GoKart,
Pay attention to Piper Chuck. He is old enough to know what he's talkin about. You can make a battery drain by using a 12v light bulb and wiring it to an old battery plug. I would put a provision for a voltmeter in the circuit. Do not take your batteries past 1.1 volts per cell during discharge. I just bought new TX and receiver batteries, and on the 1st cycle, they were at less than 1/2 capacity. (the receiver battery is a 2400 JR airborne pack, 4.8v-4 cell (sub c) and the time on my accu cycle was at about 250 minutes at 500 mah drain. Rhe TX battery was only at 48 minutes. After the 4th cycle, the TX is at 170.7 minutes, and the RX is good for 590.9 minutes. Not too shabby. If you do the math for these batteries, you will see that they have peaked at slightly over 100% of rated capacity. I wish that you would get a good cycler/charger. I know that a lot of people laugh at the old accu-cycle, but it is really a good unit. (for nicads) The accu-cycle elite that Piper Chuck mentioned is in a different league. The old accu-cycle can still be had for around 79 bucks at most hobby shops, and I'll bet that you can pick one up at a swap meet, or in the used bin at the LHS for a fraction of that. Just a note, Pick the charger/cycler up and smell it. (no joke) if it has been shorted out, your nose will tell you. It will have an unmistakeable odor to it. It smells (of all things) like an electrical short. This odor will linger for a long time. If it stinks, pass on it. (IMHO)