GP Triton SUCKS ! ! !

I've been using a Hitec CG-335 for a couple of years now and like it. However, it does not discharge and the minumum charge rate is 400maH.

So, I decided to spring for a Triton, since I had heard so many good things about it.

Imagine my shock when I pulled out a couple of my charging cables that I use with my CD-335 and found that they WOULD NOT FIT! ! !

Why in the heck did the 'expletive deleted' designers space the banana jacks at 15mm, instead of the universal 3/4 inch. Most of my charging cables will not fit the Triton because of that! It is VERY handy to use 'double banana' plugs since both leads are plugged/unplugged simultaneously. It would have been SO EASY for them to have set them at 3/4" or 19mm.

Anyway, I wonder if Great Pains ( oooops, Planes ) would void my warranty if I filed the holes into slots to move the jacks wider to

3/4" / 19mm ?????

David

Reply to
David AMA40795 / KC5UH
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Yes, I could, but the point was 'lack of engineering forethought'.

There were a few early DVMs that eschewed the 3/4" dimension, and the makers were thoroughly trashed in the trade media.

David

Reply to
David AMA40795 / KC5UH

You must orient the double banana correctly, so DUH !

David

Reply to
David AMA40795 / KC5UH

David, I can help you design that external box if you'd like. It's a very simple concept and would protect your warranty. It's a shame you didn't look at the Triton before you bought it. Joe L.

Reply to
JosLvng

I have a Triton and like it, but understand your consternation with the spacing. I never knew there was a std. for spacing, but it certainly makes sense. Wonder if it has to do with the country it was made in....

As far as looking at it first, that would be tough as most of us buy via the net.... and some assumptions have to be made unless the tech notes specifically mention such details.

btw, i've never gotten sophisticated enough to figure out where to buy the blocks that hold the wires or however you do the block that plugs both wires in at the same time... i just fumble around with the separate wires...... my juryrigged set up is: Battery Tender charges field box 12v battery...... field box 12v bat powers triton, which charges plane or trx..... never have figured out the charge/discharge thing yet.... maybe this winter. . Arne, CT, USA .

Reply to
arnereil

Where in the world does 3/4 of an inch make a standard?

I lived in the belief that the world was metric as a standard, with some exception of narrowminded people, but hey, the Triton might be targeted to those markets, what do I know.....

Reply to
GuW

The Triton is not unique.

Standards are rather arbitrary in lots of instances. In the electronic industry 3/4 inch (19 mm) spacing seems to be a standard, but then in looking at hobby chargers they seem to adapt whatever banana plug spacing that suits them. Kind of like the polarity of charger/transmitter connetions. Looking at the SuperNova, Robbe Infinity 2, Triton and Dymond Super Turbo you will find that none of these are the same and not on 3/4 inch spacing. Electronic instruments, power supplies, and associated equipment pretty well adhere to the 3/4 inch (19 mm) spacing.

Reply to
Red Scholefield

I made an adapter this afternoon. I took 2 banana plugs, removed the insulating shell, and soldered 2 separate banana jacks to them at the

3/4" spacing while plugged into the Triton 15mm spacing.

Here is a link to one source of dual banana plugs....

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The other handy thing about the dual plug is NOT having to solder wires into them. They have set screws in the base of each plug. All that is necessary is to strip ~1/4" of the insulation off the wire, insert it into the hole in the side of the plug, and tighten the set screw. If you look carefully at the plug picture on All's website, you can see the holes in the side near the metal of the plug. They usually have the strain relief that you can see toward the right side of the plug.

David

Reply to
David AMA40795 / KC5UH

Curious as to why then, Hitec was the only 'smart' company. As I noted, my CG335 uses 3/4" centers for the battery output connections.

David

Reply to
David AMA40795 / KC5UH

If research was not such a 'pain in the rear', we would probably find that Simpson or Triplett along with Pomona established the 'standard' in the USA.

That's why I said that some early DVM makers were trashed - they were foreign mfgrs who did not use the 3/4" spacing that was the standard for USA electronic equipment. I think this goes back to the early

20th century - I know that WWII US electronics used the 3/4".

David

Reply to
David AMA40795 / KC5UH

You sure somebody didn't think it was your car? :) You may not want to send a nasty gram to GP, when you wake up in the morning you may find the head of your model airplane cut off and laying in your bed.

Reply to
Normen Strobel

| Naw, the Triton is too good do that with it. I am going to send a | 'nasty-gram' to Great Planes about it though. But that will be like | making the police report my daughter had to make this morning - | someone stuck a knife in the side of her LF tire. They will make a | note of it, and make it part of their statistic files.

Dunno ... it would be a simple change, and would probably make more people than just you happy. They just might do it!

Personally, I'd like to see an on/off switch on it too (which is why I need to get off my ass and add one.) With my Astroflight charger, I'd leave it on for days at a time (in my car) and all was fine, but the Triton will turn the fan on if the car gets hot enough -- and so the fan will come on and run all day.

| >> It would have been SO EASY for them to have set them | >> at 3/4" or 19mm.

The probably just didn't think of it.

| >> Anyway, I wonder if Great Pains ( oooops, Planes ) would void my | >> warranty if I filed the holes into slots to move the jacks wider to | >> 3/4" / 19mm ?????

I'm sure it would technically void your warranty, but they might not actually refuse a claim on those grounds. You just never know.

Reply to
Doug McLaren

I used to be a victim of the dreaded "black/red where does it go" syndrome,but now , after taking only a 30 days supply of Hud Knocker capsules, I am finally free to choose for myself. Remember , "Hud Knockers", thats Duh spelled backwards. Don't settle for imitations.

No offense David , just couldn't resist.

Ken Day

Reply to
Ken Day

We had an incident on the weekend where one of our club members was checking out his new CAP. Just after takeoff, his aircraft "jerked" once or twice. He thought that he was being shot down. It turned out that the voltage of one of his battery packs, while under load (when four or five servos at once were moving), was dropping way down, which was causing erratic control movements. I've been using the Triton for "basic" charging. I haven't gotten into the heavy duty stuff with it yet. The manual isn't that great at explaining the setups.

Reply to
Kent Chaput

It's just Pure Dumb Luck(tm)... I have a Hitec CG340, and I'm pretty sure the pin spacing is NOT 19mm. I'll measure and make sure.

You happened to pick the only charger on the market that has the plugs spaced "properly" and got spoiled :)

Still, a simple thing like this shouldn't be grounds to bash a product and/or condemn it in its entirety.

Reply to
Mathew Kirsch

Well, I wasn't going to get into the fray, BUT I was under the impression that the 3/4" "standard" was for test equipment ONLY.

I have a LOT of electronics here, including multiple power supplies with banana/binding posts, and the only items that are on 3/4" centers are the multimeters and function generators. I don't think I have ever even taken notice before now, since we use loose plugs, not the dual types.

I agree that saying the Triton sucks (I have one by the way and love it) just because he locked himself into his choice of plugs is ridiculous. Never had any problems using the separate Red/Black plugs on anything.

Jim

Reply to
James Beck

My SWTPC variable power supply has the output jacks on 3/4".

I think the 'standard' is - if there are 2 jacks that will simultaneously be used, then the spacing is 3/4".

And as I said elsewhere, the dual plugs are normally solderless-capable.

David

Reply to
David AMA40795 / KC5UH

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