sskianpour

My Feedback: (2)

Hi All,

Just picked up a new Futaba 12Z 2.4 Ghz. The AC Wall charger requires that the battery be taken out of the radio and placed in the charger EACH Time it is charged (seems VERY inconvenient). [&o]

When I called Tower Hobbies this morning to order a charger that plugs into the back of the radio like every other radio since time itself began, she said she "checked with a tech" and that taking the battery out of the radio EACH time to charge it the ONLY way the 12Z is charged, and there is no other standard charger that can be used with it ??!!??

1. Does anybody know of an aftermarket charger that plugs into the wall and straight into the Futaba 12Z radio???

2. What about at the field? Aren't there any field adapters that can plug into my field charger with banana plugs or something like that that can then be plugged into back of my radio to charge at the field?

You mean If I am at a 3 day event and low on batteries after a long day of flying at an event, I have to somehow find a wall socket and then take my battery out and slow charge it overnight everytime??? REALLY??? [&:]

Thanks in advance guys,
Shaz

Gary Arthur

My Feedback: (29)

As futaba has metnioned, the battery is taken out to charge. It may sound like a negative, but it is not really. You can buy extra batteries and have them on hand. They are a Sony camcorder battery. I have 4 spare batteries so when I am at the field, if one is low, I pop it out and put in another and am flying again in minutes.

I also made a charging holder that plugs into my Schulze charger and can charge at the field if necessary.

sskianpour

My Feedback: (2)

Arthur, can you make me a charging holder so I can use at my field? Would pay ya for it!
Let me know!

Shaz

Gonzalo38

Futaba says that you can charge your battery while its in the radio, but you would have to use the CR-2500 Futaba charger which is kind of expensive http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJYP0 I bet you is a normal charger.... they just charge you for the different type of connector.

Take a look at pages 18 and 22 of your manual.

Sony batteries are the way to go. You can get the cheaper than the Futabas and they work with no problem.

sskianpour

My Feedback: (2)

Gonzalo, Arthur,

Per chance do you have any web-links to the EXACT Sony batteries so I cab buy a couple online?

Thanks guys!

Shaz

Meesh

My Feedback: (135)

Shaz

Its a Sony NP-F570 battery.

I bought some on line for $18.00 each. They don't have Sony on them but had slightly higher capacity and work fine.

Make sure the AD for the batteries say "Japanese Cells" not "Chinese Cells"

Just do a Google search on the part#

Bob

aquaskiman

My Feedback: (46)

Shaz acording to Ryan, the battery lasts so long that he very seldom has to change the battery at an event. He does have a few extra Sony batteries

aquaskiman

My Feedback: (46)

Shaz http://www.bestbatt.com/category_s/61.htm

MaJ. Woody

My Feedback: (28)

I have a new 12Z and what I did was buy the charge cord, cut it in 1/2..its long enough to make two cords..then solder on some banana plugs. I am now charging my 12Z right from the back of my TX using my Triton charger. You just have to make sure you get the polarity correct. This is easy to figure out with a meter.
Here is a link to the charge cord:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXPHL6&P=7

MaJ. Woody

My Feedback: (28)

By the way...you will find 3 wires inside when you strip back the insulation on your new charge cord. I also find that the charging strategy of Triton charger makes for a longer charge cycle compared to using the wall wart but I live with it since I don't like the idea of constantly removing the battery from the TX. In my mind (no fact here but in my mind only) it seems that regularly removing the battery is bound to wear something out. The last thing I need to worry about is a battery coming loose while I am flying a fast jet!

wojtek

My Feedback: (73)

good post ... thanks for the link to the Jap cell batteries ... Im Loving my 12Z, but yea, it would be nice to charge it in the radio ... then again, no biggie ..

~V~

AndyAndrews

Some people prefer to charge TX batteries out of the radio in case the battery catches on fire or blows up during charging. At lease you will only have to replace the battery instead of the TX and battery if this happens.

Andy

sskianpour

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks Dom,

So what color were the three wires (Red, Black, and white?) and which 2 are the active ones?

My concern exactly, I figured by the 100th time I remove the battery SOMETHING has to be wearing out right? Could you send a photo Dom?

Thanks buddy,
Shaz

MaJ. Woody

My Feedback: (28)

I do not recall the colors. It is easy to figure out however. Strip back all three wires...separate them to create some distance between them so none of them can touch. Now plug the lead into the back of your TX. Have your meter set to test voltage and keep moving the probes around till you get a positive voltage reading. You will then know which wire is red and which wire is black.

MaJ. Woody

My Feedback: (28)

Ok, I took a couple photos of my charge lead. Notice the 3rd wire that is not used...the white one. I cut this way back to keep it out of the way of the others.

Bob_B

My Feedback: (11)

Dom,
I bet the wall charger has a balancer built in to it. I think your defeating an important safety feature charging the way you are,
not to mention that your pack may go out of balance and fail!
Bob

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

You can't balance charge this battery. The output sockets are the 2 cells in series. The sony clone packs have a 3rd contact that's used to read remaining capacity. I've changed my battery 100's of times and my 12Z has been 100% perfect in function and reliability. Just buy a couple of spare packs. Besides, the battery won't fall out, this is a Futaba, not a JR.

luckyflyer

I was leary of buying replacement packs for my 12Z from ebay and other places so I decided to rebuild mine with these http://www.sabahoceanic.com/epages/s...ducts/14087003 . I also put a Thunder power balance tap on and ran it out the end of the case so I could charge using my Cellpro charger. Charging using the Cell pro allows me to monitor the packs in ways that can't be done with the standard Futaba charger. I rebuilt these packs about 6 months ago and all has been well since.
[img][/img]

karl hibbs

My Feedback: (6)

http://www.calcellular.com/np-f550.html

I have two of them and they work great....!

furloughed ual

My Feedback: (31)

Shaz, get a spare battey and quit your whining

I guarantee u 2 full days of flying on a single charge....I can fly 10-12 flights at an event w/o charging the 12Z....when's the last time u flew a dozen flights in a weekend? Doesn't happen much.

I did make an adapter for the battery to use at the field with a DC charger...never use it....and NO u cannot have it.....I know that was your next question.....

I have been pulling the the battery out to charge in my 12Z for 4 yrs now with zero issues....

f106jax

My Feedback: (16)

Karl, guys,

Do the 12Z and 14MZ use the same pack?

furloughed ual

My Feedback: (31)

Yep.....same batt...the 14 eats alot of battey....the 12Z is easy on batts....

f106jax

My Feedback: (16)

That's for sure....I just got a 14MZ and thought that there was something wrong with the battery. Other users confirmed the usage and suggested getting a couple of spares. Thanks for posting all of this info, makes it much cheaper to get some spares rather than going OEM.

jetflyr

Several of us have been using the BASONYNPF550 battery from http://store.enessy.com (can find the store on e-bay).
$10.99 plus shipping.
Certainly beats the $90+ for OEM.....
Greg

FILE IFR

Jetflyr, Karl Hibbs, Aquaski,
Thanks for the links. I thought the Futaba battery (14 MZ) was a 'Futaba Only' battery.

I have 2 OEM batts... I'll certainly pick up a couple from one of the links.

Thanks!