Product Overview
Campbell Scientific CH12R 12V Charger and Regulator for Remote Field Power
Condition
Used and in good condition: previously installed or handled, functional, with light scuffs and fine scratches in the black painted finish that show up under raking light on the top face and the back panel. The photographed unit is the unit you get, serial number 3128 on the white label beside the CH12R silkscreen. The top face carries the Campbell Scientific logo, the model line "CH12R 12V CHARGER / REGULATOR" and a MADE IN USA marking, all crisp and fully legible. The green six-position plug-in screw terminal block is present, sitting cocked in its header rather than pushed fully home in the photos, the miniature OFF/ON toggle and the red CHG lamp are both intact, and both end flanges are straight with their keyhole mounting slots unbent. No cracks, no corrosion on the terminal hardware, and no burn marks are visible anywhere in the photos.
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Product Overview
The Campbell Scientific CH12R is a compact charger and regulator for 12 V sealed lead-acid battery systems, the kind that sit in an enclosure at a weather station, a stream gauge, or a remote telemetry site and quietly keep a data logger and radio alive. It takes 15 to 28 V DC or 18 V AC in from a solar panel or an AC adapter, float-charges the battery with temperature compensation, and passes unregulated supply voltage through to the load, with output up to 3.0 A depending on ambient temperature. The end panel is the whole user interface: a green removable screw terminal plug silkscreened with two ground symbols, +12, +12, CHG and CHG, an OFF/ON toggle, a red CHG indicator, and two white two-position polarized connectors side by side, silkscreened INT BATT and EXT CHG. The enclosure is black painted metal with integrated end flanges and keyhole slots, so it hangs on two screws inside a NEMA box without a separate bracket. This is a retired Campbell Scientific model, so it is bought as a legacy replacement rather than a current catalog item.
Key Features
- Input: 15 to 28 V DC or 18 V AC, from a solar panel or an AC adapter
- Charging: float charge for 12 V sealed lead-acid batteries with temperature compensation
- Output: up to 3.0 A, varying with ambient temperature
- Pass-through unregulated output voltage to the load
- Operating temperature range: -40 C to +60 C
- Removable green six-position screw terminal block, marked ground, ground, +12, +12, CHG, CHG
- OFF/ON toggle and red CHG indicator lamp on the end panel
- Two white two-position polarized connectors, silkscreened INT BATT and EXT CHG
- Black painted metal enclosure with integrated flanges and keyhole mounting slots
- Weight: 0.4 lb
- Marked MADE IN USA, serial number 3128
Applications
- Hydrologist rebuilding a stream gauge enclosure and needing the original charger footprint back on the mounting plate
- Field technician keeping a solar-powered weather station charging a sealed 12 V battery through the winter
- Research group maintaining a legacy Campbell Scientific data logger installation without redesigning the power section
- Remote telemetry operator adding a spare charger to the truck kit so a dead site is a swap instead of a rebuild
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly ships, and what do I still have to supply?
One CH12R module with its green plug-in terminal block included, exactly as photographed. Nothing else appears in the photos, so plan on supplying your own battery, charging source, wiring and mounting screws. The keyhole flanges are part of the enclosure, so no separate bracket is needed.
What do the markings on the end panel mean?
Reading the silkscreen next to the green plug: two ground symbols, +12, +12, then CHG and CHG. The toggle is marked OFF and ON, the red lamp is marked CHG, and the two white two-position connectors are marked INT BATT and EXT CHG. Terminal-by-terminal wiring detail beyond those printed markings is not confirmed here - pull the CH12R manual before you land any wires.
Will it run from a solar panel?
That is what the input range is for: 15 to 28 V DC or 18 V AC. Check that your panel's open-circuit voltage stays inside that window on a cold, bright morning, when panel voltage runs highest, and size the panel to the 3.0 A output ceiling rather than the other way around.
Is this still a current Campbell Scientific product?
No. The CH12R is a retired model, which is the usual reason someone goes looking for one: an existing installation is built around it and the goal is to keep the site running, not to redesign the power section. Match it to what came out of your enclosure before ordering.
It came out of service - what am I taking on with a used charger like this?
You are getting one specific module, photographed from five angles, graded Used and in good condition: previously installed or handled and functional, with cosmetic scuffs in the paint and nothing broken or missing. What you take on is a retired model with no published bench numbers from us, so confirm float voltage and charge current against the CH12R manual on your own bench before you trust it to hold a battery at a site three hours down a dirt road. Buy the piece you can see rather than a mystery box of field-pulled power gear, then know exactly what you mounted. This one clears our free-shipping line on its own, and orders leave the Idaho warehouse the same or next business day.
Two keyhole flanges, a red CHG lamp, and a made-in-USA painted metal box: the CH12R was built for enclosures nobody wants to visit in January. Bench it, bolt it up, and let it go back to quietly holding a battery at float while your logger does the interesting work.
