abetek Report post #1 Posted January 9 I've been absent from the forum for a couple of years as I pursued a career in industrial design. Hello again! I'll be selling my gear pretty soon, but in the meantime, I can announce the first new Abetek product in quite some time. I was able to partner with my company in a joint venture to bring this out. For everyone who uses a lot of NiMH AAs, this is for you. On many shoots I was using at least two racks of 12 AAs per day. At the end of the day, unloading all the batteries to be charged, and reloading them the next day, was a hassle. So I can now present to you, my baby, the RadCad. It pretty much does what it says on the tin, with features you know and love from your current charger. Simple, one-second, one-handed operation It will charge 2700 mAh in less time than your turnaround, about 7 hours, without your batteries ever leaving the caddy. Five-step battery meters on clear, backlit LCD. One-button deep discharge goes to automatic charge, to improve performance and elongate battery life. Compact size, upright operation means minimum footprint. Compatible with popular 12-AA battery caddies (sort of, see below). We also made our own caddy, which completes the set. Once all of your batteries are charged, do you need to reverse each one to show it's charged? NO! Simply remove the bottom of the caddy and snap it on top. Now all of your batteries indicate properly. As a bonus, they won't tear the battery casing every time you take them out (now half as much!), or mess up your fingers. Since I know you all are professionals, I will give you the downsides now, so you have them in advance. The popular 12-AA caddy fits perfectly into the charger. However, the old caddy kind of hides the contacts on one side. So it can take some smooshing of the spring contacts to get them to line up. You can avoid this annoyance by using our caddy. We had to put a 30mm fan in there - there was too much heat in the enclosure otherwise. It measures about 28 dB at 1' ('whisper level') or 13 dB at 6' (comparable to pin drop). So I wouldn't put it next to your boom, but there are camera battery chargers that are much louder. This should be available from some of the usual suspects by the middle of Feb. As of this writing the MSRP will be $79. I will post here with any updates. Thanks and I will leave you with this fanciful image (or nightmarish depending on your perspective). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Solid Goldberger Report post #2 Posted January 9 It LIVES! Mazel Tov on your new baby! Looking forward to ordering a couple. e. P.S. NYC misses you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
codyman Report post #3 Posted January 9 Fantastic design! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drpro Report post #4 Posted January 9 Nice great concept Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vincent R. Report post #5 Posted January 9 Nice! 120/240v adaptive? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soundtrane Report post #6 Posted January 9 Can my company (Overtone Audio) represent you in India? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abetek Report post #7 Posted January 9 Thanks guys! It's been a longer road than I hoped, but I do feel good about releasing it now. Vincent R - Yes, currently just have a US plug available, but the power supply does take 240v. Vin - that's a really interesting offer, please email me, abe@abetek.co. Personally I'd be honored. Thanks! Ethan - I miss you, but not NYC (= Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonovanBomb Report post #8 Posted January 9 Please post a direct link where I can purchase when it's released. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ilari Sivil Report post #9 Posted January 9 Looks great! I'm probably going to a couple of these in my life at some point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soundtrane Report post #10 Posted January 10 12 hours ago, abetek said: Vin - that's a really interesting offer, please email me, abe@abetek.co. Personally I'd be honored. Thanks! Honor is mine, to be able to provide an excellent product here... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shastapete Report post #11 Posted January 10 can the charger take a direct DC input? this would be great to integrate into my charging case (12v would be ideal, 5v or 24v also do-able) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abetek Report post #12 Posted January 10 2 hours ago, Shastapete said: can the charger take a direct DC input? this would be great to integrate into my charging case (12v would be ideal, 5v or 24v also do-able) Yes, the power supply is 12V 2A! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VAS Report post #13 Posted January 10 Please, bring it to EU Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ao Report post #14 Posted January 11 i find this concept very attractive. also, am hoping the abetek caddy will be more friendly to batteries than the existing caddys that i use are. i use the format because i like the format but i know it accelerates the wear on the battery. i will contact one of the "usual suspects" in the morning Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
