Faster charger for my DX7?

[kamtsa]

HI all,

I am looking for a faster charger for my DX7. My main requirements are:

1. In box charging through the DX7's Charger jack
2. No DX7 modification (still under warranty)
3. Using DX7 stock battery (NIMH 9.6V 1500mah)
4. Charging rate at least x3 of the stock charger (65ma).
5. Can leave the DX7 connected to the charger for long time without any damage
6. Simple wall wart style charger. No switches, settings, etc. Fully automatic.
7. Input 110V 60 Hz, US power plug.

It is OK if I will need to customize the charger with a DX7/JR compatible plug.

Any suggestion what charger to use?

Will this one work http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=HBZ7130 ?

Thanks,

Kam

[DebianDog]

> 5. Can leave the DX7 connected to the charger for long time without any damage

I would not suggest that for ANY battery

[kgfly]

They have one here for $18: http://www.hangtimes.com/chargers.html

[fsusmithc2]

I think my DX7 included charger is 50mAh. Spektrum recognized that this is not sufficent for a typical "overnight" charge and has now bumped up their chargers to 110mAh. I was told that if you have one of the earlier ones with the 50mAh charger, you can try calling and bugging them and they may send you a free 110mAh. I haven't done that at this point as an overnight charge is usually sufficent to get back the one volt drop flying for a day generally causes.

I also saw something on their site about a 500-700mAh charger but there was no picture or any details. If you go for the one kgfly posted, make sure to reverse the polarity on the plug or it could lead to less than desirable results. ;)

A related tip: If you don't have a cycler for your Tx and/or Rx packs (nimh or nicd), the Battery Bug is a nifty little device. I picked up the Tx one at Mac Hodges' shop and it really does the trick. It pulls a 250mAh load on the battery which is sufficient to fully discharge the pack in about 6 hours if it was full to begin with. It automatically shuts off when finished and doesn't get too hot so it's safe to leave unattended. They have them on the site kgfly posted as well.

[Epoweredrc]

why is 110ma not good enough? I charged mine up the recomeneted time firstr time like 16 hours, then I flew with it for over a week and got down to about 9.6 and I charged it overnight and then have flown with it since..

how much flying do you do to need more battery? They do sell bigger batterys for it if its running down on you.

[kamtsa]

why is 110ma not good enough?

Mine is 65ma, not 110ma.

Kam

[fsusmithc2]

110mAh is good enough and that's what ships with the DX7's now. 50mAh required you to charge a completely dead pack for 30 hours as opposed to about 14.

I actually looked at the posted HobbyZone peak charger just now and it's 600-1000mAh which is kinda overkill I think. Like I mentioned before, after a day's worth of flying (average 4 hours at the field but probably 45 minutes or so using the Tx) I usually only lose a volt and my 50mAh charger is sufficient to juice it back up for another day. I believe the official run time of a full battery is supposed to be 6 hours. It is much safer to charge at a lower rate so I would not recommend this charger. Either the 110mAh Spektrum or something similar in the low hundreds.

IMHO of course. ;)

[kamtsa]

> 5. Can leave the DX7 connected to the charger for long time without any damage

I would not suggest that for ANY battery

My laptop computer is connected to the charger all the time. Same goes for my cordless phone, Dremel Stylus, electric drill, emergency flash light and many other appliances.

I believe that A good charger should be able to handle it.

Kam

[kamtsa]

They have one here for $18: http://www.hangtimes.com/chargers.html

Hi Kenneth,

Do you refer to the "High Output System Slow Charger 160/180ma"? It seems to support up to 5 cells. The DX7 has 7 cells (I think).

Thanks,

Kam

[kgfly]

Kam,

Yes that is the one. I think you are misreading the description:

"Specs: Tx output 180ma.
Rx Output: 160ma for 5 cell &
180ma for 4 cell packs.
NOT FOR USE WITH JR TX's! "

It is a dual output charger. The Tx output has the DC jack (which must be rewired for a Spektrum/JR TX) and the Rx output has a servo connector.

> 5. Can leave the DX7 connected to the charger for long time without any damage
NiCd/NiMH can be trickled charged almost indefinitely at low rates, typically below 0.1C. The above charger is 180mA and will be quite safe to leave connnected overnight or for 24hours or so, but I would not recommend it for continuous connnection, at least not without asking the fairly knowledgable folk at NoBS. They have a LOT of experience with NiCd/NiMH packs and can give you good advice IMO. If you want to leave the Tx on permanent trickle charge then use the 50mA wall wart.

[kamtsa]

NiCd/NiMH can be trickled charged almost indefinitely at low rates, typically below 0.1C. The above charger is 180mA and will be quite safe to leave connnected overnight or for 24hours or so, but I would not recommend it for continuous connnection, ...

But if the charger is a Peak Charger than it turns off the charge automatically when the voltage gets to the full level threshold, right? Just as if I disconnected it manually.

Thanks,

Kam

[kgfly]

But if the charger is a Peak Charger than it turns off the charge automatically when the voltage gets to the full level threshold, right? Just as if I disconnected it manually.
Some delta-peak chargers terminate the charge and some switch to a trickle mode. It doesn't say whether that one has delta-peak detection or not. I suggest asking the vendor for advice about using that charger the way you want to use it.

[kamtsa]

Some delta-peak chargers terminate the charge and some switch to a trickle mode. It doesn't say whether that one has delta-peak detection or not. I suggest asking the vendor for advice about using that charger the way you want to use it.

I see.

Thanks,

Kam