manual for ys 350? question about charging

hey y'all, i forgot the rules about charging these old ni cad batteries and am wondering if anyone has or knows where i can find a manual for my ys 350 (no, its not up on sea and sea site). or, if you have any idea what the guidelines for charging are (should i empty before recharging, is it damaging to leave plugged in past full charge, etc.). any idea how long a full charge would be? does anyone have one of these and know of a secret indicator light for a full charge?

thanks!!!

When's the last time you charged these batteries? And more importantly, what are you still doing with this old thing

I tend to charge batteries by temperature - warm/hot = charging, colded off = charge complete. This is because I can't tell the color difference of the idol light on the charger. This worked ok with my old nicads as well as newer NiMH.

This is what the manual says about recharging:

'Charge the battery for approximately 12 hours with the exclusive-use battery charger included with this product.

Turn the power switch to [off] when charging.

After charging, turn the power switch to [on] and confirm that the ready lamp goes on in three to four seconds. Turn the power switch to [off] and the ready lamp will go off.'

That's all there is to it. Most of the time, I use the YS350 at 1/2 or 1/4 manual power and recharge every 4 to 6 dives.

Why use it? For me: lots of light at full power when shooting directly into the sun, and reliability. I've been using 350's since 1992 and it never (ever) failed.

Best regards,

--Rob

ha jc! rob told you!! it is a GREAT strobe and i sadly hadnt charged it for a few years before a few months ago, so a few months ago is the last time i charged it, and i only had it plugged in for a couple of hours. i know that is infidel talk on here, but i have yet to figure out how to mix my style of travel and diving with my monster rig!!

thank you both for the info!!

You can also use one of the Ikelite Smart / Fast chargers - they have auto off and trickle circuits that should stop you cooking the batteries.

is the ikelite compatible with the sea and sea? if so that would be a great solution!!

It's compatible but the plug doesn't fit into the socket on the battery.

Cheers

James