Ed_Moorman

My Feedback: (1)

Has anyone used the Turnigy, or any other 3-cell, LiPo battery in a JR 9303 transmitter? Any problems?

pilotpete2

Hi Ed,
Nice to see your smiling face again. I still miss the old RC Report
Oh, you will get sooo many opinions on this one.
My own personal take on using a 3S Lipo in a legacy 8 cell tranny would be to use two rectifier diodes of at least 1A rating in the battery output. That'll bring the full charge voltage of the Lipo down to around 11.3v at the transmitter, just the same as a full charge on the stock battery. Using the diodes also protects against accidentally plugging in the wall wart, and the low voltage warning set in the transmitter will go off before the actual voltage of the lipo goes too low. I currently have a Futaba 8FG, there the original pack of 6 cells Nimh are a perfect match for a 2S Lipo, and the low voltage warning is user settable, and I don't mind opening the battery compartment to access the balance tap to charge the Lipo. I've been very pleased with running a Lipo now for the past season, and only keep the Nimh as a backup.
Best Regards,
Pete

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

I have been using 3 cell LiPo packs in my two JR XP9303 Tx's for 5 years. No Issues. Now that there are other Lithium options, I would use a 3cell LiFe battery or install the Diodes as suggested. You could also just charge the LiPo pack up to 11v instead of 12.6v.

I have experienced no adverse effects from using 3cell LiPo packs in the 9303.

Rob2160

This is of interest to me.. I have an 8FG, what 2S lipo are you using?

John C

I've had the Hobby King 3S LiPo - 2600 mah IIRC - for a year or so now with no issues. Only thing to watch for is to be sure to get the connector to the transmitter fully seated. Mine came out (plane on the ground fortunately) but once fully inserted seems to be OK. I also checked the battery capacity - 11V on the screen looks to be 1/2 discharge. I've taken it down to 10V, but that's my self imposed low voltage cut-off . It's nice to be gone for two months and have the battery show the same voltage as when I left.

John C

pilotpete2

Rob,
Here's the one I'm using.
http://www.valuehobby.com/power-syst...s-tx-pack.html
I don't know how the shipping would be from Illinois to Oz. Maybe there's a distributor for G-Force batteries down under.
Best of luck,
pete

karolh

Hi Ed nice to see a post from you. I use a 3 cell 2620 mA low discharge lipo Tx pack in my Fut 8UAF and so so does my friend in his Spectrum DX7 with absolutely no adverse effects.

Karol

nk3t

I purchased one two seasons ago from Value Hobby in Illinois, for my JR X9303. I fly every week, and only have to charge the battery about twice a year. It is wonderful to always have the transmitter charged when I need it.

Here are some links:
http://www.valuehobby.com/power-syst...futaba-jr.html
http://www.valuehobby.com/power-syst...futaba-jr.html

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

For the life of me I just cant understand why anyone would put a lipo in the transmitter just so you dont have to charge it periodically.
If you do you have to:
1) remove it to charge it.
2) you need a special charger to charge it.
3) you have to sit and watch it while it charges. I had a friend that didn't and lost his garage and all of his models to a fire.
4) If you forget to turn off the transmitter you will lose the battery and maybe more.
5) you can buy enloop copies from Wallmart. They will retain their charge for six months.

Four Stroker

A legacy transmitter draws about 300 mA. So a 10 minute flight is 50 mAh. You should get 44 flights out of a LiPo pack. I fly about 4 flights a week and that would be 11 weeks. Now 6 months is about 26 weeks. So I guess these stories are only slightly exagerated. At a mere 300 mA, the 2200 LiPo may have a little more than 2200. Just doing the math.

3.6*3 - 2*0.7 = 9.4 volts which is the alarm of most legacy transmitters. The two diode trick looks good to me.

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

Most newer model transmitters are equipped with or have options for Lithium batteries. The 4000mah LiPo in my DX8 gets charged every couple of months. I have had 3cell LiPo Tx packs in my 9303 for 5 years without issue. I pull the LiPo out once a month and charge it on my FMA charger.

Many people are into electric power now and have adequate chargers for Lithium batteries.

If you love to spend hours charging then by all means do it. I prefer to fly whenever I want, at a moments notice, and not have to wait to charge my Tx batteries or Rx batteries. It takes less than 30 minutes to charge my Tx LiPos (the DX8 is an exception). I could stay at the flying field for ever, 24/7, charge in between flights, and never have to wait for a charge.

Once, I left the Tx on and discharged the Tx LiPo battery, but because it was such a low discharge rate, I was able to recover the battery. LiPos are just a cheap as NiCad/NiMh. They hold their charge for months. Eneloops are a good second, but still require hours of charging. The LiPo batteries in my DX8 have circuitry that prevents Overcharging and Overdischarging. All future transmitters will be going in this direction, for power.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

I have the NIMH battery that came in my Multiplex transmitter I bought six years ago. I usually charge it about every six weeks. I sit it on my bench plug it in and let it sit overnight. Thats the hours of charging you wish to avoid?

Another thing that don't apply to everyone. My garage gets to maybe 140 degrees inside in the summer. You had better not have a lipo in there. I take the ones I have and keep them in the refrigerator.

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

I can't believe you can fly every day, for 6 weeks, on one charge, with NiCad/NiMh batteries. They self discharge just sitting on the shelf. I can't tell you how many times I had to deal with NiMh batteries False Peaking chargers. If I don't fly for a week and decide to fly, I have to wait while charging.

Lithium batteries are night and day better than Nxxx.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

No I dont fly everyday. Maybe once or twice a week.
Lipo's are great for flying small airplanes. They dont belong in transmitters.
NIMH are best for transmitters. They are not good for flying airplanes or for receiver/servo batteries or any high current application.
Eneloops do not self discharge, oh maybe a little bit over a year.
I guess I wont convince you so good bye.
Good luck and try not to forget to turn your transmitter off

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

I am sorry, but that is BS.

pilotpete2

If I forget to turn off my radio, it shuts itself off at a voltage that allows the radio to do a proper shutdown without messing up the CPU, and the voltage it shuts down at won't kill the lipo. Even if it did kill the Lipo, I can buy 3 transmitter Lipo for the price of one Nimh replacement. Running a Lipo flat in at the current draw a typical radio draws poses no fire danger.
Pete

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

One last comment. The USPS has prohibited shipping Lithium batteries to other countries including APO's,NPO's ETC. They list them as fire hazards. They recently lifted the ban for batteries installed in devices but still ban not installed batteries.They apparently do not know the difference between LIPO's and LIFE's or A123's

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

And yet there has been no delay in the shipments of Lithium batteries for our electric models. Improper charging is the most often cause of Lithium battery damage. Early on I had an Astroflite 109 charger that had a problematic algorithm in the firmware that misdetected the number of cells in a LiPo pack that had been already charged fully. I had one pack make a popping sound and I threw it out in the snow. Astroflite came out with a chip that corrected the problem, shortly after. When Balance Taps started showing up on LiPo packs, I switched to FMA chargers and I have never had an issue. I and my fellow club members who fly electrics in large aircraft have multiple chargers running off of generators in our trailers and vans. We never have issues and do not stand around watching the packs charge, since we are flying.

I now like LiFe batteries for Tx and Rx because they do not require voltage regulators

Charge FAST
Hold their charge for MONTHS
SAFE to use

No more NiCad/NiMh.

ChuckA

I will not use any battery in my transmitter or model that has to be removed from the model to safely charge. The ONLY model I have that uses a LiPo is my Radian. All my other models are charged on the way to the model field with the Siriuscharge mounted in my van. ALL my models use Nicads and I plan to put Nicads in my Evo when the battery that came installed needs replacing. So far, I have only needed to replace the batteries in one Cockpit MM in the last 10 years and never in my Evos.

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

There is nothing wrong with that choice. I have had no issues with removing the LiPo or LiFe batteries from my 9303 to charge. It only takes me a short time to charge each month or two. I could just remove the battery cover and charge through the balancing tap on the battery without removing it from the Tx. I have 100% confidence in my FMA chargers which I use constantly to recharge my 5S and 6S motor batteries. I prefer to be ready to fly at a moments notice no matter how many days in between flying sessions.

vonveska

Exactly. I bought a special Lipo 3s for my JR Tx and used is only few times - just because it was inconvenient to remove it for charging. Now I use Varta 2400 mAh NiMh and they are as good as Lipos.