tomd-RCU

It is clearly written in the instruction manual not to use a peak charger when charging the DX8 transmitter. The reason is that a charger is already built in.
In the case of the NiMh battery, the charging indicator light does not turn off when the battery is fully charged. So how do I know when the battery is fully charged?
Do I need to remove the battery from the transmitter everytime and hook it to a peak charger ?

electricpete

I just use the built in Voltmeter, but there is plenty of capacity, as I managed to get an 2 indoors flying sessions out of one charge. I forgot to swich on charger.

Peter

AndyKunz

You can either refer to the voltage, or you can let it charge for 10 hours and call it "charged." The charger will go into trickle charge once the pack is full.

Andy

tomd-RCU

Thank you Peter and Andy.

As you know, the voltmeter does not tell the whole story.

I am glad to learn that the charger goes into trickling when the battery is full.

I wish they had mentioned it in the user manual.

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Question.....the charge plug on the DX8 does not permit a battery cycler to be plugged in - this must have been by design -Correct? If so, how can we cycle the battery?

tomd-RCU

Tailskid, you will need to remove the battery from the transmitter.
And ho yes, you will need to get wiring with that very small special connector for your charger.

I don't think letting the battery discharge in the transmitter and then letting the system charger charge the battery will count as cycling.

Can anyone comment on my last statement ?

AndyKunz

The charger for the DX8 battery is INSIDE the DX8. It's not just a passive connection to the world, there's actually a charger circuit inside your transmitter. So no, you can't use a cycler on it without removing it from the radio.

Andy

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

And the reason for that is.........

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

Are you asking why the Charger is located inside the Tx or why you cannot use a Cycling Charger through the Charging Jack?

It would be nice backround info I suppose but knowing that will not change the fact that we have to remove the Tx battery if we want to use a Cycling Charger.

I use LiPos or LiFe for all my Tx or Rx packs.

No Cycling, Fast ReCharge, No Self DisCharge so the Charge lasts for weeks or months. I never had a problem.

There is a 2cell LiPo pack for the DX8.

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Why the charger is in the tx.

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

I do not know. Perhaps Andy can comment.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

I'm not Andy, but can I venture a guess????? lol

I had one of those "assume" moments which I try to avoid, but did so when my DX8 arrived. I figured the charger would be just like my other Spektrum/JR tx's and wanted to plug it in while reading the manual until I looked at the specs on the power supply. Needless to say I was chastised in various places for "not reading the manual" when I started asking questions, but this is my thought after digging into the charging setup for the DX8.

These things are sold all over the place in many different parts of the world. Those places typically have different AC power be it voltage or cycles, or even just a different plug type. By going to a power supply with a large voltage input range and adapters for almost any type plug you might run into, this thing will work almost anywhere without having to provide a separate charger (or walwart) for each country where it might be sold.

This also allows the ability to offer both a NiMH or Li-Po battery depending on the customer's wishes and it all works with what is included in the radio package. All in all, a pretty elegant solution if you ask me plus the fact that its got a different size plug into the radio for the power supply so you cannot put a charge jack in there makes it pretty foolproof. IMHO, it kind of follows other changes from the norm found in most tx's like the programming. Very intuitive especially for the newbie or someone who just hates trying to figure out how to setup a model. Caused me a bit of grief initially 'cause I started out thinking it would be something like my 12X which it's not, but then I imagine the target audience doesn't usually have a high end radio they're used to using either.

Personally, I think it's a pretty neat advancement in many areas and the fact that the charger system is different shouldn't be an issue. If you 'wanna cycle batteries, track down a plug (I think Horizon has 'em listed on the website) and pull the battery out of the tx, pretty simple really....

jollycub

My Feedback: (5)

I live 30 minutes from the field and I like to charge my equipment on the way. Not for any particular reason except for I either didn't know I was going flying the night before or forgot to plug everything in. I prefer not to have the charger built in.

AndyKunz

How do you charge on the way with other equipment? If I were doing that with my DX8 I would make an adapter that plugs into a cigarette light and plugs into the radio. In that case, having the charger in the radio is far MORE convenient than having another something on the floor.

Andy

fizzwater2

My Feedback: (61)

So the input to the DX8 is simply 12V DC, right?

AndyKunz

Right. Either polarity. Or both

Feed it 200+ mA and it will be happy.

Andy

tomd-RCU

Hello Andy,

You say that the charger goes into trickle when the battery is full. Today, the transmitter battery was partially discharged. I decided to charge it and at about eight hours of charge time, I felt the transmitter box get hot. I removed the rear plate and touched the battery. It was much much warmer than when I cycle a battery of the same capacity.
Yes, I know the battery is in a closed space but somehow I sensed that if there was a trickle the temperature of the battery should not have been this hot.

Can you please comment .

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

I never noticed the color of the charge change when I charged it for about 12 hours.....how do we know when it goes to trickle?

AndyKunz

Tom,

If you believe it's getting too hot, document that temperature and time it took to get there and then contact Customer Support.

TS,

If you are using NiMH, it does it automatically but the LED doesn't change color. There is no "I'm trickling" indication. It takes 12-14 hours for a full charge, at the end of which it will be trickling.

Andy

jollycub

My Feedback: (5)

I have a Hobbico Mark2 Quick Field Charger that I use with a 12 volt battery. I can charge my planes, glow drivers, and until now, my transmitters with it. I guess one way I can do it is to take the battery out, and charge it outside of the transmitter.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Yeah you could do that, but why not just get a plug for the tx and use your existing 12V battery?

Another option would be to get one of those cigarette lighter adapters from Radio Shack or the like which have banana jacks on 'em and use your vehicle's 12V system?

I've not measured the plug for the radio, but I'm reasonably certain you could buy one from Radio Shack or the like and just make up your own leads be it banana jacks (my preference) or clips, or just get a set of clips designed to work with banana jacks and you're set.

I'm not sure where all this gnashing of teeth is coming from about the charging setup for the DX8? I was confused initially 'cause it is different, but overall I'd say much more user friendly with the built in polarity safeguard and the fact that you don't need a field charger. With a 2000mah size battery, you're going to have to do a lot of flying to need field charging and if you're in the habit or need to charge it on the way to the field, with the above setup you can just plug that puppy into one of the 12V lighter outlets on your vehicle (mine's got two) and you can charge enroute.

There is another problem with this idea of charging it on short notice; the built in charger only puts out 200mah which is appropriate for a 2000mah NiMH battery. Charging these high capacity (over 1650mah) NiMH AA cells at over 1/10th C is NOT a good idea so what's with the "I need to field charge it" anyway? At 200mah it's going to take awhile to do much of anything and if you slam the battery with a higher charge rate especially on a regular basis, it's going to be real hard on the battery.

http://www.hangtimes.com/rcbattery_faq.html

aframe2

My Feedback: (5)

I would like to know if I can plug my DX8 transmitter into my Hobbico accu cycler, like my JR receivers, let it fully charge and go into a trickle mode and leave it plugged into my accu cycler until I'm ready to use it, with no damage to my transmitter.
The manual tells me when I use the supplied wall charger supplied with the sytem, not to charge it for more than twelve hours, or it might incur damage. I'm confused as to if I can safely connect it to my accu cycler. Please advise. Thanks, Aframe2
Ps. I have another question. Do I need that 3 wire switch to turn off and on the receiver,and what port do I use to plug in the battery?

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

Np!! The charger is inside the Tx. You would have to take the battery out and hook it to your Auccylr.

pforty

Andy,
You say it automatically switches to trickle. Does it detect when the battery is fully charged, then switch to trickle, or is it based on time? My concern is what is the best way to handle a partially discharged battery? The 'Getting Started' manual has a warning about over charging the battery or charging for more than 12 hours could damage the battery or transmitter. Why that particular warning if it switches to trickle? What is your best practice for maintaining the charge in the transmitter without taking out the battery and putting it on a peak detecting charger after each flying session? Also, my DX8 only shows 5.5v no matter how long it has been charging, is that normal?

It is great that a developer like yourself participates in these forums.

Thanks and keep up the good work.

AndyKunz

Trickle is defined as C/10. The pack is 2000mAh, the charger maxes at 200mA = C/10. Technically, it only ever charges at a trickle. The warnings are there because of lawyers.

My transmitters have LiPos in them. I don't have any NiMH recommendations outside the manual.

The voltage is normal.

Andy