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  • Trying to understand batteries & chargers

    LiPo is new to me, but I do understand electrics no problem.

    Heli is a Nitro, have bought an Align 2-in-1 regulator and will be coupling that to a 2S LiPo pack (capacity not yet known)
    Seen that HobbyKing sells RHINO batteries at good prices :
    HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : Rhino 2350mAh 2S1P 25C Lipoly Pack.......... are these thought of as good quality, and are the connectors standard to plug into the Align 2-in-1 ?

    Undecided on a charger ... see that site is full of LiPo chargers .. different manufacturers, but all stating they are B6 ? ...
    What does the B6 signify ? does it mean up to 6 cells (7.4V to 11.1V)

    The makes seem to be mainly Mystery or iMAX ... are these makes any good ? they seem incredibly well priced.

    For example £16 for this ..
    HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : Rhino 2350mAh 2S1P 25C Lipoly Pack

    If anybody has some recomendations what I should look at then please 'do tell'

    I understand I need 2s and 3s charge capability (to allow for starter battery) .. don't need rapid charging, 1C is good enough for me.
    But I don't want to buy a piece of junk ... hence thought I'd ask the team.

    Having one with built in AC power capability would be good, but could always use external adapter.
    Would this be good choice at £25?
    HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : IMAX B6-AC Charger/Discharger 1-6 Cells (GENUINE)
    Some people will always find fault - if you find a typo, consider it put there for you.

  • #2
    No the connector on the battery you point to is an XT 60 the Align 2-1 is JST. If I were you I'd change the JST for an XT60 and use the battery as is. Buy a charger such as the cellpro 4 which will charge to 4S or buy the cellpro multi, both available form Aurora

    edit: The Imax charger looks okay, especially as you can run straight from the mains, most need a ps. You will need to make up a balance charge lead though
    Last edited by waveydavey; 07-01-2011, 10:47 PM.
    Humble owner of 7 Eddie Gold Stars and Ex - member of Mk Heli Club
    sigpic

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    • #3
      Originally posted by sargan View Post
      LiPo is new to me, but I do understand electrics no problem.

      Heli is a Nitro, have bought an Align 2-in-1 regulator and will be coupling that to a 2S LiPo pack (capacity not yet known)
      Seen that HobbyKing sells RHINO batteries at good prices :
      HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : Rhino 2350mAh 2S1P 25C Lipoly Pack.......... are these thought of as good quality, and are the connectors standard to plug into the Align 2-in-1 ?

      Undecided on a charger ... see that site is full of LiPo chargers .. different manufacturers, but all stating they are B6 ? ...
      What does the B6 signify ? does it mean up to 6 cells (7.4V to 11.1V)

      The makes seem to be mainly Mystery or iMAX ... are these makes any good ? they seem incredibly well priced.

      For example £16 for this ..
      HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : Rhino 2350mAh 2S1P 25C Lipoly Pack

      If anybody has some recomendations what I should look at then please 'do tell'

      I understand I need 2s and 3s charge capability (to allow for starter battery) .. don't need rapid charging, 1C is good enough for me.
      But I don't want to buy a piece of junk ... hence thought I'd ask the team.

      Having one with built in AC power capability would be good, but could always use external adapter.
      Would this be good choice at £25?
      HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : IMAX B6-AC Charger/Discharger 1-6 Cells (GENUINE)

      From what I've read, those Rhino batts are poo! Get a Turnigy if you want to get one from HK!

      The Align 2in1's batt connector is a female JST plug, most RX batt's don't have JST plugs on them, however the Outrage RX packs do have the JST plugs on!

      As for the charger, from what I've read, the CellPro 4s is a very good charger... I've been using a Thunder Power charger for over a year, and not had a single problem with it! My recommendation would be DON'T buy a cheap lipo charger, there are a lot of reports of the cheap HK charges failing and the lipo catching fire! So get the best you can afford!

      CellPro 4s:
      http://www.aurorra.info/aurv2/productDetails.php?id=17

      Comment


      • #4
        Just to buck the trend slightly, I have a Mystery AND an IMAX B6 and both perform fine, so long as you don't try to push silly current through them. No probs with 3S Packs.
        Growing old is mandatory...growing up is optional!

        Trex 600E
        Blade MCP-X
        Various FPV craft - tri's, hexa's etc
        Dx6i/Chainlink UHF

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by waveydavey View Post
          No the connector on the battery you point to is an XT 60 the Align 2-1 is JST. If I were you I'd change the JST for an XT60 and use the battery as is. Buy a charger such as the cellpro 4 which will charge to 4S or buy the cellpro multi, both available form Aurora

          edit: The Imax charger looks okay, especially as you can run straight from the mains, most need a ps. You will need to make up a balance charge lead though
          Not sure if I am following what you mean.
          The align 2-in-1 was ordered after advice here, are there specific batteries I need to use with this...or do I need to buy adapters or change plugs?.
          Some people will always find fault - if you find a typo, consider it put there for you.

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          • #6
            No you don't need specific batteries, there are just many different connectors. The 2 in 1 has a JST connector and if you buy an align battery for it, it will have a JST connector. The battery you linked to has an XT60 connector, a better connector. Some batteries don't have a connector, some have deans, you just choose what you want. Most of us solder what we want to use on the 2 in 1 and the mating part on the batteries.
            Humble owner of 7 Eddie Gold Stars and Ex - member of Mk Heli Club
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            • #7
              couple of links

              Hiya, Here is a couple of links to uk suppliers you might like to look at.

              Here's a jst to deans lead 4402986 out of stock though but there's one in stock here

              And the loong max batteries at giant cod aint bad, check em out here also on giant cod are chargers, ive used 2 imax chargers for the past couple of years and both are still going strong. Take a look at the GT v5 and the Gt-A6 5-6 cell chargers, they are simular to the imax if not the same charger, under a different name.

              Good luck with what you choose

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              • #8
                Maybe some information missing here.
                The lipo has two connectors. The power connector that you wil connect to you 2in1 when you fly, and the balance charge connector which you use to connect to your charger.
                The balance charger has three pins (for a 2 cell lipo) so the charger can charge, or monitor the two cells independantly to keep them balanced.

                Yuor 2in1 is 2 cell, you might need a 4 cell for your starter. A charger with 6 in its title is a 6 cell charger - it might charger two 2 cells, or 2x 3 cells at once.

                The way a lipo is charged is different to other types of battery, if you set you lipo charger accidentally to nicad then you might damage or even explode your lipo. This is the reason for most lipo disasters.
                One reason to use a lipo dedicated charger, like a cellpro4, is you can't set it to the wrong battery type.
                The cellpro is a good charger, you can find it cheaper than at aurorra now. It was the one to get (we all got em here) but now there are other good and cheaper options.

                The 2 in 1 has a little rather nasty 2 pin connector for the lipo on it (Tamaya?). JST is a confusing thing to call it as JST make a million different connectors.

                The current to drive the 2 in 1 is low compared to the curent to fly an electric model. The 2 cell packs we use can fly small fixed wing planes, so they have a high current power connect on them. The deans T or whatever. I use the deans on my 2 in 1.

                The balance connector on all the packs from hobbyking (I think) is a JST-XH. This is the most common balance connector (also known as the align connector) and most cheap chargers will have that socket on them - so you don't need an adaptor board. With a cellpro charger you will need a Cellpro to JST-XH (align) adaptor board.

                Upmarket lipos have used a different brand charge connector so they can sell their own dedicated chargers - but there are loads of adaptors to cross match them.

                Those with electric powered models have expensive batteries and are obsessive about good chargers - becuase poor chargers slowly kill those expensive lipos.

                For RX power only its not so critical, you only need a low C rating lipo, and its a low cost battery - so a low cost charger is ok. Buy them all from the same place so all the plugs fit together.
                www.heli-extreme.co.uk a good club in south Sheffield
                600n pro BeastX Align DFC head bls251, 3xbls451, align gov, 600d, 2in1
                trex500, BeastX DS510 swash, Beast X cutr and carve head DS520 HK3026-1900, Align 425D blades, 5S4200 rev'trix, K&BDD dampers, AR6200
                "450" superframeSTK, align DFC head v2tail, hk22281-8 on 3S 9650w9257gear commander 55A align 325D hitec digitals Tarot ZYX, AR6100e
                MCPX kbdd tail and blades, miniaviation bats

                Dont spend more flying models than it costs to fly for real

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                • #9
                  Regarding the charger.
                  I like it to be dual voltage, and am not too interested in more than 2C.
                  I had an IMAX B6AC, which worked well for 18months, then suddenly gave up. I replaced it with a similar type: A ProPeak Sigma 2 EQ from our great friends at Fast-Lads.
                  Very pleased with this unit.
                  Regarding Batts etc, you need to work out what connector you want to use, then just standardize on this. If it means soldering different connectors to cheap LiPos, your charger, the heli leads, then so be it. Current recommendation - sorry about the pun - is the XT60, then EC3.
                  Mike
                  TRex 600NSP, OS55, MicroBeast
                  TRex 500ESP
                  TRex 450Sport,TT, Scorpion 2221/8,
                  Futaba 14SG Optifuel 20%
                  Member RCHA BMFA BMAC BALPA BARC

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Balders View Post
                    Just to buck the trend slightly, I have a Mystery AND an IMAX B6 and both perform fine, so long as you don't try to push silly current through them. No probs with 3S Packs.
                    Is either better?
                    Some people will always find fault - if you find a typo, consider it put there for you.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by waveydavey View Post
                      No you don't need specific batteries, there are just many different connectors. The 2 in 1 has a JST connector and if you buy an align battery for it, it will have a JST connector. The battery you linked to has an XT60 connector, a better connector. Some batteries don't have a connector, some have deans, you just choose what you want. Most of us solder what we want to use on the 2 in 1 and the mating part on the batteries.
                      Anhhh.. Think I follow now...you mean cut off the standard connectors on the battery leads on the Align 2-in-1 and buy ones that will connect to the connectors on the battery leads. Is that right?

                      Swapping the Align connectors is better than changing battery to use JST.
                      If that is right...thanks for education.
                      Some people will always find fault - if you find a typo, consider it put there for you.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Much easier to change the 2 in 1 than to re-solder the batteries.
                        Humble owner of 7 Eddie Gold Stars and Ex - member of Mk Heli Club
                        sigpic

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Hawkeye View Post
                          Hiya, Here is a couple of ...
                          Good luck with what you choose
                          Bought most of my bits from FastLad, but will be in Hong Kong on busines in 2 weeks time and thought about bringing back LiPo's, charger & starter. Hence reason for considering Hobby King.
                          Some people will always find fault - if you find a typo, consider it put there for you.

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                          • #14
                            If you're off to Ping Pong, then get some Turnigy batts. Plenty of dedicated r/c shops north of Kowloon.
                            Mike
                            TRex 600NSP, OS55, MicroBeast
                            TRex 500ESP
                            TRex 450Sport,TT, Scorpion 2221/8,
                            Futaba 14SG Optifuel 20%
                            Member RCHA BMFA BMAC BALPA BARC

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Just to add a few comments to the above.

                              If you are looking at CellPro chargers then you'll probably need to go to Revolectrix Products From Heliguy.com rather than Aurorra as it looks like Aurorra lost the dealership.

                              When looking at batteries for the heli, check the size carefully as a lot of the ones that are not designed to be receiver batteries may be too long to fit comfortably on your X50.

                              I'm sorting out the CoG on mine right now so I'll give you feedback on that a little later.

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