Hey all,
I have a Hobbico Nexstar... and I'm not a total beginner but I've been worrying about over charging my flight battery and transmitter battery, becuase I fly a lot like every day or every other day usually... and If the battery is not close to totally dead... because I usually only fly about 20 minutes a day.. and I charge it again over night is it possible to over charge a battery in this time? thanks to all... and ALSO does anybody know how long I sould trust my battery on the plane and the transmitter battery? thanks again

these are a couple of good questions, i would aslo like to know. somtimes i do the samething. is this bad?

If you use the wall wart charger, you will not overcharge anything. And, if you use any one of a number of field chargers, SIRIUS for instance, it will do a fast charge then switch over to trickle charge for maintenance.

If you take good care for your batteries, use them then recharge them on a regular basis, then they will last you longer than you will have your Nexstar (considering that you will probably move up to something with more of a challenge).

Cycling the NiCd's is a great idea, usually after the season is finished, or perhaps just before the season starts, will do the batteries good. Of course, you will need a cycler for that to do it right, but that's another issue. Keep them clean, and charge them when you are finished flying that day.

Get yourself a good extended range voltmeter (one that provides a load to the TX and RX batteries) so you can check the condition of the batteries after a few flights. You can probably expect to get about three flights before you need to check them, but I usually check my batteries after each flight just to make sure.

GO to: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXWW16&P=ML

This is a good and easy priced voltmeter that will load the batteries.

DS.

google "RC battery clinic" All your answers are there.

Alright.. thanks yall... I was just gettin worried about my batteries dying due to damage of overcharging in the middle of a flight and my nexstar slamming into the groud with no control.

It is fine to charge it on the over night charger all night even if you only flew one time the day before. In fact this is usually the best way to charge them if the charger is meant for the battery size being charged. Also may I suggest you get a cycler. Every once in a while you should cycle them to check the capacity. I suggest the accu cycle elite since it can act as a fast charger and can charge glow plug igniters. Just as ggretired said buy a extended volt meter that puts a load on the batteries. If it is 4.8 volts i usually put it on the field charger even though i could squeeze one more flight in.

I think what the fellows above meant when they said "extended scale voltmeter" was EXPANDED SCALE voltmeter as there is no reason to expand the scale. Even better is to mount a Voltwatch on your plane and check the status after each landing before turning off the power as that give you a very accurate reading using the actual power drain of your system. The Expanded Scale voltmeter with a load is the next best solution.

Your wall-wart charger will not harm your batteries - period. It's just too weak to do any damage. I have flying buddies that put their batteries on charge when they get home from the field and leave them on charge until they go fly the next time whether that's the next day or the next month. It's never done any harm. Do I recommend this? NO! But it simply doesn't hurt either. You can rig a timer so you can charge for 8-10 hrs when you get home and then 1 hr every day until you fly next time and NEVER worry about having charged batteries. Cycle them? Sure, doesn't hurt to do that. Might even be a good idea. Don't know for sure as I haven't done it in 30+ years of flying and never had a problem.

DEFINITELY GET AN ESV AND MONITOR YOUR BATTERIES AT THE FIELD. This is the best advise I've heard in this thread.

I stand corrected.. you are right.. EXPANDED scale not EXTENDED.. sorry about that.. brain fart I guess.

But, I got the link right..

That's OK CG, they both start with an "E".

Hehe. I can't spell either. [X(] Point is a regular voltmeter wont cut it and you should check the voltage after ever flight.

Ummm... if you do it right, you CAN use a regular voltmeter. You simply power everything up and use the system as a load, then connect the voltmeter (digitals work great for this because of their very high input impedance) to the system, maybe use a servo extender cord perhaps.. plug in the digital voltmeter and watch it. As I said, the system acts as a load just as the EXPANDED (ahem) voltmeter would do and as you wiggle the sticks, you can see your voltage change according to the load.

Dick.

CG - you know that the sampling rate on a typical hobbyist DVM is too slow to do this job well. An analog meter would actually be better than a DVM in this application.

Stick with an ESV anyway because it's hard to "wiggle" consistantly and therefore your readings would be inconsistant.

Oh yeah, you are absolutely correct. Just an alternative for someone that may have a DVM at home and wanted to use it. But, the ESV is the way to go. Simple, easy to use, and, what.. two moving parts... 4.8 - 6 volt switch and the TX - RX switch... but remember to check the battery often.. (based on personal experience.. )

My home DVM is a Micronta scientific type with good response AND a serial output so I can take in data to a spread sheet and plot it if I wish. Kinda neat.. but somewhat useless unless you are serious about finding those binds or smoothing out the linkage. Nerd stuff I guess.. but fun to play with on a boring rain filled day.

Dick.