The two new Vaterra 14th scaled vehicles, the Kemora and the Kalahari, come with an old school, low current, Ni-MH pack. If you really want to boost your new Vaterra’s performance a Lipo battery should be your first step.

Dynamite has announced a new Lipo that pops right into the Kemora and Kalahari. This “long” form factor Lipo is a 2 cell (7.4 volt) 2000 mAh pack that gives more power off the line as well as higher top speeds.

Part number for the new “long” Dynamite Lipo is #DYN1476 and they have a street price of $40. For more detailed information click THIS link which takes you to the official Horizon website. Don’t forget that you’ll need a Lipo charger for this battery as the one included with the Kemora and Kalahari is only for Ni-MH.

Thinking about getting a new Vaterra? Check out THIS link right here on BigSquidRC.

Prices for the new Reaction series Lipo’s range from $29 for a 2S 20C 4000 mah up to $69 for a 3S 30C 5000. Hit up the official Dynamite Website for more information. Hit up THIS link for more Dynamite news right here on BigSquidRC.

* 100W charge power per output
* Li-Po/Li-Fe & Ni-MH battery types
* Charges 1-6S Li-Po, 1-6S Li-Fe, 1-8C Ni-MH
* 500W power supply
* Adjustable 0.1–8.0A charger current per channel
* Ability to charge different battery types at different currents simultaneously
* 4 internal cooling fans
* Short-circuit protection
* Over-current protection
* Reverse-polarity protection
* Low-input voltage protection
* Over-temperature protection
* Includes (4) insulated banana-to-EC3™ connectors
* Includes (4) JST XH type balance boards (2-6S)
* Detachable AC and DC power cords
* 100-240 VAC (50/60Hz) or 11-18V DC input voltage
* Length- 10.62 in (270mm)
* Width- 7.48 in (190mm)
* Height- 3.35 in (85mm)
* Part #DYN4110

Expect a street price of $280 on this one, and you can hit up the Dynamite RC Website for more information.

Looking for more Dynamite news? Check out THIS link right here on BigSquidRC.

Looking to add some bigger milliamps to your smaller vehicles? The new Dynamite Speedpack 7.4V 2000mAh 30c Lipi Mini can help. This new mini lipo packs 2000mAh into a small footprint that can be run in your mini Losi, ECX, and even Pro-Boat vehicles. It comes with a EC3 plug, JST_XH connector, and boasts a 30C discharge rate.
Part number on the new mini is DYN1475, and will have a street price of about $45.

Looking for more Dynamite news here on BigSquidRC? Click HERE.

Looks like the folks from Dynamite are keeping us bashers in mind with the new Dynamite Fuze 70A Brushless Waterproof ESC. It’s designed to fit more 1/10th scale vehicles, is Lipo (up to 3s) and NiMH compatable, and is programmable via the Dynamite Fuze programming card. Part number is DYN4850 on the ESC and DYN3745 on the programming card.
Street price is about $90.

We have plenty more Dynamite news here on BigSquidRC, take a look HERE.

The latest tires from Dynamite are the SpeedTreads 1/8th Scale Buggy Robber Tires. The wheel and Tire combo is for optimal grip on streets and hard surfaces. No need to shred those off-road tires apart when you can just toss a set of these on. They are available as just tires, or pre-mounted to the rims. Street price is about $18 a set (mounted) and part number is DYN8264.

Don’t forget you can get more Dynamite news here on Big Squid RC. Click HERE.

Intro: The Dynamite SpeedPack Lipo’s have developed a good reputation among the bashing crowd of being reliable, go to cells that put out good power. Today we’ll be taking a look at their hard case 3S 50C 5200 mAh Lipo. Does it put out insane power? Can it take a beating? Let’s find out…

From: Dynamite

Direct Link: SpeedPack 3S 50C 5200 w/Deans

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Specs:

Battery Type: Lithium Polymer
Stated Capacity: 5200 mah
Cell Configuration: 3S2P
Voltage- 11.1v (12.6 volt max, 9 volt min)
Discharge- 50C constant (260 amps)
Weight (measured by BSRC with Traxxas connector)- 430 grams
Dimensions (measured by BSRC)- 46mm wide x 35mm tall x 138mm long
Balance Plug Type- JST-XH
Stock Connector- Deans
Max Charge Rate- 5C/26 amps
Street Price: $130

What’s In The Box: Our review Lipo battery came ready to jam with a Deans plug pre-soldered.

Build Quality: Decent build and solder quality.

Test Platforms: Pro-Line Pro-2 Tuned Traxxas Slash and STRC tuned Axial EXO Terra Buggy. The Pro-Line truck was using a Castle SideWinder and 5700kv brushless motor, the STRC EXO sported a Max Pro with 3800 kv brushless motor. Hitec servo’s were used in both, as was a Futaba 4PK Super-R radio system.

Test Drivers: Cubby, Brian, Tim, and Iron Mike

Test Venues: iHobby demo track Cleveland Ohio, Leisure Hours in Joliet Illinois, DirtBurners in St Louis Missouri, various backyards and streets

Driving Impressions: Whoa! As I like to tell new people to the hobby, going from 2S to 3S may only be a third more voltage, but it feels TWICE as fast, and that was certainly the case when using the Dynamite SpeedPack. The SpeedPack we tested never failed to provide us with wayyyy more power than our driving skills could remotely handle. Instantly jabbing the throttle on the SpeedPack 3S 5200 turned our tires to giant pizza cutters with massive rooster tails behind them. Our Pro-Line tuned Slash is normally a great handling machine at normal power levels, but on the 3S SpeedPack it was at the very limits of what it could put down to terra firma. Our review 4wd Axial EXO is pretty fast on 2S, but after popping in the 3S Dynamite it was like an angry pitbull on crack- insanely, gnarly, just plain stupid fast.

Downsides: Solid pack, not much to gripe about. I know the Dynamite SpeedPack isn’t supposed to be a “high-end” line for Horizon, but a more attractive case and graphics would be nice. The pack has good performance inside, but it looks dull and average on the outside.

About The Graphs: We used a West Mountain CBA discharger to performed a 1C/5.2 amp discharge to test capacity. Next we did a 6C/31.2 amp discharge, and finally a 40 amp continuous discharge to see how well the Dynamite held its voltage under a continuous load. The higher a battery can hold its voltage, the faster your car/truck will be. Ambient temp for all bench tests was 70 F, the pack was always charged on a Hyperion 720iNet3 at 1C/5.2 amps and voltage cut-off was always set at 3.0 volts per cell during discharges. We tested it with a Traxxas connector just like we have done for every other pack.

Discharge Notes:

The Dynamite states 5200 mAh on its packaging, we only measured 5007 mAh, which is 96% of stated capacity. Not bad, but not great.

Under load the SpeedPack held up well, putting out solid numbers at reasonable temps. Because this was the first 3S pack of this size that we’ve reviewed, we can’t state that it had epic or poor performance compared to other 3S packs. However, we can look at the output graphs and see at the 1 minute mark of the 6C test the SpeedPack put out 11.44 volts, which is 3.81 volts per cell. We recently reviewed a Pro-Match 2S pack, their 50C 5000 mAh, at its 1 minute mark under 6C its voltage was 7.65 volts, 3.83 volts per cell. By that comparison the Dynamite puts out .02 volts less per cell than the Pro-Match did under a 6C load. Not an optimal comparison by any means, but it roughly shows that the SpeedPack is in the ballpark for performance during bench testing.

Measured Temps:

1C – 78 F
6C/31.2 amps – 92 F
40 amps – 97

Measured Capacities:

1C – 5007 mah
6C/31.2 amps – 4823 mah
40 amps – 4880 mah

Measured Run Times:

1C – 57:34
6C/31.2 amps – 9:18
40 amps – 7:20

Summary:

Time to Bash – 9.5/10 - The SpeedPack had a Deans pre-solded, plus you can charge it at up to a 5C charge rate, these two factors get you on track extra fast.

Car Show Rating – 7.5/10 - Clean but plain looking pack.

Bash-A-Bility – 10/10 - The Dynamite lived through arguably the toughest beatings we’ve ever put a pack through with no ill effects.

Fun Factor – 9.5/10 - Blowing up tires, 40 foot long rooster tails, and bouncing off rafters is awesome fun!

Power – 9/10 - We are scoring the Dynamite as a 9 because it puts out plenty of solid power. But here is the real scoop- if you are used to only driving on 2S the Dynamite will feel about a 20 on a scale of 10.

Value – 7.5/10 - The Dyanmite is a mid-priced 3S Lipo that has solid power for the bank invested.

BigSquid Rating – 8.8/10 - Tentacles. If you are wanting to take your fast 2S truck to a completely new level the 3S Dyanmite pack can and will do it. It can power your truck to insane levels, gives you good run-times and endures abuse as well as any we have tested.

The guys designing battery chargers now days aren’t just putting out the same old cookie cutter designs that they used to. A good example of this is the new Dynamite Passport UltraLite 50 Watt AC/DC charger. The UltraLite not only has a unique look, but is loaded to the hilt with features. Is it a battery charger worth putting in your garage? Let’s find out…

From: Dynamite RC
Direct Link: Passport UltraLite 50 Watt ChargerPassport UltraLite 50 Watt Charger

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Street Price: $95

Specs:

Heat Sensor: Available but not included ($10)
Connector: EC3
USB Charge port: Yes
Internal Power Supply: Yes
Max Charge Rate: 6 amps
Max Cell Count: 6S Lipo, 15 cell Ni-MH,
Cell Chemistries Supported: Li-Ion/LiPo/LiFe/NiCd/NiMH/Pb
Model Memory: Yes, 10
Discharge Mode: Yes, 2 amps max
Battery storage mode: Yes
Balance Charger: Yes
Balance Plug: JST-XH
AC/DC: Both, DC cable not included ($7)
Cooling fan: Yes
Length: 155mm
Width: 105mm
Height: 67.5mm
Part #: DYN4103
Warranty: 1 year limited

What’s In The Box: Charger, manual, warranty information, balance board and wiring, AC power cord, output wires with EC3 connector

Build Quality: The chargers case is constructed primarily out of plastic. Charger looked well put together, display was easy to read.

Test Users: Cubby, Brian, Tim, Iron Mike

Set-up Notes: We used the Passport UltraLite only off AC power, and the stock EC3 was ditched for a Traxxas connector. A variety of packs were charged- from small 18th scale packs, to 2S 5400 mah Lipo’s, to a 4S 6500.

Ease of Use: The UltraLite has mulitple functions, all of which can be used without consultation to the manual. The display was exceptionally easy to read, but the tiny, hard to press buttons took some getting used to.

Power: The Dynamite UltraLite packs a decent punch from its small form factor. A 6 amp rate on 2S is enough to charge most Lipo packs in a reasonable amount of time.

On track: We didn’t do a bunch of lab testing on the quality of charge for this review, but on track the packs we charged with the UltraLite were solid in power output.

Broken Parts/Issues: Because of the design of the UltraLite, it fell off various pit tables roughly a dozen times, but it still works without issue today.

Misc Notes:

The LED lights on the sides of the UltraLite are a neat touch that come in handy.

Love the display, easy to read on sunny days, easy to read in the pitch black. The included stand props the charger up at a nice angle for optimal reading of the display.

The UltraLite tends to fall over, a lot. This is caused by two things- 1. the AC power cable coming out the top, and 2. the stand that props the charger up is too narrow. These two factors result in a top heavy design with not enough support, thus resulting in a charger that is seemingly always on its side. If the UltraLite had the AC cable coming out the bottom, and the base of the support stand was wider, I don’t think it would tip over nearly as much, if at all.

The tipping issue won’t be a problem if you elect to hang it from a hook or lay it flat on its back.

The charge cord looks a bit short but was long enough for all of our applications.

I personally liked the looks of the UltraLite, but then I’m a big fan of things that look high tech and different.

We liked the small size of the UltraLite, it takes up very little space in your pit box.

I’m told the case material is an industrial resin used to make car bumpers and football helmets, sounds like tough stuff for us basher types.

I have seen Iron Mike do plenty of stupid things, but one really sticks out to me. About a year ago I witnessed Iron Mike pull the wires out of a battery charger while the battery was still attached to the wires via its Traxxas connector. What happened next was all sorts of ugly- the bare bullet connectors at the charger end of the wires touched, sparked, welded together, then the Lipo went into full blown thermal runaway. This can’t happen with the UltraLite as the bullet connectors that go into the charger are insulated.

We used the UltraLites USB charge port all the time on our smart phones. However, it also comes out of the top which doesn’t help the top heavy situation.

Charging a Lipo in fast charge mode results in a quality quick charge without wasting any time. After a fast charge our packs felt snappy on track.

Summary:

Time To Bash – 8/10 - The menu is easy to learn, just plug in the AC power and you are ready to charge.

Car Show Rating – 8/10 - The UltraLite had a love/hate response around the office, staffers either loved it or didn’t care for it at all. It can certainly be said that the UltraLite has a unique look that turned heads when sitting on the pit table.

Bash-A-Bility – 10/10 - The Passport UltraLite took more than its fair share of falls off the pit table without issue.

Power – 7/10 - The UltraLite has enough power for the typical 2S 5000 mah Lipo that most drivers use, but if you primarily use higher cell counts or want to charge at faster than a 1C rate you’ll want to look for a more powerful charger.

Value – 8/10 - The Passport Ultralite is perhaps the most feature packed charger on the market for under a hundred bucks.

BigSquid Rating – 8.2/10 - Tentacles. The Dynamite Passport UltraLite gives solid battery charges and is packed full of features. Unfortunately it tended to tip over while sitting on the pit table, this detracts from its appeal, but if you elect to use it flat on its back or handheld like a multimeter that won’t be an issue.

At BigSquidRC we are all about going balls out with everything we do, and that even extends to charging batteries. We hate waiting for batteries to charge, so we charge at the fastest safe rate that we can. Certain members of our staff also hate lugging around a separate power supply and only use AC chargers. Horizon Hobby has a new uber charger out, the Dynamite Passport Ultra Duo that is made for people like us. The Passport Ultra Duo is a dual port charger than can put out up to 10 amps x 2, even when plugged into a normal AC power outlet. Is the new Passport Ultra Duo one of the most elite chargers on the market, or does it fall short? Read on…

From: Dynamite RC
Direct Link: Passport Ultra Duo

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Specs- –
Heat Sensor: Can be used but not included
Connectors: EC3
USB Charge port: Yes
Internal Power Supply: 500 watts
Max Charge Rate: Up to 10 amps on each port
Max Cell Count: Up to 6S Lithium, 15 cell Ni-MH
Cell Chemistries Supported: NiCd, NiMH, LiPo, LiFe, and Pb
Model Memory: Yes
Discharge Mode: 25 watts per port (up to 5 amps)
Balance Current Drain: 300mA per cell
Battery storage mode: Yes
Balance Charger: Yes
Balance Plug: JST-XH
AC/DC: AC and DC, DC cords not included
Warranty: 1 year limited
Street Price: $270

Primary Competition: Good question, there aren’t that many high output dual AC chargers out there. There are several other high output DC only dual chargers out there, but not AC.

What’s In The Box: Charger, AC cord, balance boards, battery wires with EC3 connectors, and instructions. What is not included is temp probes and DC wires.

Build Quality: Everything looked solid and nicely done.

Test Drivers: Cubby, Brian, Tim, Iron Mike

Set-up Notes: The only mod we did was to ditch the stock EC3 connectors and solder up Traxxas Connectors. We did this mainly because all of our test packs are already shod with Traxxas. Otherwise, we charged a variety of packs from small 18th scale 1200 mah packs to 4S 6500 mah Lipo’s.

Ease of Use: I did not have to refer to the owners manual during our test period, but Iron Mike did go through the manual for a couple of questions he had. We had a noob at the track charge his pack with the Passport and he had no problems charging his pack. The menu’s do take a few minutes to get used to, but once you get the feel of it the Passport is easy to operate.

Power: 10 amps per side on an AC charger is a TON of power.

On track: We went back to back with packs charged off the Dynamite with two other different brands of chargers. The packs that came off the Dynamite felt as strong, if not stronger, than the packs that came off our reference chargers when driven on track.

Broken Parts/Issues: None. We dropped the Passport Ultra Duo off our pit table three times without any issues. Also, we charged over a dozen packs at the Passports maximum charge rate (on both ports at the same time) with no issues.

Quality Of Charge:

Here is a new category for our battery charger reviews- we actually test the Quality of the charge.

What benefits can you see from a better quality charge? Two things- longer run-times and higher voltage. Years ago it was a big deal to buy a charger that was said to give a better charge than another brand. With the advent of Lipo batteries it seems like everyone has forgotten that yes it is still possible for one charger to do a better job of charging than another. We’ve seen it first hand- we’ve seen chargers that simply would not fully charge a Lipo, and we’ve seen chargers that said 8.40 volts on their screen, but when tested with a separate multi-meter it was a significantly lower voltage. The only way to find out if a charger is truly giving you a good charge is to test it first hand, and that’s what we did with the Dynamite.

We did four discharges to determine the quality of charge, runs 1 and 3 after using the Hyperion to charge with, runs 2 and 4 using the Dynamite for the charge.
Here is how we conducted the tests-

1. At the start of the day we fully charged a 2S 5000 mah Lipo battery. We used a Pro-Match for this test that had slightly over 50 cycles on it.
2. Immediately after the pack was fully charged, we discharged the pack at 30 amps to 3 volts per cell on our West Mountain CBA. This was a sort of warm up and we did not keep the graph of the discharge on this run.
3. After the pack returned to ambient temp (72 F in this case) I immediately charged the battery on a Hyperion 720iNet3 at a 2C (10 amp) charge rate.
4. Immediately after the pack was fully charged it was then discharged at 30 amps to 3 volts per cell on our West Mountain CBA and we saved the graph. This was the first “run” saved for comparison purposes.
5. The pack was allowed to cool to room temp then immediately charged with the Dynamite Passport Ultra Duo at 2C (10 amps).
6. Immediately after the pack was fully charged it was once again discharged on the West Mountain at 30 amps making the second “run” for comparison purposes.
7. Once the pack had reached ambient temp it was immediately charged on the Hyperion then discharged for a third “run”.
8. We did one final cycle using the Dynamite for the charge.

We used 2C charge rates because that’s what we use in the field. We chose a 30 amp discharge at it represented a 6C (10 minute) discharge, roughly the type of run-time we’d expect to get out in the field. All charging was done in “fast charge” mode without balance charging, just like we would do in the field. All 5 charges and discharges were conducted on the same day in the most consistent manner possible.

Run #1 was charged by the Hyperion and resulted in a tested capacity of 4803 mah, with a 9 minute 38 second discharge. Run #3 charged by the Hyperion resulted in a tested capacity of 4821 mah and a 9 minute 40 second discharge.

Run #2 was charged by the Dynamite and resulted in a tested capacity of 4879 mah with a 9 minute 49 second runtime. Run #4 charged by the Dynamite resulted in a tested capacity of 4853 mah and a 9 minute 44 second run-time.

How long did it take the two different chargers to fully charge our Pro-Match 2S 5000? Average charging time for the Hyperion at 2C on the Pro-Match 2S 5000 Lipo was 38 minutes 12 seconds. Average charging time for the Dynamite at 2C on the Pro-Match 2S 5000 Lipo was 35 minutes 38 seconds.

To boil it down, this could not be considered a “scientific” trial by any means, a measly 4 discharges are not nearly enough to declare something as fact. But… from the small amount of testing we did, it would appear that the Dynamite give slightly longer run-times, and after closely looking at the graphs, slightly higher voltage as well. The differences are very small, perhaps too small to ever be felt on track, but our data shows they existed during our limited testing.

The Dynamite spent less time charging (about 3 minutes less per charge) than the Hyperion did. 3 minutes saved may not seem like a big deal, but if you are racing multiple classes those 3 minutes can be the difference between making the line with a fully charged pack or not.

Considering the Hyperion is often times referred to as the “best of the best” in battery chargers, I’d say the Dynamite tested very well based on the limited data we collected. At the very least, IMO from both bench testing and from on-track driving of packs charged on the Dynamite, I’d definitely say the Passport gives a very high quality charge.

Misc Notes:

We were handed our review Passport at the iHobby Expo in Cleveland. Over the course of the show we left the Passport out in our booth for display purposes. I have worked a lot of rc trade shows and I’ve never seen a battery charger garner so much attention. People would walk right past uber show cars to come over and look at the Passport. It’s a behemoth, it’s trick looking, and at iHobby it was a “show stopper”.

The display is easy to read and puts up all the pertinent information you need.

We found the fast charge mode to be very fast. However, if you choose to fully balance your packs using the “balance mode” a charge can take forever. The Passport uses a very light discharge to even out the cells during balance charging and that process can take hours, even on packs that aren’t far out of balance.

The Passport Ultra Duo has a large footprint and some weight to it, it feels like you got your moneys worth, and it makes a statement on your pit table.

The fan is fairly quiet, that’s a big plus to us.

The USB charge port for your cell phone is AWESOME, this should be standard on every charger made.

The alarm tones are also fairly quiet, which is a good thing in a crowded indoor pit room. We all know “that one guy” with the horrifically loud battery charger that is seemingly never attended and goes off forever. You won’t be “that” guy in the pits with the Passport. However, if you are in the next room, or the ambient noise level is high, you may not hear that your charge has ended.

Downsides:

I know the Passport didn’t come with DC cables to keep its price point down, but without including them people will end up rigging cables to run the charger off of a 12 volt car battery when the AC power isn’t on at the track. I predict sparks will be a fly’n. LOL

A set of wires with simple alligator clips would have been nice to charge with. Not that many people use the EC3′s that the Passport comes with and alligator clips can be used on nearly every type of connector out there.

As with all of our stuff, if you see us at a bash, stop by and check out the vehicles we have with us. We may let you take a test drive, and at the very least get you some stickers!

SUMMARY

Time To Bash – 8.0/10 – Easy to understand menu’s and AC make it fast to get going. Only coming with EC3 connectors can slow things down.

Car Show Rating – 8.5/10 – It’s does not have a lot of bling factor- there is no gold plating or chrome going on here. However, what it lacks in bling it makes up for in man factor- it looks like a tank on your pit table.

Bash-A-Bility – 10/10 – Yes we tortured our test unit and it is working as well today as when we pulled it out of the box.

Power – 9.5/10 – The Passport Ultra Duo does a 10 amp charge on both ports, all the while not requiring the use of an external DC power supply. That is a lot of power.

Value- 8.0/10 – At $270 the Dynamite is not cheap, in fact it’s one of the most expensive chargers you can buy. But… we feel you get a lot for your money on this one, thus making it a good value. If you were to add up the prices of two high end 10 amp chargers plus a power supply big enough to run them you would really start to see the value of the Passport Ultra Duo.

Big Squid Rating – 8.8/10 - Tentacles..The Dynamite Passport Ultra Duo is a bad-ass dual AC/DC charger, hands down the best in its category ever produced.

* Charges up to 6 cell LiPo/LiFe /Li-Ion
* Charges up to 15 cell NiMH/NiCD
* Up to 10 amp charge current per side
* Interal AC power supply saves space
* 100-240V AC (50/60Hz) or 11-18V DC input voltage
* Detachable AC power cord
* 200W charge power per output
* 25W discharge power per output
* Short circuit, over-current, and reverse polarity protection
* Low input voltage protection
* Over temperature protection
* Battery storage mode
* Includes 2 insulated Banana to EC3™ battery adapter cables
* Includes 2 JST-XH balance adapter boards
* Optional high-current DC power cord available (DYN4012)
* Full charge current available even when using internal power supply
* USB power options

Street price is $270 and they should be available later this month. For more information hit THIS link for the official Dynamite website.

TGIF, hit THIS mystery link to determine your luck for the rest of the weekend.