DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi, here's a simple question -I have a number of 2 way radios which have grown over the years for on site use, so i now have around 18 or so - all with individual chargers.
I want to combine the chargers so they act off much fewer points, as i dont like the cumbersome 18 adapters plugged in at the same time/same area.
the multi charger for these radios is around £400 for 6 radios so this is a large cost for a tidying up project

..so my question is:
can i splice several chargers from one adapter plug and still get the same charge to each radio?
or
can i rig up a transformer that outputs the correct amount to multiple charging bays?

There are three basic ways that NiCd chargers work.

1) They supply a consent current and monitor the voltage as the battery charges it's voltage will rise but once fully charged it will dip slightly this can be used to switch off the charger. It is used by Icom with 6 way chargers they are very expensive. It will allow different voltage batteries to use same charger.
2) Again consent current but this time the heat is monitored and normally a switch in base of charger it needs contact to battery before switch is pressed by battery and it monitors the current. Once the battery is charged the battery becomes hot and it opens a thermal switch once this happens current stops flowing and the charger latches to off so even when battery has cooled it will not start charging again.
3) Very low charge rate and no control normally requires 16 hours or more to charge battery

All these methods require one battery per charger outlet. Although the 6 way charges do take 6 batteries each one has it's own control and these will often have a option to cycle battery or just charge with a link inside.

For 6 way voltage monitor type putting the radio in charger while switched on will mess up the monitoring and switch them off early. With the temperature type the battery will charge fully but once charged the radio can discharge it again so one has to be wary of charging and using and with trickle charge the radio may use more than the charger can supply.

There is also often a charger which just provides a voltage and the radio does all of the charge control Yaesu use this method on some of their radios the charge lead goes into radio not into battery. With these the radio can be used while on charge. Also with this type one could have a bus system with many radios being charged from one supply so long as the supply is big enough.

However with radios in excess of £200 each I would not want to mess with the charging system unless I was certain it would do no harm. So I have always a mains distribution unit and left the chargers as supplied.

[quote="ericmark"]There are three basic ways that NiCd chargers work.

1) They supply a consent current and monitor the voltage as the battery charges it's voltage will rise but once fully charged it will dip slightly this can be used to switch off the charger. It is used by Icom with 6 way chargers they are very expensive. It will allow different voltage batteries to use same charger.
2) Again consent current but this time the heat is monitored and normally a switch in base of charger it needs contact to battery before switch is pressed by battery and it monitors the current. Once the battery is charged the battery becomes hot and it opens a thermal switch once this happens current stops flowing and the charger latches to off so even when battery has cooled it will not start charging again.
3) Very low charge rate and no control normally requires 16 hours or more to charge battery

All these methods require one battery per charger outlet. Although the 6 way charges do take 6 batteries each one has it's own control and these will often have a option to cycle battery or just charge with a link inside.

For 6 way voltage monitor type putting the radio in charger while switched on will mess up the monitoring and switch them off early. With the temperature type the battery will charge fully but once charged the radio can discharge it again so one has to be wary of charging and using and with trickle charge the radio may use more than the charger can supply.

There is also often a charger which just provides a voltage and the radio does all of the charge control Yaesu use this method on some of their radios the charge lead goes into radio not into battery. With these the radio can be used while on charge. Also with this type one could have a bus system with many radios being charged from one supply so long as the supply is big enough.

However with radios in excess of £200 each I would not want to mess with the charging system unless I was certain it would do no harm. So I have always a mains distribution unit and left the chargers as supplied.[/quote]

WELCOME BAC ERIC - BLAKEY1963

I was banned and had not realised I had gone back to old site was using laptop since reply has been permitted maybe I can use site again.

Seems I was forgetting to tell people about Part P.

i second that motion,
welcome back pal