Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

I want to get more power for my flight pack. Instead of buying a larger Nicad pack can I salder two regular 4.8 volt @600mah packs together to get 4.8volts @ 1200mah. These packs are new and I would like to use them.

Also what is the easiest and cheapest way to cycle nicads before charging them. Is there a device that can do this that isn't too expensive.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Yes that can be done if you wish not to change to Nimh or Li poly batterys. Another way of doing it is to use two separate batt's and switch harness which will offer switch redundancy. In this case the extra switch is plugged into any empty Rx port.

In the past I have increased Tx capacity for cross country flying just by adding an extra plug (in parallel of course) to the internal battery and just attaching the extra battery externally on the Tx with velcro.

John

Whirley Bird

My Feedback: (1)

There are many items for recycling ni-cad packs on the market.
The better ones cost over $100.00 and up.
I was going to buy one but invested the money in quality batteries and I just leave the TX and RX on like it say in the Futaba manual.
Ask 100 flyers and you'll get 100 different replies

Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

So I can just solder the red wire of one pack to the red wire of the other pack and same with the black wires and they'll work together. That would send them both into the same switch.

Also I just ordered the Hobbico HydriMax Sanyo 6V 1650mAh Flat U battery packs for my larger planes do these need to be cycled or are they like lithiam-ion batteries where you just charge them and go. In the specs they say somthing about cycling but all the flyers at my field say they don't need cycling.

My Futaba Manual sais to just leave the TX and RX on, drain then recharge, but if you fly frequently won't you use up the batteries pretty quickly if your constantly draining them and charging them. Nicads do wear out after so many charges. Or does the constant draining and recharging make them last longer.

The way I do it now I just charge them the night before I fly without cycling. They usually get down to 60% when I fly.

Whirley Bird

My Feedback: (1)

red
You might want to post this to some of the experts here because ni-cads act funny and when you least expect it the voltage wil drop like a rock.
Look at it this way.
You have a $30,000 car then go to the junk yard and buy a 30 amp alternator.
Buy a recycler and treat the batteries as they should be and in short time that will pay off the recycler

Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

I just read the article on Nicads in Model Aviation Mag. The best tester cycler for the money is the $60 Hobbico model. But I would like to get it all in one a charger with a cycler and tester. Also they were saying somthing about not having to cycle the batteries so much - like once every 3 -months. Also storing the batteries fully charged or fully drained is okey. There was something about Nicad memory not being as important an issue as most would like to believe it is.
Good article!!

hilleyja

My Feedback: (3)

Rather than solder the 2 packs together, why not just connect them to 2 different channels on your RX and run each through a separate switch. Doing this effectively doubles the overall capacity of you RX power.

The downside of this is that you must treat each battery pack separately when re-charging. I'm not sure how 2 battery packs soldered in parallel will be effected by re-charging.

Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

Only propbelm with that is that I have already used up all the channels on the reciever. Can this be done with a servo Y cable connected to the servo on one plug and the switch and battery pack on the other plug, or would this hurt the servo.

hilleyja

My Feedback: (3)

Yes, you can use a Y-connector. No, it will not hurt the servo. The battery lead does not have a signal wire. Likewise, you can use any spare channel on a RX for your battery connection.

Since I use split elevators alot and my TX has a built in Ailevator function that uses channel 2 & channel 8 for the elevator halfs, I use channel 5 for my battery connection all the time.

NOTE: I would not use a Y-connector to connect 2 batteries to a single RX channel; you could but that would defeat part of the reason for 2 batteries and create a single point of failure with the y-connector.

Lynx

Servo Y connectors aren't rated for the current an entire receiver bus needs to supply all of it's servo's you need a super heavy duty Y. At least 3 preferably 4-6 gauges higher than your regular servo Y connector to prevent voltage drops during high current draw.

Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

It's probably better to just get a larger pack for $20

Whirley Bird

My Feedback: (1)

For what my words are worth,
You get what you pay for.
There are recyclers out there for $150.00.
About the ni-cad memory,
don't recycle them and then see how unimportant the memory is.
Why do you think there are so many recyclers on the market?
I also remember reading in one of the aviation magazines that the rubber duck on the transmitter is directional and fires off the end and acts like a beam.
NO WAY!!!!
Also remember that FM is 50 % efficient.
Well maybe with the surface mount parts it may be 70%
APPX 1/4 of the rated power is used up as heat in the rubber duck antenna.
Just one more thing.
The Nicad will lose appx 1% of it's full charge per day sitting on the shelf so your better off charging your batteries the night before you go flying

Lynx

Rubber Duckies do have a different radiation pattern than whips but it's no where near a beam. If you discharge your batteries all the way before you charge them there is no reason to cycle. This can be done a lot less expensivly than with a cycler, just hook a small automotive lightbulb bank up to the battery, it'll drain the battery better than almost any cycler can. After it's drained you charge it with your standard peak charger, no memory effect worries.