Okay, Friend
I know i'm suppose to post at the battery forum but i feel more comfortable here.
As i'd said earlier, I decided to buy the skysport 4 channel when I was disappointed that the 6 exa did not come with the batteries and charger. So I would just stick to the skysport first and maybe invest in a better radio if the hobby keeps me going. The problem now is that the skysport do not come with the batteries and charger also, (what a fish!!!!!) So I went down to a LHS and bought the batteries for my rx as she said she had only 4 batteries left. Bought an adapter so as to vacuum pack together with the 4 batteries for the rx. Also bought a Futaba charger which the seller says is genuine which I doubt as when i get home, the sticker on the charger reads "Futaba oplader" what is oplader? I don't know. And it's made in Taiwan But it do come with a rx and the tx charger. Anyway, if it charge I'll be happy with it. I think Another problem is that seller sold me the batteries which read Ni-Cd. She advise me that when I FEEL that the batteries power is getting low, i need to drain or discharge all the power out before charging again. If not it will damage the batteries. Do all of you think it's neccessary. Do all Ni-Cd battery have to be done this way? How about Ni-Mh? Does it have to drain out the power just like the Ni-Cd before recharging? Please help. I might consider changing the batteries if all of you can give me a good opinion.
P/s: I'll be making the decision to buy tomorrow if you guys want me to change so a quick response is really appreciated. Sorry for the lengthy input but this usually happen to newbie like me. Thanks

Welcome.
I didn't know that a new radio system didn't come with an airborne battery pack.
You CAN recharge without draining each time. I recycle my battery packs each spring before I start flying. After time, one cell can recharge to a lower level than the others and gets down to a point where it is useless and will cause a crash.

I am really suspicious of the whole transaction.

Find a different seller.

Futaba radios always come with a battery pack for the transmitter. If purchased as a Transmitter/receiver combo, then the receiver will have a battery pack as well.

The Transmitter has 8 cells, the receiver has 4. They are always Ni-Cd (Nickel-Cadnium) cells. There is also a charger supplied with the combination set (TX and RX), and normally some servos.

It sounds to me that the seller is a cheat, and is trying to unload a bunch of mis-matched hardware. I would not trust them with $1 let alone a transmitter that for all you know has been used to fish with!

gus

Should be no problem posting here, probably lots of beginners with similar questions. Hmmm, where to begin with the answers.

1. Ni-cds are fine, but if I had a choice, I would return the ni-cds and buy ni-mh. The only reason I have ni-cd battery packs is they come with most of the radios here. When I buy extra batteries, they are always ni-mh. For the same size and weight the ni-mh will have 2 to 3 times more power. This means longer flight times. Ni-mh also do not have the memory problems that ni-cds have. You do not need to drain the ni-cds every time before charging them. It's something you should do occasionally. Do a google search and you will find more info.

2. I would also consider returning the charger. I've got a bunch of Futaba chargers. They are ok, but there are more general chargers on the market that are much better. You should be able to get one that will charge your transmitter, receiver, and other batteries if you decide to go electric. A good charger will have peak detection which automatically determines when the battery is charged and slows the rate to trickle so the pack does not get overcharged. Note, if you buy ni-mh batteries, be sure the charger is suitable for them. The safe charging rates for ni-mh and ni-cd are different.

3. Can you find another hobby shop? You should be able to buy ni-cd or ni-mh battery packs that are already assembled.

4. While you are shopping you should consider buying a small voltmeter to test your receiver batteries. The meter should include a small load to simulate the operation of the receiver and servos. You need this to monitor your battery at the field to make sure you do not try to fly when the battery gets too low.

Nicad battery memory is a thing of the past (if it existed at all, it's a hot topic). I never bother to drain my nicads and I have some that are several years old and still work just fine.

Nimh cells do have more capacity, but the newest generation of Nicads make it closer to 2x than 3x the capacity. (I have a 900mah AA size nicad pack. The largest Nimh pack I've seen in AA size is 1700). Most AA size packs are 600 or 650mah for Nicads and around 1500 for Nimh. (mah = milliamp hours). (back when I first starting flying, the same size and weight Nicad pack was only 400-450mah. That's roughly a 50% increase in capacity over the years. These aren't your father's Nicads).

Your whole situation sounds really odd. Find another dealer to compare with, if nothing else find someone else in your area to talk to. Products vary a bit country to country, but I really have a hard time believeing that Futaba is selling the 6exa with out batteries in the TX, or no battery in the flight pack.

Just to clarify, Futaba and other companies often sell the Transmitter by itself and also sell the transmitter along with the flight pack. The flight pack has the Receiver (RX), switch, battery, servos, and usually some other stuff like mounting hardware. You should be looking for a TX with flight pack, not a TX-only deal. However, even in the TX-only deals that I've seen, the TX comes with batteries in it. Maybe it's different where you are, but I'm skeptical.

I'm skeptical too. It MAY be that things in Thailand are different, but I doubt that they're that much different.

Buying a radio "set" almost anywhere else means that you get a transmitter, a receiver on the same channel (come with the crystals), three or four servos, a switch harness, transmitter and receiver battery packs and the charger for both, a servo extension, frequency flag, transmitter channel pin, plus a servo tray and all the mounting hardware - screws, grommets, rubber inserts, servo arms.

By the way, the Futaba 6EXA with all this stuff can be bought in my local hobby shop for $170 U.S.

NiCD's do not have to be "drained" between charges.
Dennis-

Hi all,
Thanks for all these info. So i assume that it's not neccessary to drain my Ni-Cd everytime before charging. Another point is that since I already bought the charger which said that the model is Futaba Type FBC-2J, can it be use to charge the Ni-Cd batteries? I'm touched by everyone concern but sometimes I may have to blame myself for making hasty decision.
As everyone said, why things are a bit different in Thailand?
But I really appreciate all the quick response so that i can get my pack ready for this weekend flying lesson.
Thank you
P/s: 6exa at 170usd ( about 6970 bahts) is absolutely cheap. This model alone without the batteries and charger cost about 8500 baht in Thailand.
And by the way, anybody know what frequency Singapore is using? I might in the future get a full option better radio there. I think it's cheaper. U.S is cheap, but the air ticket is expensive lol..

Bemyself ... I got the 6EXA too and it does not come with battery and charger. Even the JR6102 is sold as JR2601 in Malaysia! The price in Malaysia is the same as yours. About 8,000 Bath

You are best discharging your NiCads after a few charges, NiCads will have a memory problem if it is charged when the battery is semi full. This is not so for NiMH batteries. You can make your own discharger. I use a 12V car bulb to discharge, I am sure you can solder up your own jack and wiring. I usually discharge it after a few rounds of charging.

A slow charger is prefferred, I know that a full charge can last easily 10 flights of 10 mins each. So you need not worry about slow charging. My current set of 700Mah battery is over 16 months old and they are working fine. The new Sanyo NiCads are about 2200 Mah. That means you can charge it once a month! Hahahaa ...

Okay, here is my 2 cents.

As with Tianci, I'm sure that the skysport and 6EXA does NOT come with rechargeables in Hong Kong. The older 6XAS did (but was also more expensive). I'm sure Thailand isn't very different. As for the price, I agree that the states is cheaper for radios. I think my 6XAS was around $190, which was a pretty good deal.

Charging NiCads - I recommend that you cycle them because they do get memory effect still. I cycle my packs often and keep a voltspy on each and every plane (rather than depending on "feeling", which incidentally was proven lacking when I plowed my 3D Cap232 just as I was pulling up to come in for a roaring low pass). Furthermore I agree with piper chuck in that you should really try to spring for NiMh if you can. The memory effect is much less apparent and they are lighter. Question: what is this four battery thing? You bought four packs or four batteries? If you bought four single rechargeable batteries please just go to another hobby store... the one you go to sucks. Definitely buy assembled packs. If you only bought a four battery pack for the RX then it's acceptable. But remember if you are flying electrics, you don't need the RX pack at all. As for the TX, there should be slots for 8 individual AA batteries. You can buy these batteries ANYWHERE. You need not buy them from your hobby store. You can shop around and get a better deal. Once again, NiMH can easily be purchased from local hypermarts and such. These general purpose batteries are good for both TX and RX but not for electric flight.

Charger - there's nothing wrong with the charger you said. Sure there are other general chargers but for the beginner, a wall wart isn't a bad idea. I use a computer charger because I also fly electrics. That allows me to cycle my batteries once every few days of flying. Tianci's idea of wiring up light bulbs is a way that most people use in the states for cycling r/c car batteries and works as good as the fanciest of chargers.

Anyway, there are a bunch of hobby shops in BKK, I don't know why you would be limited to just one. In fact, I know that many of there is a hobby store on line at http://www.minicrafthobby.com. Address 11/6 Hatairadih rd., Minburi, Bangkok 10510 Thailand. A friend I met a few months ago goes there and I'm sure they will serve you well.

Thanks again for the prompt reply.
Tianci, that should be 8000 baht and not 8000 bath. Who would want a bath in bangkok? lol...
Piper chuck, How much difference in price between the Ni-cd over the Ni-Mh?
Forestroke, I only bought 4 Ni-Cd batteries original plan for my rx and not 4 packs. The reason that the additional 8 batteries Ni-Cd were not bought because the shop had only the last 4. Maybe a blessing in disguise. If the price over the Ni-Cd is not much difference, I will switch over to the Ni-Mh. I
I sincerely thanks everyone here on giving me such valuable advice in a short span of time. I'll do my shopping tonight. Bless me
Thanks

The price difference is negligible. You can get NiMH up to 2000mah at local electronics outlet for your TX. I still think you should buy an assembled pack rather than individual batteries. If you haven't bought them yet, or you can pay a little extra for a pack, you should do that. But I'm assuming that they gave you the 4 cell rx battery case so you can just pop them in, right? If that is the case, return all of them and get general use NiMH batteries. From what I know, NiCd batteries are very good for applications where you may need to operate at multiples of C such as for R/C cars. For rx and tx, that's not necessary as neither really require high currents. In fact, many are moving to Li-po only problem is the difference in voltage requires a step down.

Good luck!

Again, the problem of memory effect with NiCD's is a myth and does not exist. I have used packs for months at a time, entire flying seasons without discharging or cycling them. Don't worry about it.

Yes, NiMH's offer a more capacity in a package that weighs the same, but they are more expensive.
Dennis-