IMO the best charger you can buy for $100 or less

[azzachaz]

SuperNova 250S NiCd/NiMH Charger

12VDC input intelligent touch panel charger for 1-25 cells (1.2V - 30V) Nicad or NiMH or 1-6 Cell SLA
Input: 12VDC Battery or 10-15VDC Power Supply, Display: 2 line 16 character LCD screen
Charge Regimes: 10 selectable battery parameter memories, Charge Current: 0.1 - 5 Amp adjustable by up and down Key, Trickle charge Current:Tx Battery 50mA or SLA Battery 100mA.
Discharge Current: 20W Adjustable (0.5 - 3A)
Reverse Polarity on both input & output, Short circuit protection / electronic shut off, Cooling Fan, Comprehensive Instructions & C tick approval


e107_files/public/8_snova250s.jpg
<span class='smalltext'>[ 8_snova250s.jpg ]</span>

[azzachaz]

I paid $100 for this at Toyworld about 6 months ago. I think they still have them. About half of the guys at the track own these and swear by them.

They run off 12v so a computer PSU, car battery, 12v SLA will do the trick.

I have a SLA brick that I take to the track.

It can do up to 25 cells at once :O

[azzachaz]

www.kellettshobbies.com are currently selling them for $250 :O

That is an indication of how good these chargers are.

This info is for you Matto20v, we cant have you blowing up battery packs every week :p

edit: $199 at www.dei-rossi-hobbies.com.au
$199 at ultrahobbies.com.au

If anyone want me to enquire about availability at Toyworld let me know.


<span class='smallblacktext'>[ Edited Thu Dec 02 2004, 11:36AM ]</span>

[Anonymous
202]

I had one of them, GREAT CHARGER!!

I now own an Eagle CDC charger, which is $404 RRP at RMS...only reason I got it, is because its back lit and I had the chance to buy it off a mate for 200 and it was only a few months old...it also has a better peak charge function than the SuperNova...in fact I dont think the SuperNova automatically peaks cells.

[BALISTC]

I had one of them, GREAT CHARGER!!

I now own an Eagle CDC charger, which is $404 RRP at RMS...only reason I got it, is because its back lit and I had the chance to buy it off a mate for 200 and it was only a few months old...it also has a better peak charge function than the SuperNova...in fact I dont think the SuperNova automatically peaks cells.

IR measurement during charging, discharging & cycling, 10 programmable memory slots, data recall on all battery vital information, Torpedo type built-in boosting charge, partial charge is adjustable from 10% to 50%, new Linear VESC fuzzy logic charge, On/off trickle with automatic trickle rate, 6 user selectable ring tones, On/off auto repeak, 1 to 60 minutes repeak delay time, triple decimal digit voltage display, 12 to 15V DC input, 1 to 10 cells handling capability. Works on almost any Ni-Cd & Ni-MH type battery, 50 to 6000mAh battery capacity, 0.1A to 7.0A charge rate, 0.1A to 20.0A discharge rate, 0.003V to 0.020V/cell voltage threshold, 1 to 60 minutes delay after charge, 1 to 60 minutes delay after discharge. 1 to 9 number of cycles, display charge capacity mAh, discharge capacity mAh, two decimal digit current display, discharge average voltage, 4 wires alligator clips output cord. Voltage protection

If you can find one overseas, you can get em for around 300 landed....AWESOME charger, but at a price.

For a lower price, cant look past the Super Nova!
<span class='smallblacktext'>[ Edited Thu Dec 02 2004, 03:52PM ]</span>

[azzachaz]

From http://www.rcbatteryclinic.com/nova.htm

It will allow you to connect any battery-within its acceptable parameters-and will automatically charge or discharge it without your having to set any input commands. So if you aren't sure which charge or discharge current to select for any pack, just call up the 'Automatic' mode and simply press 'Charge' or 'Discharge,' and the SuperNova will do the rest automatically. If you select Charge, the battery will be fully peak-charged and the unit will cut off.

It will peak charge nimh and nicd but not pb

[BALISTC]

Ahh cool...yeah I never "auto" charged anything so I wouldnt have known :P

[azzachaz]

I think it still does it in manual mode.

Say you manually set 2000mA 4 cells Nimh @ 2 amps and then attached 4 almost fully charged cells it would still peak detect them and not overcharge.

Or is the concept of peak detection different to what I am thinking?, I havn't had much to do with battery charging.

BALISTIC: True, I rarely use AUTO either ;) . I like to treat my batteries badly.

[BALISTC]

Not quite sure, but my new charger has different peak modes..

[azzachaz]

oh ok, your're new one is probably more efficient and looks after the batteries better.

[BALISTC]

I wouldnt say that....its a lot more blingy, but my SJ Propo charger was fantastic for the money, and did just as good a job...best value for money charger available IMHO :)

[Matt]

I _definately_ need a charger, but the peak detection is the _key thing_ i am looking for. my current charger is fine for charing the battery as long as i keep my eye on it and pull the power as soon as the volts drop on the voltmeter.