In an attempt to make my Mini IFO totally portable I'm searching for a reliable, easily transportable 12v dc power source for my Potensky charger. Would a car cigarette light be safe, or would the amp output be to high? I've considered rigging a couple of rc car battery packs together, but I'd only have @2400 mah of available charge, in my own feeble mind of electricity I believe that would only provide 2 charges for the 950 mah liion pack, is that a correct assesment?

Any and all advice is welcome.

thanks,
mark thomson

Mark,

Cigarette lighter jacks are notoriously poor connections, I would prefer to connect direct to the battery with aligator clips. A battery will only put out as many amps as are being drawn by the load (charger). Volts, on the other hand are a different story. DO NOT run the car motor while your charger is connected, most auto alternators can put out up to 18 volts, too much. Look into a small 12 volt gell cell, maybe 6 or 10 amps. Thet are easy to handle, as the electrolite is in a gell form and will not spill if the battery is turned on it's side. Check out Tower Hobbies or some one like that....the wet power guys use them for their starters and glow drivers in field boxs.

Dave W.

With my Qualcom batteries I use a Sony charger that plugs into the cigarette adapter. I fully charges my packs in about an hour and a half.

Timmy,

I think you will find that chargers that are designed to run from cigarette lighter jacks, include a voltage regulator circut to limit the input voltage. The Potensky chargers output is related to it's input voltage....too much in = too much out. The Potensky is a simple design intended to run from a stable voltage source, but it is a great little charger for the money.

Dave W.

Thanks guys,

I think I'll pick up a cheap cigarette adapter from Radio Shack and voltmeter the output, I'm guessing that with the engine not running and no high load accesories on it should be very close to 12v.

thanks,
mark thomson

For the 200mA maximum current that the Potenski charger will provide, the cigarette charger jack will work just fine. In fact, you could keep charging your packs for days without even starting your car.

At local R/C events, I run 3 peak chargers all delivering 2-6amps to CP2400SCR packs and my car barely starts by the end of the day. I think it's time for a spare car battery!

Originally posted by Timmy
With my Qualcom batteries I use a Sony charger that plugs into the cigarette adapter. I fully charges my packs in about an hour and a half.

Timmy, what sony charger do you use?
Got a link or other info on it?

The Sony charger I use is Model # QN-012dc the the out put is 8.2v at 900ma. But if you could find a charger that puts out the same it would work also it doesnt have to be Sony. I also know that batteries america sells them for $30. But you could find a cheaper one then that just search the web or go to www.allelectronics.com

I made a lighter plug adapter using a Radio Shack plug. I just glued a wood support across the plug and used two screws and nuts to connect the wires and make terminals for connecting alligator clips.

Without the motor running, I have used this with my Dymond Super Turbo Charger to charge 8 cell packs without a problem. It should work fine with any 12V charger.

Allen

aginzu, thank you for that great picture. That's exactly what I had a cloudy vision of, lol.

thanks,
mark thomson

dafdf

Hi Anyone heard of Tadiran batteries?

I use my cordless drill battery for my wes-tec charger, since the input voltage is from 10-15 volts for one to two cells, and my battery is a 14.4 volt. If you had a higher voltage cordless tool battery (18-24V) you could use a voltage regulator.

Radio shack also offers a lighter plug with binding posts. I just plug my banana plugs in same as my home supply.

quick pic: