Customer Reviews

Duratrax Onyx 230 AC/DC Advanced Charger w/LCD

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this Charger to charge my NIHM'S & LIPO's for my RC's. It works fast, and charges at a great rate. It's portable for the track, or just to take along for random runs. Only down fall is that this model doesn't balance the LIPO Batteries, but other than that issue this is a great charger for all your battery chargin needs.

I'll start by saying I'm 36 years old. I've been using RC cars since the days of NI-CD! I own this charger and use an external balancer for my LIPOS. Its very well built. Everything feels professional and there are a TON of charging options as well as programmable profiles for each battery so you don't need to go thru all the programming each time. Here is my issue- I HATE THIS CHARGER!! Readers choice 2010 award? PLEASE would someone show me how to navigate this POS GUI? Ive built and programmed computers and for the life of me I cannot navigate this charger's interface. Its the most illogical and irrational POS Ive ever seen. I'm into all sorts of techie devices and this product confounds me. It needs several more buttons because the damn buttons change function depending on what part of the menu youre in. Something as simple as getting to the correct battery profile is a nearly impossible task. This comes with a exploded-view freaking flow chart to try to explain the navigation but it seems like the buttons performa different function every time I turn it on. Plus-there is no easy way to defeat the lipo-low voltage alarm. Even if you set it to .1 amps it refuses to charge an under-voltage lipo. UMMM so what am I supposed to do throw away the battery if it gets under voltage? You have to set it to .1A, start charging a charged lipo, then quicly unplug the charged one and plug in the under-volt one to get it to start charging. So stupid. I want to love this product. Its my only charger and I spend 80 bux on it. But its nearly impossible to navigate the gui!! There is just no logic. I also don't like the shutoff-timer. its pretty stupid. Why have a peak charger if the manufacturer is so unsure of its ability it has a timer too? And then sometimes it trickle charges when complete-sometimes ti doesnt. But it doesn't TELL you weather the trickle charge is on or not. FAIL duratrax. Fail. I know some guys will say its my fault-but honestly this is the only product I have ever encountered where I cannot easily figure it out. I mean I can program my brushless esc with the radio trigger, I have programmed car alarms and remote starts-but this thing makes me nuts.

If you're looking for a simple, reliable, well finished charger for your R/C batteries, the Duratrax Onyx would be a good choice. I've had the model 230 for a couple years now and it's performed flawlessly. I like the professional fit and finish compared to other brands that look like unfinished prototypes that just left someone's garage workbench. Another plus to the Onyx is their 5 year warranty! That's FIVE YEARS MAN! How can you beat that?

I gave the Onyx a "fun factor" of only three stars cuz... well... it's a battery charger. How fun can it be? Hahaha. Same with it's "educational value". I would've given the Onyx five stars for "durability", but since the case is plastic, I imagine it could crack if dropped severely. In over two years, mine hasn't chipped, cracked, or broken in any way, so I don't know. It's a pretty hard plastic they used, so it gives me some confidence that it'll hold up to abuse. I have dropped it on a hard surface once, and nothing happened.

Unfortunately, when I bought the 230, they didn't have the model 235 with the built in balancer on the market yet. So I'll be selling my 230 to get either the 235 or the 245 dual balanced charger. However, I do like the Thunder Power 610c-ACDC's discharge, cycle, and 10 amp capability, so I'll have to give it some serious thought. The two drawbacks to Thunder Power's unit is that ungainly, unfinished, "prototype" look. Come on guys, an external, raw, uncovered circuit board for the balancer adaptors? Really??? You couldn't just get a bigger case to fit that inside? The other drawback is their 2 year warranty.

I'll have to do a follow up on which one I end up getting.