David Hayward. Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I am looking for an 12V powered NiMH battery charger to charge my Futaba 8J Tx and Rx battery packs. Ideally it would operate just like the mains powered unit I have supplied with the Radio, indicating charging and charged status. Can anyone advise please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I've had one of these for the past three years and it does all I need. **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Wood Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 A multi-function charger here at a good price: **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hayward. Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Thank you gents, I will check them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I have this, much the same as Richards, this one can be mains powered for home use as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyB Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I bought the Turnigy B405 from the HK Int'l warehouse last year as a lightweight field charger for slope use. Pair it with a 2200 3S and you have a small, lightweight solution - I've only got a few charge cycles on mine, but it seems to work fine, and it's only £11 plus p&p too! RCGroups thread on this charger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyB Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Looks like that charger is now available in the EU too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tee Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 David, Thread title states "field" charger but you say you want to charge your Tx and Rx batteries. With a modern set like the *8j " I wouldn't think you would need to top up on the field unless I am reading something that you don't mean into your post. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hayward. Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Hi John, well in truth I have not had the opportunity to use my radio very much since buying it, but in anticipation of eventually spending a day flying I perhaps wrongly anticipated I might need to top up the batteries in the tx and rx pack. I guess it will be down to how much time is spent actually flying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brfc7 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Re Transmitter - In both my Futaba FF7 and FF8 I've got 2500mah NiMh and I let them go to 5 hours use before a recharge and even then only 1200mah goes back in. If I was worried I'd rather just take a spare fully charged battery pack to the field with me. baz Edited By brfc7 on 18/02/2016 21:34:24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tee Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 David. If you charge he set as per the instructions the day before flying you should get a good days flying and the batteries should still have some charge left. As you want to charge a Rx battery the assumption is an I/C model. Electric models will use the flight battery to power the Rx ( usually) and they will require charging on the field unless you have a good supply of batteries.In this case you will need the type of chargers reccomended by others above. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 If you feel you may need to recharge your transmitter or receiver packs at the field then a better option might be just to carry spare ready charged batteries. Otherwise you would need to have not only a charger but the means to power it (ie a 12 volt battery, which is a heavy lump). You could use your car battery but that's not something I'd want to do. Actually, I'd be surprised if you needed to recharge at all if you were fully charged already. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatMc Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 It's also quicker to change to a spare Tx battery at the field than to wait on one recharging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hayward. Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 OK, that's all interesting advice I am very grateful to everyone that has responded, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Buy higher mah packs for the plane as well, you can't be digging batterys out of models for no reason John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyB Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Posted by Geoff Sleath on 18/02/2016 21:29:44: If you feel you may need to recharge your transmitter or receiver packs at the field then a better option might be just to carry spare ready charged batteries. Otherwise you would need to have not only a charger but the means to power it (ie a 12 volt battery, which is a heavy lump). You could use your car battery but that's not something I'd want to do. Actually, I'd be surprised if you needed to recharge at all if you were fully charged already. I agree, if you are a power flier you are very unlikely to need to field charge a modern 2.4 TX or your RX batteries in a given day if you are starting from s state of full charge.The only reason I have a field charger is for long away days on the slope - I have racked up greater than 6hrs flying in a day then, and without the needle noses of modern moulded gliders it can be nigh on impossible to replace the pack for in the field, hence the need to charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob43 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 David, what you maybe need is a small 12v to 240 v power inverter. Plugs in to your cigarette lighter in your car and you can use your existing charger at the feild if the need arises. A 150 w unit costs about 15 pounds on ebay or amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Lomax Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Posted by Rob43 on 19/02/2016 01:44:52: David, what you maybe need is a small 12v to 240 v power inverter. Plugs in to your cigarette lighter in your car and you can use your existing charger at the feild if the need arises. A 150 w unit costs about 15 pounds on ebay or amazon. Personally, I wouldn't do this for two reasons: - they are very inefficient, as probably is the transformer that brings the voltage back down for the charger, so will draw a lot more power out of your 12v battery that if you have a direct 12v powered charger - the quality of the output signal from small inverters is very poor - they can be square wave, triangle wave or simulated sign wave. Either way they are not as smooth as a normal mains signal and can damage the electronics of your charger. We fried the charger for our caravan battery by using a cheap inverter generator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Posted by Keith Lomax on 19/02/2016 12:39:40: Posted by Rob43 on 19/02/2016 01:44:52: David, what you maybe need is a small 12v to 240 v power inverter. Plugs in to your cigarette lighter in your car and you can use your existing charger at the feild if the need arises. A 150 w unit costs about 15 pounds on ebay or amazon. Personally, I wouldn't do this for two reasons: - they are very inefficient, as probably is the transformer that brings the voltage back down for the charger, so will draw a lot more power out of your 12v battery that if you have a direct 12v powered charger - the quality of the output signal from small inverters is very poor - they can be square wave, triangle wave or simulated sign wave. Either way they are not as smooth as a normal mains signal and can damage the electronics of your charger. We fried the charger for our caravan battery by using a cheap inverter generator. And one of the small Maplin inverters saw off our (admitedly old) domestic oven during a power cut. I am sure it was the poor output waveform that did not agree with the digital clock/control unit. So many more options for straight DC chargers and 12v PSU are not difficult or expensive for use at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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