Richard Ellis

PRODUCT REVIEW – HOBBICO ACCU-CYCLE  R/C SYSTEM CHARGER

For years I have stumbled around with various battery chargers. Some were the simple chargers provided with the radio sets. My last decent charger was an ACE cycle charger. It would discharge the receiver pack and the transmitter pack and measure how long they lasted, then it would switch over to full charge. It was useful, but I had to remember to remove the batteries the next day or they might be damaged by an overcharge.

  With the battery options now available I also needed to step up to more sophistication in the charger I used and I wanted a more automatic procedure to make sure the batteries are always in the best condition. I went to my Tower catalog, (as they say “the world’s premier supplier of the finest in radio control models”), and found three chargers that would meet the charging requirements for r/c sailing batteries. The basic unit was the Hobbico R/C multi-charger ($34.99). It had four independent charging outlets. Each outlet provides adjustable current from 10 mA to 500 mA. So I could charge three receiver packs and one transmitter pack or any combination from one cell to 12V packs. That was good flexibility, but it does not test the packs and does not stop charging automatically. It can trickle charge, but I would have to manual set the current level. Knowing my level of competence after a long day of sailing, I realized that this unit was not for me.

   The next more complex unit was the Hobbico Accu-cycle, which is pictured here, and is the unit I use. It retails for $99, but is commonly on sale for about $70. It has two charging outlets, one for a receiver pack and one for a transmitter. These two outlets are the typical requirement for R/C sailing. The selectable receiver charging rates are 25, 50, and 125 mA . It matches up with Ni-Cd or NiMH packs of 1, 4 or 5 cells from 200 to 1875 mAh capacity. I expect that if you had a 2000 mAh battery, the charger would adequately handle that also. On the transmitter side, it is adjustable for 6, 7, 8 cells with a charge rate of 50 or 125 mA.

  You have the option to cycle discharge the batteries. The charger discharges the packs at either 250 or 500 mA, (250 mA is the nominal discharge rate when using the radio). The charger automatically switches over to full charge rate when the batteries are at the cutoff cell voltage of 1.05V. It then will charge at the selected charge rate for 15 hours, after which it switches into trickle mode.

   I use the discharge mode to find out how much power is left in the receiver pack after a day of sailing. The unit has a LCD readout of either, minutes left or mAh available. After charging the pack, selecting the discharge cycle will also tell how good the batteries are. For example, if you cycle down a 1500 mAh pack and only get 1000 mAh after a full charge, the batteries are on the way out. Nice to have this early warning instead of rowing out to the boat when the receiver pack died unexpectedly.

  So this charger has most of the features that fill my need, that is, it can handle a range of pack sizes, Ni-Cd or NiMH. It will charge batteries over night and switch to trickle the next day, even when I forget about it. I typically leave the packs on trickle until the night before I need them. I really appreciate the ability of this charger. It relieves me of the duty to pay attention as to how long the batteries were on charge and when I use the discharge feature, it will tell me when my batteries are getting worn out.

   The third charger is the Accu-cycle Plus. As the name implies, this super unit does everything the regular Accu-cycle does plus 1. fast charging. 2. multiple discharge-recharge cycles for automatic battery conditioning. 3. Battery peak charge detection, that is, it will stop charging when it senses the batteries are fully charged. All these features are nice, but not absolutely necessary for the R/C sailor. At a price of  $179.99 only R/C airplane flyers would need the absolute measure of battery packs that this unit provides. After all, when an R/C plane receiver pack stops working it does not just go in circles on the water!

   All these Hobbico charges require an extra purchase of two sets of leads. The leads must be selected to match the connectors to your radio equipment. They are available for $8.99 from Tower.