dishsoap

iTrader: (8)

Hey everyone. The whole concept of battery chargers has me slightly confused. Currently I just use the standard wall charger that came with my buggy to charge the battery in the car and I use AA's for the transmitter. In my losi 8 it came with a 5 cell hump pack. I understand the benefit of using rechargle batteries however what i dont understand is paying big bucks for a charger for two or 3 batteries that need to be charged every so often

Forgive me this is going to sound stupid. The whole charge to 1 amp or 2 amp or whatever you call it is beyond me. There is also something like a DE Charge or under charge or something like that. I just dont get it as i just plug mine in for a few hours and I am done with it. What benefits do you get by having a high end charger when you are only charging a small amount batteries. I could see if had an electric car it would make sense.

I am willing to listen and learn if someone wants to educate me or provide a link on all about batteries.

I spoke to guy at amain hobbies and he highly recommend the duratraxx onyx charger. Here it is

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ducts_id/26106

wallot

Rechargable battery (lets talk NickelMetalHydride aka NiMh as its most used) should save you money over time as it can be charged many times.

battery has certain capacity C measured in mAh (miliAmphours)
battery has certain voltage - V (Volts)
battery can give/receive certain current - A (Amperes)

nominal voltage of rechargable NiMh cell is 1.2V

Faster you charge battery harder it becomes and is able to give out more A that whatever the battery is used to power needs.

Standard receiver 5-cell pack has 6V and lets say 1600mAh capacity.

It is recommended not to exceed 1C (1 times the capacity) charging capacity for NiMh cells. So you can charge the receiver pack with Up to 1.6A.

So you set your charger to 5cell 1600mah pack and set the charge current to 1.6A.

When battery is full it stops receiving any current and starts heating up. if you charge it slowly like 1/10C ot 160mA (.16A) the heat can easily dissipate. However when fast charging the battery you can easily damage it so charger needs to somehow stop the charging process. Thats where something called Dellta peak commes to play. battery when full will slightly drop its voltage and charger is able to detect this voltage drop and stop the charging process. better charger allow you to set this delta peak, but its mostly used for racing packs in onroad/offroad 1:10 scale cars as standard setting works for most except specail selected/pushed racing cells.

I guess you should be able to find more detailed info or wikipedia

Joey Platinum

I switched to lipo as a reciever pack on my rc/8....It is lighter, stronger,and have greater run times . As for charger settings i am not sure as to the hows and why's ...your model may be different from mine and my knowledge of the charger is very limited.

dishsoap

iTrader: (8)

Thanks for the info on this guys.

BOOST

The wall charger is basically to get you going, getting a good peak charger will prolong the life of your hump pack. Peak chargers stop charging when the battery reaches it's maximum capacity, with a wall charger you could be over charging it or under charging....either way you have no way to tell. A good charger is a must.

dishsoap

iTrader: (8)

OK Thanks. The link on the first post. Is that a good charger or what would everyone recommend.

xlgraphicspro

iTrader: (5)

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ducts_id/26108

the 230 is a better model, it allows you to charge lipo packs, the 210 does not.

NCWC

You and me are on the same boat when it comes to batteries. Electronics in general just confuse me, batteries just make it worse.

I dont know about you, but that charger you linked looks like a confusing piece to use.
This is the one I have and it still works great after 3yrs....If you want to charge NiMH batteries, specifically your cars reciever pack it will do it. It will charge your starter box batteries and if you upgrade to a rechargable NiMH pack for your transmitter, it will do it also. http://carolinasrc.com/Webstore/Scri...idproduct=3502

I know its a little more expensive then the one you linked, but let me tell you how this thing works.....

I plug in whatever one or two batteies needs charging; 1600Mah reciever pack, my 3pk rechargable pack, or starter box batteries. Press the button, make sure the lights are steady illuminated red indicating the batteries are charging, (constant flashing indicates connection problem). Walk away. When I come back, if the lights are still steady red, wait a little more. Walk back, if the lights are flashing intermittently the charger is peak detecting and the batteries are fully charged. Usually takes 20-30 min if the batteries are a little low, faster if they still have some charge to them.

Its that easy. It makes a day at the track go by so easy. I charge all batteries the night before, practice-charge, two 5min heats-charge, 20min main. I have never had a problem lasting the main with my reciever pack or transmitter. My guess is the batteries runtime is maybe 45 min
after a full peak charge, but I dont know, I havent tried to push past that. My starterbox would last two days in a row if I needed it to, and my engines pinch is tight. The transmitter pack for my radio has 8 cells, the charger says it does up to 7 cells..... never had a problem, 11 volts on the dot everytime. And this thing is convenient as hell when you dont have a drop cord or a wall outlet source at all. You can use your car battery to supply the charger with power. It has two jumper cable-style alligator clips to connect it to the posts on your car battery. I use it like this 90% of the time.

dishsoap

iTrader: (8)

Thanks for the info above.

What is everyones rechargable battery recommendation for my Specktrum DX 2. Its for the controller not the car.

Can I use a rechargable battery for the controller?

NitroDirtMan

iTrader: (41)

i use venom 2400mah rechargeables AA's in my dx3.0..... its the only way to go!

dishsoap

iTrader: (8)

Ok guys help please. What is everyone using for all of their battery connectors. I tried to find a battery charger that fits LST connectors. Couldnt seem to find any.

wallot

high power electrics in my G-maxx : anderson powerpoles aka sermos
1/18 scale trucks, starterbox batteries - deans
1/18 scale motor connection - 3.5mm bullets
1/8 scale motor connection - 5.5mm bullets

i just solder whatever connector I need.