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IDX JL2plus charger capable of charging third party NP1-batteries?


DjGo

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Hello group,

I don't know if this topic has been covered, but I have a quick question. Is a IDX-JL2plus charger capable of charging other brands Li-Ion NP1 batts? I try to figure out, online, what pin-configurations different brands NP1's are using for charging/discharging etc. without much success... IDX-np1s are hard to come by at the moment, and different brands like Swit, GlobalmediaPro and Citytek (I think the last two are the same but relabelled) offer the batteries I need for a good price, when compared to what I payed for the IDX batteries..

Thanks in advance,

Diego

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I believe the answer is no.

IDX batteries have some extra black magic stuff going on, and their chargers are built with this in mind. I have both the IDX JL2-Plus with 2 x IDX NP-L7s and a SWIT charger for my SWIT NP-1's.

When I bought the SWIT batteries the distributor I spoke to told me they wouldn't charge on the JL2-Plus. Not sure about the GMP's but I suspect it might be the same deal as the SWIT/IDX compatibility.

I could be wrong though. I haven't actually tried to charge my SWITs on the IDX charger

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I believe the answer is no.

IDX batteries have some extra black magic stuff going on, and their chargers are built with this in mind. I have both the IDX JL2-Plus with 2 x IDX NP-L7s and a SWIT charger for my SWIT NP-1's.

When I bought the SWIT batteries the distributor I spoke to told me they wouldn't charge on the JL2-Plus. Not sure about the GMP's but I suspect it might be the same deal as the SWIT/IDX compatibility.

I could be wrong though. I haven't actually tried to charge my SWITs on the IDX charger

Hey thanks Jason.. It probably would be to much to ask to try charging the Swits on the IDX-charger...but, I think it's not necessary because I found a second-hand City-tek battery and the first thing I tried is charging it with the JL2-plus.. Charging didn't give any problems so I have good hopes.. I still don't know if it's a risk to do this cause I'm not familiar with 'battery-intelligence' (overcharge-protection etc. ) .. for me it's a gamble because I'm a trial and error-kinda guy...

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Here's what I know about 3rd party NP batts with IDX chargers.  I have several IDX batts and recently bought 3 NPs from Batteries 4 Broadcast, .

I had been told there shouldn't be a problem charging on an IDX multi-chemistry charger (I have an AL-4).  Of course, 2 out of 3 of the NPs from B4B weren't recognized by the IDX charger.

After a brief conversation with the company, it was clear that this was not the first time they faced this.  There are very subtle differences between the IDX and B4B batts, mostly in the way the charging tabs are lain out, most notably the Thermistor (T) tab, which must be connected for charging.

1. The IDX battery has a "half-tab" in a "full slot".  Pictures will make this easier, see below the post.  Look at the leftmost tab, and you'll see the difference (the blue battery being the IDX).  This means that the T tab in the charger is only a half-wide tab.

2.  The Thermistor tab on the B4B battery can sometimes be 1 or 2 millimeters off from the IDX batts.  This means the Thermistor tab in the charger doesn't make connection with the battery.  Again, for a thousand words, see 2nd photo below.

Basically, the 3rd party batt will charge if it makes the connection with the T tab.  One of my three batts is fine.  The other two, I usually have to put them in a couple times, trying to rock the batt into the charging cradle so the T tab makes contact.  I will explore a more permanent solution when I get thru a few other things on my list that are higher priority.

Hope that helps some folks...

Brian

post-206-13081508756_thumb.jpg

post-206-130815087565_thumb.jpg

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Thanks Brian!!

This is extremely useful. I have all IDX batts and 3 JL-2+ chargers. I've been considering getting some of the GlobalMediaPro batteries:

http://www.globalmediapro.com/dp/A00XK8/Globalmediapro-Li65N-Lithium-ion-Battery-65WH/

They look to be identical to your B4B batteries (even color scheme and LED indicators in addition to tab size/spacing), except they claim to be 65WH instead 60WH and cost $99 instead of $115. With your information it seems the IDX charger can be easily modified to accept these batteries.

Thanks!

Paul 

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Paul, here's some food for thought as you consider new NPs.

I looked at Globalmediapro and decided to go with B4B because they are more "local".

GMP is a worldwide distributing company and I figured that if the batts had any problem (like charging), it would be easier to get answers and help from the Florida company than GMP.

I was happy I did, because it was much easier to get on the phone with Kevin, the owner of B4B, who told me the info about the different alignment of the T tab.

There are happy customers using GMP batts, but the the tech support was well worth $45 difference for 3 batts.

Cheers,

Brian

PS - Paul, I still owe you a round for the 4 track when I'm in LA next.

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Brian,

Are those B4B cells LiIon or NiMH?

Looking at the weight, I am guessing they are NiMH...

Thanks,

You have to look real close, even do a bit of a zoom-in, but just above the arrow; Li-ion Rechargeable Battery.

As an aside, this problem seems to only apply to Li-ion. I've charged Sanyo NiCd's and no-name NiMH in my JL2plus without issue.

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  • 2 years later...

I'm not sure how you guys feel about reviving 2 year old threads... but this is a very current topic for me. I had a soundbag set up with BDS and all IDX stuff until a couple years ago... and I'm putting another bag together now. I'd intended to do it the very same way... already bought a JL-2 plus charger. I just received a pair of brand new IDX NP-L7 batteries from Adorama... and they arrived DOA. The charger flashes orange indicating fully drained (i.e. permanently dead) batteries.

I read all the threads on here... talking about "dangerous batteries" and reliability, durability, etc... and since I had all IDX previously... I decided to bite the bullet and just go full IDX again. When I had NP-L7s batteries before... one of the two never lasted as long... and I contacted IDX about it back then. So... with that in mind... which I had already decided to overlook... and now two brand new batteries arriving dead... I'm a lot more comfortable than I was before in taking a shot on the B4B batteries.

It's a bummer that this thread ended like so many do... with loose tails where people never follow up. I guess you could say that wiggling a third party battery is the accepted solution(?) Another post says 2 out of 3 work fine(?)

I don't know how many people come across this forum or this specific post... but every time I've tried to read anything about this situation... google brings me back to this very thread... so I think it might be helpful to re-visit it.

I'm ordering some B4B batteries as I return my IDX "bricks" (literally)... so we'll have a new report on this old issue pretty soon.

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  • 6 years later...

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