OK...silly question....

Do I Need to get a charger??? The only things needing charges are my TX and RX... and my futaba came with a plug in charger...
I have an inverter that I have had for years, so I could plug the inverter into a lighter in my car for field charges (or banana clip to a battery)

I understand all the functions....

but bottom line Why do I need to spend upwards of $100 for a charger if the plug in charger works????

Really curious...and I searched but couldn't find a simple answer....

Thanks in advance
Exeter

Well, most wall chargers will take upwards of 12 hours plus to fully charge a TX/RX. So, I guess it's self explanatory as to why you would need a fast/field charger. I gave 56 dollars for my hanger 9 double vision, and it will peak charge my TX and RX at the same time, in about 5-15 minutes, depending upon how drained they are. This way, you could literally fly all day long. However, I do believe my fuel bill has skyrocketed since my little investment....

I've been flying for 5 years and still use the Futaba "wall wart". I've never flown out a receiver or transmitter battery in one day. Three or four 10 minute flights is enough for me. If you want to fly more then yes, you do need a quick charger - or a second airplane and transmitter.

There's your answer. If you plan to fly more than 3 or 4 times a day, you either have to buy a quick peak field charger or plug your wallwart into your receiver pack for 4 hours between every flight.

A wall wart charges at 1/10th C for standard receiver packs (approximately 50 mAmps), whereas most peak chargers can be set to 1 C or do it automatically.
Dennis-

Need one? The choice is up to you it comes down to a cost thing. But I tell you the first time you cant go flying because you forgot to put in your overnight charger you will kick yourself in the butt.

I got the Hobbyico MKII best 50 bucks I have ever spent. Now I can go to the field charge my RX and TX yap with the other members for 15 mins and then BEEP BEEP BEEP.. batterys fully charged!!!

P.S. I have thrown away my overnight chargers, have no need for them anymore!

Mike

Appreciate the input....

then I'll piggy back another question....

what is the advantage of something like the Triton, or Accu - cycle elite over the MKII??

I'll search the posts, but if anyone has input I would love to hear it...


Thanks

Well the Triton has this little LCD screen that shows you exactely what was done to the battery, how many milliamps it put into and stuff. BUT it only has one charger, so you can only charge 1 battery at a time. The Accu cycle elite is a cycler, dont really need this for field use. I plan on getting one but it would be in addition to my MKII.

Mike

Some chargers discharge as well, allowing you to cycle your packs. Some keep track of how much is put in during a charge, and how much is taken out during discharge. Some allow you to vary the charge current, since different packs can take different charge rates. Some charge Lithium batteries, some Lead Acid, some NimH some NiCD, some do all. Some can charge only one pack at a time, some can charge two or more. Some operate off of 12V, so they can be used at the field, off of a car battery, some need 120V AC, so they could mostly be used in the shop only. Some charge better than others, seem to have a better way of detecting the peak. I guess it's just what you need and how much you want to spend. I've seen "fast" chargers going from $50 up to $400. You count your shekels (sp?) and take your pick.

Just a note that not all batterys are rated for fast charging. If the batterys are not rated for it, the batterys will overheat and the life will be severly shortened. I tested the safe flight times on 40 sized trainers and found that the receiver batterys were good for 7 to 8 flights with 500 or 600 mah batterys. On sport planes or larger heavier planes it was down to 6 flights. My original receiver batterys have recently started to go down hill so I switched to 1500 mah Lithium batterys. Now the flights don't make a dent in the plane batterys so the limiting factor now is how long the transmitter batterys last which is about 2 hours "on" time. I plan on changing these also.

It would be nice to have one, but you dont need one, and you deffenitly dont need a Triton, or something simelar, unless you plan on flying electric powered airplanes, which is why it is made to be able to charge the different types of batteries, and why you would wont to know about all the millamps it put in and what-not

Cyclers are nice so that you can monitor the condition of your battery packs.

Let's use an example. You've been flying for two years and weren't always conscientious about how long you left your packs on that wall wart. Did you do damage to them when you left them on for four days by mistake?

You use your Peak Detection Charger/Cycler and charge your 600 mAH receiver pack to full, then "Cycle" it. (Which is an automatic discharge to 1.1 volts per cell.) You then fully charge it again.

Two scenarios: One, your charger tells you that your 600 mAh pack only took 500 mAmps. Throw the pack away cause it's likely that you'll have a cell fail pretty soon. Two, the charger tells you that the pack took 580, or 630 mAmps. It's fine and you can use it for another year or so.

If you hadn't cycled it in the first scenario it might cost you a plane. Is that worth the $50 to $125 for a good Peak Detection Charger/Cycler?
Dennis-

Well... stopped by the local field this morning.....too windy, noone flying,...but lots of good stories
but that was beside the point...
the people that were there swear by the Accu cycle elite.....

I have been reading reviews for days..posts for a while... so I broke down and ordered one.....

Overkill? maybe... but if my 4 year old wants a park flyer in a year or two... I will be set....


Appreciate all the input...

Now for a battery.... Sears Garden tractor???

Go with a Radio Shack "Cigarrette lighter adapter". Cut the alligator clips off your charger and solder one of these on, then you can plug it into the 12 volt lighter socket in the car for charging.
Dennis-

or you could save you self some time and just pop your hood, and clip it strait to the batt.

Something else not mentioned earlier. If you upgrade your flight packs the NiMh or higher capacity NiCd a lot of times the wall warts take forever to charge or cannot completely charge them.

Very good point....

as mentioned I ended up with the elite.... I want to fly while at the field....not charge


Eh gringo... Nice avater where is that??

I've spent time in Argentina and Chile..... skiing at Portillo, Las Lenas, Bariloche..... BEAUTIFUL country....


y las Chicas.....que buena!

The Avatar is a picture of the Andes that I took on a flight from Santiago to Buenos Aires. Never visited Portillo (not a skier) while we lived in Chile but we did live in the south of Chile close to Bariloche. Beautiful country, we could see 5 volcanoes from our apartment. We now live in the extreme north of Argentina.. not all that impressive scenery wise.