If you're serious about electric racing, there are some things you just can't skimp on. Tires and motors are high on the list, but batteries—and a pro-caliber charger to charge them—may be the most important and can certainly be the biggest budget-crunchers. Batteries still aren't cheap, but DuraTrax just took a huge bite out of the cost of pro-level charging with the new IntelliPeak Ice charger. It has every feature you could ever need, it stores all the data necessary to pick the best A-main packs, and it can display charge and discharge curves. It can even charge Lithium-polymer (Li-poly) and Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) cells for you big-power guys. And it costs only about $150 compared with $300-plus for chargers with similar features. If it works as promised, the Ice could be racing's biggest bargain. LEFT: A charge curve. See the vertical cursor line? You can scroll it across the curve to see data from any point, and you can zoom in and out to see more detail or get the big picture. RIGHT: If you select the 4-step charging mode, the Ice will alter the charge amperage as the pack reaches the capacity milestones that you set. The graphic makes it easy to wrap your head around the configuration of the “steps.” FEATURES LI-POLY AND LI-ION COMPATIBLE. Not using the new cell technologies yet? If the RC plane scene is any gauge, you soon will be (and if you're into micro-RC, you probably already are). The Ice is ready for both, and it has special software and charge modes designed specifically for the new cells, which are nothing like the Ni-Cds and NiMHs we're used to. ALUMINUM CASE WITH COOLING FAN. The Ice's side panels and faceplate are plastic, but the main body is a thick-walled, finned extrusion that should have no trouble dissipating heat, especially with the unit's side-mounted fan blowing a steady breeze through the fins. 8x21 DOT-MATRIX DISPLAY. This type of display is much preferred over a 7-segment calculator-type display because it can handle more characters and can also display graphics. For the Ice, that means showing you the charge and discharge curves, plus all sorts of alphanumeric info such as input/output voltage, battery resistance, maximum battery temperature, charge/discharge amperage and pack capacity. DELTA-PEAK, AMXIMUM CAPACITY AND TEMPERATURE CUTOFF CHARGE TERMINATION. It's your choice: you can set the Ice to look for a voltage drop as the indicator of the pack's fully charged status, or you can use the temp probe to monitor the pack's temperature and shut down when it hits your target temp. You can also use the temp-cutoff as a safety measure by programming the Ice to use delta-peak but to shut down if the pack gets warmer than your set temp before a peak is detected. Another fail-safe is the programmable maximum-capacity setting that lets you program the charger to stop charging if it detects that the pack has taken more juice than it is rated for. This is set by percentage; for example, if you set the maximum capacity to 105 percent for a 3300mAh pack, the Ice will shut down if the pack takes 3465mAh before a peak is detected. ADJUSTABLE VOLTAGE THRESHOLD. When charging in peak-detection mode, the Ice's sensitivity to voltage drop can be adjusted from 0 to 25 millivolts. Crank it up for stubborn packs; keep it down low for newer cells. Note that this mode is for Ni-Cd and NiMH cells only; Li-poly and Li-ion packs have their own specific peak-detection setting.   Above: That's a lot of info—and there's more when you scroll down! Above: The temp probe. You can adjust the spacing of the jaws to suit cells of different types. Above: The Motor Run feature lets you set run time and voltage, and displays amp draw as the motor runs. Above: All chargers should have this banana plug/alligator clip combo. You can jack into a power supply or clip onto a car battery without juggling adapters. REFLEX-CHANGE MODE. Reflex charging delivers a 4-millisecond burst of discharge every second at four times the charge rate. For example, if you're charging at 5 amps in reflex mode, the Ice will deliver 5 amps for 99.6 percent of 1 second and discharge at 20 amps for 4 milliseconds for every second of the charge. "Reflex charging is believed by some to help remove oxidizing gas bubbles from the batteries' cell plates, allowing the battery to charge more efficiently and is thought to be especially helpful for older Ni-Cd batteries," says DuraTrax, and that pretty much sums up the accepted wisdom about reflex charging. RE-PEAK AND AUTO-CHARGE MODES. If you like to re-peak your packs before each run, you'll like this feature. Just select the number of re-peaks you want (up to three), and the Ice will do the rest. If you select the auto-charge mode, the Ice will analyze the pack and charge it accordingly; all it needs to know from you is the battery type and maximum temperature for charge termination. FOUR-STEP CHARGE MODE. This mode is unique in that you set the charge amperage to vary according to capacity while charging. For example, you can program the Ice to charge at 3 amps until the pack has 1000mAh and then charge at 6 amps until it reaches 2500mAh and 5 amps up to 3300mAh, and then finish the charge at 4 amps. The amp rates and capacity settings are all up to you. 10 CHARGE PROFILES. Thank you; now I can program settings for my receiver pack, my old 2400s, the latest 3700s and seven other types of pack. That sure beats re-inputting the settings every time I clip in a new pack. CYCLE-DATA RECALL. After cycling the pack (which you can set for up to 10 cycles and choose to finish with a charged or discharged pack), the Ice shows you all the capacity and voltage data for each cycle. ADJUSTABLE COOL-OFF DELAY. After charging, a pack is warm; after dumping, it's hot. If you charge it and then dump it without a break, you just might overheat your cells. To avoid that expensive scenario, the Ice lets you program a cooling-off period between charging and discharging while cycling. You can set it for up to 30 minutes. ADJUSTABLE MOTOR RUN. Getting juice into a motor is easy, but the Ice lets you decide just how many volts go in (1 to 8), and it allows you to set the run time (from 1 second to 3 hours!). It displays run time and amp draw as the motor runs and saves the peak amp draw. REFLEX-CHANGE MODE. 0.1 TO 10A discharger. Here's the one area where I wish the Ice delivered a little more. Most racers prefer to dump packs at 20 to 30 amps, so the Ice's 10A maximum is on the weak side if training your packs at race-amperage is important to you. Adjustable sounds, screen contrast and fan operation. We all like to personalize our gear, and the Ice makes it easy. You can put your name (or whatever) on the screen, select from a variety of "charge complete" tones, set the fans for auto-on or manual operation and even adjust the screen contrast. Ice-ing Li-poly & Li-ion Packs I concentrated on testing the Ice with the Ni-Cd and NiMH cells that still dominate RC, but the Ice is ready for the next generation of battery technology thanks to its Lithium-polymer and Lithium-ion battery compatibility. I used the Ice to charge an Electrifly 1200mAh 7.4V Li-poly pack, and it worked as reliably with that as it did with "regular" batteries. Some of the Ice's functions (cycling, most notably) aren't available when charging Li-poly and Li-ion cells, but this isn't because DuraTrax skimped; it's because the omitted functions aren't good for the cells. TESTING THE ICE Getting started is easy; I didn't even need the manual to program the initial charge settings. Just scroll with the jog dial, press it to highlight the function you want, and then dial it up or down with the jog dial. If there's more than one column on the screen, the cursor keys are used to "move" left and right. I did find the screen a little hard to see, however, even with the contrast cranked up. Propping up the charger so the screen is closer to vertical helps a lot, but back-lighting the screen would be a better solution. After testing with Ni-Cd and NiMH packs, I concluded that the charging modes all work as promised, and the temperature probe does its thing well. (I only wish it was included, instead of being an option. But at least it's cheap—about $8.) I purposely set the voltage drop too high to see whether the Ice would over-charge my GP3300 cells, but it cut off the charge when the pack reached my programmed temperature setting of 100 degrees. And it shut down if the pack reached the preset maximum capacity before detecting a peak charge. As long as you set appropriate temperature and capacity cutoff levels, overcharging with the Ice is virtually impossible. Cyclingpacks was also simple, and being able to end on the charge or the discharge half of the cycle is a plus. The cooldown feature is also a bonus because a pack can get quite hot while cycling, even at the charger's low 10A discharge rate. Amperage was a factor when using the motor-run feature. The Ice rolls up the voltage gently to eliminate the chance of a hard-start amperage spike, but low-turn mods can still pull more than 10 amps depending on the voltage you choose to run them at. The hottest mod I used to test the motor-run function was a Reedy Kr 10-single. If I ran the motor at more than 3 amps, it would overload the Ice, causing it to terminate the run and display a "motor not connected" message—no harm done. THE VERDICT The Ice is an incredible charger based on its features alone, but factor in its low price, and it's not just a great piece of gear; it's also a major bargain. The low cost offsets the "misses" of low discharge amperage, a non-backlit screen and not-included temp probe. Makes me wonder whether DuraTrax would do well to offer an "Ice Pro" with a 30A discharger, a backlit screen and a temp probe. Heck, offer an AC/DC model, too. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but for now, the Ice is sure to be a hit as is. Just make sure that you write your name on yours, because you'll see a lot of these chargers at the track! LIKES DISLIKES • Incredibly adjustable; even chargesLi-poly and Li-ion packs. • Rugged extruded-aluminum casewith built-in cooling fan. • Cleverbanana-plug/alligator-clipconnectors. • Displays charge/dischargecurves. • Way affordable! • Screen isn't backlit. • Only discharges up to 10 amps. • Temperature probe isn'tincluded.   MANUFACTURER'S SPECIFICATIONS • Input voltage 11 to 15 DC • Battery type/cells 1 to 10 Ni-Cd (1.2 to 12 volts) 1 to 10 NiMH (1.2 to 12 volts) 1 to 4 Li-ion or Li-poly (3.6 to 14.8 volts) • Battery capacity 100 to 9900mAh • Charge current 0.1 amp to 8 amps linear, reflex, impulse and 4-step • Charge termination Peak detection for Ni-Cd and NiMH; constant current/constant voltage for Li-ion and Li-poly; optional thermal cutoff for all battery types • Peak sensitivity 0 to 25mV (adjustable) • Trickle-charge current 0 to 500mA (NA for Li-ion, Li-poly) • Discharge current 0.1 amp to 10 amps (adjustable) • Discharge cutoff voltage 0.8 to 1.1 per cell (Ni-Cd, NiMH); 2.5 to 3.7 per cell (Li-ion, Li-poly) • Temperature cut-off range 50 to 132° Fahrenheit • Cycle count 1 to 10 (NA for Li-ion, Li-poly) • Cycle cool-off delay 1 to 30 min. (adjustable) • Battery memories 10 • Display type 8x21, 168 characters max. • Graphic display Graphs charge and discharge voltage curves • Output connectors Banana jacks • Motor break-in 1 volt to 8 volts (selectable), 1 to 120 min., 10 amps constant • Case dimensions 5.5x1.8x5.9 in. (140x45x150mm) • Weight 21 oz. (605g) • Price $150 (varies with dealer)

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