Buzzard Dave

Hi Mike, i've got an inconvenience with my programmer. it seems to be draining the battery no matter whether the switch is on or off.

the first time it happened, i had used the programmer a couple of times (after fully charging it) and the battery was dead. i thought possibly i had left it turned on, or didn't realize how much i had used it.

however, now it has happened a several times. i charge it up, use it once or twice, then don't use it for a week or two and the batteries are dead.

the problem isn't the batteries, i've cycled them, and they show fine.

any thoughts?

David Soniat - Tampa, Fl

PS - i really like the programmer and the programmable digital servos!!

MikeMayberry

My Feedback: (1)

Sorry for the problem. I have not heard of that problem before. If you send it in we can check it out and repair or replace it as needed.

Here's the service info: http://www.hitecrcd.com/Support/service_and_repair.htm

Mike.

Buzzard Dave

Mike, hey. i may do that.....however, at the exact moment, i'm setting up some new planes and it is just too useful!!! i'll just keep recharging every couple of days.

when i can, i will send it in to be checked out.

thanks much, DS

hilleyja

My Feedback: (3)

Mike,

I also have had that problem. It seems the programmer has a lousy shelf life to the battery. I use it so rarely that everytime I go to use it it needs to be charged first.

Since I want to upgrade to 1.3 I will be sending it in.

Macgyver

Hi Mike,I was thinking the battery in the programmer,can you change out the battery pack (ni-cad) to a higher capacity battery like a nimh pack.Thanks-Wilburn

moses

My programmer also had lousy battery shelf life (I say "had" because the pack is improving over time).

When the unit was new, the pack would not hold a charge well. It also seemed like the resting voltage of the pack was low. That is, after the pack self discharged the voltage of the pack appeared to be in the 3 volt range (my Sanyo flight packs tend to rest at about 4.8 volts).

There is a diode in the charging circuit which make measuring the pack voltage difficult (without opening the unit and measuring directly). These numbers are based on information from my Victor Engineering charger (as the pack begins to charge - when the diode is conducting). I don't know what brand of cell they used but I don't think they are Sanyo (since these cells do not behave like my flight packs with Sanyo cells). This is not really a problem ... the battery is not in an airplane.

I sent the unit to Hitec to upgrade to the newest version of firmware. I also told them about the battery pack and asked them to check it. They upgraded the firmware but they said the battery was fine.

Now, the pack seems like it is doing better. It can hold a charge longer (at least 3 weeks now). Hopefully it will improve a bit more over time.

Moses

edit #2: I use this thing every time I set up a plane. I check all the servos, center them and install them without using my radio. Works really well. This thing gets a lot more use than I ever thought it would. This is a very handy little tool.

Mr T.

How many cells are there in that pack? If there are four of them voltage in 3V range indicates a dead cell in the pack, and that would explain short charge life.
If it's a 3 cell pack and it self discharges in three weeks (just by sitting turned off) then it is definetly not a sanyo pack, more likely some poor excuse for batteries.

If it is a four cell pack and it reads around 3V in discharged state and hitec says there is nothing wrong with it then there is something wrong with hitec service dept.

moses

It is a 4 cell pack, 1100mah. Very unlikely a cell is shorted (particularly since Hitec checked the pack).

I can't cycle the pack due to the diode in the charge circuit. I also can't check the pack voltage directly without opening the unit (which I do not feel compelled to do - since it is doing better these days).

I can only confirm that the battery pack seemed to self discharge pretty quickly as others have noticed. When I recharged the pack using my Victor Engineering charger (set at 100ma) the pack voltage was below 4 volts for a minute or two (on at least two occasions). The Victor is quite accurate and none of my other packs behave this way.

I forget what the peak voltage was. Next time I charge the thing I will look. As I recall, the peak voltage was in the 5.7-5.9 volt range.

Also, these batteries don't seem to peak detect well at 100ma charge current. I usually set the charger for 16 hour charge time and walk away. One day I will probably fast charge the cells and see if they peak detect reliably - but right now I'm trying to get the pack to behave so I will stay with ~ C/10 charge rate.

I have only had the programmer for a few months. Like I said, the battery pack seems to be improving. One day, I will break down and replace the battery with a Sanyo pack (I'm not sure of the cell size or pack configuration but Batteries America can make one if necessary).

Like I said, it is a very handy little tool. The next plane will have two rudder servos so I will be doing some programming to get them matched up.

Moses

Mr T.

Delta peak detection chargers don't work very well when a diode is connected in series with the battery. I have jumpered diodes on all my transmitters so I can charge them real fast with outrageous currents

Also a diode in series will provide higher voltage reading during charging, 0.7 to 1.1 V higher depending on a diode and charging current.

moses

Mr T., I understand what you are saying. Having a diode in the circuit can interfere with peak detection. This also raises the measurement of the peak voltage. This is all true. But, in this case, I don't want to remove the diode (too easy to get the polarity incorrect).

Virtually everything I have has no diode or includes a polyswitch. I charge these packs with my Litco.

For diode protected packs, I use my Victor Engineering. The Victor charges at a constant current throughout the charging cycle (it also senses the pack voltage while the diode is forward biased). This means that the current though the diode is constant (so the voltage across the diode remains relatively constant). I get consistent peak detection using this charger with diode protected systems (particularly with Sanyo cells) - but not with the Hitec programmer.

Moses

jpa2002

My Feedback: (115)

Mine does the same thing, can I send it in to Hitec?

Jon

art43

PROGRAMMER
Mine goes dead to. Takes about a week just setting.
art43

hilleyja

My Feedback: (3)

Remove the screws from the left panel. This will expose the battery which takes up about half the volume of the case. Disconnect the battery lead and cycle it with your bench/field charger.

This is a normal 1100mah 4.8 volt NICAD RX pack -- it can be initially charged and cycled like any other RX NICAD pack. This was the only way I was able to get my pack to accept a full charge. BTW, the 1st time I did this I first discharged it and then peak charged it at c/10, i.e., 110mah rate. I was using the Dymond Super Turbo charger. For some unknown reason this charger was not recognizing a peak charge while the battery was still in the programmer circuit.

BTW, I did this at the suggestion of Mike from Hitec incase you were worried about warrantee of the programmer.

art43

HELLIGA
Did your batt. in your programmer, stay charged up for very long after you did this?
art43

hilleyja

My Feedback: (3)

I did a complete auto-test cycle (burn-in) of 6 servos (each running approximately 15 minutes, each under a static load, i.e., connected to airplane controls but not flying) and there was no sign that the battery was starting to give out. Before doing the above I couldn't get more than 5 minutes work out of the programmer.

art43

helleja
Thanks for the info. I will try it and see if it works for me.
art43