SkyRC Q200 - Review

on SkyRC, Charger, Q200, Review
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Introduction

Welcome to my review of the SkyRC Q200 charger.
Before heading further into this review, I’d like to thank Shawn Tong over at SkyRC for making this review possible and Pedro over at Ibermodel for sending the actual unit!

Overview

Let’s firstly take a look at the box that the Q200 comes in.

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It’s a well built box that includes all the information you might need to know printed on the box.
It clearly specifies the total wattage on AC and DC input, as well as the type of batteries it can charge.

Specifications:

  • AC Input: 100 – 240 V (up to 200W)

  • DC Input: 11 – 18 V (up to 300W)

  • Current: Max. 200mA / cell

  • LiPo / LiFe / LiHV / Li-Ion / NiMH / NiCD / Pb

  • Product weight: 1.3 kg

  • Package weight: 2.1 kg

  • Product size (L x W x H): 19.70 x 18.20 x 7.10 cm

  • Package size (L x W x H): 22.00 x 20.00 x 8.00 cm

  • 4 charging ports, each with it’s own temperature sensor port alongside with the correspondent balance port.

  • MicroUSB connector for the PC Link Software

  • USB Power output rated at 5V/2.1A

Unboxing

Inside the box we’ll find the following items:

  • SkyRC Q200 Charger

  • Manual

  • 4 x XH balance boards

  • 4 x leads with XT60 connectors (all the XT60 leads come with a plastic holder that make plugging in your leads much easier. A nice touch)

  • 2 x leads with no connector (useful for making your owns connectors, e.g: Deans connector, DC jack, etc.)

  • Power cable

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But what is the big deal about this new charger from SkyRC?
It’s the latest 4-port charger from SkyRC, making it very useful for charging multiple LiPo batteries at the same time without resorting to parallel boards that can often cause unbalanced cells or other issues.

This is a very well built charger, and while made of plastic, it’s a very high quality finish.
I rather enjoy the plastic unit instead of aluminum due to the impossibility of accidentally shorting something on the metal frame.

All the cables are made of high quality silicone wire, which is a must nowadays.
The manual is also very well printed and has everything needed in case you are unware how the charger works.

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The front part of the charger clearly specifies which buttons are which, as well as the 4 channel order. They work the same way as in a standard 4-button charger, the first button being for channel selection.

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On the back we’ll find the two energy input sources, AC and DC. The charger has a built-in power supply, so thats a huge plus for me.
There’s also a power switch for added safety (the power switch only works for AC current).

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After powering the unit up we’ll be greated with a warning message, after which we’re ready to start charging.

Charging

The charger has a power switch, which I consider very useful and also has two cooling fans, which while charging are very silent, but when discharging 4 batteries at the same time they can ramp up quite easily.

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The Q200 main advantage over it’s competition is it’s compact size and the 4 completely independent charging ports, that can easily be configured to charge different chemistry batteries at the same time, without causing issues to other packs. This is very useful when charging LiPo and Li-Ion 18650 cells. It’s also LiHV compatible, which not all chargers are.

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This charger also has reverse polarity protection, useful in case you accidentally plug in the banana plugs the wrong way. Very well done SkyRC!

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Charging procedure

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It’s a very intuitive charger, and can be controlled like all standard 4-button chargers, with another button to control which channel is selected. Everything is displayed on a very nice quality colour screen, with a resolution of 480x320 pixels (sadly this is not a touch screen, but for the price point it’s understandable).
It also allows for customizable power outputs between channels A/C and B/D when using AC mode.
By default each channel is set at 50W, but can easily be changed. This can be useful if you’re charging a big mAh LiPo battery, like a 5000mAh unit since you can set appropriate wattage values for charging.
Once you setup the desired wattage on channel B, for example 79W, then channel D will automatically be set to 21W due to the 100W restriction. The same happens on channels A and C.

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Channels A/C can be used to charge up to 10A, while C/D can charge up to 5A.

Discharging

Discharge rates are limited to 10W per channel, which for 4s is 0.6A per channel.

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Field Charging

As said before, it’s capable of using DC current, which can be useful for field charging with a car battery or even a big LiPo battery.
In this case we’re using a 49000mAh powerbank made of 18650 cells. It outputs 16.4V when fully charged, which is perfect, since the Q200 can take 11-18V DC.

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Extra Features

IR Measurement

Along with standard features like Battery meter, it also supports IR (Internal Resistance) measurement, which is useful for battery maintenance and tracking.

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Bluetooth App

Another feature of the Q200 charger is that it has its own Bluetooth app for smartphones.
From what I’ve been able to tell Bluetooth is always on, although it would be nice if it had an option to turn it off in the settings.
Although thinking I would rarely use this app I find it very useful and have come to use it very often. I have set a QR code for LiPo balance charging, which I use often with the app.
All I have to do is scan the QR code and it automatically starts balance charging my 4S LiPo batteries at 1.3A, which is very useful and straight-forward.

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Device charging

This device also supports charging any device that can be charged using an USB Port. It outputs 5V/2.1A which is more than enough for charging your typical smartphone or tablet device. Due to outputting 2.1A it can also charge more power dense devices, like powerbanks.

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Ending thoughts

What can I say about this charger? Is it good enough to recommend purchasing?
Shortly, yes, definitely!

Pros:

  • Well built.

  • Allows up to 4 batteries charging at the same time.

  • LiHV support.

  • Built-in power supply!

  • Compact size.

  • Supports AC and DC current.

  • Beautiful and intuitive screen.

  • Bluetooth and PC app support.

  • QR Code support.

Cons:

  • No way to turn off Bluetooth (minor complaint here)

  • No touch screen.

  • 200W may not be enough when charging several high capacity LiPo batteries at 1C.

If you’re interested in purchasing a SkyRC Q200, be sure to reach out to Pedro over at Ibermodel. He’ll be sure to have one shipped to you at a very affordable price.

Email: pedro@ibermodel.es
Telephone: 945601444 (Spain)