Hello Gene.

Not much flying today. Windy as hell all day. So, I got some home chores done that needed doing, and did some cooking. Julie and I are both single, live about a block apart. She hates to cook and I love to cook. But, this past season, with my travel, I've not been home to cook. So, today, I decided I was going to outdo myself. And I did. Did the autumn thing, with a bit of a Tex-mex flavor. All came out just great, so I've not lost my touch!!

Just to keep with the flavor of this thread... that link I put up in my earlier post had some pretty interesting information in his FAQ's. That comes from Dave's extensive experience with both RC and batteries. I read somewhere in one of his FAQ's that he does not really believe that the batteries that some claim are bad are really bad. He's taken them in, (shipped back to him as claimed to be bad) and put them on a cycler and basically cycled them back to life. Dave claims that proper care and regular cycling of battery packs can preclude their replacement. But, they will fail at some time, but not as frequently as some think they will.

The reason I say this is that the OP said that battery packs are good for two years. I belive Dave will dispute that and seems to have proof. I can attest that I thought I had a bad pack when I had that documented problem with my Venus II a while back, and replaced the 'defective' pack.

I gave it to a club member who took it apart and tried to identify the bad cell. But, after a couple of cycles, the suspect cell was just fine. And, that was the one and only time I really thought I had a bad cell.

So, I would be leary about replacing packs that are 'suspect' of being bad, favoring cycling them a few times and trying to recover them.

Read what Dave has to say on the subject. Hey, he sells the things and is willing to go out on the limb and say what he does about packs.. he backs up what he sells, in other words, and would not say what he does if he does not have 'proof' of his claims.

The bottom line here is that packs should be checked and re-checked before they are put in the trash bin (recycle bin.. ). Those old ones.. cycle them and see if they are really useless. Hey, you can always use them for something...on the ground that is.

CGr.