Battery Chargers

All posts tagged Battery Chargers

Team Orion AC/DC Touch Duo Charger

Posted by AParsons on January 31, 2014
Posted in: Radio Control, Team Orion. Tagged: , , , .
Team Orion AC/DC Touch Duo Charger

Team Orion AC/DC Touch Duo Charger

Have you been considering a new charger? If so maybe you should check out the latest offering from Team Orion. Their new AC/DC Touch Duo charger has a 200W integrated power supply that offers the possibility to charge two batteries simultaneously with a charge current of up to 10A. The charger also has a USB connector for firmware upgrades as well as two temperature probe connectors.

Some other features include:

  • Large size 4” Color Touch Screen
  • Charges 1-6S LiPo/LiFe/LiIon, 1-16 cell NiMH/NiCd and 1-20 cell Pb batteries
  • Charge, discharge, cycle, storage and balance functions.
  • Input/output reverse polarity and short circuit protection
  • Two 4-in-1 Balancing Boards included

Look for a retail price of around $249.99 and a mid Feb 2014 release. Part# ORI30237

Check out Team Orion AC/DC Touch Duo Charger for more details.

First RC? Did you Consider….?

Posted by AParsons on December 17, 2013
Posted in: Radio Control. Tagged: , , , .

If you are new to this hobby you will learn that there is a wide variety of things that can make your life easier and time with your RC more enjoyable. We aren’t talking about vehicle upgrades in this post, but other RC related upgrades. If you happen to have some extra cash laying around, consider some of these things. 

Tools:

integy hex tools

Hex Tools: A proper set of Hex tools to replace the Allen keys that came with your vehicle. The Allen keys that came with your vehicle will do in a pinch, but if you do any kind of maintenance or repairs to your vehicle, you will save yourself a lot of time and pain to your hands if you get a good set of tools. There are many manufactures of these tools from M.I.P., EDS Racing Products, Hudy, Dynamite, Turnigy and Integy. These are just a few of them, find what best fits your budget and know that they all are an improvement over the tools that came with your RC.

Battery/Charger:

venom lipo battery

Battery: An extra battery, one just never seems enough. The battery options are endless, chances are your RTR vehicle came with a Nimh or Lipo battery. At this point I will tell you that once I switched to Lipo from Nimh batteries, I haven’t looked back and I wonder what took me so long to make the leap. A 2s lipo battery will most likely match the lipo battery that can with your RTR. It is when you get into a 3S battery and up that I urge caution because this is where you will find increased speed and a greater possibly of damage to your vehicle. Lipo batteries are perfectly safe when used properly, you will also enjoy increased runtimes and the same consistent speeds throughout the length of the battery. (No more speed fall off as you drive, like you get with a Nimh battery). Some notable batteries are made by SPC Racing, Gens Ace, Turnigy, and Turnigy Nano-Tech. Here are a couple of Canadian Lipo battery options Swift Current available at Terra Nova Hobbies and Gens Ace is also available at GreatHobbies.

traxxas battery charger

Charger: If you have a Nimh battery get a Nimh charger or even consider a dual charger Nimh & Lipo so you are ready when you make your leap to Lipo batteries. Some solid Dual Chargers are  Continue Reading

Great News from HobbyKing

Posted by AParsons on December 5, 2013
Posted in: Radio Control. Tagged: , , , , , .

hobby-king

This is great news just in time for Christmas. The last we heard from HobbyKing, they were working to hard to fix the issues caused by changes in Hong Kong Customs policy, as we had documented in  Tough News From HobbyKing. Today we have received word from HobbyKing that the back log has cleared up and HobbyKing is once again shipping Lipo batteries. They have even managed to offer different 3 options in shipping, in an effort to keep the cost down.

From HobbyKing:

“Our lipo shipping crisis is now over and it is business as usual! We are proud to offer a new range of affordable shipping options to all countries and dispatch time from our International warehouse is back under 48 hours. We’re back to shipping lipos as quickly and affordable as ever! We’ve caught up on the backlog and have implemented several new shipping options. We want to thank you for your patience and support during this period.”

Complete details and new shipping options can be found at HobbyKing.com

 

New Dynamite Chargers

Posted by AParsons on November 14, 2013
Posted in: Radio Control. Tagged: , , .
Prophet Sport Plus 50W AC DC Charger

Prophet Sport Plus 50W AC DC Charger

Dynamite has announced three new entry level chargers. All of them are AC chargers and all are economically priced. The Prophet Sport NiMH 35W AC Charger will retail for $29.99, the Prophet Sport LiPo 35W AC Charger will retail for $29.99 and the Prophet Sport Plus 50W AC DC Charger will retail for $49.99. All of the chargers are backed by a Dynamite 5-year warranty and are available for pre-order now from Horizon Hobby.

Check out the video below from Horizon Hobby for complete details on all of the chargers.

Lipo Battery Storage

Posted by AParsons on October 17, 2013
Posted in: Radio Control. Tagged: , , , .

1

I have been using Lipo batteries for about 4 years and the lesson that I learned after the first year, was that if you don’t put your Lipo batteries into storage mode, you stand a real good chance of ruining them. I ruined 4 of my 5 batteries that year, a very expensive lesson to learn. Since then I have been putting my Lipo’s into storage mode for the winter season and I haven’t lost one since. I try to use my batteries weekly, so this is really the only time of the year that I will put them into storage mode.

A fully charged Lipo battery causes damage to itself. The longer the battery is stored with a full charge, the more damage it will cause to itself. These batteries are designed for rapid discharge and not storage.

With winter rapidly approaching I thought now would be a good time to look into storing Lipo batteries and see if there has been any changes or advancements. I didn’t find anything earth shattering, but what I did find was a video from 2BrothersHobby which details the process and importance of storing your Lipo batteries for a winters nap. They did a great job with the video and I wanted to share it.

For more on 2 Brothers Hobby, check out 2BFly.com

Horizon Hobby Battery Charger Recalls (Update)

Posted by AParsons on June 6, 2013
Posted in: Horizon Hobby, Radio Control. Tagged: , .
Dynamite 10W LiPo AC Balance Charger

Dynamite 10W LiPo AC Balance Charger

We wanted to follow up with an article we posted earlier “Dynamite Chargers Recalled“. Please remember this is for the Canadian market only. We now have a complete list of chargers involved and not all are Dynamite chargers. If you are affected by this recall you can go to Horizon Hobby Product Recalls for more details.

Open Recalls: Canada Only

Dynamite Chargers Recalled

Posted by AParsons on June 5, 2013
Posted in: Radio Control. Tagged: , .
Dynamite 10W LiPo AC. DYN4114

Dynamite 10W LiPo AC Balance Charger

This affects Canadian Customers Only. Horizon Hobby has issued a recall for the Dynamite 10W LiPo AC Balance Charger model# DYN4114 as well as the DYN4113. Due to the fact that these chargers haven’t been “Evaluated for any Canadian Standards and does not bear any recognized certification mark.”

These chargers are available for purchase separately and are also included with some of the Vaterra line of vehicles such as the Vaterra Twin Hammers and the Vaterra 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

So if you have a Dynamite Charger check with Horizon Hobbies or Dynamite RC as there could be more.

For more info on the recall and to find out what to do, check out.

PRODUCT RECALL: Dynamite 10W LiPo AC

Turnigy Battery Charge Marker

Posted by AParsons on April 14, 2013
Posted in: Radio Control. Tagged: , , , .

Check out this product from Hobbyking.com. It is a Turnigy Battery Charge Marker. It has an adhesive back, which sticks to your battery. After you charge you battery, you just slide the indicator to green. When the battery has been discharged, you move the slider to red. This is a neat idea, that will help you keep track of your batteries. They come 10 per pack.

Turnigy Battery Charge Marker

For more neat products, check out Hobbyking.com