Hobbico volt watch (Full Version)

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Goldwing-RCU -> Hobbico volt watch (2/16/2002 12:15:31 AM)

I got a free volt watch meter with my OS engine last month so I thought I would 'put it to the test' I charged the batteries over night and then turned it everything on and used my snap roll button (never used it in flight but works good for making all servos work at once) over and over and within 8 minutes the red was flashing on the volt-watch. If I stopped and let the Nicad recover it would move back to the safe zone but go right back to flashing red when I started again. SO after all that, my question is are my batteries marginal? I normally fly for about 25 to 30 minutes on a tank and normally fly at least 2 tanks (except in hte winter then only one flight) is this volt watch wrong? Am I pushing it? Should I not worry about it?



JPMacG -> voltwatch (2/16/2002 12:38:12 AM)

Could be either a very weak battery pack or a bad voltwatch. I'd recommend testing your voltwatch against a trusted digital multimeter. In my experience, the transition between the red and second yellow LED should occur around 4.65 to 4.7 volts.

Also, is the red coming on while you're activating the servos or inbetween activations? During movement they draw high current, which causes voltage drop across the wiring and battery, hence lower voltage at the voltwatch. Doesn't mean the batteries are discharged.



zero244 -> The above post is right on. (2/16/2002 7:12:24 AM)

Its either your batteries or the voltwatch. Before I flew again on your current batteries I would figure out what is what. I havent heard anyone say they had a bad voltwatch. So I would be inclined to think it could be your batteries or a bad connector. I use a Gem 2000 onboard battery tester.....which is a invaluable tool for spoting a problem. Ive heard the voltwatch is a accurate tool. The best way to find out your battery condition is to cycle it using a discharger\charger to see your battery capacity. I toss any RX\TX pack that is down 10 to 15 percent...........or more than 2 years old. If your battery checks out............you might have a servo that is drawing too much current giving the the red light on the voltwatch. I have heard of servos drawing 120 mah at idle when they should be drawing one tenth of that.



rb765 -> Hobbico volt watch (2/27/2002 3:57:34 PM)

Check out http://www.cliftech.com/ and look at the Hotcheck page. It explains the situation you discribed and also has scematics for a home made volt checker. You can made it for any voltages and is very similar to what you have except that it includes a 300-400ma load.



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