The first thing I recommend is to read the manual in it's entirety before charging any batteries. There are so many features contained within the TC 1030's shiny metal case that it only makes sense to learn them all before you begin. Team Checkpoint covers all aspects of the charger with two essential documents; an instruction manual and a programming flowchart. Both are easy to read and understand and will soon become necessary companions of your TC 1030 for quick reference in the field. The instruction manual is broken up into twenty sections; I will cover the operational sections of the manual and leave the rest of the reading up to you!

Team Checkpoint has made navigation through the charger's options easy with a control dial and two pushbuttons. The control dial lets you navigate up and down the menu's values while the pushbuttons allow you to navigate left and right within those values. When you've setup the charging parameters and you are ready to begin, press and hold the control dial to start the charge. At any time during a charge, press the left pushbutton to abort the charge. With that being said, let's charge our first pack!

The pack I chose to use in the review was a 6-cell 3300mah NiMh. Definitely not a racing pack but one that has seen it's fair share of charges. The first thing I did was to select the pack's voltage and mah. This is done by using the scroll wheel to place the arrow over the battery type and then pressing the scroll wheel to highlight it. After the battery type is selected, turn the wheel to scroll through your options, in this case, I chose NiMh. Press the right pushbutton to move onto the number of cells you will be charging. One more push of the right pushbutton will select the mah and the scroll wheel will allow you to match it to the battery's capacity. Note that when you want to move on the next line of values, you must press the dial to un-highlight the current value, scroll down, and press the dial again to highlight the desired valve.

If the first set of values tell the charger what it's charging, the remaining values tell the charger how to charge it. The next value to set is the charge current; I chose 5.5 amps. Since I was unsure of the pack's current condition, I chose to cycle the pack, and a discharge rate of 10 amps was chosen here. Peak sensitivity is the next value and it's setting determines when the charger's peak detection circuit ends the charge. A lower number results in a more precise peak detection but could cause the charge to end prematurely especially if using an AC power supply. I chose a relatively high setting of 13mV/C to prevent any false peaks. The standard discharge cutoff voltage of .9v was used to stop the discharge when the cells reach that voltage. I chose not to use the temperature sensor for this session. The number of cycles chosen was one, with a 10 minute delay between the desired pattern of "charge/discharge". The next value, maximum charge capacity, is a failsafe to prevent overcharging should the peak detection fail. I chose a maximum capacity of 110%. This feature is also great to prepare a pack for long term storage; just set the maximum charge capacity to 30% and the charger will deliver that amount to the battery pack. The peak delay value delays peak detection at the beginning of the charge when battery voltage might be unstable. The last value, top-off charge, applies a short "top-off" charge to more fully charge the battery before trickle charge begins.

When you have set the values to your desired levels, press and hold the dial for 2 seconds. Doing so will bring you to the Start charge, discharge, or cycle page. Rotate the dial to select a function. In this case, I selected cycle. Press and hold the dial for 2 seconds and the cycle begins! During the cycle, I noted that the dual fans housed within the TC 1030 did their job and I recorded a peak temperature of 104.2 degrees taken at the cooling fins.

Once the charger begins charging, discharging, or cycling a battery, you are brought to a screen that monitors all of your selected values. The time value indicates the elapsed time that the charger has charged or discharged the battery and the capacity value indicates how much energy has been delivered or removed.

Within the charge function are a number methods available for peak charging NiMh and NiCd batteries. The first is a normal charge mode. This mode will deliver 100% linear current to the battery. The next charging mode is Re-Flex. This mode delivers near 100% linear current with very quick, deep discharge pulses once per second. Re-Flex is believed to help remove oxidizing gas bubbles from a cell's internal plates and is especially helpful for older NiCd packs. The next charge function is Re-Peak. This function will automatically charge a peaked pack to re-peak once or twice more. The charger will also track the additional capacity added to the pack. The final function is the Automatic charge mode. Automatic mode will detect the condition of a pack and charge it as needed. This feature is handy if you are unsure of the pack's condition.

Although I did not charge a LiPo pack, it is worthy of noting that the only method used for charging a LiPo pack is the "cc/cv" method, or "constant current/constant voltage" process. It is strongly recommended to use the optional temperature sensor when charging LiPo/Ion batteries.

The TC 1030 includes a simple function for breaking in brushes on brushed motors. The time, voltage, and current are adjustable to meet the needs of a specific motor. Again, after selecting the desired values, press and hold the dial for 2 seconds and the break-in process will begin. A more detailed 4 step motor break-in system is also included. Each step contains the same values as the single step break-in and each of the 4 steps are adjustable. Refer to the instruction manual for a more in-depth description and usage of the break-in function.

Another great feature included with the TC 1030 is the 4 Step charge. This feature is designed for high performance NiMh batteries for racing. The advantage of the 4 step charge is to deliver as much energy as possible for racing "punch" yet allow for the most accurate peak detection as possible for maximum run time. The 4 steps vary in amperage to prevent overheating. Each step must be setup independently. The first thing to do is to set the number of cells, the peak sensitivity, and the maximum battery temperature. Next, each step must have a defined amperage and mah. The manual explains how to set each step with an easy to read flow chart. Examples are given with different batteries to aid you in setting up the 4 steps. This feature in itself sells the TC 1030 as a true "pro charger" and I feel it gives the racer a true advantage in maximizing a battery's power and run time.

In this review, I have covered the majority of the awesome features included within the TC 1030 Pro Charger. There are still a few more features that you will discover when you read through the manual of your new charger. For the racer or casual rc enthusiast, the TC 1030 proves to be a true companion in the field. The ability to charge a battery well defines a good charger but add all the features that the TC 1030 provides, couple that with a price tag under 200 dollars and you have, in essence, a really great charger.

TC 1030 Pro Charger

Distributed exclusively by:
Great Planes Model Distributors
P.O. Box 9021
Champaign, IL 61826-9021.

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