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Old 09-21-2014, 05:56 AM
  #8  
jester_s1
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I'll add that you should replace the switch too. Switches are the most failure prone part on our airplanes because they lose their spring tension internally over time and due to vibration. You can't tell when this has happened, so it sneaks up on you. Get a good DPDT switch like an MPI or other well-established brand.

And I'm with John on the radio situation. The new radios do so much more for you that it's hard to make a case for still using the analog 4 channel units. You also may find it difficult to find an instructor who has a buddy box that works with your radio. That said, the best equipment to use is the equipment you have. So if you can get with an instructor who can connect to your radio and if the radio range tests well, then there's no reason not to use it. You can upgrade when you're ready to get into higher performance planes. And there's a chance that the $30 battery you buy for your radio will transfer into your new radio, so it may not actually cost you anything.

On batteries, you get what you pay for. You want welded construction with Sanyo cells. There are some Chinese made batteries that sell for a good bit less, but they also don't last like the Sanyos do. I get all of mine from www.hangtimes.com. Their stuff is as good as it gets, and their prices are a little bit better than most other places.

It looks like the charger you have isn't going to work, so do yourself a favor and get a computerized charger that also cycles batteries. This is an area where cheap Chinese merchandise is ok, so you can pick one up for around $40. The cycling ability is a must have IMO, because it lets you test your batteries to be sure they are still good. I saved a plane that way once. I bought a new name brand battery pack at the hobby shop and put it on the cycler after form charging it. It hit the voltage cutoff in about a minute and didn't have 10% of the capacity that it should have. The manufacturer replaced the pack, but had I flown with it I would have probably lost the plane on the first flight. Since then I've found one other bad battery that I thought was good, so even if I don't count the convenience of fast charging and the ability to charge lipos and lifes my charger has paid for itself several times over by now.

Last edited by jester_s1; 09-21-2014 at 06:11 AM.