Red, What would you buy?

Red, What would you buy? (Full Version)

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catboater -> Red, What would you buy? (1/6/2003 6:10:45 AM)
I'm going to buy a new charger and cycler that's together in one unit. What would you buy Red? You've talked up the Triton pretty well but nobody has them. What else can you recommend in that price range?

sfaust -> Re: Red, What would you buy? (1/6/2003 7:17:04 AM)
[QUOTE]Originally posted by catboatr I'm going to buy a new charger and cycler that's together in one unit. What would you buy Red? You've talked up the Triton pretty well but nobody has them. What else can you recommend in that price range? [/QUOTE] That is a very limited question, and Red's favorite charger could be totally useless for your needs. You need to understand what type of flying you do as compared to Red, the type of charging and maintenance that will be done, what type of battery packs, the number you want to change at a time, and so forth. The variations can be as different as night and day. If he flies most larger planes, and you fly electrics, you can see how his first choice of charger will not meet your needs. So, first off, what are you trying to accomplish? What type of packs do you have, what are they installed in, and how often do you need to charge them. Overnight, fast charge at the field, or both? How many at one time will you need to charge? How many ports do you think you need available at a time? Will you be doing NiCad, NiMH, Lithium, or any combination of these? Give Red the answers to those questions, and he could recommend a good charger for you. Personally, I like the SuperNova 250s as a good all round charger that fits most peoples needs. The Triton also looks good, but I've never had my hands on one.

D_Dawg -> Well I would like the same recommendation ... (1/8/2003 5:06:33 AM)
But I will supply more info. I am only worried about charging/discharging/cycling & conditioning NiCads. Overnite charging for both TX & Rx battery packs (At the same time and on the same unit) I do like the sound of the Triton, but from my understanding ... it only does one pack at a time thus meaning I would need two tritons! My packs are standard 500 to 700 mah receiver packs and stock TX packs found in Futaba T8UAPS, Hitec FLASH 5, and Airtronics RD6000 series radios ... So, with all the choices out there for the supreme combo supercharger ... Which is the creme of the crop without busting the budget? Respectfully, David PS: I dont want to have to make or buy a 12V dc suppy to use the thing.

strato911 -> Your recommendation Red? (1/8/2003 9:11:55 AM)
I too am considering getting my first charger/cycler, and with the exception of the Triton's one-pack limit, I like it. With your extensive experience, which charger would you recommend for simultaneous charging of Tx and Rx batteries? I currently use standard 9.6V Tx packs (600mAh - 1200mAh) Ni-Cd & Ni-H, and so far my Rx packs are all 4.8V (650mAh) Ni-Cd, but may progress to 6.0V in the next few years. Oh yeah, I'm on a very limited budget, so I'm hoping to find something for my needs under $150...

falcon5619 -> Red, What would you buy? (1/8/2003 11:09:21 AM)
I recently bought the Triton, I like it very much. Heliproz has them in stock if you want one. I bought from them last week. $129 If you get the sale up to $150 you will get free ground shipping. Buy some charge leads that should do it. http://www6.mailordercentral.com/heliproz/default.asp -Gregg

theKAT -> Red, What would you buy? (1/8/2003 8:06:57 PM)
Gregg- Thanks for that info. Tower's had me on hold for a month. BTW, I just ordered there and the minimum for free ground is $100. Karl

D_Dawg -> So Red .... (1/9/2003 7:04:16 AM)
Is two tritons worth the same as the wait for trying to get a Litco Alpha 4? Or, does the mythical Alpha 4 still reign suspreme? especially now that the next order cycle does not open untill 2/6/03 ... Or ... is the Hobbico Accu Cycle plus good enough just for us standard Nicad owners? Signed, Charger Overload

mgmoore7 -> Re: So Red .... (1/9/2003 7:21:07 AM)
[QUOTE] Or ... is the Hobbico Accu Cycle plus good enough just for us standard Nicad owners? [/QUOTE] I have had the Accu Cycle for a few years until I just sold it a few days ago. In my experience it worked well to do what it is designed to do which is cycle rx and tx batteries. It does not have much capability beyond that. So for the high price, it is fairly limited. I have a Triton on order that will replace the AccuCycle for my rx & tx cyclling, charging needs and it will also charge just about anything else I can throw at it. Matt

sfaust -> Red, What would you buy? (1/9/2003 7:41:35 AM)
I used the Accu-Cycle Plus for a while before ending up with the Alpha 4. I haven't used the Triton, but have read about it. My thoughts are that based on what you want to accomplish, the Accu-Cycle Plus fits your needs. No 12v power supply, the batteries that you will be using are within the capabilities of the charger, and it will charge, discharge, and cycle both packs as the same time. Now room to grow, but it will do as you wish, and its all in one box. With that said, two Triton's would give you some growing room, as it supports more battery types, and has more features. You would also be able to use it in the field, where the Accu-Cycle is a shop charger. The downsides are that it requires a power supply to run which you didn't want, you would need two of them, and it would cost quite a bit more.

William Robison -> Red, What would you buy? (1/9/2003 7:43:28 AM)
Originally posted on a different thread: _______________________________ Gentlemen: I have the Hobbico Accucycle Plus. While it will not charge anywhere nearly as many cells as those you list, when you stay in its range it's a good unit. I also have the DC adaptor for it, so it also serves as a field unit. There's only one problem with it. In the three years I've had it, it has crapped out four times. Three were in warranty, I'm debating whether or not to send it for repairs yet another time. Anyone else have such good service from the Accucycle Plus? I'm currently using a Cermark CH-110. Max of 10 cells this time, and it doesn't have the accumulator indications the AC+ does, but it doesn't break either. Easy enough to time the discharge. Want to go with the flow? . Launch a twin and watch it go. Bill. _______________________________ Just my experience with the AC+. wr

falcon5619 -> Red, What would you buy? (1/9/2003 8:58:42 AM)
Your welcome, Karl. Those guys at Heliproz are great to deal with. I wish they sold airplanes as well, I would buy everything from them.

SuperStick -> Red, What would you buy? (1/9/2003 9:12:42 AM)
I got started on this subject when my base acu cycle started giving low mah readings on rx and very high mah readings on tx. It has been sent back once and now its time to either calibrate it or send it back again. Today i flew with an imac competive pilot and his sugestion is get a sirius pro and dump the equipment for overnight charging and cycling. His opinion is if you check the voltage at the field between flights and you see an abnormal drop that u arent used to seeing its time to get new batteries. Also the cycling thing got started on nicad technology that has dramaticaly improved and is no longer needed with todays batteries. THis guy flies every day that it dosent rain or snow and has been in the sport a pretty good while.

D_Dawg -> Things that make you go ... Hummmm (1/9/2003 9:58:40 AM)
so .. from what I am hearing is ... for the all around best ..but impossible to obtain ... Litco Alpha 4 ... The new Triton ... which only does 1 pack at a time ... 32 hours for a transmitter and Receiver pack or buy 2 ... the same to be said about the Super nova ... and the Einstein ... I beleive the Ace Super digipace 3 does both Tx and Rx at the same time ... but needs a DC 12v supply as well as the triton The Hobbico accu-cycle plus is good if you don't mind getting it serviced 4 times a year ... and the last comment was that the new Nicads are good enough not to worry 'bout them ... so just charge them with the standard wall charger that comes with each system. Well ... I am no expert ... and I can read a VOM or a DVM ... but I am lazy and I want to know how my batterys are doing beyond having to read the trusty meter before the day I fly. I would much rather have a charger that can safely discharge my battery pack down to a predetermined level (rather than leave the switch on over a period of time till the servos chatter). Then to have them charged back up to peak at a regulated current till maximum charge then trickle till I shut it off. Then give me a display readout of what the data was for discharge and charge up. All I really want to know is ... out of all the choices out there ... what is the best you can get for Nicad's and isn't going to have to wait till the middle or end of the year to obtain (Alpha4 - which if I could get one now - I wouldn't be troubled with this). Since Litco is swampped by backorders and anyone who has one won't sell it. My choice has to come up with a decent second choice. I dont really care if it can double as a field charger ... extra frill I dont need. I only want quailty for Nicad care ... as Nicads is all I have used for 25 years and have no need to change to higher priced NiMh or any other kind of battery at this time. So please ... help stop this multiple chairs of chargers and limit it to one simple solution. Thermally overloaded : \|

William Robison -> Red, What would you buy? (1/10/2003 5:17:10 AM)
Doggie: I'm the one who had the failures of the AccuCycle Plus. I've decided to send it back again. And I'm sure the later production will have had the problems corrected. It's $140 from Tower and others, the DC adapter cost me about $35, letting it serve as a field charger as well as having the built-in AC capability. Have you looked into the "Whattmeter" supplied by Astro Flight? Usd with ANY charger it will give you the total mah of charge or discharge. The Whattmeter and Cermark's CH-110 charger gives a bulletproof system, but the CH-110 is DC input only, and it's one pack at a time. So if you want AC power, and ywo packs at once, I will commend the AccuCycle Plus in spite of my experience. A twin on the wing, . It makes my heart sing. Bill.

k7dfw -> Ace Super digipace 3 (1/10/2003 5:21:08 AM)
Heads-up for D_Dawg.... The Super Digipace 3 uses an AC wallwart only. Can't be used at the field unless there's AC power. Rolynn .

D_Dawg -> So Many Choices ... (1/10/2003 6:11:53 AM)
I have been doing lots of reading .... And the choices out there look good ... I would buy the Litco Alpha 4 if it was readily availible ... But it seems to be a Cult type charger ... or more of a status sysmbol charger in spite of the fact that it is propably a superior charger for the money and the fact that it would charge 2 TX & 2 Rx packs for your next day's flying session. The Accu-Cycle Plus seems to be a good choice for my needs ... However ... This one is always up for sale here and on Ebay ... Why? you don't see many of the other brands of cyclers up for sale ... so whay does everyone who has one want to get rid of theirs? This leaves me to my next choice for Nicad care ...Excluding Higher mah packs ... and the fact that Red himself has spoken highly of this charger/cycler ... the Einstein XL Deluxe ... It may not go above the 1650 mah charge range ... but for the money and being able to handle two independant curcuits ... it seems to be the tick and the way I am leaning towards. Unless, some other battery guru can steer me towards a similar charger that does the same general functions with a higher accuracy and more charging curcuits (like maybe the Alpha 4) for 200 bucks or less ... The Triton does sound like a nice charger with the draw back of one output circuit and needing a DC power source to drive it ... But since one must charge both transmitter and receiver batteries before the next day ... this seems like a 300 dollar proposition. Anyway ... I will wait and see what other opinions formulate here before making a final decision. Signed, Deep Cycled

catboater -> Wow!!! (1/10/2003 6:22:33 AM)
Man, I thought it was an easy question to answer but I guess not. Hmmmmmmmmm,,,,,,,,,,I'm leaning towards keeping my Accucycle and Hitech 335CG charger and saving the $. Here's a question that should be easy to answer. Can a Hitech 335 charger charge nickel-metal batt's? I know a couple of guys who are doing it with seemingly no problems. Then, I know guys who swear you'll damage your packs. Anyone know for sure? :p :p :p :p

sfaust -> Red, What would you buy? (1/10/2003 6:43:24 AM)
[QUOTE]Originally posted by SuperStick I got started on this subject when my base acu cycle started giving low mah readings on rx and very high mah readings on tx. It has been sent back once and now its time to either calibrate it or send it back again. Today i flew with an imac competive pilot and his sugestion is get a sirius pro and dump the equipment for overnight charging and cycling. His opinion is if you check the voltage at the field between flights and you see an abnormal drop that u arent used to seeing its time to get new batteries. Also the cycling thing got started on nicad technology that has dramaticaly improved and is no longer needed with todays batteries. THis guy flies every day that it dosent rain or snow and has been in the sport a pretty good while. [/QUOTE] Cycling has many purposes, and it not just related to NiCd technology. Capacity checking is a form of cycling, and if often refered to as cycling. It is a way to verify if your pack is performing properly, to calculate your acutal usage and remaining time, and as a way to pickup a slow degradation of the pack. There are things a loaded ESV will not tell you, and there are ways to be fooled by the ESV reading. With both capacity checking or cycling, and loaded ESV readings, you should never get caught with your pants down. With only one or the other, well, there is that possibility. I do both, and I'm not sure I could just pick one or the other and feel comfortable during every flight. There are some good posts in here on the subject, and Red goes into this on his web site, and has brought it up numerous times in the past. Its definitely worth doing both.

ilike2fly -> catboatr (1/10/2003 7:10:45 PM)
I have the hitec 335 and charge all my NiMh batteries with it with no problems. I always use .5 (the lowest setting) for charging. I have been told you can go higher based on Mah of pack, but you can't get in trouble with the lowest setting. I charge packs from 800 Mah to 2700 Mah

strato911 -> Re Hitec 335 & NiMh (1/11/2003 1:53:24 AM)
According to Hitec's FAQ, that shouldn't be a problem: [QUOTE]Will the CG330 orCG335 Charger charge NiMh batteries? Yes, the CG-330 & 335 will charge NiMh cells because they are linier chargers however, they are not optimized for them so you should use a lower charge rate and monitor the battery for excessive heat. Hitec does not recommend these chargers for NiMh cells lower than 600Mah.[/QUOTE] However, these chargers are just that - CHARGERS. They are not Battery Maintenance Systems, and will not cycle the battery packs, like catboatr , D_Dawg , and myself are looking for. Any suggestions Red? Remember, we want to cycle BOTH packs (Rx & Tx) at once. NiCd & NiMh prefferably.

sfaust -> Red, What would you buy? (1/11/2003 2:39:47 AM)
In my past attempts to avoid going through the hassle of purchasing an Alpha 4 for these tasks, I don't remember seeing a 2 port charger/maintenance system. If I would have found one, i would have bought two of them, and had an virtual Alpha 4. I finally broke down and just got the Alpha 4. I am glad I did, as its been a excellent charger, with the exception of the low amp charge rates. However, it works fine on all my planes to 3000mah, and supplemented with a SuperNova for the rare times I need to fast charge, its been a perfect match. If there is a two port maintenance system out there, for less than say $150, that has all the functions, I'd also like to know. I'd sell the two Alpha 4's I have, buy three of them, and pocket the premiums I'd get from the Alphas.

D_Dawg -> Well sfaust ... (1/11/2003 11:25:13 AM)
Since you are one of the rare ones to have in your possesion, TWO Alpha 4's ... And some of us can't even get on the waiting list ... Why not be a Nice gent and help out this old fossil of a flyer and sell me one of them? I do not care that fact it has a max charge rate of 1A/4 ... 250ma is more than enough to provide a safe charge. Besides ... the more juice you through into the battery ... the hotter the pack becomes ... Heat is a known enemy to a life of a battery ... I don't care what type battery it is ... batterys don't like being hot, or even warm. So, I will pay you a fair price if you want to sell off your Older Alpha 4 ... this will solve my headache as to what to get in place of it. And this is becoming I nightmare again ... I thought I would settle for an Einstein XL ... but after re-reading the long thread in anothe part of this forum ... I have my reservations again. And I yet to see any (REAL) negitives said about the Alpha 4 ... charge rate, price and old technology don't count. I like the old technology! That way, all that I learn through my Air Force Electronics Tech school (Early 70's) still apply. And I'll take any 50's, 60's or early 70's car over any vehicle made today. Those you could fix on the side of the road. And even look under the hood and get to it to fix it. old days a regulator had components that could be replace rather than buying a whole new unit. And had parts you could physically see to solder with out the aid of a microscope and tweezers ... Heck ... I have a hard time seeing what I type .... So ... be a nice guy ... Part with one of your Alpha 4's :D Heck ... put it up for a closed bid auction? Highest bidder gets it ... or .... someone please give me a reasonable quality alternate suggestion ... not that can be riddled with controvesy ... All these standard wall chargers are getting hard to keep tract of ... lol

sfaust -> Re: Well sfaust ... (1/11/2003 9:57:03 PM)
[QUOTE]Originally posted by D_Dawg Since you are one of the rare ones to have in your possesion, TWO Alpha 4's ... And some of us can't even get on the waiting list ... Why not be a Nice gent and help out this old fossil of a flyer and sell me one of them? I do not care that fact it has a max charge rate of 1A/4 ... 250ma is more than enough to provide a safe charge. Besides ... the more juice you through into the battery ... the hotter the pack becomes ... Heat is a known enemy to a life of a battery ... I don't care what type battery it is ... batterys don't like being hot, or even warm. So, I will pay you a fair price if you want to sell off your Older Alpha 4 ... this will solve my headache as to what to get in place of it. And this is becoming I nightmare again ... I thought I would settle for an Einstein XL ... but after re-reading the long thread in anothe part of this forum ... I have my reservations again. And I yet to see any (REAL) negitives said about the Alpha 4 ... charge rate, price and old technology don't count. I like the old technology! That way, all that I learn through my Air Force Electronics Tech school (Early 70's) still apply. And I'll take any 50's, 60's or early 70's car over any vehicle made today. Those you could fix on the side of the road. And even look under the hood and get to it to fix it. old days a regulator had components that could be replace rather than buying a whole new unit. And had parts you could physically see to solder with out the aid of a microscope and tweezers ... Heck ... I have a hard time seeing what I type .... So ... be a nice guy ... Part with one of your Alpha 4's :D Heck ... put it up for a closed bid auction? Highest bidder gets it ... or .... someone please give me a reasonable quality alternate suggestion ... not that can be riddled with controvesy ... All these standard wall chargers are getting hard to keep tract of ... lol [/QUOTE] Actually, I have three, and was going to put one up for auction on e-bay. I purchased two from the list over the last couple years, and the third fell into my lap. I can e-mail you when I get the listing up there if you want.

D_Dawg -> That would be nice .... (1/11/2003 11:20:24 PM)
but can't we work out a sweetheart deal? ... I really hate auctions and ebay ... LOL as I seem to loose on all the stuff I really want and win on the stuff I really don't need but just had to have ... :cool:

strato911 -> Red, What would you buy? (1/12/2003 7:35:56 AM)
[QUOTE]Originally posted by sfaust I purchased two from the list over the last couple years, and the third fell into my lap.[/QUOTE] Can I borrow your seat? ;) I'd love to know where to sit to have one of those "fall into my lap "... :D

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