samisnake

hi, im gonna need to get my first starter box. im not sure how they are powered. can anyone help me out? can they run on 7.2v battery packs, cos i have a couple of those.
[link]http://modelsinmotion.co.uk/product.asp?productid=7932&catCode=257&tamiya=258[/link]

will this starter box work with a 7.2v battery pack?

Nitroaddict

Yes - starter boxes can be used with either two nimh packs, or with a 12v battery. The packs will work fine for a broken-in .12 engine, but shoudl you go with using it for a big block or 8th scale - you will want to use the 12v batt instead.

dbow

My Feedback: (1)

Boxes can use the 12volt gel cells or packs, you can wire them up various ways. I have wiring in mine for either a gel cell in the box, packs in the box, or a hook up from my field kit.

If you are using high capacity packs they will probably outlast most gel cells that will fit in the box. I have used many gel cells in starter boxes and in my flight boxes. I seem to always exhaust the gel cells quickly, keep in mind that if you let gel cells drop below 12 volts then they begin to deteriorate.

I currently run a block of 20 2000 mah cells which comes out to be 4000 mah at 12 volts. Will push over any engine, charges rcvr and trans batts at the same time as kicking over my engines, powering a fan etc all weekend long without a recharge.

As for which has more power.....A couple packs usually push harder then a 12v gel cell because thats 14.4 volts, think of the pressure behind your water faucet as volts in batteries, so for the hard to push over engines more voltage = more umph!

Goodluck

Dbow

Nitroaddict

dbow - the packs produce more voltage but less amps than a 12v car battery. IE - more rpm for the box, but less torque.

dbow

My Feedback: (1)

Car battery is a little different in comparison to the small gel cells that go in the starter boxes.
So I would agree with ya there.

As for the gel cells I have yet to see a 12volt that will push over a engine batter and two 7.2 packs.



Dbow

samisnake

thanks for the help info. i dont think im gonna get gel packs or a 12v battery, so would any universal starter box have the wires to connect to the 7.2v packs, in particular [link=http://modelsinmotion.co.uk/product.asp?productid=7932&catCode=257&tamiya=258]starter box[/link]

dbow

My Feedback: (1)

What up Sami,

Basically you can rig the box up anyway you want. I am not sure how that box comes from the factory. Basically all you have to do is change the connectors on the wires. I use Duratrax powerpole on all my electronics, so basically everything is compatible. I must have about 20 different connectors in my field kit, each one has a powerpole on one end and proprietary connector on the other.
My starter box, chargers etc all have powerpole so anything hooks up.

Alligator clips with power poles on the other end are really handy.

Just purchase the opposite side connectors from your packs and wire them in on your box.
You can add other wiring and other options later if you need to.

Dbow

samisnake

thanks alot dbow, i understand now. thanks for the help

streetuner

Could u use any starter box with the nitro tc3?

Piero23

Pretty much any box.