Having taken the plunge and having 5 birds now think it is time to get a decent charger. Is there a Digital Lipo balancing charger out there for around 100.00 bucks? Something that will take the standard lipo connector and will display voltage and Mah? My biggest current Lipo cell is a 3S 2100 lipo. Don't think I will go past the 450 size heli anytime soon! Thanks Gene

Lots of good chargers for under $100. [link=http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=134_138&products_id=5452]Here[/link] is a good one and [link=http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=134_138&products_id=5453]here[/link] is another. Both will require a DC adapter like a laptop charger. The ones i quoted are a company in Hong Kong that i have used before, im sure you will find a company in the USA if you look.

In addition to the above chargers I would recommend the [link=http://www.fmadirect.com/Detail.htm?item=2218&section=45]CellPro 4S[/link]. I don't personally have one but have heard nothing but great things about it.

Last year I purchased a new Hyperion EOS1210i and two LBA10 balancers. You can find it at BPP for about $225. I can charge up to two 6s packs at the same time with this setup. Already having this charger meant that I did not have to upgrade when I build my T-Rex 500 last month.

Good luck with your decision.

stay away from the imax there a cheap knock off from the bantam line. at rcgroups theres a thread about all the issues with the imax. theres a few people that like it but more that have issues

for 100 you can get the cellpro 4s which is nice usa made high quality charger http://www.fmadirect.com/products.htm?cat=45&nid=4 nothing but positive remarks and raves. [does need a 112V converter] [old pc power supplys work and an optional $18 converter will be avalible in a week or so direct from fma. this charger is feature rich yet easy to use.

my second choice was the hyperion for $139 at readyheli or rchover [112v converter built in]

Nice links srouthouse, I may have to put this on my "stimulus gift list" :-)

ah yes you love the made in USA cant argue that one lol

Thanks guys, it gives me some ideas on what to get! Gene

I use the Cellpro 4s. Love it. Gives you tons of info and is under $70

Jim

I would like to offer up a bad customer service experience I had with FMA before you make up your mind to deal with FMA. I recently tried to purchase a smaller 1350mAh 3S pack after I received an e-mil message about a lipo discount sale. I made the purchase by placing the discount code in the comments section of the order form as instructed. I verified and proceeded to checkout. You are informed that the initial receipt from the purchase will show full price and the discount code will be applied by the salesperson when the web order is processed. I received an email notice of the purchase a day later and notice that the discount wasn't applied. I promptly contacted FMA by e-mail that my discount was missing. FMA responded very quickly and politely that the code wasn't on the original order and that they could not refund the difference. Instead, a credit would be posted in my account, should I make a future purchase. This didn't sit too well with me, so I decided that I would return the pack. They had already shipped the pack, (They are quick) so I was forced to return the pack after receiving it, which I've done. A few days have passed since then and I decided that I really wanted to give FMA another chance to make things right, so I e-mail all the contact email addresses from their web site and explained what has transpired. I requested that they sell me the original pack I had tried to purchase and that they pick up the shipping. That seems fair to me. The response from FMA was that they are asked for refunds all the time for all kinds of reasons and that this particular case looked to be partly my fault. They did acknowledge that they may be able to better integrate the discounts into the web order process and would look into it. I was then offered the pack at the discount and at half the shipping cost. That offer felt have hearted to me and I declined it. Please keep in mind that everyone I had contact with at FMA was very friendly and quick to respond. I have no issues with anyone there personally. As a matter of fact, I have a 6s charger and several 1250mAh 3S packs from FMA, as well as a few of their voltage cutoff devices for the older ECS that can't handle lipos. The do sell good products. As I see it, the problem is their customer service policies. Based on my experence, I wonder how they would handle other issues, like a warrenty repair. I share this as food for thought before you do business with FMA.