battery charger

[Pneumaticsman]

can we use last year's battery charger?

Thanks

[Sunshine]

yes

[EricH]

Yes.

<R48> The ES17-12 shall only be charged between MATCHES by a 6-ampere rated automatic battery charger. When recharging the Kit Of Parts batteries, either the charger provided by FIRST or an automatic charger with an equivalent charging current rating may be used.

Make that yes for both batteries:

<R49> The 7.2v backup battery may be charged on or off the ROBOT. When off the ROBOT, the battery is to be charged with a 7.2V backup battery charger. When mounted on the ROBOT, the backup battery may be charged from the 12VDC primary battery by using the custom charging circuit available from Innovation First Inc. or any similar charging circuit (note: IFI will provide the design for this circuit on the IFI website, however teams must obtain the parts for this circuit and assemble it themselves). The use of this circuit is strongly encouraged.

[Cow Bell Solo]

yes you can use last years charger as long as you have the quick release battery connector on it. I am pretty sure

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Last year's charger is OK, Anderson plugs are recommended but not yet required.

[ebarker]

Like Al said, the Anderson plugs are recommended for safety reasons but not required.

At risk of shameless self promotion Kell Robotics is selling the a kit to modify the charger.

You can get it here: charger modification kit

The money goes to charity. THere is an FAQ on the program here: FAQ

Or you can pull a cable out of your store room if you have one and fit it onto the charger.