Transmitter charging question
 

When you first purchase a new radio, usually the transmitter is supossed to be charged aprroximatly 24 hours for the first initial charge. But after you fly and the Tx battery has lost, say only 15% - 20% of it's battery power. How long or how often do you charge the Tx battery to bring it back up? For example; if your Transmitter has a half dead battery, do you charge up from their? or do you drain it back to zero power then charge it back up to full again? Not sure how to properly treat these NiCad Tx batterys...:eek:

Sometimes if my Tx is fully charged, but Im not able to use it for a few days to a week, it shows a drop in power from just sitting their. then when I need to fly, the Tx battery is not up to charge and I can't fly that day. So I set up a system on my work bench were all my Transmitters will be charged every other day for 3 or 4 hours at a time with a timer and a power strip. but Im not sure if that's the right thing to do.

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

I charge my transmitter and receiver battery for 12-15 hours (C/10 rate) regardless of how much flying I have done. The batteries should not be charged for less than ten hours, so you should not try to only put back into the battery what you took out flying. While it is debated whether Nickel Cadmium batteries actually display a "memory effect", I fully discharge my batteries once every two months to play it safe. Draining the battery more often will only shorten its lifespan. To keep the batteries charged I would either plan what day to fly and charge the night before or purchase a trickle charger to keep the batteries ready to go.

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

okay thanks aviator! I was worried that I may overcharge and burn up the Tx NiCad battery and so it turns out that I was not charging them enough.......[X(] I guess that would explain why my transmitter Nicad was almost half empty after just one flight session.

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

Yes, the wall chargers that come with the equipment charge at a rate of Capacity/10 per hour. It takes 10 hours to fully charge a battery; but, since charging is not 100% efficient 12 or more hours are recommended. This charging rate is slow enough that it is very difficult to overcharge a battery.

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

I hate to disagree with you but that's hog wash....I've been flying since 93, always use the std. wall wart charger that comes with the transmitter and a 24 hr. timer. With my Futaba 8 UAFS radio, I charge 2 hrs per 15 minute flight. So..........if I fly 4 flights it gets an 8 hr charge, 6 flights, 12 hrs. etc.....If I fly 8 flights that's the same as cycling the pack so it gets a full 16 hr charge. After the tranny is charged, the timer gets set for 1 hr/day. I can leave the transmitter like this for a month and it will be fully charged when I fly. I normally fly every 3 or 4 days though. :D My transmitter batteries also last 4 or 5 years, so I must be doing something right........ The transmitter battery is the easiest on of all to maintain IMO.......

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

Is Anybody can say,how much my Tx batteries be allowed getting hot until I should say ,"yes, danger zone" ?I mean what temperature
is the safe line to finish charging?

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

If you slow charge them at C/10 ( wall-wart that comes with the radio), they should never get hot..........Fast charging is another story. They should never feel hot even them, just warm. If they are getting hot, you need to check your peak detection in your fast charger, it may not be sensing the peak in voltage and shutting off.

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

Thanks for answering,I use wall charger only.

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

your system only works for your transmitter and battery. other set ups would have different charge times. the accepted, manufacturer recommended way, for beginners, is to charge system overnight with the supplied charger. with regard to hogwash............. if you think your charging method is increasing the life of you batterries your in deep hogwash.

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

Doesn't increase it, just doesn't shorten it. ;)

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

how about if we all switch to Lipoly batteries and call it a day............LOL :):D

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

And now we go from hogwash to a bucket of propwash:D:D
Sorry, I couldn't resist:)
Pete

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

Lipo's and Lith-Ion are too boring to talk(argue) about.:D Just plug them in at the given charge rate and forget them.............Lets see.......they could blow up though. :):)

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

I have enough heart attacks charging the Lipos on my Helicopter! One time the charger was faulty and the battery inflated like a balloon, I then decided to take it outside because of the smell, and then 2 seconds after I put it on the sidewalk it exploded like the hindenburg, a 3 foot by 3 foot Fireball from a 3 cell 2100 mAh 11.1v Lipo. This was before the word was out about how dangerous the lipos are. This happened about 2 years ago.

Then last week I was charging my heli's Lipo and it was on charge for about 35 minutes, when suddenly from the other room I heard a Loud BANG or Pop like a fire cracker !!!!!!! The first thought was, The Lipo battery is blowing up, Already being shell shocked from the first explosion 2 years ago, I ran and Grabbed the whole helicopter and threw it out onto the front lawn (because the lipo was bound and secured to the heli and I did not want to waste any time removing the lipo from the heli) After 10 minutes of no smoke or fire, I later found out that the Loud Bang came from the Kitchen, My Wife's Coffee Thermos blew up !!!! And my poor heli was laying in the dirt! a poor victim of mistaken identity..........To add insult to injury I broke a blade when I thew it onto the lawn, Boy was I pissed........LOL[:@]

It was funny..............:D

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

LOL, that's a good one........I bet you are gun shy! :D

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

I just hope next July 4th I dont Throw my Helis out the window...............LOL

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

How many of you 'fast charge' at the field? After 3-4 flights I'll throw my plane and tx. on a fast charger (Sirius Charger) and let it do its thing.

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

I never have to on the transmitter. Slow charge at C/10 rate when I'm finished flying for the day, then it goes on my timer for 1 hr/day. Keeps the batts topped off and I can't fly enough in one day to kill the battery. :) I am using the fast charger on my flight pack though, after 4 or 5 flights I top it off if it looks like I'm going to be flying much more.

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

While I am set up to do it, it seems that I never need to, with my primary Tx pack of 1500mah Nicds and the Glow birds all having 1100mah Nicds, all slow charged and maintained on an Ace Digipulse;)
Pete

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

Wow whats the fuss ? I use my 2700Ma for my JR9303 it lasts like forever and when it gets low I put in the 600Ma battery that came with the radio and put the 2700 on my charger at 1A and I am good to go . Happy Flying [8D]

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

:-)

RE: Transmitter charging question
 

I use the same process as Frank, essentially. All the wall warts are on a timer that turns them on for 1 hour a day (got this idea on the Internet somewhere, I think from Red). The timer is set to normally turn on at 6 am. When I get back from flying, I plug everything in, and turn the on/off switch on the timer to "on". That way, the timer stays on from when I get back from flying until 7 am the next day, then 1 hour a day after that. So far, the batteries have lasted for years, and they're always topped off when I decide to go flying.

Once a year, in the winter, I cycle the batteries, not really to avoid battery memory, but to make sure they haven't lost any capacity. (All this is for NiCads.)