Ripmax sabre upgrades

[TrevorRS]

yep, ive only had it a day and i am already looking for upgrades, i can now lift off hover and land again in the same area (within a 2tf circle!)

but the 650mah flight pack it comes with is dreadful. maybe not helped by the traning gear (carbon/graphies or something like that rod and 4 ping pong balls)

i have seen this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-New-NiMH...QQcmdZViewItem

on ebay, would this help much? or would a pack with an extra cell be of more use?

also any other suggestions

Cheers

[Rotorhead]

Go for Lipo power.

They are lighter, and you will probably get nearly double the capacity out of them.

Go for a 2 cell pack, 3 cell works, but your motor, especially the tail motor will not last as long, and 3 cell is a bit overkill IMO on these types of helis.

You will need a specialised charger for Lipos, unless you aleady have one that can do lipos

[TrevorRS]

no i have a nicd and nihm fast charger for the planes i have but i honestly no nothing about lipo, and i definately dont want to have a crash because i over volted the tail rotor for to long!

so can you recommend me a pack and charger (with links please )

also how long does it take to charge?

Cheers
Trevor

[TrevorRS]

have just found removing the traning gear and canopy makes a big difference! lift a heck of alot quicker,
and get about 3 more minutes flight time!

[Rotorhead]

I would look at these packs, or similar spec ones.

TP1320-2S : Thunderpower 1320mah 2 Cell Li-Poly

TP910-2S : Thunderpower 910mah 2 Cells (7.2v) Pro-Lite Lipo

FP2S1P1050HD : Flightpower Extreme 2 Cell 1050mah HD

http://www.modelhelicopters.co.uk/ac...d_Lithium.html

and I would recommend any of these chargers, depends on what you want to spend as always.

O-IP2801 : Pro-Peak Prodigy II

O-IP3000 : Pro-Peak Constellation Charger

O-IP3010 : Pro-Peak Elite Charger

http://www.modelhelicopters.co.uk/ac...s_ProPeak.html

you will only over volt the tail rotor on if you use a 3 cell pack, and even then its just a case of they burn out more often, with 2 cell, the voltage will be a bit lower than the packs you are using at the moment, but because the Lipos weigh less than the packs you're using, that more than makes up for their loss in voltage (about 1v less) plus you get longer flight times out of them.

BTW, I would get at least two packs, maybe three, as you cant fast charge lipos, the charge process is automatically controlled by the charger, and tapers off as the charge progresses, so with a flat battery it will charge fast (1C typically) at the beginning, then reduce the charge rate as the battery fills up, so it can take about an hour to charge a flat battery in most cases.

Also do NOT discharge them below 3v per cell, so on a 2 cell (in series) pack do not discharge below 6v, it can damage the cells if you do, so when the battery seems to be getting flat, land and put it on charge.

[TrevorRS]

Thank you very much, so for example if i was to purchase.

2x TP1320-2S : Thunderpower 1320mah 2 Cell Li-Poly

and a charger

how long would this leave me in the air?

15-20 minutes per pack?

Cheers
Trevor

[Rotorhead]

15-20 sounds about right.

One of the people I fly with at the indoor club has a century twister, and he runs that on both 2 cell and 3 cell packs and it gets 20 most of the time.

The product descriptions there give an idea of the physical size, so I would compare that to the size of the packs you already have, and see if they are not too big before ordering.

There is usually some sort of cradle that the NimH packs sit in on these types of models (eg sabre, hummingbird, twister etc, they are all pretty much clones of each other) and you will have to remove that to make room for the lipos, also you will probably have to adjust the position so that the helis CG is about right.

Its probably best to use some sticky back velcro tape to attach the batteries, and also maybe swap the connectors.

But in the end you should find it makes a huge difference to the model.

[TrevorRS]

15-20 sounds about right.

One of the people I fly with at the indoor club has a century twister, and he runs that on both 2 cell and 3 cell packs and it gets 20 most of the time.

The product descriptions there give an idea of the physical size, so I would compare that to the size of the packs you already have, and see if they are not too big before ordering.

There is usually some sort of cradle that the NimH packs sit in on these types of models (eg sabre, hummingbird, twister etc, they are all pretty much clones of each other) and you will have to remove that to make room for the lipos, also you will probably have to adjust the position so that the helis CG is about right.

Its probably best to use some sticky back velcro tape to attach the batteries, and also maybe swap the connectors.

But in the end you should find it makes a huge difference to the model.

used velcro in the planes alot!

does the "height" of the battery in the frame have much effect on the flying of the heli?

or is it just to overall "hanging" cg that matters?

Cheers

[Rotorhead]

used velcro in the planes alot!

does the "height" of the battery in the frame have much effect on the flying of the heli?

or is it just to overall "hanging" cg that matters?

Cheers

The lower the CG the more the heli will tend to want to stay upright, this is good while only hovering, but when flying around it can cause problems.

You really have'nt much choice in the matter with the Sabre, so I wouldnt worry about that, just make sure that when you hold the heli the mast is as near verticle as possible.

[TrevorRS]

i dont really want to spend £100 on a chrager, i see you get chargers on ebay for a reasonable price... £40 could get me a charger and 2 battery's... would these still give reasonable flight time?

or are they just going to blow up in my face?

2x 7.4v 800mah LI-PO BATTERY BRAND NEW E SKY LAMA V3 /V4 on eBay (end time 14-Dec-09 10:59:34 GMT)

1x ESKY BALANCED BATTERY CHARGER Li-Po 7.4v 11.1v EK2-0851 on eBay (end time 18-Dec-09 14:14:28 GMT)


then i could use the charger for the belt cp batterys if need be?

Thanks in advance
Trevor

[SadSack]

yes in short

5C Charge LM Loong Max Tipple Lipo Battery 500mAh 3S1P 20C-30C

there are cheaper lipos on the market however they can be broken if you over discharge them. Tipple cells are next gen battery cell pay little more but get much longer cell life and very fast charge times!

GT A-6 Charger/balancer/discharger

its cheapmaybe not the best (Cell pro 4) but cheap With help you'll beable to charge 2x 3 cell lipos @ 5C which will make for 20min charge time.

I've never personaly done dry cell to lipo thats said voltage is about right (.4 over)


and...
esky charger is cheaper at links i've shown you. I guess it size of lipo youwould need so go little bigger maybes

[TrevorRS]

i just bought a battery and a charger of that site you recommended... lets hope the delivery is quick!

11v 1000mah,

is there an explination anywhere of all the numbers around lipo batterys?

3s1p, 20-30c? etc

[SadSack]

i just bought a battery and a charger of that site you recommended... lets hope the delivery is quick!

11v 1000mah,

is there an explination anywhere of all the numbers around lipo batterys?

3s1p, 20-30c? etc

which ones did you get ? charger/lipo

3s1p = 3 cell 1 each
20c-30c is lipo rating 20c = 20amp constant 30amp brust

[TrevorRS]

i just got the little cheap esky one... i realise its probally rubbish but for £5 its not the end of the world!
got this battery
5C Loong max Tipple 1000 3S1P 20-30C Lipo Battery

weights about the same as the current one, but it 20mm longer.

It will keep my flying long enough to see if im going to like it i hope!

i used to fly planes, and still have 3 but im still not sure if im going to like the heli's! so sort of took the cheap way out!

[SadSack]

i just got the little cheap esky one... i realise its probally rubbish but for £5 its not the end of the world!
got this battery
5C Loong max Tipple 1000 3S1P 20-30C Lipo Battery

weights about the same as the current one, but it 20mm longer.

It will keep my flying long enough to see if im going to like it i hope!

i used to fly planes, and still have 3 but im still not sure if im going to like the heli's! so sort of took the cheap way out!

esky will take forever to charge it 1~1 1/2 maybe and in the bin when you goto larger heli. Like you said not end of the world