Hitec/Futaba charge leads

[Cralis]

Wrong Posting! Sorry!

[zagifly]

Just done a check on my charging kit and heres what I found, futaba leads have a larger hole in the centre of the charge plug, if you try to use it on your spectrum it makes intermittent contact and will not charge properly. I use a JR charge lead on my Spectrum, I also have an Optic 6 which also uses a JR lead but with the polarity reversed. If you have an intelligent charger (Shultze 330)which checks the battery voltage before charging it will not charge the Optic because of the reverse polarity blocker diode, this is not a problem with the Spectrum. I charge my Optic 6 on my Triton charger which just bangs it in. I havent used a mains charger for 10 years and i think my Tx packs are a lot healthier for it.
Hope this helps
David Howe

[robgt]

How odd.
I charged Daves Spektrum Tx on my ProPeak charger using my Futaba lead and simply reversed the plugs in the ProPeak unit to get the correct polarity.
It worked fine

Cheers,
Rob

[Cralis]

*head explodes*

So, can I charge the Hitec with the lead given to me for a DX7? Sounds like I can, but could be dangerous? Nope?

[marktigere1]

UK supplied JR radios have a diode in the charging circuit which prevents you using a peak charger as it cannot sense the battery, this is to prevent damage if you try to charge it reverse polarity, same as Futaba (Marktigere1 !), for the US market the diodes aren't fitted as they prefer to be able to cycle batteries in the transmitter, I had to bypass them in my 9X and 2610.

Only joking

Cralis, the ProPeak should look after your battery and prevent the wrong polarity being used.

[Cralis]

Thanks guys!
I've noticed that the Hitec has a small square 4 pin female connector at the end of the battery. It's a 2 by 2 pin config, it seems. Maybe I should get a charge lead that allows me to remove the battry from the TX and charge? That might save the TX, bypass any diods and stuff, and allow me to charge at the field at a higher charge rate?

[marktigere1]

That's a good idea and I was going to do the same as I cannot cycle the TX battery due to the diode.

My problem with that is that I didn't want to damage the connector inside the TX as the Futaba is a bit of a tight fit. (Imagine that coming loose)

Cheers

Mark

[Cralis]

Also, trying to hunt down a charge lead for the battery is going to be a mession. Not sure what to ask for. Seems Hitec isn't well supported here in the UK.
But I hear that charging the battery direct is better for the TX.

[Cralis]

This is the closest I can find, I think, but not sure it it's right...
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXPWB0&P=0
Also, USA.