The charger and packaging.
Close-up view; you can see the charge data for seconds, volts and amps.
The Pitbull along with a power supply and battery.
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(Click any picture to enlarge it)
The charger and packaging.
Close-up view; you can see the charge data for seconds, volts and amps.
The Pitbull along with a power supply and battery. |
Competition Electronics Pitbull
(reviewed by juantrinidad)
Introduction
I was racing RC cars in 1992. In 1996, I got married, started a family and had two kids. When all that settled down, I decided that it was time to get back to my true calling in life, Radio Control Cars. From out of an old steamer trunk came my trusty old Novak Rhino charger. I charged up some used Sanyo 2400s I just bought and started racing again. It didn't take much time before I found out that racing modified touring cars needed something with a little more oomph in it. I've got to buy myself some NiMH packs. But, lo and behold, in this new age of hi-tech RC, my old reliable Rhino charger now had to retire (I still use it for my NICD transmitter packs). What shall I use to charge my packs now? First Impressions
Among the racers that run in my club, (Capitol Speedway Manila) those that were using the Competition Electronics Turbo Charger, in its various incarnations, had a high degree of satisfaction from using them. These chargers did not seem to be plagued with the common problem of false peaking. Additionally, packs that were coming off the Turbos were of relatively lower temperature as against those being charged in others. Did I mention that these guys were also experiencing NiMH cell degradation much later than those who were using other brands? I wanted myself some of that! However, being a family man and all, I couldn't get myself to shell out the USD$ 400 that a CE Turbo 35 BL usually costs. Luckily, CE just came out with the Pit bull charger. The same charging technology at half the price! Features
Performance
I had a 3000 NiMH compatible charger before I bought my CE Pit bull and I was seriously disappointed with it. I was virtually time charging my packs just to deal with the constant false peaking. And when I set the thresholds high enough to avoid the false peaks, in the 12mv/cell range, the packs could've doubled as clothing irons as the heat from them would have flattened the creases off of any silk shirt. The decision to buy the Pit bull came after I had severely degraded my first two NiMH packs on my last charger. No to mention that I had just bought 4 new matched packs of Sanyo HV's. With that sort of investment, I wasn't going to take any chances. To test the charger, I first tried charging my old Sanyo 3000H packs. I used the manufacturer's recommended threshold setting for NiMHs, 0.032 volts/ pack on 4 amps. Immediately, I noticed that my old packs were not false peaking, as was the norm. They were not as hot either. I do not completely understand why this is so. All chargers give off the same electricity as provided by the power supply and detecting the delta peak is as easy getting a digital volt meter watching the voltage drop, if you had the patience. So what made the Pit bull special? I can't be sure but here what I think:
Then, I charged up my virgin Team Orion Sanyo HV racer packs and all been well in Manila. I have not had much use for the peak detect lock out and trickle charge so far. What I have gotten used to is resetting the parameters for the NICD profile to 0.012 delta peak and 6 amps. I use this profile now to re-peak my NiMH packs. It puts in about 130 seconds at 6 amps. Just enough to wake up the cells for the next heat. The Verdict
The Pit bull charger from CE is a high quality product. It is marginally priced higher than most other chargers in its level but its flawless performance makes up for this. It is a no non-sense approach to charging those quirky NiMH packs. I highly recommend it.
juantrinidad's Rating
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