ORIGINAL: mitchell170
I'm putting the finishing touches on my plane and hope to see it fly next week on training night. Battery questions:
1. My transmtter shows battery status in the LCD screen, but how do I monitor the status of the receiver battery?
Install a Voltwatch battery monitor on your plane to monitor your receiver battery:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXHDJ2&P=ML
2. I'm aware of some of the issues with NiCads from some of my early photography days. Can someone please educate me on battery "cyclers"? Can I cycle both the receiver and transmitter batteries with the same piece of equipment?
Yes, there are charger/cyclers that can do both RX and TX batteries.
3. What about field chargers? I've seen reference to them and suppose they can be use to quickly recharge either the TX or RX batteries. Is this correct? There is a disclaimer in my transmitter manual that using a charger other tnan the one Futabe supplied may damage the batteries. Is this really a concern?
Yes, you can quick charge your RX and TX batteries at the field if you wish. However, this does reduce the service life of your batteries. You must monitor the battery temperature to be sure they don't overheat.
4. For 2 and 3 above: What is reasonable in terms of equipment (cost, abilities. etc.) and what is overkill? Any specific recommendations on equipment?
Here are two good multipurpose chargers that will serve as field chargers and battery cyclers. Note that the first one (Super Brain 977) comes with a 12V power supply, while the other does not (you have to buy your own power supply or use a 12V car battery):
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXLCJ6&P=ML
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXMAJ0&P=7