[marcham]

The fit is pretty snug, but nothing is binding. You basically buy the battery and the correct adapter for the radio (red to white adapter).

I think my charger is set to 3.6V / cell, the voltage will settle at about 10 V for what seems like an eternity. The pack is rated at 2100mah, but will put out 2000 mah down to 3V / cell.

There is a small chip inside the pack that keeps the cells in balance when you charge through the main leads (but you could also do a balance charge if you wanted to). You can use the stock JR Nimh charger or a LifePo4 charger, the chip will disconnect the battery from the circuit when it is fully charged.

I ordered mine from aircraft world in Japan, cost a few dollars to ship and was received in about 2 weeks.

[Spitball]

Thanks marcham; Googled idly last night and got lucky, at least got their Euro site, very interesting but with little technical info. I think these batts are just the bee's knees.
They were priced at 37 Euros but haven't figured out $CD.
How did these creep up on me; I pride myself on being au fait with battery technology? Oh well!
I'm not sure that a lot more capacity is really needed for your Tx pack, charging before every flying session is still a good regimen and note the guy who crashed his jet by not remembering to charge his Tx, But it's an ongoing need felt by many and some of the newer Txs are power hogs, I believe. These though, have no disadvantages and I'm impressed. Have played a lot with 1100mAH A123s for my little motor-glider. Gleaned from B&D VPX packs. These are apparently a related chemistry. Fit fine in your JR.

[luv2flyrc]

Another alternative is the new Sanyo Enloops Nimh packs. I'm running one from sincity jets in my JR 12x. These are a new nimh technology that overcome the 2 major drawbacks to Nimh. They don't false peak when you charge them and they will hold a storage charge for over a year. Cell capacity is 2000ma.

Because they're still nimh, they operate at the same voltage as your OEM pack and won't void any warranty. I've been really happy with mine... light years ahead of the conventional nimh pack that came with the radio.

Mike

[Spitball]

Thanks Mike, you're echoing my thoughts in another thread I started about the new generation of NiMHs. But you have to use a battery box for AAs as they have no tags not so, and battery boxes for semi-permanently installed cells bother me - bad contact developing over time and so on. But yes, they're fantastic, as are their kissing country cousins, the P-C brand from Loblaws at half the price!

[marcham]

You can also buy a ready-made Eneloop pack.

http://www.cheapbatterypacks.com/index.asp?sid=99496

FYI, I've seen many battery boxes fail, they are not as reliable as a soldered pack.

The only real issue I have with Eneloops is that they almost never meet their rated spec. Out of about a dozen AA Eneloops, I only have 2 or 3 that are actually 2000mah or above, most are in the 1900-1950 range. Lots of info available on thttp://www.candlepowerforums.com


The main reason I ended with the LifePo4 is the ability to charge it up in 20-30 minutes.

[Spitball]

In the fine print on the side of the cell, they cover themselves by saying: Typ. 2000mAh, Min. 1900mAh !! Must confess, I've never noted the input from the charger or the delivered mAh on the Triton! It is temperature dependent I believe.
An aside - I've just compared an Eneloop cell and a P-C one and they are identical in every physical detail, but it doesn't have the 1900mAh disclaimer on it! Will check out the cheapbatterypacks and other site, thanks. I agree wholeheartedly about the LiFePO4's though.

[marcham]

I normally test new AA Nimh cells, and after a few cycles, using the IEC method (discharge @ 0.2C). Charging won't tell you much info as some of the energy dissipates as heat.

I just ordered a bunch of LSD from Hobbyking, I'll have to try the P-C as well. I can't remember the last time I bought an alkaline AAA, AA, C or D (I use C / D inserts for the AA).

The only non-rechargeables I still buy are Lithium for standby use in flashlights (long term storage) or GPS use in cold weather.

[Thunder Chicken]

For what its worth,
I bought a bunch of NIMH packs from e-bay. Battery Island or something like that. they are 2100mah 9.6v packs, came with futaba/hitec ends. I do not have any sort of equipment to test them, but I charge them with the wall wart for a few days and they last a very long time.
I have been using these packs for both rx and tx, some of them are a few years old now. A package of 4 packs was something like $50 if I remember right.

[craigk]

Originally Posted by marcham

The fit is pretty snug, but nothing is binding. You basically buy the battery and the correct adapter for the radio (red to white adapter).

You can use the stock JR Nimh charger or a LifePo4 charger, the chip will disconnect the battery from the circuit when it is fully charged.

.

marcham ---

Do you use the JR NiMH wall wart or do you remove the battery from the Tx and use a LiFePo4 specific charger?

[moo]

Originally Posted by hitechflyer

Older radios may not like the higher voltage. Any 2.4 radio should handle the 12.4 volts. Note some of the cheaper 2.4 spectrum run on 4 or 6 AA cells.

New radios won't require 9.6Volts or above, this was a requirement for the older transmit circuit design to get sufficient transmit power.

Most 2.4 transmit circuits run at 3.3Volts, this requires a voltage regulator which may get hot at 12V, as they waste loads of power.