Dont think you can charge 6 vt battries with the wall charger as made for the 4.5 batteries - Get a super brain charger and it will charge the 6 vt batteries OK
I may be wrong , O well first time for everthing LOL

No problem with that charger what-so-ever.

Higher capacity packs ARE advisable even with standard servos.

e.g. Don't opt for 400-600mAh RX packs when you can put in a 1400mAh pack if the weight is not a big issue.

For most .40 and above sized planes a larger pack like this is a non-issue.

The larger pack buys you more time flying and less time worrying about the charge state of your plane.

Also there is absolutely NO PROBLEM charging your packs at the field.

I bring out a couple of gassers when I head to the field, and I end up charging one after four flights and flying the other while the first is topped off.

This assures that the batteries are in a fully charged state, and there is little chance of loosing control due to low voltage or a depleted pack. My gassers have 3400 mAh and sometimes larger packs.

Well its good to hear I can use my DuraTrax charger. That is used for RC batteries so I was hopping I could use it for this.

Well Im assuming in a Hobbico Nexstar that may qualify as a plane where a larger pack would be a non issue? I know with my EZ* I will need to find a more compact pack.

So this is also good to know. So far I have learned that peak charging can be damging to batteries, is this also still true to todays standards and if so do you know of a field charger Icould integrate into my field box that would serve me well in my charging needs without breakign the bank, or is the Hobbico Quick Peak Charger OK to use?

Thank you all for posting in here. I am learning a lot just on this topic.

Wayne,
Save your money on the charger, the Onyx that you have will charge NiCad's and Nimh's. When you move on to flying electric planes, get the Turnigy Accucel-6 when you buy the lipo batteries and other stuff from Hobbycity.

I personally still like to use Nicd's because the voltage drop right after charging is less. I also feel that they last more cycles than a comparable Nimh. I usually pick them up second hand and cycle them a few times to see how they work.

Between the wall charger and your onyx though, you will have something that will charge your batteries for you.
Good Luck,
C

Yeah as I stated before I assumed the Duratrax charger would work but always have to double check. It does suck though that with the money I spent on that charger that it wont do LiPo but no biggey, that Turnigy Accucel-6 isnt expensive so its all good.

Yeah, this is the nature of this hobby. If you look around and read the forums you will find a lot of useful information on what products to buy and not to buy. I had my wife get me the Accucell-6 for Xmas 2008 when I was just getting into the hobby, she bought it for $47 plus shipping coming from the US, but it was still $37 from Hong Kong. I am happy to see them come down in price, but at $50, it was still an incredibly good deal. It will put out 50 watts, so that is some major power if you are trying to charge Nicads and Nimh's and a good start when charging lipos.
Have Fun,
C

Yup, the plane will not notice the difference.

How big of a plane is it?

Unless you are down to the .32 sizes or smaller, a heavier ( high capacity pack ) does not add all that much weight, relative to the weight of the plane itself. Space may be another matter however, and there are various "form factors" you can use, such as hump packs, etc.


Peak charging may have long term effects, but you should really be changing out your RX packs every two years or so to be safe.
That being the case, you'll throw out the packs long before you have to worry about deleterious effects.

You should cycle RX packs and then check their capacities and output via a good computer controlled logging charger, at least once a season. ( I use the ICE and Team Checkpoint -1030 for this ) That way you can catch a cell that may be going bad or determine if the packs have their rated capacities.

I was surprised to find that two of my 1600mAh packs were only producing about 800mAh of current when I tested all of my batteries last December, and these packs were only a year old! I'm sooo glad I checked!

I also found a couple of older packs that needed a bit of reconditioning to produce close to their rated capacities.

I use the Hobbico Field chargers to charge up my glow and gasser planes at the field, mounted in my field boxes.

I also use the ICE and TC-1030 chargers for my LiPos at the field, though normally I try to carry enough LiPo's for my electrics so I do not have to field charge their packs.

Its Wingspan is 54" and the length of the plane is 34". Here is a link if your interested. www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p

Im sure a small 2/3 A or AA flat pack would likely be best. i dont think I have seen anyone use a hump pack in this plane I dont think.

Actually you CAN...

However the batteries may not reach full capacity this way and it takes more time.

I have several 3200mAh 6v packs that I often charge with standard "wall wart" chargers.

Most wall chargers put out more than 4.8 volts and usually put out around 5.4volts or more.

I've thested the 3200mAh 6v packs after charging them with for a few DAYS with the wall chargers.

I get about 3000mAh or so out of them.

When I charge them with a 6v computer controlled charger, I get at least the 3200mAh out of them.

This is close enough for me... so I can safely plug the plane in on say a Wednesday or Tuesday, and have it ready for a weekend of flying... however when I'm in doubt I resort to the better chargers.

Well we started off talking about RX ( Receiver ) battery packs.

What you are talking about are packs to power the motor which are a bit different.

You DO NOT want to use small 2/3 or AA packs with that plane as you need bigger cells to power the motor AND electronics.

You should have no problems charging the 8.4 flight packs you need for that plane, with your charger.

No I am still referring to the battery pack for the Rx. As I stated when I started this post, I am looking at getting the Hitec Optic 6 which will come with 2-7ch Optima Rx's. I just needed to know what to use to power the Rx's.

I'm confused.

Isn't your plane's RX powered by the BEC on the ESC?

Well I guess I dont know for sure[&:] Im new to all of this and I guess I just assumed that if the plane is electric that it would need a battery pack to operate. But your saying it will just run off the ESC?

Ah, so you don't have the plane yet right?

For the most part, most "entry level" electrics that use 2S or 3S LiPos, NiMH or NiCD packs use an ESC ( Electronic Motor Speed Controller ) with an on board BEC ( Battery Eliminator Circuit ).

The BEC grabs some of the current provided by the battery and steps it down in voltage for the servos.

On bigger electrics, e.g. those that use 4S LiPo's and above, it is customary ( but not exclusive ) to see separate BEC's used to circumvent the need for a servo/receiver battery pack.

A BEC is MUCH lighter than a battery pack and separate BECs can be purchased for 9.00 or so, though the owner must wire them up.

The plane you posted the link to, normally has it's RX and servos powered off the BEC on the ESC you purchase for it.

To confuse the issue, most on board ANALOG BECS ( there are also "switching" BEC's as well ) can only provide power to 2-3 servos when using LiPo 3S cells or 10v+ NiCD/NiMH. The reason for this is the HIGHER the voltage the more energy must be dissapated as heat to lower the voltage. Switching mode BECs use a different technique, but are not always provided on ESC's and only very rarely on high voltage/high power ESC's.

Ok I think I understand that a little bit. To answer your question, no I do not have the plane yet. More reason why I ask questions now so when I start my project with it, it will hopefully go smoother then if I didnt ask questions I do have an ESC picked out but since I dont have my thumb drive on me I cant tell you what it is. I know its made by Turnegy (I think thats spelled right) though. That is good info to know though about the BEC's and ESC's.

Post a link to it and we can see if it has an on board ESC.

Do you realize that you may be better off going to LiPo packs with that plane, though not absolutely necessary....

Now keep in mind I had many to choose from and im taking a shot in the dark. but for some reason I think it was a 40A ESC that I had picked out so this might be the one www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp This one (if Iam reading it right) does have a BEC. Iwas also thinking about upgrading to a brushless Turnigy motor to.

That ESC is for a brushless motor, so I assume you are going with a brushless setup.

No problem with that.

LiPo's will be a better match to the plane.

Have you decided on a particular motor yet?

No not really. Other then the one Icurrently have picked out is the same brand as the ESC. I could tell ya which one it is right now though.

I started with a Spectrum DX7 radio and receiver kit. It came with a garden variety 4.8v 4 cell battery pack for the receiver. With this battery I would get 3 or 4 ten minute flights before the battery level indicated a recharge was needed.

Someone at our club mentioned the Sanyo Eneloop batteries. I got one of them (they were maybe 25% more expensive than the garden variety battery) and I now get 7 or 8 ten minute flights (with a .40 class plane) and still have plenty of power left in the battery. I reckon they are well worth the slight bit extra they cost.

I build my own battery packs. As a general rule I use 4 cell 2200 ma for my .40 or less glow, 5 cell 2200 ma for planes to .90, and for my 1/4 scale or larger 5 cell 3200 ma. You can quick charge your flight packs but you really need to know what you are doing. Always check your packs condition before each flight.