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[pegleg]

I have some very old kit,and have just started to upgrade and replace it after many years lay off of R/C boats.I have bought some NiMh AA batteries for powering the Tx/Rx. At the moment I have an old Futaba/Ripmax charger that came with my Futaba M series. I have no idea of its charge rate,or even if a NiCd type charger is suitable for NiMh.
Can anyone advise the differences in charge rates,or even if the old charger I have is ok for this.
I suspect the short answer,looking at a number of other replies posted here,is to buy a decent ,modern charger fit for the job-but I live in France,and ordering anything from the UK will have to wait till my next visit back. Buying anything here is completely out of the question.
Any recommendations for a reasonably priced charger (I only intend occasional use of stand off scale or scale type boats,so no need for the latest hyper technology race gear!)
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Cheers
pegleg

[essex2visuvesi]

I have the same problem here  in finland, the prices can be cheaper shipped from Germany or the UK

Take a look on ebay and the like

Hobbyking Euro warehause is another place worth a look

[Peter Fitness]

You can charge NiMh batteries with the same charger as you use for NiCd. I don't know the type of charger you have, but I would say that it's highly likely that it would do the job for you. Other, more knowledgeable people may tell you differently, but I'm still using a charger that I've had for more than 20 years, and it works fine.

Peter.

[essex2visuvesi]

You can charge NiMh batteries with the same charger as you use for NiCd. I don't know the type of charger you have, but I would say that it's highly likely that it would do the job for you. Other, more knowledgeable people may tell you differently, but I'm still using a charger that I've had for more than 20 years, and it works fine.

Peter.

As long as the charger can handle the current draw.... keep an eye on the charger and transformer (if Fitted) temperature as I found charging high capacity AA nimh batteries with a standard 4xAA charger can cause it to get a little hot.

If you are using a the inbuilt charging circut on a TX then I would be even more careful

[roycv]

Hi, I use a mix of Nicads and Nimh batteries in various models and about 10 Tx's. and Rx's.  I say mix I keep the types of battery separate.

Nicads can be overcharged with little problem, I try not to overcharge Nimh ones.  I use the same chargers for both.  As the Nimh batteries tend to be much higher capacity it's difficult to know how much charge is left after a session of use.  I have been using a low recharge until they are just warm to the touch and this seems to work.  I have seen in the literature that Nimh should not be over charged.

I do have several 4 cell fast chargers and frequently use these and cells come out quite hot when charged up.  With the welded packs, I paid £12 for 8 cell Tx set at 2700mAh and these will last for several sessions, the older 500mAh Nicads would last about 3 hours for a morning's session.

It is good practice not to leave separate cells in the back of the Tx. over a period as the connections can lose the plating and give poor contact, even though the switch is in off position.

Hope this helps, regards Roy

[pegleg]

Thanks for all the replies. I have looked,and the charger I have is a FD130 Futaba Tx/Rx charger,atleast 30 years old. A basic transformer/rectifier that should last forever. I hooked up my NiMh  Tx pack and did a quick check with a digital meter- 45Ma charge,at around 9.3 Volts,dropping to 8.9v when the Rx pack was connected to the charger. I only have some cheap Howes 1300Ma AAs for a 2 channel Attack set.
I assume that this will do,just take about 3 days to charge fully! I have heard that there is no need to cycle NiMh too,so I can leave them part charged and not have to discharge them-is that correct?
Thanks again for a really helpful site.
pegleg

[Stavros]

Have a look at he component shop web catalouge Ian will send out to France with NO problem at all.....www.component shop.co.uk he sells some very good chargers dedicated to the job in hand


Dave