Charging Airtronics TX
 

I purchased a Airtronics Tx. I have only Futaba. Can I use my Accu-Cycle Elite to charge this TX.? DO I need to do anything different? Is the + and the - the same on Airtronics as the Futaba?

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Gene.. the RDS8000, if it's like my older RD8000, has a removable 9.6 volt pack. You can remove the pack and charge it on your Elite charger using the TX jack. I do it all the time. And, yep, red is + and black is - . I charge mine that way all the time.

The radio has a diode in the charge path to protect it from reverse polarity chargers. I don't know if the Elite is a peak detect charger or just a timed charger, but you can just remove the battery pack (and the TX won't lose it's memory) and charge it with the Elite. By the way, you can short out the diode if you wish, Radical RC has an outline as to how to do this (with pictures) but that may, more than likely, void the warranty. So, for at least the first year, you can simply remove the battery pack if you wish. After the warranty expires, well, you can do what you want.

The Airtronics is not like the JR with that backwards polarity issue. It is more like the Futaba or Hitec, or others I guess..

Oh, didn't that RDS8000 come with a wall wart charger?

Going to breakfast shortly. Gonna have a bowl of oatmeal and some hot coffee. It's right around 12 degrees this morning. Probably tropical for you, but definitely Brrrrrrr for us here in NJ!!! :D

Dick.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

why do you need to remove the battery to charge?...the only radio that I know is backwards (polarity) is JR

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Jetmech.. the Elite charger may be a peak detect type charger, and the diode may prevent it from charging the TX battery.

CGr.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

You can. Hobbico also offers premade leads wired properly for Airtronics and so labeled - I stumbled into them at a LHS after I'd made my own. You can also purchase the plug from Hobby People and make your own.

Regards,

Clay

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

They say the wind chill for tomorrow morning will be -44. WOW!!!!! these old bones can't take much of that. I even have my puppies in, about 4 or 5 times a day. Big boys, Irish Setters. Just had breakfast1 egg basted soft. hickory smoked bacon, crispy hash browns and steaming hot coffee. Just may go get another cup. I know on my Futaba radios I can charge them in the transmitter. I cannot use the volt meter that I use on the RX it is protected by the diode. The Airtronics is suppose to be here today. I have all 2500 batteries in my Futaba's, will probably do the same with the Airtronics.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Yes, you can use the same charger for the Airtronics as you do with the Futaba. All of the major brands of radio (Futaba, Airtronics, Hitech) have the same polarity on the charging jack, with JR being the one that is opposite. Page 5 of the manual shows you the polarity of the major brands of radios.

Yes, you can charge Airtronics radios with the batteries in the radio. But as CGRetired said above, you can't peak the battery or cycle it while it's in the radio. The diode in the radio will prevent that. You'll have to remove the battery from the case if you want to peak charge it or cycle it.

Ken

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Thanks Ken
I knew that I could not cycle, but I don't know what peak means. With my Futaba's I just set the accu-cycle to the proper number of cells and it takes over from there. I do have to tell it what size the battery is. i.e, 600, 2500.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Ah, yeah, I remember now.. it was cycle that you can't do. And, the Sirius chargers won't charge the TX in the radio either.. it does require the battery removed or shorting out of the reverse protection diode. Thanks for refreshing my memory (used to be like a steel trap, but the hinges are a tad rusty now.. :D

CGr

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

The Airtronics charge connector for the transmitter is the same polarity as your Futaba charger but the connector is a different size. Airtronics uses the same size connector as Hitec does. The Airtonics and Hitec are 5mmOD 2.1mm ID while the Futaba is 5.5mmOD and 3.5mm ID. You can buy the correct plug at Radio Shack part number RS 274-1567 for the Hitec/Airtronic and RS 274-1573 for the Futaba connector.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Thank you Mr. Rodney

HI-HO, HI-HO off to Radio Shack I go.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Well FedEx just delivered my TX. I must say it is a plain Jane. No bells, no whistles, no chrome, Just the TX. Hope it works good. When mounting the RX do the two ant. go at 90* or do they stay straight. The manual is not real clear on that. Page 5

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Cancel that above post. The manual that came with the TX is a little different than the one posted on the net. It explains it on page 14. Suppose to be 90*.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Gene,
Yes, the RDS8000 doesn't look flashy. This has been the way for Airtronics radios for a few years now. But what it lacks in looks it makes up for in being a good solid radio. Trust me, you'll be in love with it quick enough.

The antenna elements need to be 90 degrees apart from each other. I have some pictures of the installation in my review of this radio.

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=995]Airtronics RDS8000 Review[/link]

Ken

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Thanks Ken

Nice review. I will probably refer to it often.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

I feel like something is missing here: I've got the Airtronics RDS8000 radio. The connector on the battery going to the radio IS REVERSED from all other pos/neg connections. They may have changed the connectors on the servos, receiver, etc. but inside the radio it's still reversed. I'm not sure how this is connected to the input jack; they may have reversed the connections there, too, which would mean that it's the same polarity as the other brands for plugging directly into the radio, but again, reversed polarity for charging the battery independently. Obviously the charger would notice that it wasn't connected if you just tried to charge the battery independently.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

CORRECTION!!!!! You can NOT charge an Airtronics transmitter with the same charger or harness as you do all others. JR with its opposite polarity is of course completely out of the loop.. The difference is not electronic, but mechanical..........
The charge connector most used has an internal pin of 2.5mm - NOT 3.5 as stated. Airtronics uses a smaller one with a 2.1 pin. The larger one will go in, but will not make a dependable solid contact.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Are you talking about That it is reversed if you are charging the tx battery outside of the tx.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

So if I want to use my accu-cycle elite charger, then I must get the appropriate plug-in for the tx. is that what you are saying. I know that I cannot charge the tx battery out of the tx with a futaba J plugthe Airtronics is thicker.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

I want to get a 2500 mAh battery, so I will have to get a different connector to fit that tx is that correct

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Not necessarily. If the battery has the same "Z" connector on it all you will have to do is change the positive and negative wires on the plug. Use a hobby knive tip to lift up each little "tab" holding the pins in place and pull them out of the plug. Switch them and re-insert them into the plug.

Ken

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

The new Airtronics radio battery does not have the same "Z" connector. It is a black connector with three 'horns' on the top, and the hot/red wire is on the OUTSIDE connector, black is in the middle, and obviously the other outside connector is empty. The receiver battery (for the plane) does have standard Z.

I got a replacement battery from RadicalRC.com. You select "old Airtronics" connector for the battery, and in the notes tell them you have the new Airtronics radio. 1600mah is what I got (~$30) and it's been weeks and I still have over 10.3volts and has not yet needed a charge. The stock batteries with the radio are garbage and don't hold a charge, nothing to do with the mah.

You can get an [link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXL336&P=M]airtronics set of charge leads[/link] for your charger and leave the battery in the radio, problem solved. If you take the battery out, that is when you have to worry about polarity.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

I am using the Hobbico charge leads for Airtronics/Hitec that gaRCfield linked to. I field charge my RDS8000 using those leads and my Hobbico Quick Field Charger MkII all the time with the stock transmitter pack installed.

I haven't had any problems with my stock transmitter packs, they simply operate around their nominal voltage more than other transmitter batteries I've used. When you turn on your freshly charged transmitter, the voltage will drop from around 11 volts to around 10 volts fairly quickly, but the 9.6v transmitter pack will then operate from 9.9v down to 9.5v for a very long time. This is the normal "expected" operating range.

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

Yes, that is the OLD style Airtonics connector. However, a battery with a standard Z connector WILL connect directly into the transmitter. Just as long as you make sure the polarity is correct, as I stated in my earlier post.

Ken

RE: Charging Airtronics TX
 

So if I take one of my batteries that I have for my Futaba 2500 mAH and change the red and black leads then it will connect to the Airtronics tx. The connector on the Airtronics tx does not have the tabs like the futaba. If I can do that it would solve lots of problems.