Probably not a whole lot of AXE CP guys with LiPo's yet but if so what are you running and how does it perform?

I use the Quick Field Charger MKII. It works great.

I have been reading and searching for a long term lipo battery, balancer, charger, combo.
Found this. It seems like a very nice charger as it has NiCad/ NiMH also which I could benifit from.


Then I want to buy this


Finally This will be the battery for my AXE.

Now a question on the battery. The lead on the left in the pic is the charge balance lead I believe, Does this plug into the balancer shown, then the balancer plugs into the charger via banana plugs? I am trying to figure what the combination is. I understand the right lead on the battery is discharge. I would make a jumper tp plug this into my AXE without having to cut off any plugs.

This a little pricey set up but I plan on getting more in the electric Heli world. But it would be nice to have a simple set up for charging Lipos as this seems the battery of choice for electric flight. Just some combos seem confusing and there seems to be many different connectors.

I also use the quick field charger Mk II.

If you're going to spend that much money and plan to use larger batteries in the future, I would go with all ThunderPower. That way the battery matches the charger and balancer. The idea is if you end up with a T-rex and a nuber of 5 cell batteries, you'll want a faster charger capable of high current charging.

If you want GreatPlanes, then stick with all those products.

Notice, the Hobbico Quick Field Charger MK II will NOT charge the 9 cell Ni-Mh battery included with the Axe CP. It is limited to 8 cells max. But, as long as your included wall charger works, you can still use that battery.

I actually started with a Hobbico Accu-Cycle plus. That was before Li-po's, Ni-Mhs, and balancers. (oops, I'm sounding old) I bought it used and now it sits in a corner unused. Buy what you will grow into the first time and you won't have to make multiple purchases.

If you plan on getting into lager heli's like I am then consider a charger that will do six cells at least. I am thinking about a Trex600 and that flys very well on six cells. Triton2 will only do five cells. Just my two cents worth. Determine what YOU need and then peruse web for info. Info is there just waiting for you to find it. Look at helifreak.com for more info and some great videos on building,ect.

Your absolutely right PilotLight, but I tried it anyway and found that the MKII does a great job of charging the 9-cell Axe battery. I've probably charged it about a dozen times or so and it works great. I just figured if it didn't work the battery would just be undercharged, but like I said it works great. When the MKII beep's and switches to trickle the battery is just slightly warm. Another cool benefit is if you go to a field you can still charge the 9-cell.

The MKII is a great charger, but I do have one problem with it. If you run the Li-Po's too low the charger can't tell if it's a 2 or 3 cell and throws an error message. Basically a few seconds after the light turns solid green on the charge cycle it blinks and beeps as if it was done. Of course it says nothing about this in the manual being so after calling Hobby Services I got it straightened out.
Apparently there is a voltage overlap between 2 and 3-cells so there has to be at least 3 volts per cell, but the AXE esc cut off is 2.6 or 2.8v. I know this is a bit off track, but I thought this info might be useful.

I also looked into getting a more sophisticated charger and after some research I went with the Duratrax ICE over the Triton 2. They're both great and though the Triton has the abilty to go to a 5-cell Li-Po (ICE = 4-cell max) . The ICE had some other features I really liked.

Hey, thanks for the info on the 9 cell capability. I'll try it out sometime.

Does that equinox work for thunder power without any adapaters?

I was wondering the same thing.

If it does, I will buy one. My ElectriFly 920mah only gives me 6 mins of flight. Everyone is loving this Thunder Power 1320 mah .. about 10 - 12 min I hear.

I ordered an Astro Flight "Blinky" cell balancer last night from Tower. When I recieve it I will post a full report.

Sweet can't wait to hear what you have to say about it. I checked out the blinky and was not impressed. Don't know how good it works, but all they send you is a PC board? Wheres a nice case for it to sit in? Looks like it could be shorted out easily with no protection. But it is pretty cheap.

Got it because it was cheep. It works. Small size. Standard pin spacing. Case no problem, I can take care of that myself.
Its a plug and go no brainer. No connection problems to charger for me. Can be used stand alone.

So the Binky worked for the Thunder Power?

I TALKED TO TECH SUPPORT THEY SUGGESTED HOBBICO HCAP0280 THATS THE ONE I'M BUYING $134.00 AT TOWER HOBBIES. CAN CHARGE TWO BATTERIES AT ONCE.

Yes, but still need a load balancer for Thunder Power. Does ANYONE know what balancers work with Thunder Power?

TP-205V Thunder Power Cell Balancer
2-5 cell Smart balancer

Auto balance (active if more than 0.005V imbalance)

Over voltage safety alerts (also shut-off TP charger if detected any 4.3V cell during charging)
$59.95 NOW SHIPPING

http://www.thunderpower-batteries.co...dBalancers.htm

Or

Connector
http://www.commonsenserc.com/product...roducts_id=213

AND
Balancer
http://www.commonsenserc.com/product...roducts_id=184


Hey, I should get one too. Think I will.

Why can't charging batteries be simple? hehe

So you don't need to plug in the balancer to the charger? You charg with the main wires and the balancer does the balancing without the actual balacner being plugged into the charger?

I'm confused.

Yup. You can balance without the charger. Or you can balance while charging. Some of the newest stuff has a communication port for the balancer to talk back to the charger, but I don't know much about it.

Okay, I see.. I will buy some Thunder Powers tonight! With that balancer...

I use this one: http://www.modelrectifier.com/search...ew.asp?ID=1908

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLCJ6&P=M

Hi I use the Duramax Ice. OMG the 11.1v 1320Mah is the whip. I have Hovered 3 different sessions and have plenty for more about 7 minutes each. When I got home the hobby shop already had charged it up for me.(so I could fly when I got home ) I check it 12.55 flew 7 mins then check the cells 11.50 wow. about 1 hr later showed the wife for about 7 min. more. now its 11.05 that is amazing!

gonna fly again after dinner and then check and charge. going for around 10.6 before charging it with the ice at 1.3 and see what happens

Oh BTW thanks guys higher is much much better not as much ground effects at all.

Chaseman81

Interesting find. Was flying yesterday with a TP 1320 pack I've had for 2 seasons and suddenly started loosing power. Landed the Axe and looked at my timer. I still had about 3 minutes left counting down from 11 minutes. Changed packs and flew 2 more packs the full 11 minutes.

Once home, I CAREFULLY checked each cell using a multi-meter. The two outer cells showed 3.38 volts each. The inner cell showed 3.28 volts. There's a 0.1 volt difference from cell to cell.

I have a balancer from E-sky, but haven't used it yet cause I don't have the necessary connectors. Ordered what I hope will work through CommonsenceRc.com.

Anyone else have the same problem?

Here's the big ???. Checked the pack a few days ago and can't remember if I charged it first then checked it, or checked it and "forgot'' to charge. [:'(]

Well, it WAS balanced at one time.