Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze  
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All Forums >> Radios, Batteries, Clubhouse and more >> Batteries & Chargers >> Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze
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Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 3/20/2003 11:30:18 AM   
Tecstar1



Posts: 41
Joined: 2/21/2003
From: placerville, CA, USA
Status: offline 		A number of good chargers out there to be sure, but of the three listed above, which one give you the best bang for the buck? I do not need to charge more than 4 packs at one time, and I would like to gather useful data from the charger to help understand the condition of my batteries.

Thanks for your help.

_____________________________

Ron
       Post #: 1

Schulze isl8! - 3/21/2003 11:25:08 PM   
Ewok


 

Posts: 170
Joined: 7/18/2002
From: seattle, WA,
Status: offline 		although it will charge 3 at the time this is the best charger you could ever get. if you do not mind to charge one at the time the orbit is almost as good.

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 2

Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 3/30/2003 10:17:29 PM   
rc-sport



Posts: 2901
Joined: 4/15/2002
From: Highwood, IL, USA
Status: offline 		I use the Alpha 4, its the only charger I'll ever use. Its a pain to get but well worth it.

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 3

Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 4/1/2003 8:39:12 AM   
netman


 

Posts: 14
Joined: 1/5/2003
From: Edmond, OK,
Status: offline 		What do you think about the Hughes RC 4 output charger? No switches, no programming, no need to cycle. Is this too good to be true?

"The CHARGE +, model TX/RX4S1A, is a 4 output 1 amp per output fast charger, for 4-8 cell nicad/nimh battery packs. You can charge four 4-5 cell packs, or three 4-5 cell packs and one 8 cell pack all at the same time. The CHARGE + TX/RX charger uses advanced microchip technology with a 4 stage charging system to stabilize/condition, fast charge, top, and maintain your packs, it even eliminates the need for battery cycling. You can operate the CHARGE + from any 12v DC power source, or you can use the optional AC power supply. This unit is recommended for 500 mah and larger battery packs."

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 4

Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 4/1/2003 7:46:42 PM   
us020140



Posts: 230
Joined: 1/11/2002
From: Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Status: offline 		I'm convinced that with the combination of an Ace Digipulse and a Dymond Super-Turbo you can charge virtually any RC cell or battery. I'm open to challenges.

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 5

Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 4/1/2003 8:15:50 PM   
rc-sport



Posts: 2901
Joined: 4/15/2002
From: Highwood, IL, USA
Status: offline 		OK, I throw down my gauntlet. They won't charge the Poly Cells.

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 6

Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 4/1/2003 9:34:56 PM   
us020140



Posts: 230
Joined: 1/11/2002
From: Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Status: offline 		I was hoping nobody would bring up Poly or Lithium right away because Red Scho will delete the response. If you want my experience with either, you will need to PM or email me.

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 7

? - 4/1/2003 9:56:10 PM   
sideshow



Posts: 2495
Joined: 11/29/2001
From: Pleasanton, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Why would Red delete the response?

I don't think there is any one answer to the charger question.....which, by the way, comes up every hour.

I use 2 Alpha 4's and 2 Orbit V6's. Actually I only use 1 A4, the other one hasn't even been taken out of the box. The Alpha is a terrible field charger, the output is too low. The A4 will not do lithiums either. It is unmatched for Nicad/Nimh/ Pb battery management. That's why I got the Orbits. They will charge everything, including Li, and they can charge up to 36 cells @ 8 amps. The other great thing about the Orbits is that the firmware is user upgradeable, just replace the chip to make it state-of-the-art. The downside of the Orbits is that they will only do one pack at a time, they are D/C only and they are $190 each.

Evidently, judging by the threads on this forum, everyone (and their mother) bought the GP Triton. I am a little wary of a piece of electronics from GP but it seems like most people are reasonably happy with them. Good luck with whatever you decide on.

Bob


_____________________________

Bob Convery

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 8

Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 4/1/2003 11:02:50 PM   
us020140



Posts: 230
Joined: 1/11/2002
From: Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Status: offline 		I once posted on how a particular charger could easily charge lithium batteries and how to go about it. Since the charger wasn't marketed as being able to do so and Red said it was dangerous he deleted the whole thread. He was VERY firm about it.

I guess my point is that if you learn enough about battery behavior and their chemistry you can make your equipment work safely for yourself.

I believe the only deficiency of the Orbit is that it cannot initialize NiMH cells < 250 mah. Don't get me wrong...I want one but I really can't justify another charger at this point.

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 9

Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 4/1/2003 11:13:40 PM   
sideshow



Posts: 2495
Joined: 11/29/2001
From: Pleasanton, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Not sure if the new 6.2 upgrade will do what you want with the formatting. Check out the bottom of this page for the new features/enhancements.

http://radicalrc.secure-mall.com/shop/index.php?shop=1&cat=72&cart=1865

Justify?! The only justification I usually need is the fact that I want it!


_____________________________

Bob Convery

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 10

Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 4/1/2003 11:26:56 PM   
us020140



Posts: 230
Joined: 1/11/2002
From: Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Status: offline 		No, it only goes down to 50 ma, but the Ace handles rates as low as 10 ma (to overnight initialize a 100mah pack).
Still, I want a charger with a PC interface and the Orbit seems the slickest one of the bunch.
I should probably just order the thing.

< Message edited by us020140 -- Apr 1 2003 6:57PM >

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 11

Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 4/2/2003 12:12:11 AM   
sideshow



Posts: 2495
Joined: 11/29/2001
From: Pleasanton, CA, USA
Status: offline 		You can get it here for $180 plus $12 shipping. It's the latest version 6.2.

http://www.icare-rc.com/


Bob


_____________________________

Bob Convery

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 12

Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 4/3/2003 8:44:19 AM   
Minjin


 

Posts: 9
Joined: 3/16/2003
From: Dillsburg, PA
Status: offline 		For the last three weeks or so I've been trying to decide on a charger to purchase as well. My requirements are:

-must be able to charge nicad, nimh, and lithiums (basically everything in the house)
-must handle from 1-12 nicad/nimh cells, more is nice but not needed
-must be capable of displaying capacity either through charging or discharging (which is more accurate?)

Features I like:

-PC interface
-being able to customize every aspect of the charging process
-low charging rates (I'm going to buy some nimh 200mah AAAA's for my streamlight stylus soon)

So far, I've been leaning towards the Triton as it has all of my requirements and most of the features I like. Its also much cheaper than its competition. The only reason I don't own one yet is because I keep reading all of these problems on this board from Triton owners.

Based on reading lots of old threads, the Orbit Microlader V6.2 w/PC interface looks great, though expensive. The Schulze chargers look nice but I'm unsure about the difference between the models. The lower end models seem to be cheaper than the Orbit, yet has same capabilities. Documentation is scarce, even more so than the Orbit. Both Orbit and Schutze have PC capability which I really like and I think both can be upgraded via EPROM. Triton has neither of those features. However, Triton is half the price and tech support is in this country.

Can anyone compare and contrast these chargers? Specific info on the Schutze chargers such as which you'd recommend would be great as well since there seems to be NO info on them. I will appreciate any comments and feedback but would prefer if reasons are given rather than just a blind statement endorsing a particular charger.

Thanks.

Mark

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 13

check this site - 4/4/2003 12:29:37 AM   
Ewok


 

Posts: 170
Joined: 7/18/2002
From: seattle, WA,
Status: offline 		http://www.schulze-elektronik-gmbh.de/ choose English and have fun.
I love my isl8 but $$$, but who care when it comes to such good quality and service.
the rest of them are as good, but you have different charge capacities for each of the ports, and some of them you can only charge on pack at the time others 2 at the time and the isl8 3 at the time. I would never buy another charger if it is not orbit or schulze. it is day and night if you compare them to any other charger. they are upgradeable and you can not beat German engineering and logic.

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 14

Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 4/5/2003 6:37:02 AM   
Minjin


 

Posts: 9
Joined: 3/16/2003
From: Dillsburg, PA
Status: offline 		I guess everyone is sick and tired of these What charger should I buy? threads. I had hoped for more responses but I understand...

Mark

(in reply to Tecstar1)
       Post #: 15

Which battery Charger, Alpha 4, Hughes, or Schulze - 4/6/2003 11:07:20 PM   
us020140