Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
Doug McLaren [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Actually, the Triton can charge through a diode. It can't discharge (which makes sense), but it can charge. I don't know why you're saying that, but you're wrong. In normal operation the Triton stops charging for a few seconds each minute in order to sense the battery voltage and monitor the progress of the charge. With a diode in the circuit, the battery voltage doesn't appear at the charging jack, causing the test to fail immediately. (See http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1081041postcount=1 ) In fact, a Triton won't even start charging in the first place if it doesn't first detect the voltage from a battery on its output. With a diode in the circuit, the Triton would only return a no batt error message. Also, even if the charger could somehow be rigged into charging anyway, the forward voltage drop across the diode would confuse the smart charging circuitry and give unwanted results. It's very well known that peak chargers can't be used to charge radios through their charging jacks unless any safety charging diodes in the radio are bypassed. You'll find it in virtually any general FAQ about our hobby. Everything else you wrote is pretty much the same as what I wrote earlier. It's good advice. Well, if there's no diode, or a fuse didn't blow, then he almost certainly reverse charged his pack. Exactly how much depends on how full the batteries were when he started, and how long the charger was on ... The batteries were probably damaged at least somewhat, but it may not be enough to worry about (mostly the damage would manifest as reduced capacity.) I'd strongly suggest at least running them through a cycler a few times and make sure they're still OK. If the capacity is down more than 10 or 20% from the original capacity -- replace them. Some people are down on NiMH cells for receiver packs, as they don't stand up to abuse as well, and have higher internal resistances, and there is truth to all that, but for transmitter packs they're perfect. And even if you pay full retail Wal-Mart price, 8 2000+ mAh NiMH AA cells will only cost about $20 -- cheap insurance, and you'll probably get a pack that will last all day. (Assuming you can make your own packs, of course.) Mike -- Winch Solenoid Safety Buzzer - http://www.vvsss.com/buzzer/ _ \__|__/ (O) RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
One point I haven't seen addressed in this thread is the possibility of damage to the charger. I have both Futaba and JR radios in my shop and have had the experience Scobie had a couple of times (slow learner, I guess). The batteries in the transmitter were not measurably damaged, but the wallwart chargers were ruined. RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
On Thu, Apr 21, 2005 at 08:06:56AM -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: | Doug McLaren [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: | | Actually, the Triton can charge through a diode. It can't discharge | (which makes sense), but it can charge. | | I don't know why you're saying that, but you're wrong. No, I'm not. I do it all the time, and here's some pictures of me doing it : http://mclaren.frenzy.com/~dougmc/RC/triton-charging-through-diode/ You'll notice that I'm charging and measuring through the charge jack on these radios. None of them have been modified by me to bypass the diode, and I show this by measuring the voltage on the port with the charger not connected. Yes, a miniscule amount of current does leak through the diode, but I don't think it's enough to make a charger happy. Note that the batteries on these radios were not dead before I measured them -- they may not have been fully charged, but they were charged enough for the radio to work. I wanted to ditch the transmitters entirely for the picture, and show you a picture of a diode and a battery pack being charged through it, but couldn't find an appropriate diode. Maybe later, if I can find one in my stuff. | In normal operation the Triton stops charging for a few seconds each | minute in order to sense the battery voltage and monitor the | progress of the charge. With a diode in the circuit, the battery | voltage doesn't appear at the charging jack, causing the test to | fail immediately. | | (See http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1081041postcount=1 To be fair, that link says nothing about charging through a diode. As for the part where it periodically stops charging and checks the voltage, while I didn't take a picture of this happening (maybe I will shortly), it still does work, and gives an accurate reading even through the diode. I assume that it works by the Triton putting a miniscule current through -- perhaps 1 mA -- and then measuring the voltage needed to push that current through. 1 mA is close enough to zero that the voltage you get will be almost exactly the same if there was no current, but it's enough that you can get an accurate reading even through a diode. | In fact, a Triton won't even start charging in the first place if it | doesn't first detect the voltage from a battery on its output. With | a diode in the circuit, the Triton would only return a no batt | error message. My Astroflight 110D works as you say, and I was quite pleasantly surprised when I found that the Triton did work through the diode. | Also, even if the charger could somehow be rigged into charging | anyway, the forward voltage drop across the diode would confuse the | smart charging circuitry and give unwanted results. No. In general, a diode will introduce a 0.5 volt or so drop if you go across it in the right direction. But this voltage drop is pretty much fixed, so it just changes the voltage reading on the transmitter -- peaks and dips are still the same peaks and dips, and your charger stops charging just like it would without the diode. At least the Triton does. If I were to take the battery out and not charge through the diode, you'd find that the voltage needed would be smaller, but that's all the diode does -- it burns up some of the voltage. (It also absorbs 0.5v * (whatever amperage) in heat, so you don't want to charge at a high rate, or you risk ruining the diode.) Yes, a diode WOULD cause problems charging a LiPo pack, as your charger would not fully charge it. But these are NiCds, not LiPos, and there is no such problem, because you don't stop charging NiCds at a specific voltage. | It's very well known that peak chargers can't be used to charge radios | through their charging jacks unless any safety charging diodes in the radio | are bypassed. You'll find it in virtually any general FAQ about our hobby. I understand what you're saying, but there are ways around that, and the Triton does it. My pictures prove it. I believe that other peak chargers now work through diodes too. For example, this one seems to -- http://www.hobbico.com/chargers/hcam3005.html though I can't test it myself, as I don't have one. My Astroflight 110D definately does not, but my two Tritons definately do. -- Doug McLaren, [EMAIL PROTECTED] `Dear Lord: Please make my words sweet and tender, for tomorrow I may have to eat them.' RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
Doug McLaren [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I do it all the time, and here's some pictures of me doing it : http://mclaren.frenzy.com/~dougmc/RC/triton-charging-through-diode/ That's a pretty convincing argument you've put together, and you went to a lot of trouble to do it. Very interesting! Since I only have JR radios without diodes, I have to admit that I've never had either the opportunity or the skepticism to try this myself. I was going on common sense and what I've read everywhere. If you're right then a whole lot of other people are wrong. Here are some examples of what might very well turn out to be misinformation: http://www.siriuselectronics.com/index.php?main_page=faq Q: My SIRIUS CHARGE will not work with my Futaba transmitter. Why? A: There is a diode in the charging circuit of most Futaba FM and PCM transmitters (Futaba AM transmitters do not have a diode). This diode prevents SIRIUS CHARGE from detecting the transmitter battery and turning itself on. The diode is very easy to defeat, and will not affect operation of the transmitter. If you would like to see how to do it, click here. By the way, BEWARE of fast chargers that claim to work through a diode. It is impossible to do proper peak detection through a diode, due to the diode voltage drop changing drastically with temperature and current. Your batteries are at risk! It also seems to be the standard wisdom on RCGroups.com. Here are a few posts from folks who treat it as granted: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=348#post348 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2776789postcount=1 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2774006postcount=2 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2486560postcount=12 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2180279postcount=8 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1872963postcount=8 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1872901postcount=6 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1519150postcount=5 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1404739postcount=2 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1189196postcount=7 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=972157postcount=11 I wanted to ditch the transmitters entirely for the picture, and show you a picture of a diode and a battery pack being charged through it, but couldn't find an appropriate diode. Maybe later, if I can find one in my stuff. Maybe I'll try the same experiment tomorrow. I have some diodes at work. Mike -- _ \__|__/ (O) RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
Folks, I have to take action here! The Sirius Charger will NOT charge through the diode because of the safety features built in to it. It has to see at least 1 volt of POSITIVE voltage before it will start a charge. This is why it won't blow the fuse in a JR radio if accidently plugged in to one. Normal peak detection chargers will charge through the diode, but won't give an accurate indication at the end of charge because of the voltage drop through the diode. These chargers use a large enough OVERCHARGE (voltage drop) to tell the charger to stop. The info on our web site is accurate! George At 06:50 PM 4/21/2005 -0400, you wrote: Doug McLaren [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I do it all the time, and here's some pictures of me doing it : http://mclaren.frenzy.com/~dougmc/RC/triton-charging-through-diode/ That's a pretty convincing argument you've put together, and you went to a lot of trouble to do it. Very interesting! Since I only have JR radios without diodes, I have to admit that I've never had either the opportunity or the skepticism to try this myself. I was going on common sense and what I've read everywhere. If you're right then a whole lot of other people are wrong. Here are some examples of what might very well turn out to be misinformation: http://www.siriuselectronics.com/index.php?main_page=faq Q: My SIRIUS CHARGE will not work with my Futaba transmitter. Why? A: There is a diode in the charging circuit of most Futaba FM and PCM transmitters (Futaba AM transmitters do not have a diode). This diode prevents SIRIUS CHARGE from detecting the transmitter battery and turning itself on. The diode is very easy to defeat, and will not affect operation of the transmitter. If you would like to see how to do it, click here. By the way, BEWARE of fast chargers that claim to work through a diode. It is impossible to do proper peak detection through a diode, due to the diode voltage drop changing drastically with temperature and current. Your batteries are at risk! It also seems to be the standard wisdom on RCGroups.com. Here are a few posts from folks who treat it as granted: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=348#post348 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2776789postcount=1 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2774006postcount=2 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2486560postcount=12 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2180279postcount=8 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1872963postcount=8 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1872901postcount=6 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1519150postcount=5 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1404739postcount=2 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1189196postcount=7 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=972157postcount=11 I wanted to ditch the transmitters entirely for the picture, and show you a picture of a diode and a battery pack being charged through it, but couldn't find an appropriate diode. Maybe later, if I can find one in my stuff. Maybe I'll try the same experiment tomorrow. I have some diodes at work. Mike -- _ \__|__/ (O) RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
George Joy [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The info on our web site is accurate! So you're saying that Doug McLaren's batteries are at risk? By the way, BEWARE of fast chargers that claim to work through a diode. It is impossible to do proper peak detection through a diode, due to the diode voltage drop changing drastically with temperature and current. Your batteries are at risk! Mike -- _ \__|__/ (O) RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
Hello Scobie, Yes, the JR charger for the RADIO (only) is REVERSED. If you pluged in a charger from a different brand (with reversed polarity) into the radio it will short out the fuse in the TX. You will have to replace the fuse. Regards, Cameron Ninham --- Scobie Puchtler [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Y'all know I'm no electronics whiz, so I'd appreciate a little advice if any is necessary: I just charged both of my JR TX's for several hours using two wall chargers. One charger was stock JR, the other one I THOUGHT was my other stock JR wall charger. but I now see that it was actually a Hitec wall charger. The radio that was on the Hitec charger had zilch, wouldn't come on, LCD display didn't even flash for a second. Seemed very weird at first, but once I realized it had been on the wrong charger, things started to make more sense. I've now got the uncharged (mis-charged?) radio charging on the JR charger, as was the original intent. I seem to remember from my days of wiring various other chargers that the wall charger polarity on a Hitec and JR chargers might be opposite. Any reason to expect that I've done any damage to the battery? Anything I should be doing or checking? I already put the 'correctly charged' battery in the TX that was on the Hitec charger and everything works fine. Thanks in advance for any reassurances (or horrors if warranted) :-) Lift, Scobie in Seattle RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
Scobie Puchtler [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I seem to remember from my days of wiring various other chargers that the wall charger polarity on a Hitec and JR chargers might be opposite. That's right, they are. The JR charging plug has the negative connection on the tip and the positive connection on the side. Any reason to expect that I've done any damage to the battery? Yes. If you've discharged any or all of the cells and then charged them in reverse, they're likely to be permanently damaged. If so, after a normal charge they could appear to be okay but will quickly go dead when used. Anything I should be doing or checking? You need to cycle the pack with a smart charger, such as a Triton, and see how many MAH the pack can now store. If it's significantly less than the pack's rating, which I believe is 600 MAH, then you'll need to replace the pack. Alternately, you can just give the pack up for dead and replace it, just to be safe. There are differing opinions among the guys here concerning NiCd vs. NiMh cells, but my own recommendation is to buy two four-packs of Energizer 2300 or 2500 MAH cells from a local department store, cut the wire harness from your old NiCd pack before recycling it (cut only one wire at a time), and build a new pack. You can charge it with the same charger you've been using, but of course it'll take longer because of the increased capacity. Mike -- Winch Solenoid Safety Buzzer - http://www.vvsss.com/buzzer/ _ \__|__/ (O) RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
Cameron [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: If you pluged in a charger from a different brand (with reversed polarity) into the radio it will short out the fuse in the TX. You will have to replace the fuse. You'd think so, but apparently not because he already said his radio is okay: I already put the 'correctly charged' battery in the TX that was on the Hitec charger and everything works fine. He'd be better off if the fuse had blown, but it sounds to me like the fuse held, the battery charger reverse-charged his pack, and probably ruined it. Mike -- Winch Solenoid Safety Buzzer - http://www.vvsss.com/buzzer/ _ \__|__/ (O) RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
Most radios and modern equipment have a diode in them just for this accident. In which case the battery is in the same condition as when he started and the fuse is still good. Put it on the regular charger and charge for the right time and you should be all set. Rick Richard Hallett Pittsfield ME - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: soaring@airage.com Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2005 8:39 PM Subject: Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please Cameron [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: If you pluged in a charger from a different brand (with reversed polarity) into the radio it will short out the fuse in the TX. You will have to replace the fuse. You'd think so, but apparently not because he already said his radio is okay: I already put the 'correctly charged' battery in the TX that was on the Hitec charger and everything works fine. He'd be better off if the fuse had blown, but it sounds to me like the fuse held, the battery charger reverse-charged his pack, and probably ruined it. Mike -- Winch Solenoid Safety Buzzer - http://www.vvsss.com/buzzer/ _ \__|__/ (O) RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
A friend of mine did exactly this with a JR 8103. He charged it up, and it looked OK. 8 minutes into his first flight with a 33% Edge with a DA100 on it he went into failsafe and crashed into a big lake at the site. Total loss of the plane. Batteries are cheap. Spend $30 and get a bigger NiMH and replace the stock battery. WEM Richard Hallett wrote: Most radios and modern equipment have a diode in them just for this accident. In which case the battery is in the same condition as when he started and the fuse is still good. Put it on the regular charger and charge for the right time and you should be all set. RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
Richard Hallett [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Most radios and modern equipment have a diode in them just for this accident. JR radios for USA use don't. I often charge the batteries in my JR radios through the charging jacks with my Triton charger. Peak chargers like the Triton can't work with diodes in the circuit. I also once made the same mistake that Scobie made and plugged the wrong trickle charger into one of my JR radios. In my case the fuse blew right away and aside from that, no harm was done. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2933069postcount=7 Mike -- Winch Solenoid Safety Buzzer - http://www.vvsss.com/buzzer/ _ \__|__/ (O) RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
If the pack was healthy to start with, you may be fine. This will depend greatly on pack condition, and just how long you had thme on reverse charge. You state that you now have the proper charger on the TX in question for a while now. I suggest checking right away to see whether the TX actually turns on, this will determine a few things: - that indeed the TX powers up - that the pack is retaining a charge (check initial voltage) - that all cells are showing a minimum V (whatever the indicated voltage is divided by 8 - should be at least 1.1-2V/cell). Scobie Puchtler wrote: Y'all know I'm no electronics whiz, so I'd appreciate a little advice if any is necessary: I just charged both of my JR TX's for several hours using two wall chargers. One charger was stock JR, the other one I THOUGHT was my other stock JR wall charger. but I now see that it was actually a Hitec wall charger. The radio that was on the Hitec charger had zilch, wouldn't come on, LCD display didn't even flash for a second. Seemed very weird at first, but once I realized it had been on the wrong charger, things started to make more sense. I've now got the uncharged (mis-charged?) radio charging on the JR charger, as was the original intent. I seem to remember from my days of wiring various other chargers that the wall charger polarity on a Hitec and JR chargers might be opposite. Any reason to expect that I've done any damage to the battery? Anything I should be doing or checking? I already put the 'correctly charged' battery in the TX that was on the Hitec charger and everything works fine. Thanks in advance for any reassurances (or horrors if warranted) :-) Lift, Scobie in Seattle RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format -- Simon Van Leeuwen RADIUS SYSTEMS PnP SYSTEMS - The E-Harness of Choice Cogito Ergo Zooom RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
Scobie, There is a lot of bogus mation being passed around. 1st, the JR radio's do have reversed polarity, if you had plugged the Hitec charger into it, it should have blown the fuse. 2nd, reverse charging the Hitec radio with the JR charger could have damaged the cells beyond repair, the only way to know is to give them a forming charge ( 18 to 24 hours on the slow charger) Then cycle them 3 to 4 times and check their capacity each time, if they come up to capacity after the 3rd cycle, then they will be OK, if they don't, replace them and start over with the forming charge. 3rd, the Hitec radio has a jumper that will not let you DISCHARGE the pack through the radio jack, any peak detection charger will charge them ok, but won't let you cycle them until you jump the diode. ( Check my web site for directions to jump the diodes www.siriuselectronics.com ) 4th JR radios don't use diodes, they have a fuse instead, some are user replaceable and some need a tech to replace them. Best advice I can give you is, Don't fly that pack until you have made SURE it will function correctly. Advertisement: If you used one of my charging systems this couldn't happen, they know the difference :-). If you would like to discuss this further, I'll be in the shop all day tomorrow 800-532-0092 Smooth Landings George At 05:03 PM 4/20/2005 -0700, Scobie Puchtler wrote: Y'all know I'm no electronics whiz, so I'd appreciate a little advice if any is necessary: I just charged both of my JR TX's for several hours using two wall chargers. One charger was stock JR, the other one I THOUGHT was my other stock JR wall charger. but I now see that it was actually a Hitec wall charger. The radio that was on the Hitec charger had zilch, wouldn't come on, LCD display didn't even flash for a second. Seemed very weird at first, but once I realized it had been on the wrong charger, things started to make more sense. I've now got the uncharged (mis-charged?) radio charging on the JR charger, as was the original intent. I seem to remember from my days of wiring various other chargers that the wall charger polarity on a Hitec and JR chargers might be opposite. Any reason to expect that I've done any damage to the battery? Anything I should be doing or checking? I already put the 'correctly charged' battery in the TX that was on the Hitec charger and everything works fine. Thanks in advance for any reassurances (or horrors if warranted) :-) Lift, Scobie in Seattle RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Radio Charging Error-advice please
On Wed, Apr 20, 2005 at 09:34:41PM -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: | JR radios for USA use don't. I often charge the batteries in my JR radios | through the charging jacks with my Triton charger. Peak chargers like the | Triton can't work with diodes in the circuit. Actually, the Triton can charge through a diode. It can't discharge (which makes sense), but it can charge. | I also once made the same mistake that Scobie made and plugged the | wrong trickle charger into one of my JR radios. In my case the fuse | blew right away and aside from that, no harm was done. Well, if there's no diode, or a fuse didn't blow, then he almost certainly reverse charged his pack. Exactly how much depends on how full the batteries were when he started, and how long the charger was on ... The batteries were probably damaged at least somewhat, but it may not be enough to worry about (mostly the damage would manifest as reduced capacity.) I'd strongly suggest at least running them through a cycler a few times and make sure they're still OK. If the capacity is down more than 10 or 20% from the original capacity -- replace them. Some people are down on NiMH cells for receiver packs, as they don't stand up to abuse as well, and have higher internal resistances, and there is truth to all that, but for transmitter packs they're perfect. And even if you pay full retail Wal-Mart price, 8 2000+ mAh NiMH AA cells will only cost about $20 -- cheap insurance, and you'll probably get a pack that will last all day. (Assuming you can make your own packs, of course.) -- Doug McLaren, [EMAIL PROTECTED] FORTUNE PROVIDES QUESTIONS FOR THE GREAT ANSWERS: #19 A: To be or not to be. Q: What is the square root of 4b^2? RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
