EricC Posted January 15, 2008 Share #81 Posted January 15, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) For me, so long as the charger is similar to any of Tim's designs above I don't mind if it has to grow in size as per Mark's calculations. So long as it is still smaller than the Franken-charger and of course much more portable. :D Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 15, 2008 Posted January 15, 2008 Hi EricC, Take a look here Any sign of the Hahnel twin charger yet?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
giordano Posted January 15, 2008 Share #82 Posted January 15, 2008 Really neat design. Please can it be in a Fisher-Price colour easily seen in the bottom of a rucksack? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted January 16, 2008 Share #83 Posted January 16, 2008 Excellent work, Tim, and I'm a customer! Might I suggest inclusion of a simple re-setting surge arrestor? The last thing that anybody needs when in far-away places is for the charger to be turned into (an attractive) brick from being cooked by a voltage spike from an unstable electricity supply. (Happens in the UK too!) Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 17, 2008 Share #84 Posted January 17, 2008 May I suggest a discharge facility? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted January 17, 2008 Share #85 Posted January 17, 2008 Since you guys seems to think there's unlimited space to put "stuff" in there, I'd like to see an MP3 player and mobile phone, and how about a digital camera as well? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted January 17, 2008 Share #86 Posted January 17, 2008 Since you guys seems to think there's unlimited space to put "stuff" in there, I'd like to see an MP3 player and mobile phone, and how about a digital camera as well? No, I don't; compactness is important. But a small 'brick' would be okay to you? Seems to me that a brick is a brick whatever the size. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted January 17, 2008 Share #87 Posted January 17, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Pete, I think Mark was being humorous - and highlighting the problems of designing anything by committee. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share #88 Posted January 17, 2008 May I suggest a discharge facility? Jaap, Why - lithium batteries benefit from frequent part charges in complete contrast to NiMh or NiCad which like full charges? Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkcampbell2 Posted January 17, 2008 Share #89 Posted January 17, 2008 Just a thought... Here's two China made chargers, one is for a Canon G9 and the other for a Nikon D40. They look identical because they are except for the slide on part that holds the battery. If the electronics are compatible it looks like all that needed is a new molded part for a leica battery. Best part is they are only about 10 bucks on ebay! jc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share #90 Posted January 17, 2008 Just a thought... Here's two China made chargers, one is for a Canon G9 and the other for a Nikon D40. They look identical because they are except for the slide on part that holds the battery. If the electronics are compatible it looks like all that needed is a new molded part for a leica battery. Best part is they are only about 10 bucks on ebay! jc John, I have a feeling we are looking to end up with a higher quality product than these cheap clone chargers. If you look at Tim's website and the quality of his Thumbs up and coder, you would get an idea of the design philosophy. I think most people who buy Leica's would go along with the maxim: Buy cheap, buy twice. It would be nice if we can piggy back onto an existing charger but it would have to be a quality product to begin with. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 18, 2008 Share #91 Posted January 18, 2008 Jaap, Why - lithium batteries benefit from frequent part charges in complete contrast to NiMh or NiCad which like full charges? Wilson It seems that is not quite true - and Leica advises to go through three full charge -discharge cycles to condition the battery, for example. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 18, 2008 Author Share #92 Posted January 18, 2008 It seems that is not quite true - and Leica advises to go through three full charge -discharge cycles to condition the battery, for example. Jaap, That is from new. If you were going to put a discharge facility in the charger, given the high capacity of these lithium batteries, you would probably have to put in a heat sink plus possibly ventilation. I personally feel this is a function best left to be done in the M8 itself. When I was talking to the technician at Apple France last year when he was vainly trying to resurrect my lightning stuck iBook, we got to discussing lithium batteries and the problems many manufacturers were having with them, the total number of charge cycles, conditioning, etc, as he had just been on a course relating to batteries and the charging circuits. His recommendation was not to do a deep discharge cycle after the first once or twice of using, more frequently than once a year to reset the internal battery monitor. Now whether this is correct I don't know but he said that a good quality lithium has a life of about 1,000 full discharge cycles but this equated to 4,000 half discharge cycles not the 2,000 you would expect. This is because a half discharge is much kinder to the cells than a full discharge. For this reason he said that people who part discharged their laptop battery every day, had far less problems than people who either ran the laptop on its power cord all the time or people who ran on battery until it was flat each time before recharging. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 18, 2008 Share #93 Posted January 18, 2008 Thanks Wilson, that is very informative. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fotogo Posted January 19, 2008 Share #94 Posted January 19, 2008 John, I have a feeling we are looking to end up with a higher quality product than these cheap clone chargers. If you look at Tim's website and the quality of his Thumbs up and coder, you would get an idea of the design philosophy. I think most people who buy Leica's would go along with the maxim: Buy cheap, buy twice. It would be nice if we can piggy back onto an existing charger but it would have to be a quality product to begin with. Wilson For now, I will stick with the single battery version. this will provide the most options for us, keeping the unit price reasonable. It is my intention to see this design capable of being daisy chained. I took some more time to investigate if standard components from a Canon Li Ion battery charger would fit in and around the case design I have proposed. I have not yet added any provision for a 12v automobile charger, but it looks like there will be ample room. I am not a circuit designer, but the basic component layout is not too difficult to figure out. The proprietary parts so far are the upper and lower cases, the battery contacts, the circuit board and its layout. Everything else is off the shelf. Time to start to study more of the good recommendations here to see what else we might include. Here are some models for your consideration. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
papimuzo Posted January 19, 2008 Share #95 Posted January 19, 2008 Impressive and fascinating for an (old) man who was designing with rule and ink... Things are apparently going well Keep going Tim, I'm already a customer. All the best. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theodor Heinrichsohn Posted January 19, 2008 Share #96 Posted January 19, 2008 Agree: Very impressive indeed. I will buy one or two when the charger is marketed. Teddy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanhulsenbeek Posted January 19, 2008 Share #97 Posted January 19, 2008 Agree: Very impressive indeed. I will buy one or two when the charger is marketed.Teddy What a great thread: makes one just happen while reading! The new Franken II is a solace for the eye! Even in design stage! I already opted for 2: hope many more people will. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesphoto99 Posted January 19, 2008 Share #98 Posted January 19, 2008 Yes, it's a nice piece of design but if I may play the devils advocate for a minute: When one takes into consideration the cord, will it actually be much smaller than the Leica charger? If it could be supplied with a short (say two or three foot cord) I'd say yes/maybe, but with a six foot cord it's really not any smaller than the Frankencharger 1 (I'm basing this on my Nikon D200 charger with it's two meter cord). I both like and dislike the cordless operation of the original charger. The less cords in my life the better, though if one is using a powerstrip it can take up too much room and it's hard to access those difficult to reach outlets behind the bed, desk etc. But without the cord it's an easy store when not in use. Anyway, what I'm getting at is any thoughts as to a cordless unit? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 19, 2008 Author Share #99 Posted January 19, 2008 Yes, it's a nice piece of design but if I may play the devils advocate for a minute: When one takes into consideration the cord, will it actually be much smaller than the Leica charger? If it could be supplied with a short (say two or three foot cord) I'd say yes/maybe, but with a six foot cord it's really not any smaller than the Frankencharger 1 (I'm basing this on my Nikon D200 charger with it's two meter cord). I both like and dislike the cordless operation of the original charger. The less cords in my life the better, though if one is using a powerstrip it can take up too much room and it's hard to access those difficult to reach outlets behind the bed, desk etc. But without the cord it's an easy store when not in use. Anyway, what I'm getting at is any thoughts as to a cordless unit? Charles, Could not be simpler - just use an iPod/Macintosh powerpack regional plug and you instantly have a cordless adapter. I have made up a selection of 25 cm long figure 8 leads: British, European, Swiss/Italian and USA. If I am off on a trip, I take the most appropriate lead and if required e.g. for Australia, India, South Africa etc, a converter. Every charger I have is figure 8, except the Leica one. I also always take a few Apple regional plugs, so if needed I can charge two or more items at once. I have thought of making up a double tail figure 8 lead and if the new Leica charger comes off, I may well do this. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted January 20, 2008 Share #100 Posted January 20, 2008 Sorry, but this design will not allow a large enough safety margin between the "live" high voltage connections and the "safe" low voltage side. This is required to prevent leakage across the circuit board in humid conditions and, because there is no safety ground, it's a case of electrocution waiting to happen. You can see how they do it on the Leica charger - clear space between the high and low voltage sides - the small island is used by safety components. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/42122-any-sign-of-the-hahnel-twin-charger-yet/?do=findComment&comment=456528'>More sharing options...
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