Like to here some opinons about 6volt RX packs with or without voltage regulator. Thanks

I know some servos are not rated at 6v, so a regulator is needed. I've used the Mini Hobby regulator with good luck, just make sure you plug it between the RX and Switch. If you plug it between the BAT and Switch, it will drain your pack.

That being said, I know guys using straight 6v packs without regulators and they seem to have no problems. I just started not using a regulator with my 6v pack and so far so good.

JR Gautreaux

I use 'em and they're fine

With regulator you'll get a constant voltage straight off the charger. Without regulator you may get a bit of servo 'jitter' whilst the pack voltage is still very high straight off the charger - a bit of stick waggling to take the sting off the pack and all is well.

You'll also get the benefit of maximum torque and speed over 4.8v

Very few servos nowadays won't run off 6v.

Rgds,
Mark

Indeed ... but the problem is that no "6v pack" gives you just 6v. Expect to see well over 7, and even 8v out of a freshly charged "6v" pack.

Gordon

I borught that very question to Horizon Hobby last year. I was considering running a six cell pack in my airplane. So I asked if I could run an 8411 at 7.2 volts. His response was NO!! Don't do it. Then to add some insult to the guy I said, wait a second, when you charge a 5 cell pack it charges sometimes to well over 7.5 volts, so why can't I run a 7.2 volt pack.

He then put me on hold to consult with more knowlegable people.

The answer came back "no more than a five cell pack".

So you are good on a 5 cell pack charged to whatever voltage it will hold at least on JR's servos.

Sean

Not in my experience. The over-voltage killed two pairs of JR 3421's in my Bobcat. Others have had similar experiences.

Gordon

Maybe I should say at least on the 8411's and 8611's as that was the nature of my call.

2 years and couple of hundred jet flights with 5-cell Nicad Packs..no regulator....One battery......(2) 18 ga battery leads into 2 HD switches into 2 separate inputs on the RX bus......zero problems using JR 940, 945, 950, 955 RX, 53 and 72 MHz, with 8411, 8611, 4721, 2721, 4321, and mini servos like the 341........i.e no jittering and excellent range check.....I prefer SR Nicad packs......just a personal preference........the SR 2200 Series sub-C packs I use actually cycle out to 2700-2800 maH when they are new......

Tom

How about Nicad vs. NIMH does it matter. Thanks

I work for Horizon Hobby, and am on Team JR....
FWIW, personally, I run 5 cell unregulated on all my jets... No problems... Many HH employees also do this.

I think it is a personal choice... If you are careless... for example....
You rig something with a stalled servo, or have a gyro gain somewhat high, you may run into problems faster than you would on four cells... I choose 5, for the power, speed, and voltage headroom.

Regulators are fine, but without doing my own testing... They may possibly generate rf noise (since they may use square waves that can have some high frequency components), let us know if anyone has tested this, and they are something else that can fail.... more wire, etc.

Therefore, personal choice.

David

I have over 175 flights on my Viperjet with (2) 5-cell 1100 mah packs and have had no problems whatsoever. I am also using the JR 3421s on the elevators.

I also don't run a regulator and have never had a problem.

I have two (2) 6V 2000mah NiMh packs on my CG Sukhoi. No problems. Don't use a regulator. Hitec Servos..... 605's ailerons, 645 Rudder, 77BB on elevators.

This is my first time using this setup....... still monitoring it closely for problems, but I am very confident of the setup.

Yeah - the 3421's seem to be fine "on their own" with a 5 cell pack - it's when they are used with a gyro and a 5 cell pack, that the 3421's had a problem. Maybe the gyro just causes them to move much more frequently than Joe User does when he wiggles the sticks, such that the "active cycle" is too high to allow the components to remain cool ? I know that I lost two sets of 3421's that way, David Reid and one of his buddies also lost two servos apiece, and Harley Condra's 3421's melted their way out of their cases if I remember correctly. After losing my second set I installed a voltage regulator, and that seemed to fix the problem : whereas I had to replace the 3421's TWICE in the first 50 or so flights in the unregulated setup, the next 2 3421's in the regulated setup have well over 250 flights on them, with zero problems.

Gordon

Correct Gordon.. The gyro overworked the motors. The actual voltage was not the issue.

Hi Guys

In the old days, who can remember, 4 dry cells were used in the reciever - this gave a total of 6 volts to receiver and servos. 5 x 1.2 volt= 6 volts so there should be no problem as long as its nicad or NiMh(1.2 volt per cell).

Poly cells are different and will definitely require a regulator.

I have used 6 volt 5 cell packs for the last 8 years on DF, Large Scale and Turbines and have had no problems.

Your only mistake here is in assuming that each cell is only 1.2 volts. The cells may be rated as "nominally" 1.2v, but they can nevertheless give out significantly more than 1.2 volts. Have you ever looked at the voltage display on a transmitter that shows actual voltage (rather than just some color coding) ? My 10X shows 11.4 volts when freshly charged ... yet it has only 8 cells in it, so is nominally 9.6 volts. Same with your RX packs. Just try measuring the voltage sometime...

Gordon