I posted a question earlier in week about whether a battery would drain if the rx switch was left on. Well, it does. So, to see if that was the problem, I charged the battery and all seems well now.

Here's my new and related question:

I charged my battery on Monday. I am familiar with the fact that NiCad batterys will discharge themselves over time, I just do not know how quickly this occurs. However, I am planning on flying on Sunday. Is the charge still sufficient for a day of flying, after the battery has sat all week?

I am afraid if I hook it up to a charger, again, after it was just charged (and not flown), it will speed up the memory problem these things have.

Thanks.

Charge it again the night before.

Memory problems are a thing of the past (or of myth, depends on who you talk to). In any event, you don't have to sweat battery memory with modern Nicads. And certainly not from what you describe.

I don't have hard numbers on the % charge loss over time, and I'm pretty sure it varies a bit depending on the make and size of cell. But why not play it safe, and put the thing on charge the night before.

At the very least, put a meter on it, and see if it's holding above 4.8v.

I don't have a meter yet. I will probably buy one pretty soon.

This will depend on the condition of the battery. There really is not much harm in "peaking" the charge the night before.

I always feel it's best to charge the battery the night before (peaking) I plan on flying, that way I know for sure and to be 100% positive I check it with a voltmeter just before I start the engine.

The above comments are correct. Memory is essentially a myth brought about by erroneous data gathered back in the first spacecraft days ( I was part of that and spent many hours unsuccesfully trying to prove/disprove the memory myth) where it was quite soundly proven that there is no such thing as NiCad memory. There is some side effects that led to this missinformation but they are quite complex and lengthy explanations. Suffice to say, don't worry about memory. Just charge at .1C (what your wall wart that came with your system puts out overnight before you fly, whether or not you have used the battery, you won't damage it a bit and will be assured of a full charge.

Batterys may read fine with out a load on them and then drop right off with a load. Volt meters may give you a false sense of security unless its a type that can put a slight load on the battery as it is being read. I would suggest you look into the type below as a good choice. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=LXWW16&P=ML:D

Great advise..., I also put my batteries on charge the night before,
even if I did not fly a day earlier. The night before I usually check
the voltage and if it's still in the lower part of the green of the scale
I charge it for 8hrs or so, if it's lower than that, I give it a full charge
12-14hrs. Well on my transmitter battery I use to do it also but I
have since got another battery so as long as I show a good charge
I do not top off, instead I take my second "charged" battery with me
to the field.. And no matter what I do the night before, before my
flight, I take a battery reading and again every two flights... I had
one go down because of the batteries... And if I can help it....
That WILL never happen again...

I might add that a ESV is a MUST! I've got a flying buddy thats got alot of $$ in all of his planes and no ESV. We joke about it all the time about how he can afford to have a thousands wrapped up in his planes but cannot afford a $10 ESV.
If I didnt have one I think I would go bannanas! Everyone has thier own budget to spend on this hobby and I respect that. BUT, if you had an ESV, this would not even be an issue
Its probably one of the most important items I keep in my flight box.
Just my $.02

ESV type meters must still be the type that can be set to read the battery while placing a small load on them. The type that I am referring to in the above post is the digital version and actually tells you based on the reading wheather it is safe or if you need to recharge. It also has 3 battery type settings, Tx., 4 cell receiver, 5 cell receiver.

http://www.hangtimes.com/chargers.html

Near the bottom, onboard digital ESV with load plus a ton of other ESV's near the top of the page

Self discharge rates for NiCd is listed as 25-30% per month, NiMH is 30-35% per month...

Check out this link for some other interesting battery info...
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.as...on=Custom&ID=3

That site is a great place to get good deals on cells and premade packs as well...