RC Model Reviews

Hi,

I've installed the rhino 1350 http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7313 in my 9x. And all works well as advised on various sites.

Then I discovered that I really would have been better to buy the flightmax http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idproduct=16764

However rather than waster the rhino 1350 - can I simply charge each of the 3 cells to 3.3v to avoid any voltage issues ?

FYI I have installed the smartieparts board in the 9x and installed er9x so I can set the voltage alarm to whatever I want.

Cheers

The short answer is no, you can't, and please do not try as you will just ruin the battery, possibly even catastrophically as in "vent with flame". Lipo and Life are different chemically and thus have differences in nominal/peak voltage. The Rhino is a nice 3 cell pack... I'm sure you can find another use for it. As for the Life radio battery pack, this one is slightly smaller and a better fit for the 9x but you'll have to change the connector on it to suit the radio.... and make sure you wire it correctly! http://goo.gl/CmP5O And to top it all off, it's less than $7.00, making it cheaper than the earlier $8 battery mod.

Regards

Christian

The short answer is no, you can't, and please do not try as you will just ruin the battery, possibly even catastrophically as in "vent with flame". Lipo and Life are different chemically and thus have differences in nominal/peak voltage. The Rhino is a nice 3 cell pack... I'm sure you can find another use for it. As for the Life radio battery pack, this one is slightly smaller and a better fit for the 9x but you'll have to change the connector on it to suit the radio.... and make sure you wire it correctly! http://goo.gl/CmP5O And to top it all off, it's less than $7.00, making it cheaper than the earlier $8 battery mod.

Thanks for the advice Christian - Appreciated.

kaptain_zero wrote:As for the Life radio battery pack, this one is slightly smaller and a better fit for the 9x but you'll have to change the connector on it to suit the radio.... and make sure you wire it correctly! http://goo.gl/CmP5O And to top it all off, it's less than $7.00, making it cheaper than the earlier $8 battery mod.

Hi Christian,

I've opted for this battery for my 9X Tx as well. I actually ordered 2 (to be sure, to be sure) . So i can obviously use the lead that came with the standard 4 x 4 AA battery holder for one of the LiFe batteries, but i'd like to make the mod to the second battery as well. I've been hunting around on HK's site for a suitable repleacement lead but without luck. Do you know where i can get one to match the connector in the 9x?

Second question - do you charge via the same 3 wire balance connector or do you charge via the servo lead? I'm figuring i'll have to wire up something to allow the battery to be charged via my accucell-6. What is typical practice here? I would assume it's safest to disconnect from the Tx prior to charging or is this unnecessary?

Thanks
Peter

If it helps I took the connector out and hardwired a JST connector straight to the board... Use the same connector now for charging as well....

The standard Turnigy battery connector is a poor design,in that you have to pull on the wires to disconnect the damn thing.Definitely do NOT use the standard 8AA boxy thing,that's a crash waiting to happen.I will replace it with a hard wired cable like Keith suggested.I just use a servo extension lead cut in half.Problem solved.

The standard Turnigy battery connector is a poor design,in that you have to pull on the wires to disconnect the damn thing.Definitely do NOT use the standard 8AA boxy thing,that's a crash waiting to happen.I will replace it with a hard wired cable like Keith suggested.I just use a servo extension lead cut in half.Problem solved.

why not use the 8AA ?

"why not use the 8AA ?"
The 8 AA holder like the turnigy's are a crash waiting to happen.The batteries can rattle in the holder,losing contact and whammo!When used with ni-cads however,it's the other way around.Ni-cads are slightly thicker than standard aa's,and it's very difficult to get them in place.Often the cells don't touch in the middle(e.g. + to-),causing a similar problem to dry cells.These holders are fine for toys or boats,but I won't have one in an aircraft tx.

At my club that I fly at, battery holders for AA are prohibited because thay can cause a "high resistance" . The best way is to use a "welded/soldered Pack". I use the Turnigy LSD 2200mAh batteries solderd together TX and RX, thay have been used every week for over 2 years (weather permitting) with no problems form the Turnigys, just a bit more mAh then the eneloop (tested), easy to charge through the TX charge plug with any charger, no worrying about it catching on fire, no need for special storage charge (LIPO), no need to modify charger(LI FE). For me I find the nickel metal hydride AA packs (soldered) more convenient and stress-free to use.

Cheers joe

quarry44 wrote:"why not use the 8AA ?"
The 8 AA holder...When used with ni-cads however,it's the other way around.Ni-cads are slightly thicker than standard aa's,and it's very difficult to get them in place.Often the cells don't touch in the middle

huh, I never thought of that all those years I used NiCd batteries in Chinese made battery holders in my Futaba radios, never had one 'go off' either

food for thought

I have experienced 'black death' though, where the black wire in the rx pack corrodes , and nothing else