JohnMac

Huh Huh! You can't increase a batteries capacity, Maximum is maximum and it wouldn't matter if you did. When you get a battery fully charged, it's fully charged, period. That you keep on pushing current through it will just get it hot. If you are trickle charging it gets slightly warm, if fast charging evacuate the area!
The voltage when charged is not 1.2 volts per cell but more like 1.5 v per cell for a while. This can upset your servos a bit, the amp bias can be affected I believe. But this is an unlikely answer since adding a long lead will reduce the voltage at the servo, not increase it.
Long leads can act as an aerial and feed you tx signal into your Rx the wrong way. This may upset your rx when the voltage is higher. The fix is to put ferrite beads on the extension leads close to the Rx. These are actually rings that you can wind the lead through about 5 times. This increases the impedance of the lead and blocks RF signals. Try Radio Shack or a Multiplex dealer.
regards,

John.

Whirley Bird

My Feedback: (1)

Flap,
Just remember that the amps will not hurt at all.
Go with the lower voltage.
I have 4.5 @ 2,000 mil pack I built up.
More amps = a lot more running time.Also the NMH batteries have no memory problems but need more charging time. but you can still use the charger you have now but add 6 hours to a dead pack for NMH batteries.
Hope this helps

Lynx

Just never use a NiCad peak charger on NiMH packs, bad things, baaaaad things

Whirley Bird

My Feedback: (1)

OK,
So never use a Nicad peak charger with NMH batteries.
What are the so called bad things?
I've been using peak chargers for several years now with both Nicad and NMH batteries and so far have had no problems

Lynx

The peaks on NiCads and NiMhs are different. If a NiCad peak charger fails to detect when a NiMh pack has peaked it will totally toast the pack in a short period of time as NiMh's heat up badly when overcharged and the heat destroys the chemistry. This is why they can't be charged quickly. Li-poly batteries are the same way only worse. NiCad's can be safely charged at 3C (maybe more) NiMh's at 2C. and Li-poly's at 1C. If you notice the pattern going on there the chemistry that allows the batteries to contain more power in a given space also increases the amount of time that chemistry requires to 'metabolize' the power, and have increasing trouble with heat.

strato911

Many modern peak chargers are designed to support NiMH packs as well. As long as you stick to the manufacturer's specifications it shouldn't be a problem.

Many modelers are shortening the lifespan of their batteries by charging them to fast. Sanyo's "Rapid Charge" NiCd cells are rated for a charge rate of 1.5C. Panasonic's "Rapid Charge" NiCd cells are rated for only 1.0C. Both Sanyo and Panasonic state the maximum charge rates NiMH is 1.0C. Anything above that risks reducing the lifespan of the batteries, due to increased venting of electrolyte.

Look for yourselves if you don't believe me:
http://www.sanyo.com/batteries/specs.cfm
http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/...met/index.html

Whirley Bird

My Feedback: (1)

yOUR RIGHT.
i NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS AND NOW ALL MY PACKS PLUS THE ONES FOR MY HAM RADIO ht'S HAVE NMH CELLS IN THEM
Sorry, Caps were on.
I found that a 4.5-V pack rated for 1.500 amp/hr takes 13 hours to bring to a full charge when the pack is stone dead.
9 hours when the pack in to low to be used.
The charge is 200 mils and I also have a timer on it.
Just my 2 cent here

us020140

My Feedback: (28)

As long as you pay attention to battery temperature during charging you can safely charge any battery pack at 1 X C. You can hold the batteies in your hand (boring) or get a temperature detecting charger like the Dymond Super Turbo. I use the Dymond to charge my Mini Disc player's Lithium battery and it works better than the wall charger that came with it.

strato911

That's exactly what the manufacturers are saying too. However, there are alot of modlers teaching newcomers that they can charge at ridiculously high rates like 5C for NiCd and 3C for NiMH. I am just setting the record straight. These high rates MAY work, but there is risk of reducing the battery life, and even explosion.

us020140

My Feedback: (28)

Nothing worse than a unplanned explosion.

Kevin Greene

My Feedback: (85)

I'm local and the problem was the 6 volt pack. Fully topped off a 6 volt pack can be over 7 volts!!! In my opinion, it is just not worth it to use a 6 volt pack requiring a regulator. If you need more speed or torque then buy the appropriate servos. Anyway, a topped of 6 volt pack can cause the servo jitters, not to mention REDUCED RANGE in some radios. Been there---Done that. Also, a 6 volt pack will loose its' charge faster than a 4.8 volt pack given both have the same capacity. Stick to a 4.8 volt pack and be happy!!!

Kevin

Kevin Greene

My Feedback: (85)

Now that we're talking about chargers I have the Schulze Chamaleon ISL 6-330 charger and absolutely love it. It will charge ALL of the batteries including both of the lithium types. It has modified programing for each type of battery and you can get an optional RS-232 interface to monitor your batteries' condition on your computer, creating graphs and files if you are that anal about it. This charger is capable of handling up to 30 cells!!! This is a 12 volt charger. I got mine from JetCat USA. Take a look at: www.jetcatusa.com

Kevin

Lynx

Not to mention the higher voltage of a 6v pack will cause the motors in a servo to burn out faster than they would on a 4.8 pack.

Kevin Greene

My Feedback: (85)

Lynx,

YEP!!! Not to mention the amplifier in the servo having to work harder and possibly failing---

I just don't buy into the 6 volt logic that if you loose a cell then you could be OK. I have NEVER had a battery failure due to the fact that I exercise my packs with my Schulze charger/discharger and I replace my packs often---Yearly on my jets and every other year on other less expensive planes. The packs are only $25-$35 each which is chicken feed to an expensive model. Most modelers don't even know the health of their packs. The Schulze will alert you to any changes in your pack by posting the longer charge/discharge cycle time. If you knew that it took only XYZ amount of time usually----and now the time is noticably longer it is time to take a closer look at your pack.

Kevin

us020140

My Feedback: (28)

I had never heard of the Schulze Chamaleon until it was mentioned above. It is definitely cheaper than the Orbit Microlader until you add the computer interface, then its pretty much a wash. The only thing the Microlader can do that the Chamaleon cannot is initialize packs less than 1000 ma.