I have a question about batteries... I have a Hobbico Superstar MKII Select and I can only fly it every other weekend. Am I better off choosing either the Saturday or Sundy to fly on so that the batteries can be fully discharged and fully recharged between flights, or am I okay flying Saturday, charging the Batteries Sat Night without a full discharge and Flying again sunday then fully discharging the batteries on Sunday and fully recharging them for the next time i can fly in two weeks... If that made any sense at all. any advice will be appreciated

I don't think you need to be so concerned about fully discharging and recharging your batteries every weekend. Most of the guys I fly with cycle (discharge and recharge) their batteries every month or two. I cycle mine about every two months and they hold up well.

One thing though, when you say 'fully discharge' do you mean take them all the way down to zero volts? Most of the articles I've read (and advise from others) says that you should NEVER discharge them completely to zero. They say this can damage the pack. I use a 'cycler/charger' that discharges to a certain point (I think its like 1 volt per cell) and then automatically recharges them fully.

I'm sure some more knowledgeable folks can chime in here...

G'day Mate,
Exactly right.

Some old information dies slowly. Modern batteries have nowhere near the memory problems that the older ones had. As others have said, don't worry about discharging the batteries all the way before recharging. For all things related to R/C batteries I suggest reading Red's R/C battery clinic http://www.rcbatteryclinic.com . Red is a member here on RCU and has compiled lots of information on the care and feeding of batteries.

http://www.rcbatteryclinic.com is a bad link.

Sean

Try again, it works for me just fine. Just clicked on it as posted in YOUR post.

Hmm, I couldn't get to it before. But now I can. It's back up and running fine now. Must have been a hiccup in the internet.

Ken

Hi, It's not clear what type of cells you are using. So will try to answer all the questions.

NiCds should be discharged down to 1.0V per cell so that they will deliver full capacity without
gaining memory. Simply, they are prone to discharge their currant to the last recharge place. Over time the gain memory and you loose their whole output if left unchecked. This is old tech.

NiMH have no memory and you need not discharge them down. Use and charge the cells
without worry. Slow charging [100 -200mA] is best as the cells will absorb more currant than
quick charging. High currant tends to overheat cells and shorten the battery life.

If overnight charging is not doing it for you increase the charge rate accordingly by increasing the charge output 100mA at a time. Remember less is better. Warm to the touch is charged and hot is overcharged.

We offer Tx and Rx packs that will let you fly all weekend without recharging.

Hope this helps you. If you need more help contact me. Good luck.

Bern [www.superbatterypacks.com]

Hi, It's not clear what type of cells you are using. So will try to answer all the questions.

NiCds should be discharged down to 1.0V per cell so that they will deliver full capacity without
gaining memory. Simply, they are prone to discharge their currant to the last recharge place. Over time the gain memory and you loose their whole output if left unchecked. This is old tech.

NiMH have no memory and you need not discharge them down. Use and charge the cells
without worry. Slow charging [100 -200mA] is best as the cells will absorb more currant than
quick charging. High currant tends to overheat cells and shorten the battery life.

If overnight charging is not doing it for you increase the charge rate accordingly by increasing the charge output 100mA at a time. Remember less is better. Warm to the touch is charged and hot is overcharged.

Hope this helps you. Good luck.

Bern