Saber Porta-Pocket Chargers....Are They OK?

[billy7834]

Thinking of picking one up...Are they OK? For lite use are they as good as the regular single battery charger?

[akardam]

I've got one, and I don't know if mine's shot or not, but the darn thing's never worked. I've drained a known good battery with my trusty Maha charger, and thrown it in the pocket charger, and after 3 days it still indicated it was charging. Threw it back on the Maha and it told me there was in essence zero capacity in the battery.

YMMV, but I shelved it after that little experience and haven't looked back. If I need a compact portable charger I just take the Maha with me. My disco and gang charger almost always stay at home.

[va3wxm]

Yeah, I wouldn't imagine a gang charger is all that "portable".

Is this thing like a trickle-type charger? If it's only putting out a several mA then it'll take forever to charge.

I have an MFJ 259 antenna analyzer that is internally regulated to only deliver 30 mA for charging the batteries. Takes like 4 days to do a set of high capacity NiMH's.

[akardam]

Well, according to any documentation I can find, the Saber Porta Pocket chargers are supposed to be standard rate chargers, so in theory it'd charge a battery in 8-10 hours or something like that. I can't really imagine why they'd make an ultra portable charger that would take 4 days to charge a battery... would seem to defeat the purpose.

I guess mine's free to a good home if anyone cares to take on a problem child :P

[larryepage]

I have a couple of these that work fine. I don't use them much, because I believe that batteries designed for rapid charging do better in the long run when charged on a rapid rate charger. But I've used the Porta Pocket with good success when a battery has become so depleted that the rapid charger will not start charging the battery.

Note that since the Porta Pocket is a standard rate charger, the red light will stay on as long as power is applied and a battery is in the "pocket."

If you are having trouble, you might want to verify that your input voltage is OK (13.2-13.6 volts or so) and that you are getting enough current. If the input voltage is too low, the light may still come on, but no charging current will flow to the battery...

Regards,

[billy7834]

So....A major difference between the Porta-Pocket and an NTN 4734 would be about 8 hours difference in charging times. Would that be correct? If so, are there any any "portable" chargers for the Saber that are rapid rate? Since I already have an NTN4734 I'm wondering if there would be any negative effect on the battery if you alternated between a rapid and standard rate charger?

[Tom in D.C.]

Billy: You worry too much. You can use the Saber battery in either charger as often as you need to and it shouldn't hurt the battery.

The PP charger is not a sophisticated unit. The 4734 is. If you look at the 4734's circuitry you'll see what I mean. The PP is littlle more than a current limited charging circuit, very similar to what we use to see in the old HT220/MT500 chargers. You know, a resistor or two, and a lamp, meant for high-rate charging for 16 hours maximum, after which you would cook the battery. PPs are cheap, and you get what you pay for, but if you need a small, easy to pack, charger they can't be beat for traveling.