Mini-Z, Kyosho Mini-Z Racer, MR-03, MR-02, MA-010, Forums, News, Pictures, Parts, and Shop - Mini-ZRacer.com
Forums, Mini-Z, MiniZ, Kyosho Mini-Z, Kyosho MiniZ, Kyosho Mini-Z Racer
Mini-Z Hop-Ups, Mini-Z Parts, MiniZ Hop-Ups, MiniZ Parts, Kyosho Mini-Z Hop-Ups, Kyosho Mini-Z Parts, Kyosho MiniZ Hop-Ups, Kyosho MiniZ Parts, Kyosho Mini-Z Racer Hop-Ups, Racer Kyosho Mini-Z Parts
Old 2016.12.17, 08:04 AM   #1
unclearty
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 42
MiBOXER C4 charger...review

First...I race Mini Z and Kyosho F1 cars. I use alot of AAA NiMh batteries. I have 3 different chargers I use regularly...a LaC***** Bc700...a Tene***TN160 and a no name 4 bay charger.
I got the opportunity to test and review a new charger, so I jumped at it.
It's a 4 bay charger that does NOT have a large cumbersome wall wart. It uses a short ac plug that is removable...very nice. Upon unpacking, I was pleasantly surprised at how neat it was packed..simple. I decided to try it as if I didn't read the manual. I simply grabbed 4 used batteries and popped them in...I did NOT touch anything...I just let it take over. The first thing I noticed was....AAA batteries don't fit very well....it would seem this was designed more for larger batteries...AA sized and larger. The company includes a small cradle to support only 2 AAA batteries at a time ..??? The cradle works very well, but for racers, this is a problem.
I emailed the man who sent me the test unit. I was told that they can start including 2 of the cradles with future units..Nice!
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the charger took over and began charging without any input from me. The unit never got hot...barely warm at all. When it had finished charging, I pulled the batteries out and let them rest for about an hour. I then did a simple voltage test with a voltmeter...I got 1.47 volts....impressive.
This new charger can handle NiCd, NiMh and LiPo cells...all without having to touch any buttons...very cool.
Now...this impressed me for a newbie starting out...but....this unit has a number of other features as well. As you become more familiar with the unit, you can adjust charge voltage settings, and charge current settings. It can even check the internal resistance of batteries...HOWEVER...at this time, it can only do that on the 4 charging slot. It can also check battery capacity, but again...only one battery at a time...in the 4th charging slot.
As I said, this was an new unit for the company and they are looking for constructive criticism and ideas. I have been reading other reviews as well and have learned that they are discussing adding a small cooling fan, including a 2nd battery cradle for AAAs and increasing charging current options.
Overall, I am very impressed with this unit. It feels more solid than my other 2 ...4 slot chargers...it sits truly flat on a table...both my other chargers seem warped and wobble when pressing function buttons.
Now..the best part....I emailed them asking what these units will be selling for in the US...they told me the unit should be about $30 !!! For that money, this charger should be a very big hit.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg DSC03299.JPG (194.0 KB, 37 views)
unclearty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016.12.17, 08:44 AM   #2
Mike Keely
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,356
Does it show the voltage or the charged capacity of each cell as it is charging?
__________________
DG-Designs / Brooklyn Hobbies
Mike Keely is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016.12.17, 11:44 AM   #3
mleemor60
Curmudgeon & Moderator
 
mleemor60's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Kannapolis, NC
Posts: 2,549
Are the charge/discharge rates adjustable? What is the max charge rate?
mleemor60 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016.12.17, 11:55 AM   #4
arch2b
Moderator
 
arch2b's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 35,480
Send a message via AIM to arch2b
interesting, please keep us informed.
arch2b is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016.12.17, 03:49 PM   #5
Mike Keely
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,356
I did not see that it could discharge cells.
__________________
DG-Designs / Brooklyn Hobbies
Mike Keely is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2017.02.22, 08:51 AM   #6
unclearty
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 42
CHARGER update

I have now been using these chargers for awhile...I wanted to update AFTER real world usage. After I started using these chargers, I began to notice that I was losing a bit of time every night...every race. My laptimes were falling every week since using these exclusively. A week ago, I put them away and went back to my old charging routine....ie: discharge with separate discharger...wait a day, then use my Ternegy 12 bay charger. Last night my laptimes improved..DRAMATICALLY!
The MiBoxer chargers shut off when the batteries are fully charged. The Tenergy charger charges at 250ma, then shifts to trickle at .025ma. I start charging the night before a race and just leave the batteries in the charger for approximately 18 hours. I ran 3 sets of Duracell 1000mah batteries last night and with each set I ran faster than I have for any night in the last month.
unclearty is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Tenergy TN160 12-Bay AA/AAA NIMH/NICD LCD Smart Battery Charger arch2b Batteries, Chargers and Dischargers 5 2013.09.02 11:59 AM
NEW PN Li-Po NiMH NiCd Charger coming soon! PNracing PN Racing 92 2012.08.22 01:10 AM
PN Racing S6 NiMH/NiCd/LiPo/LiFe Multi Balance Charger review herman Batteries, Chargers and Dischargers 4 2010.08.24 10:09 PM
Apple Battery Charger arch2b Batteries, Chargers and Dischargers 5 2010.08.04 09:40 AM
November 2008, $$$ Product Review Contest! Hammer Competitions and Contests 2 2008.12.01 02:18 PM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:36 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2011 Mini-ZRacer.com
Mini Inferno Sale - Up to $85 Instant Savings!
Micro-T Hop-Ups
RC18R, M18, Micro RS4, Mini-LST, TamTech-Gear, Minizilla, RC18T, RC18B, RC18MT
shop.tinyrc.com Products

more»
Tiny RC Community News
[03/22/17] MZR was on vacation, didn't... : All kidding aside, the host experienced a bit of a server meltdown last week and efforts to restore the site to a new server took longer than anticipated. The current server is temporary until - more»
[11/25/15] Did You Hear? Our Black... : Hey Racers,
We're getting started a bit early with our Black Friday sale this year.  Generally we're not supporters of retailers opening early on Thanksgiving, but in our case, we're - more»
[06/30/15] shop.tinyrc.com: Have You... : Hey All! Just a quick reminder to everyone that we post all of our shop.tinyrc.com Newletters here on the MZR Forum. If for some reason you miss them in your email inbox, you can always see the - more»
Mini-Z, Mini-Z Racer, MR-02, MA-010
M18, M18T, RC18T, Mini-LST, Mini-T, Micro RS4, XRay, 1/18, 18th scale
XMODS, XMOD, Micro Flight, ZipZaps, ZipZaps SE, Bit Char-G, MicroSizers, TTTT, Plantraco Desktop Rover, SuperSlicks, Digi Q
Mini Inferno, Mini Inferno ST, half EIGHT, 1/16, 16th scale
Epoch, Indoor Racer, 1/43, 43rd scale
E-Savage, eSavage, eZilla, e-Zilla, HPI
Robots, Bots, Bipeds, Wheeled, Manoi, Roomba, NXT, Lego, Hacking
Crawling, Crawlers, Micro, RC, Losi Mini-Rock Crawler, Duratrax Cliff Climber
Kyosho Minium, Caliber 120, Minium Forums
Mini-Z Hop-Ups, Mini-Z Parts, Mini Inferno Hop-Ups, Mini Inferno Parts, M18 Hop-Ups, M18 Parts