ORIGINAL: airraptor

I will never use A123's. to me A123's are the same as DA engines lol they get the job done but so do LiFe and DLE engines at a reduced price. My Opinion

Now all i use are the Hobbico and Hyperion LiFe batterys. They out perform the Nicad and NiMh batterys. they are half the weight and have the same Mah rating.

What you need to pay attention to is the C rating of them. some of the Hobbico LiFe batteries only put out 1C some are over 10C.

Onother thing i dont like about the A123's are they only come in one size and they weigh more.

I have crashed a couple of LiFe's at over 140 into the ground and the battery was crushed and split open. it was mounted behind the engine, reciever, servos, fuel tank and wing mounting block. it ripped through all that. It didnt catch fire or even get warm.<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);">Hope your 140 crashes wern't because of th poor High Current out put of LiFe's ... True A123's will out put much higher current. One problem (OH but a small problem if U properly document flight times and charges) is that it is hard to check the remaining (CHARGE) in this type of cell. This is because of the very flat but long working voltage. ie they fall off very quickley near the end of their charge. Telemetry that would mesure the consumed MiliAmps might be nice. Just my 2 cents worth.</span></span></span>

I have HV serovs also on most planes now and still use the LiFe batterys. IMO for todays tech its the only way to go.