TOOLKITRC WAS NOT a brand that was on my radar before being approached by Model Aviation to review these two multifunctional battery chargers, but after reviewing them, one might just take the place of my trusty iSDT SC-608 Smart charger that has inhabited my field charging bag for the last few years.

Comparing the iSDT charger with these would be unfair because the iSDT is a Smart charger and the ToolkitRC chargers are multifunctional devices that include a charger. It would be like comparing a single-blade, folding pocketknife to a Swiss Army knife.

Several features immediately stood out upon inspecting the feature list and quickly thumbing through the menus. Notably, the ability to charge your cellphone or any other USB device via the USB-A port that is included on both of these models,and the addition of the USB-C port on the M9 model, are big benefits over my previous field charger.

At a Glance: M9

Pluses

• Built-in 5 to 20 volts at 65 watts USB-A and USB-C fast charging for cellphones and laptops.
• 20 volts at 600 watts charging output for 2S to 8S LiPo batteries.
• Flip-up, full-color display.
• Customizable boot-up image and sounds.
• Comes with a plastic screen protector.
• Ability to charge DJI batteries and controller.

Minuses

• Advanced menu settings aren’t intuitive to locate.
• An XT60 adapter needed for DJI batteries is not included.

Upon further inspection, I noticed that the USB ports on the M9 model weren’t labeled "5V 2.1A" as is the port on the M8S model. What surprised me about this is that the M9 USB outputs a whopping 65 watts at anywhere from 5 to 20 volts. This means that you are able to charge and power a 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro and similar small USB-C-charged laptops from this charger! That’s pretty cool!

Because the charger has an XT-60 input port, you can connect a LiPo battery from your bag and charge your cellphone or computer in a pinch (if you have a battery with a large enough capacity, of course).

Another set of features that stood out to me was the ability to test ESCs, receiver signals, and battery resistance. These are the "Swiss Army knife" features that really make these devices stand out. Because all of these tools come in one affordable device that will fit in your pocket or easily in a field charging bag, it is well worth having one with you, even if you’re not planning to charge at the flying site.

After I started thumbing through the menus and fiddling with all of the options, as I do with any new device, I noticed that there was a battery-type option on the M9 that made it possible to charge DJI Smart batteries.

Provided you purchase an XT-60 adapter cable, which was not included, you can use your field charging device to charge your aerial photography drone batteries as well. It wasn’t immediately clear to me that the M8S also included this feature. The option was more obvious within the M9’s menu system, which made me think that the M8S didn’t include it.

As I was reading through the full manual for each device (which are not included but are available online), I was able to find that the option was hidden within another menu tree on the M8S. This stood out to me as odd that the menus were organized differently between models. I highly recommend reading through the full manual to get a sense of all of the features that come packed into these small devices.

Another shortfall of the menu system, specifically on the M9 charger, is that the more advanced settings screens are "hidden" behind a long press of the exit button and jog wheel button. The jog wheel button must be pressed for roughly 3 seconds to access the Setup screen. The Setup screen has options such as Input Settings, Security Settings, Personalization, and more. Similarly, to get into the Accessibility screen, the exit/function button must be pressed for approximately 3 seconds.

The M9 Multifunctional Charger from ToolkitRC comes with a USB cable, a quick-start guide, and a plastic screen protector in the box. The M9 has a 2.4-inch in-plane switching (IPS), full-color LCD screen. The Setup options on the M9 are accessed by pressing the jog-wheel button for roughly 3 seconds. The Accessibility options on the M9 are accessed by pressing the exit/function button for approximately 3 seconds.

The Accessibility menu includes options such as Measure Resistance, Measure Signal (PWM, SBUS, etc.), Signal Output, ESC Test, and power. It wasn’t immediately clear how to access these options until I read through the full manual on ToolkitRC’s website.

Between the two menu systems, I prefer the M8S, except for the odd way to access the DJI Smart battery charging options. The DJI options on the M9 are included when selecting the battery type. To charge a DJI Smart battery on the M8S, you must select power, and then select the drone battery type within the "Typical" menu options. It’s quite a bit more confusing.

After thoroughly reading the manual, another set of features I discovered was the ability to customize the sounds and boot-up image of the M9 model. Immediately, I opened my photo-editing software and made a custom bitmap image. The process couldn’t have been easier.

I plugged the charger into my computer with the included USB cable and it popped up in my file explorer with two folders labeled LOGO and SOUNDS. In the LOGO folder, there was an image called logo.bmp that I replaced with my own logo.bmp file and voilà, the device now boots up with a customized Model Aviation boot-up screen.

In the SOUNDS folder, there are more than 200 different customizable sound files for each of the six languages that the M9 model supports. It includes anything from the welcome message that plays at the beginning to the numbers, and button press beeps are fully customizable with your own sound files. This means that you can take your favorite Back to the Future soundbite from the movie (you know the one) and set it to play when you select "Start charging." "When this baby hits 88 miles per hour …"

The major differences between these two chargers comes down to power and personalization. The MSRP for the M9 is $79.99 and the MSRP for the M8S is $49.99. The M9 is a 20-amp-at-600-watts charger that features USB ports that can pack a punch with up to 20 volts at 65 watts output, whereas the M8S caps out at 18 amps at 400 watts and the single USB-A port has a standard output of 5 volts at 2.1 amps.

At a Glance: M8S

Pluses

• Easy-to-navigate user interface.
• 400-watt charging output for 2S to 8S LiPo batteries.
• Can also charge DJI batteries and controller.
• 5 volts at 2.1 amps USB-A port for charging cellphones.

Minuses

• Drone battery charging menu interface is not intuitive.
• Drone battery adapter is not included.

The M8S has a 2.4-inch Thin Film Transistor (TFT), full-color LCD screen. The M8S Multifunctional Charger from ToolkitRC comes with a USB Cable and a quick-start guide in the box.

The personalization features of the M9 are fun, but the boot-up screen is just for vanity, and it is unlikely that many other people will see it. The sound from these chargers is usually quickly muted other than maybe the charging end and other priority alert notification sounds. Unless you need the additional 200 watts, the M8S is still a feature-packed Swiss Army knife of a device that is reasonably priced.

SOURCES: ToolkitRC

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