slandry786

Hi guys im new to the rc world i got my 3 kids each an ecx ruckus, so now im trying to learn batteries and chargers, the trucks came with 1800mah 7.2v nimh batteries and there own trickal chargers, the kids are 6,7& 9 so i have to figure out how to get the best way of getting more run time on a budget, im doing a bunch of reading but there are so many options im lost, im not looking for more power or the best battery im just trying to get more run time and spend money wisely

thanks for any help

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Hi, welcome to RCU. Choices may include getting more batts , higher capacity batts. If the chargers are the bottleneck then choices may include getting additional chargers or faster ones. I'm not exactly familiar with the trucks you got , but perhaps the good choice would be to get 3 larger capacity batts and 1-3 faster chargers.

slandry786

"3 larger capacity batts and 1-3 faster chargers" thats what I was thinking, im thinking of getting 3 of thesehttp://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...cessories.html
and powering them from one of my boat batteries till i build or buy a power supply, now as for batteries i have looked on ebay and can get some 5000 mah for cheep but im not sure if you get what you pay for with these things

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Yea, or you can get just one of these. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...ies_200W_.html There's at least 6 of those quad chargers on the market along with at least one faster quad charger. For batts I don't see anything wrong with you getting el-cheapos since in the future you may go to lipos anyways.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

Here is another option for what you are interested in. Lower shipping costs, have it in a week or less, if anything is wrong you will have some customer service to fall back on . HK isa gamble as their CS is almost non-existant plus you oiver pay for shipping.
www.valuehobby.com/power-systems/chargers/gt-power-c6-charger.html

Also if the motor and speed control can handle 2-cell Lipo voltage 7.4v (it should) you could look into switching over to a 2-cell lipo battery which should give you longer run times and longer life than the NiMh packs and either of the chargers will handle them too. There is a little more to learn about properly charging and maintaining lipo packs but they should provide better performance.
www.valuehobby.com/power-systems/lipo-batteries/2s-lipo/30c-2200mah-2s-lipo.html

slandry786

i will have to check in to the lipo i think my cars would have to have a low battery shut down or something, atleast thats what I read

rckeen

If you want the a123rc batteries click on performance racing packs at the top then starter Kit special to the right and it will take you to everything.

countilaw

Go to your local hobby shop and talk to the clerk or owner. He will be able to answer your questions and steer you to the right charger. Don't waste your money on the cheap Hobby King charger. It is a waste of money, with no warrantee or customer service.

At least at your local hobby shop you can see what you are getting, and be able to take it home and use it immediately and not wait 3 to 4 weeks to be able to use the Hobby King one. But if you want CHEAP, then by all means get the Hobby King one, and you will be spending money on a new one sooner than you think.

Frank

johnnytommy

Hey Guys, I have a few questions since I am new to the RC world. My uncle and I bought a couple of Gyro Hercules Electric Helicopters. They are great and extremely addicting. The only problem is that the flight time is only about 10 mintues and charge time is 2.5 hours. We are looking at buying a couple of spare batteries which happen to be 3.7v 1000 mah 15C. I was wondering about getting an computerized charger which can charge multiple batteries at once. This away we could just switch batteries and keep flying. I am clueless as to what I am doing when it comes to these things. Any input of advice would be helpful! What charger? For how long?

Goldenduff

Hello and welcome!

If you are not going to get larger helicopters you could get by with a fairly simple small (low wattage and low ampage) charger.

All lipos can be charged at 1C (1amp for a 1000mah, 2amps for a 2000mah lipo etc)- by definition charging will take an hour (maybe a bit more when you balance charge).

Now, the charger you get needs to have the power (volts x amps) and max amps ability. If you are sticking to single cell (3.7v) you will not need a very powerful charger.

A 50watt charger (very common and cheap) with a max amp output of 5amps (very common and cheap) would be able to charge  5 of your batteries at a time. 3.7v x 1amp= 3.7watts so power wise you could charge about 15 however you will reach the amp limit with 5 of you batteries.

To charge 5 at a time you will need a balance board (an adaptor that you plug all 5ballance leads of batteries in to then connect the balance board to the charger). The draw back of this is all the batteries have to be about equally discharged before starting i.e. all empty and you cannot add batteries whilst charging. So you could not add batteries after each flight. You would have to use all 5 batteries then charge them all.

However you could get a 2 port charger or even 4 port charger and also buy 2 or 4 balance boards. That way, on the four port charger, you could add 3 individually to the charger as you use them and then on the last port add as many as the balance board will take. You will max 5amps though.

To summarise check out hobbyking chargers (i take no responsibility if you get a duff one, they are cheap!) I would recommend a 50w 2 or 4 port charger 10amp minimum.