Does anyone use the [link=http://www.rcaccessory.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=83]Maxx Products HD LED Switch [/link]?

----------------------
Description:
3-LED on-board battery checker. The three LEDs - green, yellow, & red - monitor the status of Rx pack under actual load. It is compatible with both 4.8V and 6V flight systems.
----------------------

If so, what is your opinion?

Great little switch and charge receptacle.

It is much easier to use than the GP versions and holds the charge plug better than the Dubro ones.

Yes it is compatible with both voltages.


You can also purchase a version without the LED's.

I initially got the LED version then went to the non-led version on other planes.

I find that I prefer to use an expanded scale voltmeter instead of this.

Thanks. I know I need to get a voltmeter but I thought this would be a little piece of mind between checking the battery after a few flights.

Have you verified if the LEDs are calibrated correctly? By that I mean if they are fairly accurate. I will try this over the weekend by having the battery fully charged then go fly for 3 o4 4 flights, and see if the LEDs change. Then I will put it on the bench and "fly" for several more 10-15 minute flights to check the LEDs.

Thanks again.

i wouldnt trust it like numbers not flkashing light looks like a gimic and as far as the eice of mind between flights do yourself a favour check the rx/tx batterys before EVERY flight no matter what it take all of 11 seconds to do.

Although I think it looks like a great switch and will probably get one myself. Ill play devils advocate here.
There is no subsitute for the expanded scale voltmeter. You see, you dont know what the red yellow green lights mean. Is each one a 1/3 of the batteries capacity? Or do they divide the batts capacity then divide the remainder.
Remember what happens when you assume.
goog luck

jetmech05, I agree 100% and I will definitely get an expanded scale voltmeter. Any suggestions?

Since my charger would plug into the switch, is it safe to assume (hehehe) that I can check my voltage the same way or do I need to remove the wing to get to the battery?

Thanks all for the reply. I did not mean to imply that I will use this as my only indication of battery life, but rather like after my 2nd flight the RED LED is lit then that would tell me to land ASAP and recharge, etc.

I agree with you Flying freak in that I should check before every flight but I don't know if I would always to that (distractions, etc). With the lights right on the power switch I would know right away if there was a power concern (again assuming the LEDs were somewhat accurate). I'll post the results from my test this weekend.

As already stated the "granularity" of the LED's is always in question.

I usually just check the battery state before I start flying ( after having charged them the night before ), using an Expanded Scale Voltmeter. After 45 minutes or more of actual flight time I may check the batteries again with the voltmeter, decreasing the intervals the longer I fly.

I typically use battery packs of over 1200mAh on the smaller planes and 2200mAh on the larger planes, so I'm not really worried about the first hour or so. The Voltmeter just lets me be sure that I've charged the packs properly and that they are maintaining their charge.

The LED's are amusing, but you'll find that you'll not be too enamoured of them over time.

The charge jack/receptacle and switch are another matter altogether.

You do indeed charge the batteries directly from the jack ( as well as check the voltage ) w/o removing the wing, so these are particularly important for my biplanes, where I rarely remove the wings.

I have used this product for a long time and consider it standard equipment for my planes.
I see no downside to it, it works. Three LEDs are plenty for me, but I am fairly cautious and don't try to squeeze one more flight out of the battery. When it is yellow I charge the battery.

Thanks all.
I bought this and also the Hobbico Mk II expanded scale voltmeter. When I tried it, I had some strange readings and maybe someone can help with them. With the antenna down my transmitter was showing weak but with it up the need on the Mk II showed max power. However, this has not been charged in several weeks. As a matter of fact, the radio was reading 9.3 V and after several tests of servos for a FourStar 40 I'm building, the radio started beeping and the voltage was showing 8.8.
Maybe I didn't have the leads in right, but testing again showed the correct reading.

Your post read a little strange to me. Obviously the switch will have NO effect on the TX in any way if that was part of your question.

As for your TX, you said it hadn't been charged for some time. Perhaps what you saw at first glance is what is called a "surface charge" which dissipates quickly. Your best bet os to put a good charge on the batteries or cycle them and try again.

The antenna position effects the loading and current draw of the RF section in the TX.

Yeah, the Voltmeter plugs into the charge lead of your plane not the TX... though I guess you could hook it up to the TX, but then the Voltmeter SHOULD put a load on the battery, so your TX readings are always going to be skewed.

opjose,
The Mk II has a lead that plugs into the transmitter too so you can check it as well as the receiver, but only 1 at a time.

bruce88123,
After reading what I posted I can understand why it was confusing - my fingers didn't type what my brain was saying
When I plugged the Mk II lead into the radio, turned the radio on, and the antenna was down - the needle read all the way to the left. Raising the antenna made the needle move. I thought that was strange. Anyway, I'm charging the radio and receiver batteries tonight and will test tomorrow.

My transmitters have built in digital meters so I have no need to check them with an ESV. Many TX also have a protection diode in the charging circuit which will make it impossible to get ESV readings through the charge jack or at best an inaccurate one. You can expect a 0.7 volt bias drop across the diode itself. TX batteries are best checked out of the transmitter.

Hah thanks!

bruce88123,
My radio has the digital display too and I bet you're right on about the diode. I'll look into testing the tx battery out of the radio.

Thanks for all the responses.