ORIGINAL: MetallicaJunkie
thanks for the replies... .. i think ill just monitor my batteries the old way by seeing how much many mah's it takes to fully charge them after a few flights...and just check em under a load between flights
This will certainly work fine and save a few dollars to boot. I was very skeptical going in to A123 and now that I have them I am amazed that I don't need a voltmeter at all. It is a waste of extra dollars in this case. I just charge and fly initially, come back charge and see the usage. After that only charge to top off.
As a matter of fact since switching to all A123s it seems to me that I have a far better grasp as to how my planes use the batteries than I ever did with a voltmeter. Voltmeter may show voltage, but we have to remember it does not show capacity. Now, I know exactly how many times I can fly and the super bonus is that you can charge them so fast it is amazing. Plug the charger up and in minutes you are charged and ready to get back in the air.
I hardly ever pull out a voltmeter any more. The only time I use one is to check my NIMH ignition batteries and I really would not need to do that as I have developed a consistant pattern in how I use them. I know you can get used to using a voltmeter on A123, I just think it is additional time and cost that is no longer needed.