[Paddlewise] VHF radio chargers

As long as we're on the subject of VHF radios, I bought a Standard
HX350S radio a year ago, which comes with a drop-in trickle charger.  I
like the radio a lot--except for the supplied charger which doesn't
include circuitry to turn off after it reaches a full charge.  According
to the manual, it will recharge a fully discharged battery in 15 hours
-- but warns not to charge it for longer than 16 hours.  Consequently,
the way I've been handling this is to leave the radio on until it
completely discharges (which takes a long time on "receive mode"), then
drop it in the charger for 15 hours.  Of course, for another $80 to $120
they will sell you a better charger that does automatically monitor the
charge level to guard against overcharging.  Considering other types of
sophisticated chargers I've seen selling for a lot less, I suspect this
is just another way of getting more money for the complete package.

Does anyone have any recommendations for perhaps an after-market charger
that will automatically shut-off when it reaches full charge?  I don't
anticipating needing a rapid-charge system, since I always use
trickle-charging which is generally easier on the batteries.

Thanks

Evan Dallas
Woodinville, Washington
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