The time has come!
 

I don't know what chargers are available in the US, but i would use a Thunderpower balancer for charging.

About the batteries;

I hear/read nothing but great things about these packs.

the price is not too bad either.

well for a charger the schulze is the shiz but i wouldnt recommend the 977. the new 989 is much better. it can charge like 20 nimh and 8s lipo not to mention its only 85 bucks. the schulze is 160 for the 330d and is definately the best for the money but i am gonna go with the 989 since its cheap. as for batteries, have you checked maxamps? try them. they might be able to custom make you some.

Another cheap charger that can do up to 5s Lipo or 14 NiMh cells at up to 5amps is the Multiplex LN-5014 (there are other brands that sell this same exact charger). Here's a link to a cheap power supply:
http://www.emtel.com/search/product_...t_id=EMV15012V

Flightpower cells are sold as other brands. They are made by Enerland, and come in Polyquest, Hyperion, Duralite, and other brands' packs. There are also lots of other choices, and IMO, your choice is all about what you want (like price, customer service, quality, etc.).

Thanks guys.
I guess as far as the batts go, I can leave that up to Mike. I'll see what he can get that is of decent quality and price.

Metalman- That power supply scares me.J/k It looks complex?

Squee- I couldn't find anything on that 989, do you have a link for that charger? Now that I think about it, I would like a charger that would charge more than a 5s just incase I ever get bigger packs.
Thanks again.

It's not bad. You have to do your own thing about connecting wires to it, though. For the power, I just took a computer power wire and cut off the end that would plug into the computer power supply, and stripped the insulation off the wires. Then I screwed the wires on. There are dual outputs on this power supply, which means 4 terminals (7 total, including the 3 input wires).

Thanks squee. It looks pretty simple and straight forward. I like simple and straight forward.
It doesn't look like it comes with a power supply, not a deal breaker though.

MetalMan;
Would I be able to run two chargers off of that one power supply you recomended?

That depends on the charge rate. I did a few calculations (factoring in 80% efficiency), and it looks like you could charge 2 5s packs at 3amps each. Any more than that would put quite a strain on the power supply.

Any other recomendations for a power supply? I will run one power supply per charger. Just something cheap and basic that is plug and play.
Thanks.

if you've got a PS that can deliver 15-20A continues you should be fine using two chargers.

I have this power supply and have found it very good.

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/158301.asp

Thats pretty cheap for a 20 amp power supply - Radio shack also sells them - i dont remember how much - around 80-100$ - 25 amp - i have one. - i have charged 2 sets of 6 cells for racing and a 5S(3+2) lipo at the same time with no probs ( last night LOL )

If you only need 12v at high current, why not use a computer power supply? The 12v rail on some of the newer ones can deliver 20-30A. This one delivers 36A@ 12v and is about $100. This one only delivers 25A, but is only $45.

Or, use a small car battery, and then a much cheaper 3-5A PS (a RadioSHack transformer and a full wave rectifier) that can charge that battery between and during uses.

thanks, i was going to ask about it