.

DS.

moRotorMotor

Hey guys. This is my first post. I just wanted to chime in and say a very big "Thank-You!" to BuzzBomber for helping me finally get my Triton charger to work properly! It sounds very stupid, but I can not, for the life of me, understand the instruction manual for this charger. I have asked for help on other forums and haven't had a reply because I guess it was a stupid question, like CGRetired mentioned. The flow charts are about as clear as mud in fog .

I just have one question for you guys. I have three Nimh battery packs programmed into the charger. (1) 3000 mah (2) 3600 mah and (3) 3800 mah. How do I 'tell' the charger the particular pack I am about to charge? Do I just select: "Memory [XX]" Nimh, push the 'Menu' button and hold/press on the dial until "Battery Check" appears on the screen? Thanks in advance. This is the best R/C forum I have ever had the privilage to join.

c130nut

Here is a problem I have had in the past with the Triton. I know the pack was dead or extremely low in voltage. I put the pack on the Triton... it charged for a few minutes... then it alarmed that it was through. I have had this happen several times on different packs. I cannot ell what is causing it to read that the pack is charged... but I know the pack is not because it was checked on a meter.
Any suggestions or comments?
Thanks
Bill R.

John Murdoch

My Feedback: (11)

Now that the people who know are all here, I need some help in trying to figure out my Triton.

Let's say I have a 5 cell, 6V, 2700 mah NiMh battery that I want to cycle, let's say, four times. The I'd want to review the cycle info for each cycle.. Can anyone give me the STEP BY STEP setup instructions to do that?

I've had people try to help before but things that were said, didn't come up and things that they said would appear, didn't.

BuzzBomber

My Feedback: (4)

@moRotorMotor: Yes, I'm 95% sure that's how it works. Once you've programmed in the batteries, you press the batt type button until you get to the battery memory screen, select the battery you want to charge, then press and hold the dial.

@c130nut: I can think think of a few possible causes for your problems. #1 - You could have a bad cell in the packs; it's happened to me several times in the past. What happens is that bad cell takes on far more voltage than it should under charge but doesn't hold any of it, so when the charger reads the peak drop, it sees a large drop in voltage and determines that the pack is no longer taking any current. If you can, check each cell voltage individually(I usually poke a pinhole in the shrinkwrap on the end of each cell and probe it with at voltmeter) If one or more cells voltage differs by more than .1 volt, you've got a problem there. #2 - Have you tried re-setting the "peak delay at start" option? Sometimes, when the charge is just starting, the battery voltage is all over the place and this confuses the charger, so setting the peak delay to a higher value lets the charger ignore the voltage drop for longer, allowing more time for the charge to stabilize. #3 - Try a lower charge rate. I have some nimh packs that are rated at a 2C charge, but they don't top off well at that rate. they consistently take more capacity and hold higher voltage when charged at 1.5C. #4 - Check the peak sensitivity. By the book, nimhs should be set to peak drop 3-5mV/cell, but I usually use 6mV/cell(just personal preference), and nicads should be set to peak drop 8-10mV/cell. Hope one of these solutions gets you going again.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

This has turned out to be one of the best informative threads on battery chargers, in particular the Triton charger. Thanks so much for the info.

What c130nut described is what was happening to me. I finally found that for some reason, the wrong battery was selected so it saw the battery as charged even though it was not.

The Triton charger still intimidates me, and I use my Sirius more than the Triton, however, I keep it with me and get help at the field with one guy that has been using his Triton for a while now. But, your info, Buzz, has helped me (and obvious others too) tremendously.

Thanks.

DS.