What is better?
I have never run any of my planes on 6 volt to date. But in setting up my first mojo 60 im in debate what is better. the specs on servos look lots better under 6 volt power but how much extra weight is being carried for the extra 2 cells on the pack(Nicad). and also do i need to buy a different heavy duty switch or will a stock one work with 6 volt? i cant imagine the weight needed for lipo and regulator being worth it for a 60 size plane hence staying with nicad for this bird. and what size do i need i will be hopefully running 4 5625 hitecs and 1 standed on thortle im thinking around the 2000ma make but really have no idea with digital servos
thanks for the help

6 volts isbetter compared to 4,8V. Faster and stronger servos you get. To get rid of that extra weight that comes from the batteries, use Li-pobatteries with a 6 volts regulator. And that is a lighter solution......

I am a weight freak so I am using 750maH li-po batteries on my 110 size planes and 1.500maH batteries on my 160 size planes due to weight. Just charge after 3 flights, you will have no problems. 2.000maH on a 0.50 plane. Unnecessarily too much. I have a 2.600 Li-ion on my 50cc gasser.

2 extra cells?

6v packs are 5 cell. You can use a standard switch though heavy duty wiring has less resistance.

Whether or not you feel it worth it is up to you, I can tell you that its a good idea from a safety standpoint, one cell dies in a 4 cell pack and you you're coming down. 1 cell dies in a 5 cell pack and the reciever doesn't know.

Go 6v and never go back. You will want all the speed and power you can get/ afford on that Mojo. Also, I would recommend Nimh vs Nicd for the receiver pack. You'll get more capacity for less weight and the batteries have less memory. I'd shoot for something in the 1100-1400mah range and you should be able to get 6 tanks or so out of it.

I agree with AKFiremedic - once you try 6v on that MoJo you will wonder why you ever considered otherwise. You have the Moass version of the MoJo don't you? - you will definitely enjoy the extra speed and power of the servos with that.

I haven`t used 4.8v in years. One extra 1/2 AA cell is insignificant weight increase on a 40+ size plane, go 1100 mah 6v and be happy.

CAN you use 4.8V and get away with.... yep.

When 6V Lithium is available to you is 4.8V even a comparable option.. NO WAY...

6V regulated lithium or even better Lithium A123 setups give you faster servos with better response and power. PLUS you are so much lighter than NiCad milliamp for milliamp. 5Cell (6V) NiMH packs are a viable option, but they do weigh a good bit more than Lithium. The only bad thing there is to Lithium is that if a cell fails you are pretty much dead meat,, where with NiMH if a cell fails you will get a tell tale reduced performance but at least you will have something to land with. Lithium has proven itself to be very reliable, but after about 1 year of 6 flights a week, I typically start watching them really closely and usually will just replace them. And 2600mah is not overkill in a < 1.00 plane. It is a LOT of battery capacity, but for the tradeoff of the alternative in NiCad or NiMH and not that much difference in cost a 2600mah Lithium pack in a Mojo60 will save you a couple of ounces and give you way more capacity.. THere is no better option than Lithium Ion, Polymer or even Lithium A123 batteries,,,, which by the way totally A123 totally blows all the other options away. A123 has sick burst discharge capacity, requires no regulators and is totally stable unlike the other lithium options. PLUS you can charge A123 packs in about 1l4-1/5th the time it takes to charge a LiPo or Li-Ion of equal capacity.

Also remember if you go with nimh instead of nicd. You will need to charge yor plane(s) pretty close to your flying time. Nimh batteries loose their charge a lot quicker than nicd. It's not a really big deal, just don't charge your plane 2 days before you fly and you won't have any problem.

Austin

Yeah and regarless of what people say, NiMH does have memory so you need to be sure and run the voltage down correctly before you recharge to get the most out of the capacity.

to make it simple if you have light weight servos that are not powerhouses yet just fit the requirements i would definitaly run them on 6volts and when you have heavy powerhouses but you dont want to stress you plane use 4volts

Let me make it even simpler
Unless you are flying a trainer or small sport plane,,, use 6V.


Or even simpler,,, if you are talking about 3D planes... just use 6V and be done with it.. There is no reason to NOT use 6V. Double negative... yep.

Mike, any idea how many volts per cell you should discharge to for NiMH? I have a old Hobbico cycler and a Dymond Super Turbo Charger. The Hobbico discharges only to 1.02 v/cell, not sure on the Dymond, but when I cycle the batteries I get 2 different MaH readings. Always a higher rating with the Dymond.... I've been out of the hobby since 2002 and have been trying to check my batteries to see what I need to replace.. Thanks

Just discharge them down, then charge them back up at .5a or so and read what goes into the pack. That will give you an idea of capacity. Be sure to cycle them a few times before you start the test though.

you should discharge nimh and nicd to .9v per cell for maximun discharge, your hobbico charger/cycler probably only goes to 1.02 because that's all the receiver will work too.

Austin

Thanks Austin! I think that sounds about right. The voltage drops to about 3.6v (on a 4.8 pack) with the Dymond charger before it starts to recharge. I thought you should slow charge with a 1/10 rate? For example C .15a~.20a on a 1500ma pack. Am I remembering right??