RX Packs

[derrick]

So has anyone used the 500mah outrage lipo in a outrage velocity and how does the cg work out.
Del.

[coptermanic]

Just checked, the XPRX 2500 weighs in at 115g, the 5000 at 235g. I guess it would make my copter nose heavy at half-tank.

[barney]

Hi Derrick, Just another way to look at this. A heli designer spends months maybe years trying to shave off 50grms of the kit and then you lot come along and add 100 +grms for the laziness of not field charging..

The biggest single weight saving on a heli is using a light battery system.

As I pointed out in my earlier post your going to stuggle big time with a 5000mha battery. I found my 2250 was a squeeze under the canopy on the Velocity

A lighter model not only flies better but also crashes lighter. A small lipo can provide the required amps no prob due to the superior discharge rates. So bigger is not necessarily better.

[Steve]

Hi Derrick, Just another way to look at this. A heli designer spends months maybe years trying to shave off 50grms of the kit and then you lot come along and add 100 +grms for the laziness of not field charging..

The biggest single weight saving on a heli is using a light battery system.

As I pointed out in my earlier post your going to stuggle big time with a 5000mha battery. I found my 2250 was a squeeze under the canopy on the Velocity

A lighter model not only flies better but also crashes lighter. A small lipo can provide the required amps no prob due to the superior discharge rates. So bigger is not necessarily better.

Excellent reply, and to add further to it...

If you really want to fly 10 or 15 flights a day then buy 2 or 3 small packs rather than 1 big one. Swap them over at the field, and if one fails then the replacement cost is a lot less.

[brin]

hi del i have ordered one of these http://hobbyking.com/hobbycity/store..._Receiver_Pack_ although not as big as the one you are looking at it should be ok for several flights and as you dont have the chance to field charge you could buy two.

[derrick]

hi del i have ordered one of these HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : ZIPPY Flightmax 2100mAh 2S3P Receiver Pack $14.99_ although not as big as the one you are looking at it should be ok for several flights and as you dont have the chance to field charge you could buy two.

Hi brian don't like the idea of keep changing packs, Dont mind on the 450
flight packs, but the 50s i don't want any bad or loose connections
Del

[jskdog]

Iv just bought a 5amp flightech regulator for my trex 600n would the 1900mAh lipo from align be ok?any ideas on how many flights from this setup?

[Nick B]

Barney and steve,good replies fella's

Gonna stick with stock 1900 myself,i have 3 other helis to fly while the pack charges

[barney]

Derrick as I mentioned above I charge the battery in the model itself (as I dont like disturbing my installs).

jskdog, 1900Mha will give you 3 flights in winter and 4 in summer. A lot depends on the servo's, equipment used and the way the model is flown but 300-400MHa per flight is a good baseline.

I use an Aurorra 4S Cellpro charger which indicates the battery % and the combined/individual cell voltages + ballance charges each cycle. The good thing about these chargers is you just plug the battery in the charger does the rest including Cold Weather Charge as appropriate so no guesswork involved. Personally I charge the battery in the model.

I re-charge when remaining capacity % drops into the high 30% as it leaves a little headroom and is kinder to the battery ( you want to leave 20% min at all times)

When the Temp is cold your Lipo can be potentially become overcharged (hence if you charge indoors its recommended you keep the model or battery at roughly room temp before flight).
The required capacity returned to the Lipo in cold weather drops roughly 10% to prevent damage to the cells. (note:- not all chargers do this)

So back to your 1900Mha Lipo in winter you can pretty much just knock 30% of the overall capacity as it starts with a 90% of full charge, giving you 1330Mha usable allowing for 20% remaining.
In summer it gives you approx 1520Mha of usable capacity.

Now before you suddenly think NiMh and Nicad are the answer they suffer badly in cold weather, and dont supply anything like the rated capacity + some tend to suffer from memory effect + are heavy etc etc..

Lipos as I mentioned above have the ability to be fast charged and dont suffer memory effect problems when part discharged allowing them to be topped off (charged) between flights.
Using the right chargers, Lipos can be charged to 75-80% capacity in around 20 mins as its the last 20% of charge thats slow as the cells near full capacity and most of the ballancing takes place.

I see no reason other than correcting a CG issue to fitting a big battery but that can mostly be overcome with moving the radio around wisely.

Brian

[moyesboy]

I have a couple of the align 1900 packs but one has swollen. I had another swell from new and got that replaced (with the good one I have now). Seems the align ones are not that good.
I had two 3S 2100 packs that weren't capoable of holding volts in my 450 when I upgraded my motor to a scorpion and I found they had copper tabs in them so I split tham and resoldered them to make 3 off 2 cell 2100s and use them as Rx packs.
These give 3 flights in winter-4 in summer on my 600n with normal servos.
My other 600n has BLS servos on cyclic and tail and will do 4 flights in winter and 6 flights in summer. The current draw is a lot less with these servos.

Using the Align 2in1 it makes a big difference how easy the starting is. perhaps 6 presses of the button ammounts to a flight?

Im a beleiver in smaller (up to 2500) packs to keep the heli light. Also note that it is possible to write off a lipo in a crash (one of mine is a really funny shape but seems to work OK). no need for high discharge rates - If I wanted a new rx pack I'd probably get a 20c 2s2250 loong max or something like that.

[coptermanic]

The Outrage XPRX 2500 is good value at £18.99 from the speedyboys!!

[barney]

Moyes reminded me of something I missed about the Physicial size of some packs. The bigger they are the more difficult it becomes to not only fit but also protect.

I'm running the 20C 2250's from Giant Cod myself at £10

Brian

[jskdog]

Thankyou for the info Brian very useful and informative!

[David Drew]

Moyes reminded me of something I missed about the Physicial size of some packs. The bigger they are the more difficult it becomes to not only fit but also protect.

I'm running the 20C 2250's from Giant Cod myself at £10

Brian

What regulator Brian?