I only fly a zagi now on eight cells (nicd and nimh) The peak charger that i have now will only do up to 8 cells and has a very high trickle rate. I think it is 400mah. It also wont do any type of battery mantinece. My christmas present from my parents is a nice charger! And the present from my wife is a GWS Tiger Moth.
So i want a good charger. In the future i will probaly get a 10-15 cell sailplane and a sport plane. I like to make my own packs. Its just fun. But im sure my soldering skills arent up to par with some of the comercial packs out there so the charger needs to be "smart" Anyway which one , Robbe infinity II or a supernova? or is there somthing else out there that i should be looking at. Price needs to stay at around $200 U.S. Thanks!

If someone else is paying for it then the Robbe Infinity II is the way to go, otherwise the SuperNova is more cost effective. They are both nice units.

Red Scholefield has a review of both on his RC Battery Clinic:

http://personal.lig.bellsouth.net/lig/r/e/redscho/

I have been researching the same thing and have settled on the Orbit Autoloader. This unit will charge up to 30 cells, is computer controlled, has an serial interface for a computer and just looks generaly robust. I has also been reccommended by several. I think the best price is $155 from Icare http://www2.jonction.net/~icare/electric_acces.htm. This is from Canada so I don't know if this is US $$ or not or what shipping costs.

http://www2.jonction.net/~icare/elec....htm#kontronik bottom of page. The $155 is US $

I've got an Orbit 6.0 and an Infinity II. They both perform about the same. I'd give the Orbit the nod over the Infinity. It can charge more kinds of cells (tadrians) and it has a high current for the larger packs. Both are quality units.

I'd give the nod to the Orbit. About $207 delivered from Dave at Radical RC! Give 'er a spin.

brian

Thanks for the quick responses guys! I have never heard of the orbit. I was all set to buy the robbe but now..........

Is there a review of the orbit somewhere on the net?
Ive just got a few questions.
- What is the peak charge rate?
- Can it be set? (Like the robbe from 0-200 mah) This is important because i plan on charging several small mah packs with it.
- How good is the feedback from the unit on the display?
- And a few other that im sure ill think of tonight at 3 in the morning!
I like that the orbit will charge more types of cells. But the review here on the zone of the Robbe infinity really answered most of the Questions that i had about it. Thanks

http://orbitronic.de/e_orbit.html
Go here and read all about it.The min charge is 50ma,the next step is 100ma (no 60,70,80, or 90ma) on up to 6A in .1A increments.The Automatic Charge mode will charge small packs at a varying amp rate and they are just warm when finished.You can also buy it from their website if you wish.
MIKE

I have an orbit race, it has a lower max cell count but a higher max current input than the v6. my friend has a supernova. I am very happy with the orbit but note, 600ae and smaller cells cannot always be charged using the auto mode. The automode reads the resistance of the cells and pumps in as many amps as possible as does the supernova and the schulze. But 600ae and smaller have aresistance that is too high so you have to set the charge reat manually in the reflex mode. My friend's Supernova will charge his 600ae's on auto. I don;t knwo if the robbe or the schulze works on 600 and smaller. Note that at the Icare site, the schulze 330d is also a very good charger as the graupner ultra duo at Hobby-lobby.

I just bought an Orbit from Dave at Radical RC and am very happy with it. I charge a lot of Dave's 300 NiMH batteries with no problem. I have no way to test it, but I think it is treating the batteries kinder. I'm not sorry I spent the money.