ISDT AIR8 bATTAIR 20A LIPO CHARGER REVIEW

The ISDT AIR8 charger is a DC powered battery charger made by ISDT. It is capable of charging lipos and batteries of all chemistry at up to 500W (up to 20a) using an industry leading user interface with multiple idiot-proofed systems. This is the first charger that supports BATTAIR - a new technology that allows you to retain battery specs and charge history with a lightweight and low cost balance connector that connect to a phone app via blue tooth

For this review I will start out with the charger itself first before I cover off the BATTAIR TECH and how it allows the battery to interface with the app

Air8 Charger

Hardware. The Air8 charger itself is a very compact 80mm x 80mm x 34mm charger. With a simple 3 (touch) button interface. Most of the front is taken up by a large colour LCD screen which displays information very clearly even in bright light. So important is this screen is that it even comes with a screen protector. Unfortunately this charger takes only DC power meaning you'll need a DC adapter like this one or an old laptop charger will do... that includes a converter to XT60 male as a power input. Alternatively you can use a large capacity battery that output 10V or more (like a big 3s lipo or old car batter) which makes it an excellent field charger.

Output is by way of XT60 and balance connector with support to up to 8s - something we are starting to see more of now on larger scale RC cars and quadcopters and no doubt other craft.

The Air8 charger comes with a BATTAIR dongle for 3-4s and one for 5-6s as a sample. It also includes a well written manual (in English as well), a screen protector and the charger itself

Interface and operation. I don't think anyone would disagree that ISDT have the best user interface in the business (one of the reasons Spektrum got ISDT to make their chargers). It is simple and intuitive but hugely powerful with the ability to adjust many settings and display a lot of useful information at a glance. By contrast my first charger was a SKYRC Imax b6 which was clunky and and absolute dinosaur by comparison. Probably the best way for me to explain the quality of the interface is to show you rather than tell you:

Default screen showing battery voltage (not plugged in here) when power supply connected

Scroll down for charger details including power input, temps and charge count

Options menu for charging, discharging, storage charging, using as a DC power supply (cool) and completely discharging a compromised pack

This shows all of the types of batteries you can charge - from lipo, to high volt lipo, to NiMH batteries, even the lead acid battery in you actual car

You can also tweak your end voltage point but I leave mine at 4.20V per cell for lipo

You can choose up to 8s for lipo! This is done automatically for you when you plug in balance leade

You can chose to charge at any current (depending on power supply) up to 20A. Shortcut to common values are a nice touch

It turns out using even a large 2s battery is an unsuitable power source - needs 3s or more

4s - that is more like it. Any old laptop power supply should be fine too. Notice when battery for charging (3s in this case) is plugged in, each cell voltage is displayed which is typical of most chargers

During charging you can display cell voltages

You can also display cell internal resistances which is a good measure of battery health

Other charger parameter can also be shown as above

During charging you can also make adjustments to the current

...Increase or decrease as needed without stopping

BATTAIR technology - making your battery smart

Smart battery tech. ISDT have long been interested in making smart batteries but since battery buyers are largely cost sensitive, manufacturers have been reluctant to include this additional cost in their batteries. BATTAIR offers and advantage here in that this is a reusable dongle that connects in series with the battery balance lead. This powers the module and bluetooth which allows it to interface with a bluetooth-connected app on your phone and a BATTAIR capable charger like the AIR8 reviewed here. The best news however is that these dongles are not expensive - 2 are included with this chargers but you can buy more for $5 a less each. This makes a lot of sense for larger batteries which are more expensive and deserve more care - $5 on top or a $50 or more battery is not a big premium for the information these provide.

The dongle is fairly compact and light. This is the 5-6s unit.

Here is the 3-4s unit attached to a 3s battery

The little clip is very handy, keeps the dongle secure

ISDT BATTAIR App interface. What information do these give and how do I access? I'll answer the second part first. ISDT have a surprisingly good app that is available android, IOS and windows. Once your BATTAIR dongle is plugged into your battery you can easily connect to the app. From here I'll let the screen grabs to the talk with captions to give more information...

This is the app to choose for those that use android. Also options for IOS and windows PC

Open the app and then press the button on the dongle. It connects flawlessly and you'll be able to enter your battery details

It'll then show on your list of batteries as labelled. There are plenty of options to sort and file if you have lots of batteries

Here are the details I stored. I'm very interested in the auto storage timer function

I had the option of updating firmware in the BATTAIR dongle which went without fuss

Battery information when connected, both stored data and current status

Interface with charger. Presently the interface with the app is the main selling point with current firmware. When you plug it into the charger with the dongle in line, the charger recognises the battery parameters. I was hoping it would default to charging or storage charging at a default current to a default endpoint but this functionality isn't there at present - something they may add in future? Bottom line is most of the benefit of this technology is in the dongle itself, the tech in the charger isn't a big deal... yet.

You can see the information supplied by the BATTAIR dongle as soon as you plug in and the charger recognises with an audible beep. Showing how many cycles (and errors) this has been through is very handy, obviously you would want this on your battery from new.

Summary, Recommendations and Future Work

In summary the ISDT AIR8 charger is a typical ISDT fare; which is not do damn it with faint praise but I find the models with built in AC supply (which allow you to plug in to the wall) like the ISDT 608AC (my review here) and the ISDT D2 to be much more practical. Still this is a good charger if you are looking for a DC powered unit - it is reliable, has a fantastically intuitive user interface and it is safe.

More impressive perhaps are the BATTAIR dongles that allows you to retain information on the battery specs and keep charge history. The low cost of $5 for a reusable bluetooth dongle makes this much more accesible than relying on a battery maker to include at their cost. They are most use if you include on your battery from new. I don't believe they are suitable for small batteries (500mah) because of the weight and bulk they add. Nor are they probably practical for regualar quadcopters because of the size the dongle adds and risk of getting it caught in props. However for the bug quads and RC cars I think these are a great idea for helping you protect the investment you have made in your batteries.

I'm looking forward to more chargers being released with this tech but for now I plan to try my ISDT which has smart battery technology - my guess is this is compatible too which I think will be important to quick update for the new tech - we may well be geared up for it already.

I ordered the ISDT AIR8 charger from Banggood but you can also get it on Aliexpress or Amazon and possibly a local Hobby Store. The one I got from Banggood included a 3-4s BATTAIR and a 5-6s BATTAIR as a promotion.

I also got the ISDT BATTAIR Dongles from Bangood. These seem to be on Amazon too but not on Aliexpress yet. They come in sizes of 2s, 3-4s and 5-6s at present.

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