Rx battery - good?
 

How can you check (I assume a few times per year) your Rx battery to know it is OK.

I know a NiCd should last a couple of years but I also am not sure how you know when it is about to die.

I assume one option is a $150 cycler such as this [link=http://cycler]http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXEYD4&P=0[/link]

Perhaps you could keep checking the voltage after every flight but I am not sure that is a fool-proof way.

Other might just replace the battery every 2 years?

Just trying to figure out how to avoid the plane dropping from the sky in 2011.

Thanks for "best practice" suggestions.

(Note: I am thinking about investing in a field charger and would like a "dual" function one that can do Tx and Rx for the days I forgot to charge prior to going to field...like this one [link=http://field charger]http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCTZ5&P=0[/link] but shopping, started to wonder about cycler capability. Are there other cycler options versus having to spend $150?)

RE: Rx battery - good?
 

I have one of these chargers, and they are very good for the money that you pay for them. Instead of buying a field charger that can do two batteries at once, just buy two of these chargers and then you will have two battery capabilities and still have the versatility of a charger that can cycle, charge, discharge, balance lipo's, etc...

[link=http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7028]Turnigy Accucel 6 Charger[/link]

As for your question, I think really the only way to know if a battery is good or not is to check the capacity by fully charging and then discharging the battery. If it is less than 80% of the original capacity, then it is probably time to get a new battery.

RE: Rx battery - good?
 

Take a look here. Go toward the bottom of the page and take a look at some of his links. One is Battry FAQ's. There is all sorts of information provided here. No doubt, you can learn a bit about battery packs.

CGr.

http://www.radicalrc.com/shop/?shop=...058265&cat=19&

RE: Rx battery - good?
 

Afternoon CG.

Was very windy today and really had to fight the landings. Would almost hover above the runway. Try again this evening. Of course after I have my (everything Bagel with vegetable cream cheese)

RE: Rx battery - good?
 

I use the cheaper Accu-Cycle.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXL357&P=0
The thing about a cycler is, not only can you use it to guage battery condition but cycling a battery that is starting to lose capacity can breath new life into that battery.
Some people will say they use a charger that shows how much is being put back in but that is not an accurate guage for 2 reasons.
1. you are not sure exactly how far the battery was discaharged to begin with.
2. charging is not 100% efficient so an accurate measurement is not possible.
Cyclers measure how much is disharged at a set rate after fully charging.

RE: Rx battery - good?
 

Hello Gene.

Not much flying today. Windy as hell all day. So, I got some home chores done that needed doing, and did some cooking. Julie and I are both single, live about a block apart. She hates to cook and I love to cook. But, this past season, with my travel, I've not been home to cook. So, today, I decided I was going to outdo myself. And I did. Did the autumn thing, with a bit of a Tex-mex flavor. All came out just great, so I've not lost my touch!!

Just to keep with the flavor of this thread... :D that link I put up in my earlier post had some pretty interesting information in his FAQ's. That comes from Dave's extensive experience with both RC and batteries. I read somewhere in one of his FAQ's that he does not really believe that the batteries that some claim are bad are really bad. He's taken them in, (shipped back to him as claimed to be bad) and put them on a cycler and basically cycled them back to life. Dave claims that proper care and regular cycling of battery packs can preclude their replacement. But, they will fail at some time, but not as frequently as some think they will.

The reason I say this is that the OP said that battery packs are good for two years. I belive Dave will dispute that and seems to have proof. I can attest that I thought I had a bad pack when I had that documented problem with my Venus II a while back, and replaced the 'defective' pack.

I gave it to a club member who took it apart and tried to identify the bad cell. But, after a couple of cycles, the suspect cell was just fine. And, that was the one and only time I really thought I had a bad cell.

So, I would be leary about replacing packs that are 'suspect' of being bad, favoring cycling them a few times and trying to recover them.

Read what Dave has to say on the subject. Hey, he sells the things and is willing to go out on the limb and say what he does about packs.. he backs up what he sells, in other words, and would not say what he does if he does not have 'proof' of his claims.

The bottom line here is that packs should be checked and re-checked before they are put in the trash bin (recycle bin..;) ). Those old ones.. cycle them and see if they are really useless. Hey, you can always use them for something...on the ground that is.

CGr.

RE: Rx battery - good?
 

Thanks CG. By "2 years", I just meant "sometime in the future". I believe the life is not infinite and therefore the battery will eventually need to be replaced. Either I can wait for the plane to drop out of the sky to know this, or I need a better way. I do not like the idea of running to failure. The FAQ was useful but also leaves me wondering if even the $150 Hobbico option (which is more than I want to spend) is the right answer given the FAQ concerns with "calibration".

Now the link was good in that I now have a lower-cost option for some 1000mAh NiCd Rx batteries which is way better price than TH.

Missileman: I was thinking that a peak charger was better than a timed one?

So that leaves the question, what is the best way to determine when to replace?

RE: Rx battery - good?
 

The only sure way to know is with a cycler that tells what is coming out of the battery. The Accu-cycle, from Hobbico does that for about half of the one you mentioned.


http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXL357&P=ML

I cycle after every flying session and then about once a month, I charge them fully and cycle them again. If the reading from a fresh charge is less than 70% (some say 80%). I'm not going to trust them in my plane again. I really don't want to lose a plane over a 15.00 to 20.00 battery pack.



Chuck

RE: Rx battery - good?
 

Yes, in my opinion a peak charger probably is.
I use the Accucycle just because I have it and when slow charging you really can't overcharge so an overnught charge is plenty.
I do have a Bantam E-Station BC5 that I use mostly for my lipos but can max out my other batteries as well.
A caution on peak chargers, they can give a false peak reading, especially if trying to fast charge.