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A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
The 1100Mah A123 battery pack weighs 3.5oz (99g) and is ideal for a pattern model. Has anyone tried the A123 1100Mah or 2300Mah A123 packs for this purpose ? see http://www.sincityjets.com/store-batteries.htm Propnuter |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
Hi Shane,
Provided you are happy with the weight these should be perfect. They offer a lot of advantages over others inc,, lipo's. In that application up to 2000 cycles. They are ok with being completely discharged (eg; if you forgot to turn off rx). If you do this once with lipo its a bin job. NO FIRE HAZARD AT ALL. Can withstand substantial physical abuse ,they've punctured them with nails in testing ;no fires!!. Can be zip charged 5 to 10c. 30C continuous discharge, would survive just about anything imaginable servo failure wise. Regards Brian |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
I'm using the 2300 mah A123 pack in my 2 meter pattern ship but I'm thinking
about switching to the 1100 mah pack because it's 1/2 the weight. There is almost no voltage drop when the circuit is loaded and an hours flying only uses about 500-600 mah. Recharges quickly with the Cell Pro 4s charger. tommy s |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
Tommy, do you have electric or glow power in your model, and do you use all-digital servos? I remember measuring about 150 mAh pr flight on my OS 160 with digital servos using NiMH cells. Electric models don't vibrate and use a lot less mAh
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RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
Jon,
Glow power, YS DZ 1.60 , 4 digital on surfaces, standard on throttle. Current usage will vary depending on what and how many maneuvers during the flight. The A123's seem to hold a steady voltage for a long time and I figured that would be one less worry with the 2.4ghz radio. tommy s |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
another advantage with A123s is that there is no need for a voltage regulator, if the servos are OK with 5-cells nicad/nimh packs.
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RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
I have had about 16 flights on my majestic 40 using the 1100Mah A123 battery pack charging with the FMA Cellpro 4s balancing charger.
So far so good. The plane uses 300-325 Mah per flight and I am charging after 2 flights. The charger has two displays one of which displays the remaining battery fuel as a %. I don’t use this as I don’t think it is accurate due to the flat discharge curve of the A123’s. Instead I just monitor how many Mah are required to charge the battery back to 100%. The charger needs a 5AMP power source which means you need a big field battery to recharge. The batteries are charged at 4AMPs and it takes about 5-8 mins to charge and balance itself. Every battery has some disadvantage. In the case of the A123’s not being able to check the battery before flying is an inconvenience. However I think it just requires a change of mind set and more disciplined charge monitoring. I will try it in my F3a model in a few weeks time. Shane |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
ORIGINAL: propnuter Every battery has some disadvantage. In the case of the A123’s not being able to check the battery before flying is an inconvenience. However I think it just requires a change of mind set and more disciplined charge monitoring. |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
ORIGINAL: propnuter I have had about 16 flights on my majestic 40 using the 1100Mah A123 battery pack charging with the FMA Cellpro 4s balancing charger. So far so good. The plane uses 300-325 Mah per flight and I am charging after 2 flights. The charger has two displays one of which displays the remaining battery fuel as a %. I don’t use this as I don’t think it is accurate due to the flat discharge curve of the A123’s. Instead I just monitor how many Mah are required to charge the battery back to 100%. The charger needs a 5AMP power source which means you need a big field battery to recharge. The batteries are charged at 4AMPs and it takes about 5-8 mins to charge and balance itself. Every battery has some disadvantage. In the case of the A123’s not being able to check the battery before flying is an inconvenience. However I think it just requires a change of mind set and more disciplined charge monitoring. I will try it in my F3a model in a few weeks time. Shane |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
In the A123 program 3.59 volts/cell
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RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
Update
I have been using the 1100Mah A123 battery pack on my 2m pattern Rx for about 1 month now. On my Osmose I have 2x9154, 2x9551, 1x9350, 1x9602, duralite 5.2v Regulator. The plane consumes 90-120Mah per flight (11mins). Out of habit i charge after 2 flights and it takes ~200-240Mah. You could probably do 5 flights safely per charge but I havnt tried it yet. If you are getting the FMA Cellpro 4s balancing charger make sure it has the new v3.02 software as you cant download an upgrade. So far I am very happy. Shane |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
Hi guys
It looks like you have not seen the Fromeco Kodiak switch, it is designed for the A123's and has a digital read out of how may apms have passed though it during your flight, it has a memory so that multiple flights are added together, simple to zero by a quick switch on and off and on again, Deans plug compatable and a charge socket on the front face, so you can re-charge without taking the battery out of the aircraft. Oh yes the switch is a fail safe on and can handle a 30amp draw. Hope this helps. Mike |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
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. I'm using the 2S-1100 A123 batteries made from a Black and Decker VPX pack purchased at Wal-Mart. I wired it so the Node 1 tap is the white wire on the Futaba plug, then I stripped out the white wire between the charge switch and the receiver. Every time I take the plane back to the parking spot after a flight, I plug in the CellPro and it is re-charged by the time I am done refueling. I have the old CellPro that can only charge at 3 amps, but the new one goes straight to 4 amps. The A123's are great, I don't think its possible for these batts to be over-abused in our application. Go read how the car guys treat these cells. . . . . . Futaba FASST 6014 receiver, Futaba S9151 servos, and S3151 on throttle. . . . so far all components seem happy with the 6.5 volts. . . . . |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
That is what I did in order to use 2 packs of 1100mah A123 on my WH Edge 540. I use the Triton charger with a cut-off device and a balancer to limit the charge current t 1.5A. Slightly longer charge time but would not let high current pass through the two switches.
I can have 4 flights without recharging. The plane has 5 high-current digital servos. Cheers. |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
ORIGINAL: nonstoprc That is what I did in order to use 2 packs of 1100mah A123 on my WH Edge 540. I use the Triton charger with a cut-off device and a balancer to limit the charge current t 1.5A. Slightly longer charge time but would not let high current pass through the two switches. I can have 4 flights without recharging. The plane has 5 high-current digital servos. Cheers. Mike |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
Isn't 6.6volts getting high enough to risk damaging receivers/servos? What is the highest voltage on a 5 cell nicad pack?
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RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
Even though Nimh/Deac batteries are nominaly 1.2volts a five cell pack will go up to over 8 volts fresh off the charger, they will drop back immediatly to a more stable 7 volts, however the A123's will come off the charger at 7.2volts and drop back to a stable 7volts volts without any discharge, most Rx's are rated at up to 20volts on the bus, and most servo's will take 7 volts without problems, though check the manufactures spec (Futaba 3152's are rated at 4.8v only, although I have run them on 5cells and A123's), once you start loading the A123's they will drop back to a very stable 6.6volts.
So in short the answer to your question is 6.6volts is not high enough to damage either the Rx or the Servo's. Mike |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
ORIGINAL: BaldEagel ORIGINAL: nonstoprc That is what I did in order to use 2 packs of 1100mah A123 on my WH Edge 540. I use the Triton charger with a cut-off device and a balancer to limit the charge current t 1.5A. Slightly longer charge time but would not let high current pass through the two switches. I can have 4 flights without recharging. The plane has 5 high-current digital servos. Cheers. Mike Since these MPI switches have already been installed, I did not want to damage the contact points on them. Maybe some high-current switches in the future. |
RE: A123 Batteries for Pattern Rx ?
1 Attachment(s)
This is what a Kodiac switch looks like on my 2.1M Extra, seems to work fine so far.
Mike |
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