Competition Electronics Turbo 35BL Stealth Edition

Radio Control Car Action, Jan 2003

WHEN YOU BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE MENU STRUCTURE, YOU'LL FIND THE TURBO VERY EASY TO NAVIGATE.

THOUGH THE BASIC TURBO 3X HAS BEEN AROUND FOR MANY YEARS, Competition Electronics has given its latest Turbo charger a facelift and modified the software to maximize functionality. The Turbo 35 BL Stealth Edition is designed to be the ultimate charger on the market, providing racers with as much information about their battery packs as it possibly can.

FEATURES

LINEAR AND TURBO-FLEX CHARGE MODES. The Turbo 35 features linear charging plus a "Turbo-Flex" mode. Turbo-Flex is negative pulse charging that, in simple terms, shocks Ni-Cd batteries to restore voltage and run time. In the Turbo 35, it can be can be set at various levels to help restore old, tired Ni-Cd batteries. Do not use the Turbo-Flex modes on NiMH packs. The Turbo 35 can cycle from 1- to 7-cell battery packs. There are presets for 1-, 4-, 6- and 7-cell packs, but manually adjusting peak levels and other parameters allows you to charge, cycle, or discharge any number of cells in between.

DELAYED RE-PEAKING. You can set the Turbo 35 to repeak your pack after the initial peak at whatever amperage you like. The delay time before sensing voltage peak during the re-peak mode is also programmable; this avoids false peaking while topping off the charge.

THREE CHARGER PROFILES. For racers who use both Ni-Cd 2400s and NiMH 3000mAh packs, the Turbo 35 can store a profile for each one in one of three non-volatile memory locations. This saves setup time and makes the Turbo 35 even more userfriendly.

DISCHARGER. After a run, racers can dump their batteries an the Turbo 35 at up to 35 amps (25 amps for 7 cells). This eliminates having to drag out resistors, dump boxes, or light bulbs. Discharging on the Turbo 35 also provides consistent and accurate data concerning the remaining charge in the pack, which provides more usable info for racers.

DISCHARGE PROFILES. If you use some packs just for oval and some just for on-road racing, the Turbo 35 can "train" your cells to perform at their peak under these conditions. When a pack is being discharged, the Turbo 35 alters the amperage rate to simulate the racing condition of either an oval or an off- or on-road race. Of course, you can select the normal linear discharge mode as well.

CYCLING. The Turbo 35 can cycle individual cells or complete packs. Racers can select the charge and discharge rates, the number of cycles, whether the Turbo should re-peak the pack before discharging and the delay time between cycles.

INTERNAL-RESISTANCE (IR) READINGS. The lower the IR, the more punch a pack has. But how do you know what a pack's IR is without taking it apart and re-matching the cells? With the Turbo 35, both relative and actual internal-- resistance numbers will be shown at the conclusion of a cycle for either a single cell or an entire pack (discharging a pack will not show individual results for cells within the pack, only overall figures of the pack as a whole).

INDUSTRY-STANDARD CYCLING INFORMATION. The most commonly used professional battery-- matching machine is the CE Turbo Matcher 4. Competition Electronics makes both the Turbo 35 and the Turbo Matcher 4, so they have the same features and discharge circuitry. This means that you get battery performance numbers that are comparable to that of the industrystandard matching machines used by some of the largest battery watchers.

BACKLIT 2-LINE DISPLAY. Indoor tracks' pit areas don't always have the best lighting, and after dusk, it's often difficult to read a display outdoors. Not to worry, though; the Turbo 35 includes a brightly backlit screen. As long as the charger is plugged into an appropriate power source, you'll be able to see what's going on. MOTOR-RUN MODE. The motor-run mode runs a motor at a user-selected voltage for however long you wish. So if you want to break in a motor for 5 minutes while you hit the track's snack bar, you're set. The real beauty of this feature is its reasonably high amperage limit, which also allows you to power your motor lathe and perform break-in duties.

PRINTER OUTPUT. A serial port on the left side of the Turbo 35 enables it to be connected to a PC, thereby making available many options, starting with the use of the HyperTerminal software that's included with more current Windows operating systems and which is used to import battery data into spreadsheets or other programs. Competition Electronics also offers optional Turbo Label software that allows you to print battery labels so you can keep track of the condition of your cells for optimum performance.

DC ONLY. Many pro-caliber chargers are now AC/DC capable, but the Turbo 35 is a DC-only unit. For best results, use "clean" DC power from an RC-specific 12V power supply; stay away from automotive battery chargers.