Handheld trickle battery chargers

We have a few Vertex handhelds with the standard wall chargers. Does
anyone know if there is a cheap add on trickle charger module for
something like this? I have something like that from Ace RC for a RC
plane. It wired directly into the output of the standard wall charger
and it charges at the normal rate until the battery reaches max, then
automatically switches to trickle. It was inexpensive and easy to
retrofit.

Thanks

Kurt

On Thu, 15 May 2008 17:09:46 -0700, tugpilot wrote:

We have a few Vertex handhelds with the standard wall chargers. Does
anyone know if there is a cheap add on trickle charger module for
something like this? I have something like that from Ace RC for a RC
plane. It wired directly into the output of the standard wall charger
and it charges at the normal rate until the battery reaches max, then
automatically switches to trickle. It was inexpensive and easy to
retrofit.

Sounds like what you need is a peak detecting charger.

You don't say what charge rate you need or what battery chemistry you want
to charge, but here are a couple of starting points.

Sirius Electronics sell relatively low rate, simple and rugged kit
(http://www.siriuselectronics.com/). Its simple because it either charges
NiCd/NiMH of Li-Poly, not both at rates of up to 1 amp or so. I have a 100
mA fixed rate NiCd/NiMH SiriusCharge 100 thats near bullet-proof in a
diecase alloy case. I just plug it in and wait - and the job is done. It
has no switches to set or mis-set.

Use one of the lower cost chargers for electric powered RC models if you
need an inexpensive higher rate charger. I have a Pro-Peak Prodigy II peak
detecting charger which handles all battery chemistry (NiCd,NiMH, Li-poly,
lead-acid) at charge rates from 100 mA to 5 amps. As a bonus, it cycles
batteries and measures their capacity. These are priced around GBP 60 (UK)
or $75 (USA).

Either type would charge an hand-held and are excellent, well made units,
though the adjustable types are probably unsuitable for club use. There
are cheaper chargers available, but be wary of going that route. I've
thrown out a lot of dead batteries as the direct result of buying cheap
Chinese chargers from the likes of Maplins and Radio Shack.


HTH


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