Alex34

Thanks. Do you know the model number?

Well I decided to take Etronix charger back to where I bought it from just to run it passed those guys and see what they thought. Right off the bat they said the only ones they got back were ones that had issues with soldering of the mains cable jack to the circuit board. They said that they knew of a customer who re-soldered it and was fine from there on out. To check the theory they plugged in a 12 volt power supply and it powered up straight away. So I took it home to have a go at re-soldering it. What I found was two separate circuit boards, one for the charger itself and one for converting the 250 volt AC power to 12 volt DC. I checked the soldering of the mains plug jack and the soldering to the circuit board. All looks fine and multimeter confirms 250 volts going to the circuit board. I also can confirm 250 volts going to the first fuse and what I think is a resistor... after that I have no idea. What I can confirm though is no power running from the end of that board to the charger's main circuit board. So apparently the inboard power supply/converter is the problem. Not surprised because you can clearly see a notable difference in quality between the two circuit boards. Now, my question is this. Armed with this new knowledge, would it be better to purchase a quality power supply instead of a new charger that could potentially have the same problem?

Thanks for all the help guys. Gonna read up some more on the Overlander and SkyRC options and take it from there I guess. Are both made by the same company.

What about the four button units that are braded by tried and true RC component companies like Reedy and Novak? Are they likely to be just rebrands as well or better units with higher quality innards?

Are the SkyRC and Overlander chargers made by the same company? They look extremely similar.

^^^ This is what I was lead to believe as well and is the reason I'm hesitant to go out and buy another. I really don't know much about what other options I have though... maybe something that isn't made specifically for the RC hobby?

Don't really have one but don't want to buy something that is overkill, i.e a 4 way charger that I will only be charging one battery on 90% of the time. I just want something similar to what I had but that is built to last. I don't mind spending double what I did on the Etronix if it means I will have it for 10 years. I'm really a light user. I have had the last charger for 3 years but I probably used it as many times as most of you would use it in 3 months.

What's considered the next level up from the four button chargers then?

Thanks Mark. I will do a little research and let you know.

Anyone?

I have just gone through my second Etronix Powerpal 80w four button charger and looking for a worthy replacement. The first one had a faulty fan and the second one just died completely. Both were kept in immaculate condition and were very lightly used. Most of the charges were for stick small lipos for airsoft or 1/18 packs, I haven't used my RC cars regularly in years. I balanced charged a 7200mah 70C battery the other day with no problems and when I plugged it in last night to storage charge the same battery the unit came on for about 20 seconds then died. So, I'm looking for a similar charger but one that isn't a piece of sh!+. I need something that is going to last and is built with quality parts. Your recommendations will be greatly appreciated.