ChixwithTrix

My Feedback: (8)

In a recent plane I traded for, it has a 1650 Mah 6.0V NiMh receiver pack from radical RC.

To tell you the truth, I know very little about batteries and need some help.

The plane has all digitals except on the throttle, that makes for 6 servos all together. 5 digital, 1 mini analog.

It currently has the 6v 1650 pack in it and I do not think it has regulators. Will the 6v pack fry the servos after of a good charge? Would I need to install regs? If so I have no idea how to....

I also have no experience with NiMh batteries and have no charger for them.

Im thinking about just getting a 4.8v NiCd pack to keep things simpler, but only as a last resort...

Please help,
Thanks

DMcQuinn

My Feedback: (13)

The 6.0 volt niMh pack should run everything fine. Most 6.0 volt systems do not use a regulator. Most receivers and servos can handle the 7.0 volts that come out of the pack on a fresh charge. The standard "wall wart " chargers that are designed to charge 4.8 volt packs will also charge 6.0 volt packs. It may take slightly longer to achieve a full charge. a 1650 mAh pack may take 40 or 50 hours to charge with a 50 mA wall wart charger.

JRozman-delete

My Feedback: (2)

Chick,

I am the one who put that batt pack in your airplane. I sold it to Ricky. I put 4 good c/10 conditioning cycles on that pack. It can be quick charged. I recommend a sirius pro + charger. It is safe for nimh and nicd. Can be purchased at central hobbies. You have to send it to Peak electronics for the 1 amp upgrade. You can get 4-5 flights on a full charge. It would take 20 minutes to recharge. It is safe and effective and keeps you flying all day. Do not start a flight at less than 6 volts with a load tester.

As DMcQuinn said, no regulator required. Do a little reading on Reds battery clinic on the battery form.

That is a great plane for gas intro.

Jess

Shortman

My Feedback: (21)

I have the same pack, except its the 1650 NiHm 4.8 volt pack from Radical RC. I used the charger that came with my Transmitter (Futaba) to cycle the pack. By that I mean, cycling it a good 3 times on a 22.4 hour charge. It charges at a rate of 100mAh per hour.

To figure out the charge time, multiply the mAh (capacity of the pack) x 1.4 (or for safety 1.6) = #

from there you divide the number by 100 (charge rate of the charger)

so for your 1650 NiHm pack, it would take a good 23 hours to charge on a standard Futaba wall wart charger

(im pretty sure thats what the formula is)


Dave explains all this in more depth at www.radicalrc.com

scroll down on the homepage and you will see the link to charging NiHm packs

ChixwithTrix

My Feedback: (8)

wow,
Its nice to know who built the Edge. Its a very nice looking plane!

So let me get it strait,
I can buy one of the Sirius pro plus chargers for this battery and get 4-5 flights on a good nights charge? Then if the battery gets below 6.0v then I would be able to quick charge it with the same charger for about 20 minutes?

I have a Hobbico NiCd charger/cycler for my large 3000 and 1800 mah Nicds. Would the Sirius charger be just as simple?

Thanks for all the info, and I will look into getting the additional charger.

ChixwithTrix

My Feedback: (8)

I went onto the Sirius website and a lot of my questions were answered....
Is the chrager that you were talking about here ?

So all I have to do with that charger is carry it with me to the field, and hook it up to a 12v battery? Then plug in the battery that needs to be charged and it will automaticly charge for the amount it needs to? It will also quick charge the NiMh battery without harming it? Would I need to charge it for a slow charge before I can quick charge it that day?

Also can I use a normal Hobbico load tester for the battery or do I need to get the Sirius one?

Wow I am impressed...looks like I will be purchasing a new charger soon.

Thanks again

JRozman-delete

My Feedback: (2)

Chick,

All you have to do is use the sirius for all charging. Charge on the way to the field if you want. You do not have to slow charge it first. The conventional wisdom is to give them a few slow full charges and discharges when they are new to condition them. I was just letting you know that that was done. You will have to get the 1 amp upgrade for the charger you showed on that link. You can call and talk to peak, but I believe you need a 1 amp output for NiMh over 1500 mah. I know the limited edition has the power but the you can't charge your smaller NiMh and NiCd. The "Pro Plus" is not listed. It is in between. I got that one because I have NiMh 720 mah that I like to fast charge. Hope this helps,

Jess

Kevin Greene

My Feedback: (85)

Chick,

I've flown that Edge you now own----It's one sweet flying plane!!! I built one for a buddy of mine after he flew the one you now own. He just had to have one. I covered it just like yours but I flip flopped the colors. (Where yours is blue his is red...etc) That plane has to be one of the most neutral planes I've ever flown---It doesn't care if it is upright or inverted.

About chargers----You have several choices. I compared many chargers before deciding which one to buy. Personally, I would expect a little more for my money than what the Sirius has to offer. For a little more money you can have a charger that will charge all of your batteries. (NiCad, NiMh, Lead Acid, Lithium Ion/Metal) You should look into the Shulze Chamaleon ISL 6-330. It has an LCD readout that tells you EVERYTHING about the charging/discharging status of your batteries. Along with the automatic programs there are manual overides to charge/ discharge as fast as you like---Up to 5.5 amps charging or 2.0 amps discharging. This charger will charge up to 30 cells!!! Do a search here on RCU--There is a lot of info on this charger. This is becoming the primo charger that the jet guys use as we have a couple of different systems in our jets that must be kept charged.

You can see one here: www.jetcatusa.com

Click on "Accessories" Then click on chargers.

Kevin

ChixwithTrix

My Feedback: (8)

Ok,
I looked at the Sirius limited edition charger and am also interested in that.
It says that it can charge (2) 2000mah batteries at once, but can it charge my 1650 mah NiMh 6v battery for the reciever? I also mainly only have large batteries and if the Sirius Limited Edition can charge the 1650 NiMh and my 3000 NiCd then I think it will be great. If it can charge the NiMh that is in the Edge, will it charge the battery the same way as the Sirius pro series charger will?

Sorry for the questions, but as I said...I lack in battery smarts :stupid:
Thanks

ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

The Sirius Chargers will do 4.8 or 6V Nicad or NiMh..just plug and charge. The only difference is the size of the battery (1650, 3000, etc) they will do. Great chargers.


I have charged 1650NiMh with my standard Sirius Pro, even though it says it only does 1000. Takes a while, but seems to work fine as far as getting a good charge.

If your packs are that large, better get the Ltd. or whatever the higher capacity one is.

Like V1VRV2 says, charge on the way to the field! I also charge coming home. I have a 12V power supply and charge at the house. About the only charger I use, really. And it also does the 1650 NiMh TX packs that I have come to love, no sweat.

And small world...you can't be that far from Houston..you could have seen V1VRV2 doing some great 3D about a month ago!!

JRozman-delete

My Feedback: (2)

Chuck, thanks for the kind words. Had a blast 3Ding in Houston. Looking forward to the next funfly. I am working on some new moves. Got to try and get better than that Gary Seeloff dude. He is a monster. :stupid:

Chick, the limited edition sounds like the charger for you. You will be able to charge the receiver pack (6volt 1650 NiMh) and the ignition (4.8 volt 1650 NiMh) with that charger. The reason I did not get the limited edition was it could not charge my 720 NiMh.

Kevin Greene makes a valid point about the utility vs. price of the sirius chargers. I will not argue the validity of his point, I will only give you the reasons I bought the sirius. At the time I did my research it was the Sirius vs. Alpha 4 vs. Super turbo.

1) Simplicity. Plug and play, If you plug it in wrong it won't fry your battery. No programming.(I work my brain enough at work, I like to be lazy when I play.)

2) Size. It is attached to my field box with Velcro.

I recommend you do your research. But I hope this helps.

Jess

Kevin Greene

My Feedback: (85)

Jess,

The Schulze will also tell you if you plugged in your battery backwards as well as tell you if you got the polarity wrong when you connected up the charger to the 12V source. I'm planning on coming to your club's fun fly in May---I'll show you the charger and the fancy smancy case I made to carry it in. When you look at the instructions you will not believe what this charger can do. This unit is much more than a charger but a valid tool to completely understand the condition of your packs. It is a charger/cycler/conditioner all in one. Ed and I use this charger and the new Graupner (a close cousin to the Schulze but more $$$) to charge our jets. We usually fast charge at the rate of 2 amps. Also, we charge the 7.2 volt turbine ECU battery and the RX battery at the same time. The LCD screen flip flops information back and forth, showing the charge rate and time for both batteries. The unit sounds off with a beep when completed. We connect up the charger, fly one of the jets, taxi back---By then the batteries are usually charged! Of course you can charge your RX pack as well as any other pack up to 30 cells at the same time!!! The only thing that the Schulze can't do is charge while the vehicle is running. This can damage the charger. I use a separate 12V source anyway so it really isn't an issue with me. Ed uses one of those 12v battery boosters that you get at Wal-Mart for his 12V source.

Kevin

PS---Another cool feature is that if Schulze comes out with an updated software, you can send your charger in and have the chip changed to the new software!!! For all of you people that are really anal about keeping up with your batteries, you can get the version that has the optional RS-232 interface to connect up to your computer. (About $50 extra) You can chart and graph ALL of your batteries charging/discharging cycles. As I stressed earlier---You get a LOT for your money with the Schulze.

Baja170

My Feedback: (8)

I am sold. As the owner of a few chargers including the new upgraded Charge Pro +, I am going to buy a Schulze as soon as jetcat has them in stock. Where can I get the model with the RS-232 port?

Thanks!!

William

ChixwithTrix

My Feedback: (8)

Thanks for all of your input, I sent an order for a Sirius Limited Edition today

Baja170

My Feedback: (8)

Hi Chix,

The only thing you have to watch out for using the Sirius is that if your running it off a flight box battery that is pretty far discharged, the Sirius will appear to operate through the charge cycle normally, but the pack will not be fully charged. Other than that, I LOVE my Charge Pro +. Great charger! It is only as capable as the power supply it is provided.

William

ChixwithTrix

My Feedback: (8)

I use a 12v Car battery just for RC, use it with my starter and now with the charger. It doesn't get used heavily and we check its charge often...so that shouldn't be a problem.

Baja170

My Feedback: (8)

Good method. You should not have any problems.

Happy flying!!

William