I don't have the luxury of always planning my next flight out. I do have the luxury of being able to knock-off early in the afternoon if the weather is good! As a result, my batteries and I don't always see eye-to-eye on their current charge state - I don't always have a full nights charge on them when I'm able to fly. What is a good, simple charger that I can hook up to my field box's 12V 7A Gel Battery? How long will I need to quick charge before I'm able to fly? Don't need lots of bells and whistles, just ability to charge Tx and Rx some with NiCd and others with NiMH batts.

Ihave been happy with my Hitec cg-335 charger.It can charge the plane and the transmitter at the same time It has an adjustable amperage rating(I generally charge at the lowest amp setting ,unless the sun is going down). I have never actually timed how long it takes to charge but at the lowest setting I would guess about an half an hour. Crank up the amperage and maybe 15 minutes? The slower you charge the batteries the longer they last, or so I'm told.

Almost any of the quick peak detection chargers would work fine for you. Once you get one, go the Radio Shack and buy a cigarrette lighter adapter and splice it to the end instead of the alligator clips. That way you can charge on the way to the filed.

I have a Super Nova and it usually takes about 15 minutes to charge a Rx pack, 30 for the Tx (if they're both low).
Dennis-

Hobbico makes one too. It's their MKII model. It can charge NiMh, Lithium pol, and NiCd batteries. It can charge the Tx and Rx at the same time. I paid 50.00 for mine from tower. It has adjustable amperage input as well. It takes me about 1/2 hr-40minutes to go from 4.8v to a full charge. This is with a 1450ma battery. A battery with less capacity would probably top off in 15 minutes depending what you selected as the input. It sounds a lot like the hitec cg-335 Kenny has.

Do they make a power panel/field charger? Like one that quick charges, and has jacks for a starter. Cause i think i'd like the hand crank fuel pumps and portable glow starters over having the extra wires.

The only chargers that I have seen on the power panels is for the battery powered portable glow plug drivers. For a quick field charger the Hobbico Mk2 is becoming really popular at our field. It will charge both the Tx. and the Rx. at the same time, has adjustable rates, and peak detect circuitry. Its also inexpensive and performs well. [8D]

Get a hobbicl quick charger MkII and change the clips to the big clips and connect it to your cr battery or get a cig adapter and plug it in to your cars lighter.

Hobicco Quick Field Charger ditto,

Couple of times I charged the battery on my way to field, and it takes less than 15 minutes to drive to field. By the time I arrive to field and unload the stuff get the pin the batteries are charged.
I carry the plane on the field box in my car and use the field batery for charging.

i think that they are the best thing that you can have with you when you go to then field.....last year i made a noob move and left the radi on.....and then someone at the field who had one there charged my radio in about 25 min. and i was able to take my lessons for the day!

Some of the higher-end field chargers need more amps than a field box battery. The Supernova needs at least 10 amps to charge correctly. Not sure about the Hobbico or other chargers.

Jesse

Good point Jesse,
I have a self contained 12 starter (battery is attached), so I never use that for field charging anyway, but some might want to use their flight box 12 volt, and it wouldn't really cut it for the Nova.
Dennis-

Good point Jesse,

I just checked the Hobicco MKII and it has a 7.5A fuse, so it does not need more than 7.5A.

I have torquemaster 7.5A field battery, so this setup seems to be okay.

Sounds like I'll get a Hobico MKII then...

One more question abou the batteries, do most of ya'll use the 4.8V or 6V reciever batts?

I charge two 6 volt packs at 1.5 amps.

When I build a new plane I buy a new battery pack to go with it. I only buy 4.8 volt packs with 1100 mah rating. Guaranteed to last longer than my Tx. batteries for a days flying. All my planes are 90 size or smaller. [8D]

Hanger 9 Double Vision..charges both Transmitter and Receiver automatic charge rate works great..

Here is another system you might want to consider. We have 110v service at our field, so several of us have taken PC power supplies and converted them to work with the MKII. (Note that you need to add some resistors in the power supply to avoid frying the board in it.) Basically, I plug in the power supply, add the field charger and charge away. It works great. I think there is a thread or website that has the instructions, but I can't remember where. For me, I had a fellow club member wire it up with the resistors because I am limited in my electrical skills.

The Supernova only needs the higher current if you are charging battery packs with a large number of cellsas used for electric motor powered planes. If you have glow powered planes only, then the Supernova is overkill and expensive for what it will be used for.[8D]

I disagree. Having a charger that can handle present and any future battery needs is a smart purchase. Lots of people in this hobby decide to try some other power source such as electric flight, and it is nice to have a charger on hand that will be able to handle those needs instead of having to purchase other specialized chargers at extra cost. And having a charger that can cycle and give a readout is far more important to maintaining packs than saving a few dollars now. Just my opinion, of course...

Jesse

I am in the same situation sometimes and also use the Hobbico MKII. I can charge up on the way to the field and be ready when I get there (30min).
I have had problems with the gel cells though, I have found that I cannot fully charge my rec and transmitter batteries fully. The gel is fine for topping off, but I use 20 2000mah nicads for my field power source.
4000mah of power and I have never come home with it anywhere near drained. I picked up the cells used for about $25.

Dbow

Interesting, I have kept my gel pack fully charged for 4 years with no problems. My first sell lasted about 6 months because I would only charge it when it was dead.

Moral, keep then fully charged.

Originally macgy was asking about "a good, simple charger" for the field. I would still seriously consider the MK2 because it will charge both TX. and the Rx.batterys at the same time and is 1/4 the price of the Nova charger. As such, its a bargain for what it does. [8D]

Sirus Pro is the best answer...............