Keep your batteries CHARGED!!
11-09-2002, 10:36 PM
#1
Keep your batteries CHARGED!!
Not being a Futaba consumer, I might be wrong but the diode prevents DISCHARGING !
One cheap way (and I'm as Cheap as they come) to keep your batteries charged is to charge them with your 'wall-wart' for a full charge. The plug the charger into one of those 24 hour timers - lot of them for sale at Christmas time[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] - and set it for one (if possible) or two hours. Start the 24 hour timer and your batteries will be at full charge whenever you want to go flying....
yamahogger, sorry to hear about the demise of your plane - but a lesson was learned by you and thanks for bringing it to the attention of all newbies!
Jerry
One cheap way (and I'm as Cheap as they come) to keep your batteries charged is to charge them with your 'wall-wart' for a full charge. The plug the charger into one of those 24 hour timers - lot of them for sale at Christmas time[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] - and set it for one (if possible) or two hours. Start the 24 hour timer and your batteries will be at full charge whenever you want to go flying....
yamahogger, sorry to hear about the demise of your plane - but a lesson was learned by you and thanks for bringing it to the attention of all newbies!
Jerry
11-09-2002, 11:16 PM
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Keep your batteries CHARGED!!
The diode also prevents some "smart" chargers from detecting if the battery even exists...
You can get around the diode on many Futaba TX's. Just open the battery door and see if the orange plug is accessable. It has the same type connector as a servo or the RX battery. DON'T try to charge it using the RX port of the charger, move the wire to the TX ports. Color code is still the same... red+ black -.
the person who checked the TX and said it had plenty should be assisting in the repairs. Yo flew on his advice, after voicing concern about battery condition. The TX meter on most non-computer radios is NOT a bttery status meter. Its a signal output strength meter. That meter can drop from 90% to 0 with almost no warning. If it EVER falls below the reading you get after 10 min of operation, DON'T fly without recharging.
Also... the meter on the TX needs to not be believed until the TX ha been on for at least 1 min. A phenomen inherent with NiCds is a voltage bounce-back when they rest. They haven't recovered any power... they will read false-high by over 1 volt (RX... 2 volts TX) for up to 1 min even with an ESV.
You can get around the diode on many Futaba TX's. Just open the battery door and see if the orange plug is accessable. It has the same type connector as a servo or the RX battery. DON'T try to charge it using the RX port of the charger, move the wire to the TX ports. Color code is still the same... red+ black -.
the person who checked the TX and said it had plenty should be assisting in the repairs. Yo flew on his advice, after voicing concern about battery condition. The TX meter on most non-computer radios is NOT a bttery status meter. Its a signal output strength meter. That meter can drop from 90% to 0 with almost no warning. If it EVER falls below the reading you get after 10 min of operation, DON'T fly without recharging.
Also... the meter on the TX needs to not be believed until the TX ha been on for at least 1 min. A phenomen inherent with NiCds is a voltage bounce-back when they rest. They haven't recovered any power... they will read false-high by over 1 volt (RX... 2 volts TX) for up to 1 min even with an ESV.
11-10-2002, 12:23 PM
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Keep your batteries CHARGED!!
Condolances to you and your plane.
I keep my batteries fresh using a Super Digipace 3.
When I'm flying, I start with fully charged batteries and keep track of the time spent flying on a given plane. That way I monitor both the voltage indicator as well as total time flown - they should be consistent. If I've flown an hour on one charge, I know that battery must be low, or if the voltage reads low, its time for the "no go" decision.
When I get home I use the digipace to discharge the battery completely. It discharges it safely and automatically puts a full charge then switches to trickle. That way the batteries are cycled which keeps battery life max. If the plane has been sitting a week, I will put on a few hours of charge to "top it off". The nice thing about the digipace is that it monitors the time of discharge and the load giving you an idea of the battery's capacity in terms of mAh. Comparing that to the rated capacity printed on the battery pack, I like to keep them at least 80% of rated capacity. When it starts dropping below that, I get new packs. However to follow that rating system you must start with fully charged batteries, not ones that have been flown all afternoon.
So through the winter, I cycle the planes about once a month and check its capacity. I've had pretty good luck keeping my batteries good using that method.
Roodester
I keep my batteries fresh using a Super Digipace 3.
When I'm flying, I start with fully charged batteries and keep track of the time spent flying on a given plane. That way I monitor both the voltage indicator as well as total time flown - they should be consistent. If I've flown an hour on one charge, I know that battery must be low, or if the voltage reads low, its time for the "no go" decision.
When I get home I use the digipace to discharge the battery completely. It discharges it safely and automatically puts a full charge then switches to trickle. That way the batteries are cycled which keeps battery life max. If the plane has been sitting a week, I will put on a few hours of charge to "top it off". The nice thing about the digipace is that it monitors the time of discharge and the load giving you an idea of the battery's capacity in terms of mAh. Comparing that to the rated capacity printed on the battery pack, I like to keep them at least 80% of rated capacity. When it starts dropping below that, I get new packs. However to follow that rating system you must start with fully charged batteries, not ones that have been flown all afternoon.
So through the winter, I cycle the planes about once a month and check its capacity. I've had pretty good luck keeping my batteries good using that method.
Roodester
