George R. Vale

Thanks for all those swift replies. Obviously none of you work at Ripmax Dennis Watkins -- the info. has clearly passed me by, ISTM suppliers should be shouting it a bit louder. Taking batteries out of models on a regular basis would be impractical for most of us though. Geoff Sleath -- You're right, there's a whole list of Futaba chargers that have been recalled and I've got two of the damn things. I'm appalled that Ripmax couldn't be bothered simply e-mail me to return the charger. Others --`cheap charger' etc. -- so where should I get a better charger than the manufacturer's own, to charge 5-cell Tx and 4-cell Rx? I bought the only one I could find listed and this is what happens. I never wanted a fast charger anyway!

I posted the following e-mail to Ripmax on Wednesday 21st. September. There has been no response to date: 　 <<Dear Sirs, 　 Battery Charger 　 Whilst recharging a Rx battery using a Ripmax-Futaba charger model no. P-FBC32D/4 the battery exploded. The model it was in was damaged and slightly charred. Fortunately it did not catch fire, or, given the amount of inflammable material in my workshop, the house could have burnt down. 　 The battery was damaged beyond certain recognition but was very likely a pack of four 2/3A size 1100mAh Ni-MH cells supplied by Batteries Plus on 16/4/2014. 　 The charger was bought from HobbyStores on 16/12/2014. It is claimed to be "Suitable for Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries." (Photo attached.) 　 Please advise whether this charger is normally suitable for the type of Ni-MH cells I was using. If so perhaps you would like to comment as to whether the charger may have been defective in some way so as to cause this explosion. I have noticed that the 5-cell Tx battery in my Futaba T6J Tx gets hot when using this charger, so I wonder if the "peak detect charge termination" circuitry might have failed? 　 If the P-FBC32D/4 is unsuitable for the application perhaps you could advise me which charger I should use? 　 Yours etc.>> 　 I attached a few pictures of the damage and of the charger. Readers please contact me if you would like to see the pix. 　 Unless someone knows better, I would like to warn all users of Ni-MH batteries NOT to charge them overnight. 　 George R.Vale [email protected] 　

Thanks gents, it seems to be as brokenenglish says, an original Mills 1.3 with odd backplate and perhaps driver. He's right about the serials too, they were hidden under the mounting washers. I've uploaded some pics to an album called `Mills'. Any second opinions on the prop driver? BW George R.Vale

Thanks Paul, Mine's evidently a Mk.II with black crankcase. The Irvine copy sounds the most likely but hope springs etc. BW GRV.

I've acquired a Mills 1.3. How can I tell whether it's a genuine Mills or a copy? It has "ENGLAND" on the backplate, but no other markings. TIA.

Thank you gents. Wright Stuff, just what I wanted, ta. 6 channels would be enough for me; I've never used more than 5 in 35+ years. I find that the more complicated the model, the less flying I get out of it. And the less chance for me to do something stupid -- so my latest model has only 2 channels Though I do admire people who can cope with all those complications. BW GRV.

I'm thinking of investing in the T6J system. As a mainly glider nut I want CAR that I can switch on & off for soaring/aerobatics respectively. Does it have the facility to switch channel mixes on/off at will? TIA George R.Vale PS Cymaz, thanks, but I thought of that

I'm thinking of investing in the T6J system. As a mainly glider nut I want CAR that I can switch on & off for soaring/aerobatics respectively. Does it have the facility to switch channel mixes on/off at will? TIA George R.Vale