PAG Chargers

[Bruce Greene]

LI-ion batteries have a better chance than others of catching fire. I would be very cautious charging non-PAG batteries with the PAG chargers.

Other manufacturer’s batteries may have additional sensors/chips which communicate with the charger and will not be able to communicate with the PAG charger.

You could call the PAG people in England as well as the manufacturer of the 3rd party batteries to see what they have to say. It just might work as the PAG chargers do not rely on sensors/chips in the PAG batteries to determine the rate of charge (I think…)

Personally, I just use the PAG batteries with my PAG chargers.

Varicam/Steadicam Owner
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.brucealangreene.com

[Rodney Ohtani]

Thanks for your reply. I have tried to contact PAG previously about their chargers and they were reluctant to provide any information. I do not know whether it is a marketing thing or if PAG’s reluctance was due to fire concerns that you mentioned. I suspect that it was a little of both. At any rate, I just received the best answer from PAG UK recently. The following is their reply:

“… in order that the Pulsar and Quasar
know what cell chemistry they have to charge, the charger needs to talk to
the battery. Your chargers can charge PAG Snap On Compatible L95’s. It
will NOT be able to charge Snap On batteries of any other manufacture, as
they do not incorporate the talk circuit. The only Li-Ion batteries able to
be charged via the PP90 sockets in the front of the charger are the Sony and
IDX V-Mounts (using the 9610 Intelligent Adaptor), PAG V-Mount L95s (using
the 9617 charge adaptor) or the PAGlok batteries (using the 9514 adaptor).
NP Li-Ions cannot be charged on your charger. Do not apply Li-Ion battery
packs to the charger unless they are manufactured by PAG or have the correct
PAG charging adaptor. There is danger of harming your equipment should you
not follow the charging instructions.”

By the way, what PAG batteries work best for your Varicam? I am a HDX900 owner. I like PAG products but have been unable to find a source for their batteries. I find that the prices for PAG batteries run at least $200 more than other brands like IDX. Do you have any suggestions?

[Bruce Greene]

I’m using the L95 li-ion batteries with the Varicam. I started with PAG because I built a Steadicam that uses PAG-Lock mounts and the L-95 PAG-lock batteries also work on my Steadicam. I have an AB-PAG adapter on the back of the camera.

As for pricing, I found they cost the same or a little less than the AB Dionic 90 batteries, but that was a few years ago and exchange rates have changed since then.

I bought all my PAG products from STE-MAN in Burbank, CA. https://www.ste-man.com/contact.html

There are two versions of the L-95 battery. One talks to the camera and calculates running time, the cheaper one does not but does have a battery meter in the battery. Maybe you priced the more expensive version. The PAG batteries are available in PAG, AB, or V mount I believe.

Varicam/Steadicam Owner
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.brucealangreene.com

[Rodney Ohtani]

Thanks for the info. I bought my chargers from them and I will check on their prices. You are right the exchange rate is a problem. Thanks again.