Another thing, about chargers......
I don't think that OEM chargers have changed a lot in several years. I
suspect that many of them were created when batteries were typically 500
mAh in capacity. A few years ago, many replaced the 500's with 600's,
then 700's and I just replaced a pack with 800mAh cells. But, my JR
charger was probably designed for 500 mAh batteries and was probably set
up conservatively at around 45 ma charge current or maybe a solid 50 ma.
This should charge a 500 mAh batter from dead in say 10 hrs (10 X .05 =
500). WRONG! The charge cycle is not 100% efficient and it really takes
more like 12 to 14 hours. So, bedtimne (11:00 PM) to breakfast (8:00 AM)
is not going to do it. And, if you factor in the increased battery
capacity, I'm not going to get a full charge in a night time charge.
I strongly reccommend anyone concerned about this to charge up your
battery for 24 hours, with the OEM charger, then discharge the pack on a
cycler. Record the time and then recharge using your typical over night
cycle. Now, discharge again and compare the times to discharge. Do they
differ, and how much and why? Now recharge for 24 hours, and go fly.
When you get home, do the discharge cycle again, and this will tell you
what capacity you used from the pack by flying. Again, do an overnight
charge, and again to the discharge cycle. If you get the full discharge
time of the 24 haour charge, you should be ok with an overnight charge.
Just be aware that every so often, you should give it a 24 hour charge
just for insurance.
.........bc ([EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.widomaker.com/~conk
Williamsburg, VA 23185
On Fri, 1 Feb 2002, stuarthall_ct wrote:
> Another question from the resident newbie:
>
> How long can I expect to fly on one charge of either a receiver
> battery or TX? I realize it depends on how much drain you put so let
> me give a typical beginner scenario:
>
> 600 mah Hitec receiver battery (comes with Flash 5x), two servos
> HS422 - elevator and rudder, rank beginner flying a Highlander on a
> 2M highstart.
>
> I am thinking that battery life will probably depend on how much *I*
> move the sticks, so I guess instead of a calculation of battery drain
> I just need some for instances... with one overnight charge I should
> be able to fly for XX hours. What is your all experiences with
> beginners? Can I get a full day of flying on one charge?
>
> (assumes that I will be physically/mentally willing and able to fly a
> full 4 - 6 hour session, and really I am trying to justify my
> decision not to buy a battery charger yet)
>
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