# Phoenix sound battery charging question



## krogerssolar (Jan 8, 2009)

hi all i have yet another question has anyone charged the on board Phoenix sound battery pack on a wall charger. in the winter my Phoenix sound battery sits in the loco and when i come around to testing/ running my locos in the spring/summer i find that the Phoenix sound card battery is taking a long time to charge to allow the idle sounds to work. i was looking at this charger would this work http://www.all-battery.com/smartuni...v-72v.aspx

Thanks Kevin


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## Michael Glavin (Jan 2, 2009)

Kevin 

That charger is to powerful @ .9 Amps... Charge current requirements are dependent on the battery capacity in play; you'll want a charger that offers C1 to C/10 of the batteries rated capacity. Or in other words if the battery is rated 600mAh; 600/10=60mAh. Then you have to be careful about time under charge, unless you utilizing and automatic charger. If it’s a 600mAh battery and you have a 60mAh charger it’s fully charged in one hour or less dependent on the batteries state of charge going in. Automatic chargers that allow you to set charge/discharge parameters are the best choice in my opinion. With an Auto charger you can set the charger to charge and discharge the battery and or cycle it multiple times to bring it to life and discover its "potential". 

Trickle charging @ 0.1C has merit, at this rate the cells are allowed to balance themselves and its all good, typical charge times are 14-16 hours.

Batteries/cells are rated in Ah or mAh, this means they are supposed to provide rated capacity, current and voltage under discharge for one hour. 

Ah x 1000 = mAh (the h = hour or time) 
Amps / 1000 = mA 
C = Capacity (batteries rated mAh capacity) 
C/10 is the recognized slow charge rate for NiCad batteries 
1C is the recognized fast charge rate for NiCads 

Michael


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

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(as I'm sure you are aware)
Amps X 1000 = MA (Mega Amps)
Amps / 1000 = mA (milli Amps) 
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## Michael Glavin (Jan 2, 2009)

Corrected my boo-boo. A cigar and a shot for Del, Thanks... 

Michael


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## David Buckingham (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Kevin 
Phoenix sound systems charge up quickly so if starting from a distance I dont bother charging. 

Locos that start in front of you I charge with cheap 60mA to 150mA chargers as used by the Radio control folks 

I do have fully automatic 500mA chargers that work fine but think they are a bit rough on these small batteries 

Dave


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## krogerssolar (Jan 8, 2009)

All thanks for the good info i will find a close to or match what battery pack i have or just power up my locos with my test track to charge the battery then run them off of my battery cars like normal. i would hate to mess up one of the battery packs or my PB9 or PB11 cards.


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## krogerssolar (Jan 8, 2009)

All thanks for the good info i will find a close to or match what battery pack i have or just power up my locos with my test track to charge the battery then run them off of my battery cars like normal. i would hate to mess up one of the battery packs or my PB9 or PB11 cards. 

Thanks Kevin


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Do you have the amp hour rating on the battery? That would help in the decision. 

Trickle charging batteries, especially ones used infrequently is normally not good for their lifespan, in gel cells, it promotes sulphation. 

I believe the phoenix is a small gel cell. 

A general rule of thumb on batteries is that they get regular "exercise", i.e. get used and charged. Not drained dead, and not constant float charge. 

Regards, Greg


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## krogerssolar (Jan 8, 2009)

i will be pulling the battery out later to see.


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## krogerssolar (Jan 8, 2009)

the battery is a 3.6V 208MAH NIMH interstate batteries TEL 0775


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## krogerssolar (Jan 8, 2009)

this is what it looks like http://www.interstatebatteries.com/cs_eStore/Products/RT/PID-TEL0775%28Other+Products%29.aspx?dsNavigation=Ntk~SearchGroup|Tel+0775|3|%2cNy~True%2cNtpc~Disabled%2cNs~product+Type|101|1|&Title=BellSouth+B610+replacement++battery


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

As Michael said, you really don't want a charger that charges over "C", which is in this case 208 mah... 

And, to keep batteries lasting longer, usually I recommend 1/2 C ... a little longer to charge, but enough current to help fight sulphation, or dendrites, etc. (depends on the battery chemistry). 

Also, lower charging currents produce less heat. Heat is the enemy for multiple reasons.. 

Greg


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