I'm in need to a >7 cell charger. The Dymond charger is attractive because it costs less than the Graupner, however HobbyLobby was selling them for a comparable price during the recent supersale (which I had to miss )

Which charger has more useable features and is better for most purposes ?, also is there a cheaper source for the Graupner in US/Canada ??

Thanks,

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ARE

There is a review of the Graupner charger here. Steve Horney did the review I think last month. He gave it a superb rating. I own one myself and I can say it's the BEST charger for the money. It is made by Schulze as the isl 6-330d and is cheaper by 30.00 (go figure) . It is also upgradeable which I really liked. BTW, make sure you get the English version. I used to own 4 Astro 110D's but sold them off to get the Graupner/Schulze's. I have also noticed that my older packs are now operating much better with these chargers than they did with the Astro's.

I originally purchased my Graupner from Hobby Lobby but have now two Schulzes on order through EFlightpacks.com for about 150.00 each. I saved roughly around 70.00 going this route. You can also get the Schulze isl 6-330dRS which has a serial port for an additional 30.00. So for the price of the Graupner in plain form, you can get the Schulze for the same price BUT, with a serial port.

Don't believe me? Compare the two and you be the judge.
http://www.schulze-elektronik.com/index_uk.htm

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/chargers.htm

I am not totally familiar with the Dymond. The reason I chose the Graupner/Schulze is because of the quality behind them and ease of use. I can elaborate further but I really think the review will answer all of your questions regarding the Graupner/Schulze. You won't be disapointed

Thanks for the tip Rudderman, I'll read the review.......... BTW, why did you need 4 Astro's

And 2 Schulze's ??

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ARE

Your welcome. Any time.

And to answer your question, the reason I had 4 Astro's is because I got a good deal on them and it got me to the field quicker. So quick, that it is hard for me to do with only one charger. I'm in this hobby for the long run so this is a good investment. Time is a commodity that I cannot buy so the price on these chargers is insignificant compared to the price of time.

The four Astro's funded part of the three Graupner/Schulze charger deal. I would like to have fourth Schulze charger but #4 will have to wait a bit.
Perry

Hey both the Dymond and the Graupner don't do Reflex charging and the Graupner minimum charge current is 250mAh while the Dymond is 100mAh. So the Dymond seems to be better here.

Anyway the Dymond can do up to 26 cells while the Graupner can do up to 30 cells so the Graupner wins point here.

However if that is the case, for $20 more, why don't you get the Orbit V6. It can do all this plus Reflex charging

The Graupner/Schulze will also charge two packs as compared to the one pack for the Dymond. Albiet the second pack on the G/S is for a rx pack.

I did check out the new Dymond charger on their site and am quite impressed with what I saw. Features and price are VERY attractive. Look out Astro!

Does the Graupner perform multiple charge/discharge cycles without user intervention? If so, how many cycles? Also, can the charge/discharge rate be programmed to vary for each cycle?

Thx,
MMGM

What's reflex charging and why would one need it ?

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ARE

I order the Graupner during the recent sale. Does anyone known if the Graupner charges 1-3 cells Lithium-Ionen = 3.6 ... 10.8 V,
1-3 cells Lithium-Mangan-Oxid (Tadiran) = 3.0 ... 9.0 V like the Schulze isl 6-330d? Apparently this was a upgrade from the isl 5 to the isl 6.
Thanks
Ken

>Does anyone known if the Graupner charges 1-3 cells Lithium-Ionen = 3.6 ... 10.8 V, 1-3 cells Lithium-Mangan-Oxid (Tadiran) = 3.0 ... 9.0 V like the Schulze isl 6-330d?

No, mine doesn't.

> Apparently this was a upgrade from the isl 5 to the isl 6.

Whoever told you that is wrong. In addition to my Graupner Ultra Duo plus II I have a Schulze isl6-636+ and that doesn't do any Li cell types. AFAIK that has first been made avaialbe in the new Schulze isl 6-330d - I don't think there was a isl 5-330d.

Nel.

The current versions of the 636+ can do lithium ions and Tadirans. Upgrades are available and the info is on the Schulze site. You can also have a data port installed for connection to your PC. They have various versions of the upgrade but the full version which inclues the cables is $75US. Unfortunately it requires returning the charger to the factory.

Azarr
www.azarr.com

I ended up purchasing a Graupner Ultra Duo Plus II, but seem to be having problems. Discharge appears to work ok, but charging does not appear to work correctly, either in auto or manual mode. The voltage appears to step up for a little while, but then stops. It never appears to peak and go to trickle. It just stops. I've tried on both 8x600ARs NiCd and 8x3000 NiMH with the same results.

One question that I have is that during charging the display shows elapsed time, voltage, and mA (with various other things during the charge cycle). The mA appears to work correctly during the discharge, however in the charge mode it *always* reads "0mA". Is this supposed to display the mA that has gone into the battery?

I think I just have a bad charger, but I'm still trying to figure this out. Even with the 3000s at 5.0A manual, the pack never gets warm and the heat sink is stone cold.

Any ideas...?

Thx,
MMGM

Hello,

I have the Ultra II charger working very hard since 1999 and it“s performance has always been first class!

For the auto mode perform well make sure you have good connectors between charger and batt. otherwise you introduce a "false" electrical resistance and the charger gets "confused".

For Nimh Batts. use
- manual mode
-sensitive peak detection
-1C current

BTW the charger gets very hot during a charge in still air at values of current above (aprox.) 2Amps for 8-9 cells.

I use a fan during the "home" charges that vents at the same time the power supply, the charger and the batt.




Regards, Joćo

So what about the mA value under "strom" (current) in the display window. Is it supposed to show the cummulative current into the battery during charging?

My connectors are made from Radio Shack gold-plated banana plugs, 13cm of 13-guage wire and power pole battery connectors. Has anyone else made the connectors or only bought the Graupner stock connectors?

Thx,
MMGM

BTW, what guage wire does 2.5 mm² equate to?

Hello,



That is the value, in Amps, of the instant output current.

From time to time you see the signal "!" in the display: that means the charger is "thinking". During that time the output current is zero.

In auto mode it starts always at 0.3 Amps and goes up till a maximum of 5,6 A, depending on the cell type, etc.

Another advice: to top already charged cells in the field is better, in my opinion, to impose a charge: 5,5 Amps for sub C Nicds, etc.

Your connectors "look" very good. Your charger seems to have a problem...

Regards, Joćo