Charger recommendations please?

[Gebbly 772]

Hi All,

Could any of you help me out with battery charger experiences or recommendations please? I currently own an overlander NiMh 5000mAh battery with an xt60 connector. I am looking at getting a PANASONIC ENELOOP AA 2000MAH 7.2V TARANIS NIMH BATTERY  for my Taranis X9D+ Transmitter. The eneloop battery pack includes a "JR Universal" connector to plug directly into a charger rather than charging through the Tx. When I started getting back into the hobby I bought an Overlander VSR Mini+ which is ok but not exactly overflowing with features. Prices seem to go up to about £200 which is fine, I'm happy to more for a safer more functional device.

So I would like a charger which can at least take NiMh batteries (I only use NiMh), charge via XT60 and "JR Universal" connectors (the more connector types the better, would I need to use an adapter of some sort for the "JR"?), ability to tell me a batteries current charge so I know if it needs a charge, a discharge/recharge cycle ability (as the battery could be on the shelf for months before it gets a run) and any other features that you think would be useful? Any safety features like time or heat cutoff (is that possible with NiMh?)?

Also I have seen you can get devices to plug in to a battery that arent chargers but can give battery diagnostic info. Are these any good from your experience?

Any advice gratefully accepted. Meanwhile I shall continue searching the web for useful info.

[alvinlwh 7078]

3 hours ago, Gebbly said:

Also I have seen you can get devices to plug in to a battery that arent chargers but can give battery diagnostic info. Are these any good from your experience?

Most of these diagnostic devices are for lipo as it will be almost impossible to diagnose Nimh with them being in series. At best you can diagnose the whole pack, which doesn't tell you much as there are no breakouts (balance leads) giving access to each cell.

[Sogogi 3359]

+1 on what @alvinlwh said.
I personally use this https://www.amainhobbies.com/hitec-rdx2-mini-ac-multi-charger-4s-5a-50w-x2-hrc44299/p1175312 for couple years and happy with it. (has voltage monitoring feature (for lipo and nimh). It also uses XT60 connector

[sosidge 667]

Almost every charger on the market will have a mode for NiMH batteries, and I'm sure XT60 to JR adaptors are available - if not, it shouldn't be too difficult to solder one up yourself. There is no need to spend any where near £200, £50 will get you an ac/dc device that can charge anything you need.

Visit your local shop for advice or look at what is popular on one of the big UK online shops (not ebay or amazon), you'll have lots of good options.

Edit to add that your Overlander charger will charge a NiMH transmitter pack with no problems, you just need to find the right cable.

[Wooders28 4874]

7 hours ago, sosidge said:

Visit your local shop for advice or look at what is popular on one of the big UK online shops (not ebay or amazon), you'll have lots of good options

This ⬆️ 

Modelsport is my goto, but there's plenty of others to choose from.

Personally, I'd kind of future proof. 12v & 240v input (charge in the house, or out and about, off the family car battery), multi chemistry charging (charge all currently available batteries), full feature display to see everything that's going on (More info you'll need, but..). 

You can get single, dual , quad chargers , (to charge upto 4 batteries at once), that aren't actually that much more...🤔

 

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/electric/chargers/12v-mains/multiple/fully-featured/full-feature-display?&sort=PriceLow

[Howards 601]

The charger you have is fine for what you are trying to do. Just need the right cable for the fancy AA stick pack. 

[Gebbly 772]

Thanks for the help so far guys. Looks like I'm going to have to try my hand at soldering. So In order to plug this battery with a JR (male) connector into this charger with an xt60 (male) socket. Am I right in thinking I could take something like this connector (chosen because its 20AWG and other connectors I have seen have thinner wires) and cut through the 2 wires. Then get one of these connectors and cut the 2 wires. This would effectively give me

and 

 

Then solder red to red and black to black?

[Howards 601]

Tried searching eBay for the correct lead? 

Sounds like you need JR female and XT60 male.