Soloboss,

Your on the right track, but that's been done before. How about perpetual motion, self winding bands? I'm off topic. gotta stop here.

Dave / Choppersrule
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Soloboss; I was indeed leaving the TX on the desk and checking with my receiver and a servo how far i could go. Friend of mine wanted to know, as he's thinking about using a 2.4Ghz TX for his gate which is quite far from his house. Didn't (and still dont) know another proper method...

My LHS (luckily they had a christmas market, so open on sunday till 9pm!) said it indeed probably shorted one cell which caused a chainreaction... They've opened it up and there's battery-acid all over the internals... So i havent yet dared trying to connect another battery... And with the acid eating its way, i'm afraid that it might fail during use... The LHS immediately tried to sell me a new one for a whopping $650!!! And that's discount! [X(]

Checked the insurance policy just yet, and it says it doesnt cover any appliance/device/unit/apparatus that caused the issue itself...

Added some pictures, which seem... Well be your own judge. Keep in mind the NiMH pack squeezed itself out and one cell landed over 10ft away on/in the wall...

I have been looking around for a LiPo that fits... And i wasn't used to online ordering when i started out. Now i'm surely ordering most parts online as well as a LiPo! I knew i had something against (from the 'old days') NiXX batteries... NiCD's always went trash soooo fast...

Wires are the only things 'intact' of the pack... Melted insulation and stuff though. I always make sure wires are clear, as i used to work on mainframes and networks...

No, luckily i got the DX7 myself some months ago... Special order through Belgium, Germany and USA, as Spektrum wasn't sold here yet...
We have opened it up and it's filled with acid, looks like condensation... If you look at the pictures in an earlier post you'll see there's quite a big 'melted' spot...

Shufflez,

Wow, that is a melt down on the battery/TX. Do you remember the manufacture of that battery, I certainly want to stay away from that one. I have a Nicad in my Hitec Eclipse 7, I'll be ridding of that and get a Lipo. It was only a 600 mAh and didn't give me any time on the TX anyway. I'll get a 2500 mAh or better for it.

Dave / Choppersrule

I did modify something on the TX, but just on the transmitterboard, with the 2.4Ghz (WiFi ) chip on there... And the mod i've done is still on there and makes it more safe! (Less heat build up) (Mod is known as the Dimension Engineering mod.) And there's nowhere to be found that opening it up voids waranty, they even tell you to open it up to adjust certain things!

And i HATE being carefull! But if that means throwing less money at stuff, i might learn that . Have learned that with cars too but took me quite a while .

I've always been a little leary of the DX7 from the start because DX6's have problems too, but they are far and few between and the DX6 has been reliable for me. I couldn't choke on the $375 they were listed at either when a DX6 can be had for $146 to my door. Man.....Spektrum will want to know about this for sure, and I'd be arranging having it sent back.

Dave, how on earth can i find the manufacturer on a fully melted pack?!

Soloboss and dave; i almost bought a foam plane while i was there, RTF with brushless and all... But that would have been half a DX7, so decided to stick with the heli-collective (as J-Michael pointed out, like the mob )... And i can't fly a plane anywhere around here for the next couple of months...

There was a Multiplex representative in the LHS tonight, he said that if this would have happened to one of their users they'd arange a pick-up with immediate replacement! He even offered me a Multiplex TX for 30% off... But the model i'd want, would still be $800... Expensive *******s... Cool stuff though, and comes with lipo charger and balancer BUILD IN! (Batterytray is aluminum case he said)

It's an ORIGINAL Spektrum! Just the one i got installed in the TX! Same manufacturer as JR i guess... But dunno that one either . I'd like to go through the debree/remainders, but i first need to know how toxic/acid NiMH remainders are before i stick my hands in there... The DX7 smells acid-y (like carbattery acid). Cleaned everything up wearing gloves...

"http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/forumid_116/tt.htm"
Why not con0tact them (Spectrum) here on RCU. Danny's pretty good at getting back with peoople

Any thoughts on where i can find/order a new backcover? Might be worth trying it out, before 'just ordering a new one'...

What's the best way to clean the inside? For computers we always used a cloth with WD40 on it (as that cleans and protects and doesn't conduct...)...

The link you've sent isn't working RCmiket... I've already posted on the Spektrum forum, but not much response over there...

Dave--

The DX-7 I got a couple months ago also has the Nimh batt...There are only two labels on it...1 says Spektrum on it ? Not sure if they are the true-manufacture or not... Took pics you can see...


Have a good one Chief,



-- Jeff

Smart move wearing the gloves and all, I wouldn't have a clue how toxic this stuff is.
As mentioned by Rcmiket, check with Danny.

I had to peel the 'shiny' recycle picture from the melted inside of my backcover... But even on the back of that sticker there isn't a manufacturer!
My DX7 is now 'airing out' (smell irritates nose and eyes, be carefull guys!!! although i still haven't found the real toxicness of NiMH...)

Jeff,
I'm sure it's not the true manufacture, I doubt that Sprectrum makes there own batteries. Probably sub contracted and stick there lables on. Just like most products, just pick one.

Later Jeff,

Dave / Choppersrule
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According to this site: http://web.mit.edu/3.082/www/team3_s02/materials.html Potassium Hydroxide is the electrolyte for NiMh batteries. It is some very seriously toxic stuff. There is a link on that site to the MSDS for Potassium Hydroxide which will tell you what the dangers are and possibly some things you should do for cleaning up. In the meantime, stay away from the room with the residue until you're sure you've got it cleaned up. Sorry for the bad news. I hope Spektrum accepts the responsibility for this. Glad you're OK.

Dave--


I figured. Call me green still, but I never yet have made the attempt to know who actually makes the DX-7...Lol..! I see it has the JR wiring colors. Noticed also the batt has the same color coding as JR ? Sub-manufacture that probably does all the JR radios, who-ever that shall be. Kinda like Acura or Honda, there stock stereo's say Acura/Honda but true-manufacturer is Alpine...Lol..

Alright, enough rambling...See ya around,


-- Jeff

Heck, what's to loose by trying it? I would certainly insulate myself from the power source as there may be a dead short internal to the Tx following the melt down.

For what it's worth, my Falcon Tx works fine following my melt down. I can't begin to put a new AA cell holder in the hole, but the electronics work fine. I'm keeping it around for spare parts as required.

I guess I should have talked to you guys before I cleaned up my mess. When I let the smoke out of my eight cell AA NiMH pack I reached in and just pulled the whole messy thing out. The little thermal burns have healed and nothing has fallen off of me yet. I guess I survived, although the fresh air and gloves approach does sound more proper.

Again, good luck. That replacement price sounds incredible as you were doing nothing wrong with the Tx unit. I suppose it's out of warranty, but their legal department should offer a replacement at no charge in trade for a "closure" statement from you promising not to claim brain damage or anything from breathing the fumes.

We know there's an angle to work here. We just have to find it.
So what would happen if one of your customer's phones blew up in their pocket? The company you represent would fear something - find out what a customer might use to take you into litigation and use that against the Tx mfr.
Are you tiring of our suggestions? We could just leave you alone to deal with this.

Jeezz, glad you are ok. Now I am worried about my DX6[X(]. Should I think about getting a lipo for it?

I've had my DX7 for several months and charged it with the included battery charger. I've had no problems with it whatsoever.

To all:

I think, at the time that Shufflez, has all the information that he needs and will take that in a direction that he thinks will be necessary.

Lets go have some fun and do some flying/crashing.

Take care all,

Dave / Choppersrule

Those of you considering using Lipos for Tx battery should investigate very carefully. I have not researched it myself but, when the DX7 was very new, there was someone who was trying to blame it for his airplane crashing on his second flight. As it turns out, he had installed a 3S lipo in his DX7. The pack's full-charge voltage exceeded the max input voltage for the board in his DX7 (12V, I believe) and smoked the Tx.