Futaba 4VF
 

Hi,

So i got the radio a Futaba 4VF,
Ur comments on the radio?

Also i got a few questions:

1) I heard something about Nicad battery memory, how do i prevent this?

2) I connected the battery to the switch. Switch to the reciever ( with an extra wire on the switch hanging out, i think its for charging). And i cant get the servo to move. I turn the transmitter switch on first then the reciever and the transmitter doesnt move the servos. Is there something i have to do before it works?

3)How long will the reciever/transmitter Nicad battery last me?

Thanks alot,

Futaba 4VF
 

Hi PaPa

Have you charged the batteries yet? You need to charge both the transmitter and receiver batteries on a new radio before you put it to use. It's recommended that the first time you charge new nicads that you charge them around 20 hours or so. I think it might say in the manual that came with your radio. The extra long charge time is only needed the first time. A normal recharge time with the factory charger is 14-16 hours for a completely discharged battery.

As far as the battery memory goes, don't worry about it too much. I think probably more batteries lose capacity due to overcharging than to any memory developed.

It is a good idea to cycle the batteries occassionally. This involves discharging the batteries to the lower end of their capacity and then recharging them. You do not want to discharge them completely to zero volts. On a 4 cell receiver battery such as yours, discharge to about 4.2 - 4.4 volts. Thats easy to check with your battery tester. If you don't have one yet you will want to get one; they aren't real expensive and will save your plane.

The 4VF transmitter will not discharge throught the charge jack into a voltmeter; to discharge the battery into a voltmeter you must remove the back and disconnect it. A simpler way is just to operate the transmitter intil the level meter starts going down into the red. That will work fine provided you have the antenna extended and are farther than 3 miles or so from any rc activity.

The transmitter should operate for 2 hours or so of flying time. It's harder to say for the receiver, maybe 4 or 5 flights. It depends on how much you operate the controls as much as anything. Do be sure that there is no binding, particularly on the throttle and nose wheel linkages. If they bind so that there is a continuous load, battery
life will be shorten quite a bit.

And the 4VF will be fine. Lots of them in use around here with no problems.


Larry

Futaba 4VF
 

Is it bad to overcharge your batteries?

Futaba 4VF
 

Yes, bad to overcharge your batteries.

You have to work at it to damage them with the factory charger that comes with your radio though. If you should forget them and leave them 24 hours or so, it shouldn't hurt them. But with higher current chargers and fast chargers, you can damage them. With the fast chargers, improperly used, you can overheat the cell s causing them to vent the electrolyte. With the higher current chargers, or a standard charger
left on too long, overcharging lowers the peak voltage and tends to reduce the capacity of the cells.

For lots of battery information, take a look at www.srbatteries.com website. There are some pages on their site that will tell you things that you didn't even know you didn't know.

Larry

Futaba 4VF
 

Papa

Here is another web address with lots of info.

www.rcbatteryclinic.com

Larry

Futaba 4VF
 

A few more questions:
1) Does monokote shatter in cold weather?
2) Does the meter at the top of the transmitter tell how much life it has left? (When it reaches 100 should i stop charging?)

Thanks

Futaba 4VF
 

PaPa,

I don't know if I would call it brittle exactly, but monokote does get stiffer and is more easily damaged when it gets cold. Off runway landings seem to make more repairs then.

Don't go by the transmitter meter to determine when your battery is fully charged. It may well say 100 with a half charged battery. But it is safe to use it to tell you when not to fly. Don't let it get down to the red band. We usually don't fly with the meter below 80-85.

Did you check out the rcbatteryclinic website?

Larry

Futaba 4VF
 

ya thanks larry great sites