What NOT to do with your helicopter remote!

I've been using NiMH batteries in my Novus FP helicopter remote. But every time I went to use the helicopter, the remote was never at full power. So I had this ingenious idea. On the back of the remote it has a plug that says 12V 50mA "It is only used for charging rechargeable NiMH or MiCd battery pack!" So I got the required power pack and plugged it in. Then my daughter came down the stairs so I asked her if she wanted to play some X-Box. After a while we could smell something awful! After a bit I went hunting for the smell.

Well as you can see from the picture on the right I found the smell. My guess is the remote doesn't have an auto shutoff in it's charging circuit. It just kept pouring electrons into the batteries and literally cooked the batteries. Needless to say to replace the remote it's going to cost $120. The batteries are $20. I'm not happy with this and I think they should have put a warrning on the back of the remote or in the manual. I could have had a fire! So recommendation to anyone out there. Say away from charging the batteries in your device. If anything goes wrong it's rather expensive to replace.

Also on another note. The remote to replace is $120, yet the Novus CX helicopter is only $140. The part number for the replacement remote is the same for both the CX and the FP helicopters. (CP is a different animal) So instead I ordered the CX to replace my remote. Might as well get the helicopter with it.