Field Chargers
 

I am going to upgrade my tx and rx field charger before spring. What is everyone using and why? This might be some great information to help all who are considering a purchase for spring.

Thanks for the input.

JEB:D

RE: Field Chargers
 

Everybody at our field uses this charger. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCTZ5&P=ML

Ronnie

RE: Field Chargers
 

If I were you I would get an Accucycle Elite.
You can use it as an overnight charger or field charger.
It will handle both situations!

RE: Field Chargers
 

Just a quick piece of advice, Only use a field charger once in a while. You should charge at 10% of rating at home as a rule. Much less chance of battery problems that way. That boring old charger that came with your radio is you best bet unless you have up graded your receiver battery. Ace makes a really good duel charger for home use.

RE: Field Chargers
 

Ive seen a lot and used a bunch of different chargers over
the years but what I have now is the Sirius Charger from
Peak Electronics.

http://www.siriuselectronics.com/

This has been the best purchase I have ever made.
Its utterly reliable and completely idiot proof.
No buttons or dials or different modes to worry about.
Just plug it in.

I have not used any other charger since I purchased it.
I dont even know where the wall wart for my radio is.

Its built into a rugged steel box and made in the USA.

Mike Hammer

RE: Field Chargers
 

question for low@slow why do you reccomend only using field charger once in awhle?

RE: Field Chargers
 

I use my wallwarts at home and then use the hobbico field charger to top the batts off about every 2 or 3 flights.

Ronnie

RE: Field Chargers
 

I purchased an ACE DIGIT PACE II some years ago for charging, and cycling batteries at
home, and a HITEC CG-335 peak charger for use at the field. The HOT SHOT charge button
has certainly been a help when one of my hot shots needs charging at the field. Unfortunately, the HITEC CG-335 is no longer made. HOBBICO makes two units that would
be chargers to look at. The DELUXE POWER PANEL II has a glow starter charge button, and
the HOBBICO PEAK FIELD CHARGER would do a good job charging your tx and rx batteries
at the flying field. Both of these units are for panel mounting into your flield boxes. The main thing to keep in mind is to have the chargers you need for all occasions whether at home, or at the flying site. The market place has a good variety to choose from. Good hunting.

Rich S.

RE: Field Chargers
 

I am with Toolman. Great charger for the price.

RE: Field Chargers
 

Thanks for all of the information.
JEB:D

RE: Field Chargers
 

Ok, I am back again. Just remembered another field charger for you to check out. Go to
Pacific Aeromodel., Inc at www.pacaeromodel.com and check out their field panel. It also has a glow plug charger connection. Would have bought one of these had I not already purchase the Hitec CG-335.

Rich S.

RE: Field Chargers
 

By using a 10% charge rate you are putting less stress on your batteries. There is a lot of information out there on proper battery care. I think a read up might be in order. battery failures are very common, but most of them can be prevented with a little care.

RE: Field Chargers
 

You are absolutely correct Low@Slow. My ACE DIGIT PACE II charger does a fine job at the ten percent charging rate similar to the normal wall chargers that come with the radio package. Only use the peak charger when at the field. Cycle the RX batteries at the beginning of the flying season to check on the capacity of installed battery packs to make sure there is no capacity problem. Other than that, I stick to the 10% rule.

Thanks for your input.

Rich S.

RE: Field Chargers
 

I also recommend the Sirius Charger. I've used it for quite a few seasons now & it is beautifully simple & reliable. SR Batteries claims this field charger (unlike others) is the only one they feel will not damage batteries over time.

RE: Field Chargers
 

I use a Sirius Charge Pro at the field, which is a smart charger and can eliminate NiCad memory. At home I use the standard wall charger that came with my radio but will be getting the AC/DC Hobbico Accu-Cycle Elite because I've read great things about it.

RE: Field Chargers
 

Scroll down an look for Orbit Microlader or Orbit Pocketlader. http://www.helihobby.com/html/chargers.html
Very good chargers. They have Reflex charging for NiCd and NiMh. It's something like feeddack. The charger wathces over the battery and adjusts the charging voltage and current. A friend charges his 3600 NiMh rx pack with 6 amps. 1/2h and it's full.

RE: Field Chargers
 

Life expectancy of a battery pack will be shortened significantly when charged at 5 or 6 amps on a daily basis.

RE: Field Chargers
 

Richard L.
Not daily basis. But at a meeting where he flies a lot(and the RC eats lots o' mA) he does that. What I wanted to show was the way Reflex charging influences the packs. It dosen't do so much "damage" to the cell as a "normal" 6 amps charging cycle(at a 3600mAh pack 6A is under 2C so a quality pack won't crack)
PS sorry if my english hurt your ears(eyes).

RE: Field Chargers
 

I like the Sirius also. It's all I use. Go to the battery/charger forum of RCU and do a search for Sirius chargers. Even SR Batteries likes them. Heliproz has the best price I've seen. I also have a Sirius battery tester that measures how much capacity a battery has. I use it once or twice a year to check battery performance and it works great. Be aware though that on many transmitters you will have to bypass the diode in the radio charging ciruit to use the Sirius. It's not difficult and the Peak/Sirius web site has easy to follow directions and photos. That's all folks.

RE: Field Chargers
 

I fly nothing but big planes with four batteries each. I now have started using the new Hughesrc Spectra 4. It will do 4 batteries of any kind. Slow charge, fast charge, cycle and top charge. You can mix batteries. Also it will do peak and timed charge. Dennis