Which Charger??? for my ION-X

[Shannon Davis]

I hope to have my Ion soon- next problem is which charger. I have 2 sets of 6000 and one 8000 set coming.

I talked to Augusto about his and it sounds good- But what about the others?? Hell, I don't even know what is available.

[Sluggo]

Hey bud contact robert (aka bob00) he has done alot of reading on this for the Ion. He got some kick ass charger for the ion

Chris

[Shannon Davis]

Thanks for the feedback!!

[jwooten]

Your choices are mainly between the Schulze and the Astroflight. I think the Schulze is a better charger, but the astroflight is cheaper. I have 4 astroflights :D No problems so far.

Jimmy

[bob00]

I went with a couple Orbit Pro's - they'll do 5S packs at 8amps. There was a good discussion about this here...

http://www.helifreak.com/viewtopic.php?t=74

- Rob

[ScotY]

Hey guys,
I like the Schulze 636+ charger a lot! It was expensive when I bought it (and even more so now with the weak US$) but it's a nice way to go if you don't mind the investment. It will charge up to 13S lipos so you could, after carefully matching your two packs together, charge the whole set at once (estimated 5-6 amps for a 10S pack). I think for someone who's only planning on using lipos and is just starting with a big e-helicopter, two Astro chargers are the way to go. Not as many features but you can probably get 3 Astros for the price of one 636+!

www.schulze-elektronik-gmbh.de

[Shannon Davis]

does anyone know anything about the one augusto has been working on??

[jwooten]

I forgot about the orbit. I haven't used one, but people like them.

What is Augusto working one?

[bob00]

I think this is the one...

http://www.aareva.com/Products/Orinoco/

The specs are impressive - "features four identical ports each capable of delivering up to 16 amps for a total floating charging power of 600Watts"

- Rob
www.teambob00.com

[jwooten]

That looks promising. What do I do with the box of chargers that I have?

Jimmy

[misskimo]

hey , I sure like my schulze 636 , it charges up my 13s3p for my conversion fury extreme just fine .
just got off the phone with Cyberheli , he has them and also does paypal . 450 bucks though, spendy but you need a hugh power supply to handle 8 amps

[ScotY]

I emailed Augusto re. his charger a while back. I think there were a couple of versions available but I don't recall any specifics. My poor memory says they were somewhere's around $1000. The specs are impressive and I'm sure the battery you'd need to power it right would be equally impressive (and heavy!). I'm sure he'll chime in and set the record straight.

[Shannon Davis]

Hey guys- Thanks for all of the feedback-- I talked to August--he is not quite ready for market--If I understood him correctly. I think I will go w/ the 636 and maybe switch later-- wath the classifieds. :D

[ScotY]

Hey Shannon,
I think you'll be very happy with the 636...it's a really nice charger. Kind of weird getting used to it at first but it won't take long at all to understand the menu. The main thing, and most important thing, is that the charge algorithms, or whatever you want to call them :D, are really a step above the rest.

[Laurens]

Which power supply are you going to use? I have a 20-22A. I don't know if it'll work with a 8 A charging rate.

Greetings Laurens

[rotorheadbob]

Charger and power supply?

If I buy a charger, do I need a separate Power Supply for each? Say I buy two or four Astro 109s. Do I need a separate 12v power supply for each? If yes, what do I need for amps? 10, 20, 30, 35? What do I need for input amps? What does it mean by switching power supply? Is that good? Is it so-so? If I need a power supply for each charger, where does one get them and at what cost? I saw a 25 amp switching power supply for $99. Seems like a lot to me. I'm also guessing if I have a lot of chargers, I basically have to have them on different house circuits so as to not blow the fuse/breaker.

Last question. I read that one needs a good digital voltage meter. I saw an RMS style digital multimeter at Radio Shack for $70. Is that good? Can I get the same quality for less? Do I need a higher quality? I know in years past when one wanted to compare specs on a stereo, one didn't compare watts output, but RMS watts. Does this apply here? What are some of your favorite voltmeter/multimeters?

Fury Ion on order and expected in two weeks.

Thanks!

Rotorhead Bob

[jwooten]

Using my 4 109s at the same time draws 30 amps. It does depend on the batteries you are charging. The max current draw for the 109 is listed at 12 amps. That would be a total of 48 amps. You should plan accordingly.

Even 50 amps at 12 volts is only 600 watts. A single outlet in your house should be able to handle this. This is the power supply I use: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-4245MV. You can get one at your local ham supply store a little cheaper than this.

As for the multimeter, I use a cheap one from radio shack. I have compared it to a calibrated meter. The radio shack meter reads 4.25 v when the calibrated meter reads 4.200. As long at the meter reads high you won’t get in trouble. I would check it with a friends.


Jimmy

[Tom Fiddler]

I have an Orbit Pro coming this week !!!!
I am excited about this....Does that make me a Geek? :lol:

[Laurens]

Everyone here is a heligeek :wink:

[Tom Fiddler]

As long as I have a better charger than Shannon that's all I care about :shock:

[rotorheadbob]

Jimmy,

Regarding your 4 Astro 109s. Are you using one power supply for each or for all four together? I couldn't tell from your answer.

Thank you!

Rob Clark

[jwooten]

One power supply for all of them.

Jimmy

[4cyclic]

I'm also using the 636 for my 11s3p 6600 mah single pack. The maximum charge rate that the charger will deliver on 11s is 6.0 amps. It draws no more than 23 amps from my 90 amp power supply. I also have a 30 amp power supply. Just make sure it delivers enough continuous amps to do the job, not peak amps.
Some power supplies are rated at 50 peak amps but are really 40amp continuous.

If i had separate 5s or 6s to be flown together as a single pack, i would use the 109s. I don't know if they can ordered matched to avoid uneven calibrated charging. Anyone know ?
Misskimo had good info from TP under Fury Ion in another forum.

J.L.