Battery Question
 

I bought a rtf ultrasport 60 recently and have not flown it due to battery issues. the seller sent along a new nimh to get me up in the air but he said to not use a wall charger. i have not yet received the Sirius charger that is coming my way, so the only way this thing flys this weekend is if i can use a wall charger. will i be ok to do this? i usually use nicads so i want to be right.

btw, here is a photo of the ultrasport. it has an OS .61 RF for power.

david

RE: Battery Question
 

If by "wall charger" you mean the type that comes with transmitters with the servo type connection to also charge your battery and if your battery is compatible with that voltage(most likely 4-cell) then you "could" charge the battery with it. You would need to leave it plugged in for a good while(depending on mah rating) to charge a compatible battery. You would, however, not know if the battery took a full charge. You would not have the capability to discharge the battery to see if it discharged near it rated capacity and then recharge it and see that it accepted a full charge. If you do charge it this way for this weekend, try to use a voltmeter with a load(I use a one amp load) to see if the voltage stays up during the test voltage check.

RE: Battery Question
 

i have a voltmeter but how do i put a load on it? did i see putting a small light bulb in the connection somewhere on this forum to create a load?

david

RE: Battery Question
 

Hey...I got one of these things (Photo)...Would that help??

RE: Battery Question
 

awesome. i will put this new battery on a wall wart charger and if you would bring that to GMA tomorrow i could properly check the battery. this ultrasport is supposed to haul *****.

david

RE: Battery Question
 

We'll Do...About 10:00am then.. :D

RE: Battery Question
 

ooops. wife changed my am schedule. now it looks like after lunch. but there are a lot of planes to watch if you beat me up there.

david

RE: Battery Question
 

it looks like i could get a 10-12 hr charge by tomorrow. we will see if that is enough time tomorrow.

david

RE: Battery Question
 

Me personally..... I would not take a chance with ANY battery pack.... even if it is new. I would wait and cycle the battery at least 3 times. You would be surprised on how many batteries (even new ones weather Nimh, Nicad, etc...) need to be cycled before being put into use. If anything.... it is insurance to prove the pack is good (no bad cells) and can perform to the needs of your flight pack. Bottom line is this. If you want to take a chance with your plane over a 2nd hand battery (even if new) with out you knowing the history or "true" capacity of the cells themselves.... go for it. Sure, the odds are in your favor..... but that would be like buying this plane, put the wing on it and fly it before looking/checking things over to make sure everything is up to snuff. Not to be harsh here... just hate to see another plane go south over a battery pack. I have done it myself and learned the hard way.

RE: Battery Question
 

good point, thanks.

david

RE: Battery Question
 

I can tell you for a fact from my experience that nimh bateries will not take a full
charge until they have been cycled a few times. I use a Sirius forming charger
which charges the battery 18 to 24 hours at a very slow charge, then a Sirius Cycler
which discharges and records the mah capacity of the battery. Every nimh battery I
have ever used would not go to full capacity until it had been cycled 3-4 times.
Don't risk your airplane because of impatience.

tommy s