Richard Clark 2

Posted by Doc Marten on 05/08/2020 00:14:17: Posted by Richard Clark 2 on 05/08/2020 00:04:33: Forum are fun. One of the 'server' power supply advocates has started a thread on them with an instruction that the thread must not drift, as they themselves caused this one to do . Just as I implied I would at 14:36. Nope, not surprisingly you're wrong again, I asked to keep advice to "buy ready made" out of it as that's not why it was created, you have this one for that which actually started by asking for advice on a DIY PSU! Easy to be precise isn't it. You're more than welcome to drift on there if you wish to though. BTW, your posts are not secret you know, anyone, including me can read them. Do keep up old bean. Edited By Doc Marten on 05/08/2020 00:39:28 We soon changed his mind though didn't we? So not wrong at all ,

Posted by Keith Miles 2 on 04/08/2020 20:01:03: I admit that “thread drift” is commonplace, understandable and often informative but sometimes it seems to take on the form of a hijack. No offence intended. I also know many people who avoid social media and forums (including this one) as they find certain behaviour and comments on such platforms somewhat unpleasant and very rarely apologetic. Forum are fun. One of the 'server' power supply advocates has started a thread on them with an instruction that the thread must not drift, as they themselves caused this one to do .

Posted by Mike T on 03/08/2020 23:48:37: Posted by Richard Clark 2 on 03/08/2020 21:55:03: Posted by Test Pilot on 03/08/2020 18:35:46: ... The OP, by his own admission doesn't, and encouraging him to do so is irresponsible and I'm frankly surprised some members of this excellent forum keep suggesting what for him could be a potentially dangerous solution. TP I agree 100%. Read the OP again. If he just wanted a 'plug and play' PSU, I'm sure he would just have asked for recommendations for a commercial unit. But despite professing limited knowledge, he was actually himself proposing to follow a 'DIY' route and to that end specifically asked: Would this PSU Be suitable? If not why not and what would you recommend instead? Told it probably was not (rightly, IMV), he was directed by others and myself to a far safer and proven DIY solution! Thread ongoing... His reasons for wanting a 'DIY' solution are unknown, at least to me. His initial thought was a power supply with exposed ~220 volt connections, but wiser counsel suggested a purpose built model plane supply or complete charger, which he purchased. That some proposed their computer supply hobbyhorses is fine to continue, provided it doesn't have even the slightest potential to upset the paying advertisers of course

Posted by Tony Richardson on 03/08/2020 21:51:51: I have to agree with Erfolg on some points, much of the product sold by HK was manufactured by the same company that supplied some of the more higher priced well known brands,. Price is not always an indicator of quality, FrSky produce some good transmitters for a reasonable price - not a HK specific product I know - just an example. As for the US being protectionist, you have to look at the President and his administrations trade war with china to understand where this is coming from, this to will most likely pass with the passage of time. I hope so as a lot of product from HK usa was good quality and available relatively quickly. Personally I have never used HK, mostly because of the bad reports about delivery and orders not being complete. It seems to be entirely a matter of luck whether the stuff arrives in a reasonable time or not. But I would not automatically exclude their stuff. As for price I don't much care as I have never considered rc model planes as a low-cost hobby. But OTOH I don't automatically buy 'expensive'. ARTF's? I only have two, my other approx twently planes are my own designs, plans, or kits.. One ARTF is a Graupner Bolkow Monsun, which is a Black horse plane under another name. It's quality is just about acceptable but then it was a heavily discounted spur of the moment purchase at my LMS and I never expected much. Some might think it an odd choice but all scale low wing light aircraft look and fly much the same so it doesn't matter which one you choose. Do I care about HK? No. I happily built model planes for many years before they existed and can cope without them now.

Posted by Martin Blake on 04/08/2020 05:24:45: Its a vintage plane so i have a mills .75 diesel so no throttle is needed. Yes im thinking the same think i will look down another route. Thanks. Also if you anticipate building more planes in the future so at some later time need more than the one receiver it came with, or expect any future support or service you should buy something more 'mainstream'. Radios like that have a habit of briefly appearing on outfits such as Ebay or Amazon for a few weeks or at best a few months, disappearing, and never being heard of again. They are the radio equivalent of 'spam'.

Posted by Test Pilot on 03/08/2020 18:35:46: I understand everyone is trying to help but shocked that as the OP said his electrical knowledge was close to zero he is still being encouraged to go the DIY route. All for the sake of what - £20 ? If you have the knowledge and are comfortable adapting electrical equipment for your use, and can do so safely, great. The OP, by his own admission doesn't, and encouraging him to do so is irresponsible and I'm frankly surprised some members of this excellent forum keep suggesting what for him could be a potentially dangerous solution. TP I agree 100%.

Posted by Keith Miles 2 on 31/07/2020 21:47:07: .........My I-Charger 208B, in the base settings menu, has separate provisions for Li-Po, Li-Ion and Li-Fe and the manual for it also quotes significantly different parameters for each cell type in terms of nominal voltage, maximum charge voltage, storage voltage, allowable fast charge and minimum discharge voltage cut-off level.........       Keith, I have been re-reading this thread in an attempt to see where everyone now is as you certainly opened a can of worms Even the I-Charger manufacturer is using the erratic and illogical terminology of "Li-Po, Li-Ion, and Li-Fe" though it's vaguely understandable to the more 'expert' modellers (modellers, 'expert' or no are of course his target) but probably not to other battery users, even 'professional' and 'industrial' ones. He defines the first type by a casing method, the second is generic as it covers ALL lithium types including the other two, and the third uses the common 'convention' (it's not a 'standard' unfortunately) of defining a battery type by its two main chemicals, which at least makes some sort of sense.   A short history and I hope 'clarification'   for anyone interested. The very first 'production' lithium batteries were developed by Israel in the  1970s  for military  use.  Due to my then employment I had access to these and used a few  successfully in rc model planes. They used lithium in 'pure metal' form and were  too volatile for 'civilian' use, even industrially. They are still sometimes used in military and space work. They have the   highest power density of all Then came  lithium oxide batteries which are less volatile. In part of their construction they use  either cobalt (expensive but gives  high output voltage  and thus high power density), iron, or phosphates. The power density is not as high as ones containing  cobalt. All varieties are available in all case formats and all are lithium ion.   Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 03/08/2020 21:14:41

Posted by Steve J on 03/08/2020 09:49:48: Posted by Richard Clark 2 on 03/08/2020 09:15:13: 0.2 Amps is crazy low. 200mA is the slow charge rate for a 2000mAh NiMH. The MacGregor wall wart charger that I use for my JR PCM9XII and DSX9 (which is effectively a PCM9XII with a Spektrum RF unit) puts out 110mA which is below 0.1C for the NiMHs that these transmitters were supplied with. My DX9 (2000mAh Li-Ion) goes on charge for a few hours between flying sessions. No problem. I hate to think how many devices with lithium batteries are plugged into chargers in my house at any give time.   Quite. On the top of our microwave oven there are about 10 'lithium' chargers, not including the model plane ones which are somewhere else. Some are 'wall wart' type, some have a mains cable. They range from a Philips shaver one, through a usb Apple charger to a Bosch 18 cell hedge trimmer charger. All the cables are tangled up and there are only two adjacent mains sockets. If you want to charge any one item it's a right pain. You have to find the appropriate charging cable and then match it to the appropriate mains plug. Pulling the charge plug to see which mains plug moves doesn't work as the  tangle is too tight . Sorting ir all out once a week is hopeless as they get tangled up again far quicker than that Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 03/08/2020 19:35:49

Posted by Keith Miles 2 on 03/08/2020 04:37:14: ERRATA! I stated that the maximum charge rate of the Tx internal charging circuit was 0.5A. It is 0.2A, which I knew, but somehow forgot! Duh! It did occur to me that it used to take a great deal longer than three or fours to charge the original 2000mah battery!   Looking at your post and also bearing in mind leccyflyer's post above, 0.2 Amps is crazy low. Even the Futaba M6 that I owned in the mid 1970s came with a charger that provided 0.5 Amps for the transmitter and 0.2 Amps for the receiver pack. (Which is sometimes of a lower capacity than the transmitter battery, but  if they are the same capacity you can use the transmitter outlet but if you do  you can't charge the transmitter at 0.5 Amps simultaneously) My early 1990s JR was the same. And my modern Multiplex radio doesn't come with a charger but says 'up to 1.5 Amps'. So I use the same 'multi purpose' American 'Thunder Power' charger that charges all commonly available battery chemistries at any charge currents up to 30 Amps and any battery voltages up to 50 volts (14S Lipo for example) you choose to set. It is 'normal' that the charger sets the charge current. Maybe the Spektrum is  unusual in this respect. Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 03/08/2020 09:20:48

Posted by David Davis on 02/08/2020 20:04:47: I'll admit from the start that I am baffled by electric flight. I know what volts, amps and watts are but cannot understand their relevance. I use a Hobby King X120 charger coupled to a 12 volt power supply made by an electronics engineer. Thanks Sparks! He was going to throw it out so I took it off his hands. You plug the power supply into the mains and twelve volts comes out of the other end to power the X120. That's the limit of my electrical knowledge! The only problem with my existing Power Supply Unit is that it's rather big and heavy, and I'd like to leave another one at my partner's house for those occasions when I visit her. So my question to the cognoscenti is: " Would this PSU Be suitable? If not why not and what would you recommend instead? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120W-12V-10A-Small-Volume-Single-12-volt-Output-Switching-power-supply/222244207461?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144 All of my electric models currently use 3 or 4S LiPos and I can't see me going in for anything much bigger even thought the charger is capable of charging 6S LiPos. I'm a died in the wool i/c man really! No. It is extremely dangerous in inexperienced hands as it is designed to go inside something else. Buy a proper one from a model shop. It will also be 'partner proof', unlike that one Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 03/08/2020 04:10:32

Posted by john stones 1 on 02/08/2020 13:40:05: Aye, don't saddle Pete with issues, you know what he's like when he's the bit between his teeth. He'll ride all over you and he never takes a day off, not even Sundays  Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 02/08/2020 13:57:53

Posted by Keith Miles 2 on 02/08/2020 13:09:21: Thanks to all for your contributions, including the usual thread drift! One item of interest was Pete Christy’s comment about the 2.4 GHz current demand compared to 35 MHz (and perhaps 27 MHz?). I didn’t know that. I will assume, however, that this was referring to power consumed to perform the function of producing the radio signal because it immediately seemed to me, on moving to 2.4 GHz, that modern sets did, and do, seem far more power hungry. This, however, is presumably due to the additional features and computerisation! As for my DX9, I can certainly see why a non-Spektrum, externally chargeable Lithium type battery is a preferred conversion as the Spektrum ones with the latter’s single lead, 2-pin PCB plug and internal balancing electronics are clearly optimised for onboard (and relatively slow) charging at 0.5A, Spektrum batteries ain’t cheap, either, compared to at least one less “dedicated” and more flexible, option of double the capacity, available from 4-Max! And I would suspect that few RC hobbyists these days have no use for a modern multi-charger, if only a low priced one! ”Dedicated” batteries seem to be, all too often, one of the downsides of much modern technology and sometimes prematurely rendering otherwise functional equipment obsolete! Grrrr! Edited By Keith Miles 2 on 02/08/2020 13:10:26 The Spektrum batteries (and Futaba ones too) are grotesquely overpriced. EG: RS Components (once called Radiospares) is very old established and is the largest electronic component supplier in the UK. It is the automatic 'go to' place for much of the UK electronics industry, including foreign owned UK divisions such as IBM, but deals with the public as well. The most common Lithium rechargeable battery is the '18650' 2.6 Ah and is used by everyone from Bosch garden tools to Tesla cars. The Ah capacity varies somewhat from make to make.  I don't know who makes the RS supplied ones. £6.92 plus VAT each from RS. If they are the right physical size you would need two. You could take the original battery casing case apart and install these keeping any original Spektrum; protection/charging circuit. Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 02/08/2020 13:51:08

Posted by David Davis on 02/08/2020 11:13:15: Posted by Richard Clark 2 on 02/08/2020 06:31:32: .... Just a comment on 'vintage models'. Although the Mercury kit came out about 1953 (and incidentally, depicts the early colour scheme) I don't think of it as 'vintage' model and our construction methods (except for ARTFs) haven't changed significantly since. So I think of it as a scale model of a (marginally) 'vintage' plane rather than a vintage 'model' and personally wouldn't enter it in 'vintage' meet. no more than I would a modern kit or ARTF of a Sopwith Camel Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 02/08/2020 06:57:08 Oh I don't know Richard, I used to go to the Cocklebarrow Vintage October Festival regularly and I've seen SE5s, Flying Fleas and other models which could well have been own designs in amongst all of the usual vintage sports models. I'm sure they'd welcome an Aeronca Sedan. I'm sure they would. I don't want to be pedantic or critical about this. But is a SCALE model of anything 'old' a vintage model or not when if it is a fairly accurate model it should be impossible to tell by looking at it who designed the model and when? I've put 'Mercury Aeronca' on the wing of mine though I made it from a modern replica laser cut kit whereas the original had the parts just printed on the balsa so you had to cut them out yourself. Does my doing that muddy the waters or clarify them?

Posted by PatMc on 01/08/2020 21:34:22: Posted by Erfolg on 01/08/2020 16:55:36: Sorry Richard, your post appeared in my in tray, out of order, for some reason. I agree the back does appear to be wobbly. Bob, there appears to be 4 of them. In one photo one of the wires appears to have been replaced with a strut from the leading edge of the tail plane to the bottom of the fuz, all the other photos on Google appear to have wires. What makes certainty, less than certain, is that the vast majority of the photos are from the front, or the back end is slightly out of focus. The length of the wires appears to be circa +300mm. There are several good photos of the tailplane bracing wires in the site that's been linked on here already. For example here & here. Probably more if you look through the site's "Sedan gallery".   The colour and registration of mine is that one. With one detail I think is important - the line of the curve on the colour panel behind the cabin windows. That panel was part of the standard factory colour scheme for all of them except some early ones, and tends to make the plane instantly recognisable as an Aeronca Sedan. But over the years most, possibly all, have been repainted and many don't get the line of the curve right and as a result some look rather ugly. The linked plane does get it right. Just a comment on 'vintage models'. Although the Mercury kit came out about 1953 (and incidentally,   depicts  the early colour scheme) I don't think of it as 'vintage' model and our construction methods (except for ARTFs) haven't changed significantly since. So I think of it as a scale model of a (marginally)  'vintage' plane  rather than  a vintage 'model' and personally wouldn't enter  it in  'vintage' meet. no more  than I would a modern   kit or ARTF of a Sopwith Camel   Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 02/08/2020 06:57:08

Posted by Keith Miles 2 on 01/08/2020 10:55:37: Posted by Bob Cotsford on 01/08/2020 10:01:40: Once upon a time I ran models with glow and petrol motors, most of which were fitted with 2S LiFe packs to power the electronics. What I found was that for most medium size (90-120 4 stroke) models after 4 or so flights I was putting 150-200 mAh charge back in, and that was with a few digital servos in use, but no 3D antics! For most club sports models I found 1100mAh packs plenty, the exceptions being where more current hungry servos needed something more robust to maintain voltage levels. For those I found the cheap Zippy LiFe packs needed replacing with metal can A123 packs. Total energy consumption on these models was little more than for models running standard servos, the difference was in the peak current demanded. Useful info there, Bob. I was wondering about digital servos, should I ever decide to buy any! Thus far, I’ve not felt the need to do so for the type of flying that I do. I can see why different cell chemistry or larger capacity can reduce actual or potential voltage drop issues and in case anyone has misunderstood, my earlier comments about this were entirely related to higher capacity cells of the same chemistry whilst also maintaining the same physical size as in the case of AA, AAA etc. There does seem to be a fairly common misconception, for example, that a 4-cell 2000mah AA Rx pack will perform equally as well as a 4-cell 1000mah AA Rx pack when, in fact, there is a trade off, although this might not be an issue, in practice, dependant on the load. Again we seem to have strayed off topic but it’s all good stuff which hopefully, helps to divert our attention away from the negative effects of Covid19! The only time I've noticed any difference is on a big heli. I replaced the £12 JR analog servos with £55 Multiplex 'Profi' digital servos and it made a big difference. Our radios are not truly 'digital' anyway. Because the stick potentiometers (or hall effect sensors) are analog, the pots in the servos are analog, and the transmission is a chain of variable length pulses. The stuff in between these items may be digital but the overall system isn't. There are several analog to digital or digital to analog conversions going on.

Erfolg, Further. I put 1/4 square hard balsa blocks in the tailplane attached to convenient ribs and filed/sanded to match the rib edges and similarly a slightly larger block with two adjacent holes on a cross piece of the fin. Then I drilled small holes though the blocks and similar (2) holes in the fuselage lower longerons All the longerons gather together at the tail so are strong and a pair of small holes each side  won't matter. Then I covered the plane, not forgetting to poke a length of 20 or 22g wire though the covering to act as a marker before I covered the other sides. Then you can poke a hole in that side too. When fully covered I passed a long length of Kevlar line though each set of holes, keeping each section slightly tensioned as I went and securing the line at each location with a tiny drop of cyano before I moved to the next., If you harden a couple of inches of the line with cyano  it's easy to push though the holes, even the lower fuselage ones, where the two ends pass each other and are later cut off, lightly pulling on the 'tag ends' of both at the same time when glueing. (Leave this 'double' glueing till last.)   It'd easy and look neat (provided  you haven't splashed  the cyano around). Should you break one at some later time you can carefully drill out the blocks and replace it, but ir's unlikely to happen as the line is very strong..   Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 01/08/2020 21:18:33

Posted by Erfolg on 01/08/2020 16:55:36: Sorry Richard, your post appeared in my in tray, out of order, for some reason. I agree the back does appear to be wobbly. Bob, there appears to be 4 of them. In one photo one of the wires appears to have been replaced with a strut from the leading edge of the tail plane to the bottom of the fuz, all the other photos on Google appear to have wires. What makes certainty, less than certain, is that the vast majority of the photos are from the front, or the back end is slightly out of focus. The length of the wires appears to be circa +300mm. Erfolg, Wire would be finer but Kevlar or Dacron is easier . But don't let your modelling knife get anywhere near Kevlar or Dacron when it's done . On each side in the real one there are two wires from near the top of the fin to the taillplane and there are two from the bottom of the fusalage. If lightly tensioned (Kevlar and Dacron don't really stretch) their flexibility is fine as whichever way ther tailplanr tries to bend thry will alwayd be two cable ach side stopping it.

Kontronik (who I think is the best motor and ESC manufacturer of all) use silver plated beryllium connectors. Silver (which is more conductive than gold) tarnishes but it doesn't matter as the tarnish is very thin and connectors you slide on and off as opposed to 'pressed' ones such as relay contacts are self-cleaning. UK 'elf and safety' would not like beryllium but who cares?

Posted by Bob Cotsford on 31/07/2020 22:35:04: Anglers seem to use some model friendly materials Erf, maybe some kevlar 'wires' for bracing the tail. Or actual wires using nylon covered stainless fishing trace as I've used on a few models? Yes. The tail on the Mercury Aeronca is very wobbly. It was designed as a free flight model and had a 'knock off' tail. In addition the real Aeronca and thus the model has a very narrow tail seating. On the real one the tailplane is wire braced to near the top of the fin and the bottom of the fuselage. I glued the tailplane on and replicated the bracing with Kevlar fishing line and it's fine. Though the much cheaper 'Dacron' would be just as good...

Posted by Tony Richardson on 31/07/2020 20:05:17: Hi all, just wondering if anyone on here has an e-flite super cub? I had the kit/ARF for a long time before I decided to assemble it, Maidened last week, not to bad but some joints that should have been glued better came apart, now duly fixed, the third flight last night was OK but not as I would like them, now I know from numerous club mates cubs are not the easiest to fly, model or fullsize but this is not at all what I expected, it was extremely sensitive to pitch input even at the recommended low rate, duly dialed down also it tends to climb excessively when power applied - it is not tail heavy - according suggested CG? my biggest concern however is its reluctance to bank and turn, turns are initiated with rudder and followed with roll input but it seems slow to respond then has a tendency to roll to far too quick threatening a tip stall. Has anyone experienced anything similar, advice thoughts welcome. Tony.... It's not just the Cub. E-Flite stuff is not as good as they would like us to believe. For example my E-Flite Sea Fury. 1) The provided ESC was not powerful enough to drive the provided motor with the provided prop. 2) Neither the retract servos or the retract mechanisms were positively located with regard to each other. As a result the undercarriage collapses on about half the landings. I could easily fix these things but why should I have to? It's an ARTF foamie and is claimed to fly right out of the box.

Posted by Keith Miles 2 on 31/07/2020 21:47:07: UPDATE (for those who might be interested!). Just been doing some further research and firstly, "Battery University" states, in concert with Richard's comment: "As far as the user is concerned, lithium-polymer is essentially the same as lithium-ion". BUT, for me, there seemed to be two key phrases there, so did some further checking in order to confirm my suspicions and to justify my doubts. My I-Charger 208B, in the base settings menu, has separate provisions for Li-Po, Li-Ion and Li-Fe and the manual for it also quotes significantly different parameters for each cell type in terms of nominal voltage, maximum charge voltage, storage voltage, allowable fast charge and minimum discharge voltage cut-off level. I won't waste time and space by quoting all of them here but, if interested, you will find the manual online and the aforementioned differing battery parameters are listed on Page 6. I will, however, from the Spektrum DX9 manual, quote the recommended (but adjustable) cut-off level of 6.4 v for a 2S Li-Po/Li-Ion battery i.e. 3.2 v per cell. Interestingly, but understandably, this common value for both is higher than that quoted in the I-charger manual by 0.2v and 0.7v respectively. So, with due respect to present company, I can only again conclude that Lithium cells are NOT all the same and that a level of caution is required in terms of perhaps understandably accepting such statements or in making assumptions. As for the original subject of this thread, a positive outcome is that I am now somewhat less concerned about storage charging of any LI-Po batteries, especially ones that are only used for very light duty in a transmitter or relatively light duty in only powering a receiver and servos! It seems to me that storage charging is more a matter of getting the maximum life out of the batteries as opposed to a safety issue, something which seems to be pervasive where Li-Po cells are concerned and perhaps, therefore, open to misunderstanding (I include myself!) of what is important and what isn't! As for a need to balance charge, as opposed to a recommendation..............? A subject for another thread, perhaps?     Edited By Keith Miles 2 on 31/07/2020 21:53:57 Keith, The 'Battery University' is of course merely some probably single-handed self-appointed 'expert'. with delusions of grandeur. No more than that I agree with half it's comment and disagree with the other half. Yes, Lithium polymer batteries ARE essentially the same as all the others. Batteries are normally defined by the chemistry and ALL batteries work on the transport of 'ions'. But for some unknown (to me) 'reason' lithium-based batteries have diverged from that totally logical convention of naming batteries by battery chemistry 'They' hav decided to lump all but one of the lithium-based batteries together under the meaningless name of 'Ion', which tells you nothing, and name one containing cobalt by the case! It's a complete nonsense But I disagree  with  othrr half of hr 'University' comment .  Of course the battery chenistries  are important to the end user as thr ed voltragr varies by batterey chenistry and is.critical. You re right about 1000 ma being safe. I had forgotten that we were all happy with 500 ma ansd very little has changed since. Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 01/08/2020 04:11:50

Posted by Paul C. on 31/07/2020 14:41:36: Actually although the chemistry (lithium oxide with phosphates, iron, or cobalt) and voltage may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer (cobalt gives 4.2 volts) Lipo and Li-ion are the same thing. Only the packaging is different. and that is the only thing 'Lipo' refers to. Nothing else at all. I didn't know this ! Thought that lipo and liion were two totally different things, never too old to learn something new 👍   Paul. I'm not any kind of 'professional' in the subject just an interested model plane flyer with a vaguely relevant technical background.. My first electric rc plane was in the early 1970s when we only had nicads (plus a few other sorts such as silver-zinc which were better but never made in 'consumer' quantities so were very expensive). I did it simply because it was quite hard to get good performance. Or sometimes any performance at all . Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 31/07/2020 17:07:24

Posted by Keith Miles 2 on 31/07/2020 13:03:45: Some interesting contributions, there. So, would it be reasonable to assume, then, that the constant Li-Po “mantra” requiring storage charging is not absolute and can, in fact, for practical purposes, be completely ignored in certain circumstances as it has nothing to do with safety but only about maximising battery life? Referring to my earlier post, it is, nevertheless, noteworthy that Li-Ion seems to be the preferred technology for the vast majority of consumer electronics and, perhaps, because it is less “fussy” and less volatile than Li-Po? I must say that I have been more than happy with the Tx conversion, it was just the “storage charge” issue that was bugging me! Actually, I recently built a Super Chipmunk (IC) and as it uses 7 servos, I opted to use, instead of my usual 4 cell 1000mah NiMh Rx packs, a 1000mah 2S Lipo and 6v regulator. It is certainly easier to unplug and re-connect for charging purposes than the Tx Li-Po, the latter being slightly fiddly and requiring a little more care! Not sure why Spektrum are now offering a Li-Po Tx battery option albeit with the same single lead and dedicated two-pin plug or maybe I could offer a reason? Again, they ain’t cheap, presumably because of the apparent inbuilt (and dedicated?) circuitry. Edited By Keith Miles 2 on 31/07/2020 13:26:02 Yes, it is just a 'mantra'. It was unheard of a few of years ago. But it's a trade off. Can you be bothered to go though the storage charge routine or just leave them in whatever state they happened to end up in after you last used them? (Which is what I do, be it a model plane, a transmitter, or a garden hedge trimmer.) The concept of it is that no lithium based battery of ANY type likes to be completely flat for long. (That's equally true of Lead-acid and Nimh too.) So make sure it isn't by charging it up a bit. But then we usually don't keep going until the equipment stops anyway so 'completely flat' doesn't often happen. Safety. I personally leave them in any state of charge even fully charged . But I am NOT going to formally state that it's as safe as leaving them in a lower state of charge. "it is nevertheless noteworthy that Li-Ion.......preferred.....less fussy..." Despite what I previously posted you continue to 'believe' that Lipos are diffeent. They are all  lithium ion. The only difference is the packaging. 'Lipo' refers to the POLYmer (plastic) case and that's all. It's not any kind of formal 'definition'. Your Super Chipmunk. A 1000 ma battery is VERY (I could say dangerously) small for a 7 servo plane, even a quire small one. I assume your plane is 'medium size'. I suggest you change it for a 2200, it doesn't matter whether it's lithium or Nimh. But if you choose Nimh use Eneloops. Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 31/07/2020 14:30:37

Posted by Erfolg on 31/07/2020 10:39:58: I do not recognise the split tube that has been mentioned on the XT connectors. I have checked the connectors i presently have. They all are off the solid conductor stock material. The male plug is slit, the female a unbroken tube.a similar way, although now, I have a piece of balsa, with a few restraints Cyno on, which hold the connector..........   The XT90s I checked before I made my post the males are hollow (thus I described it as a tube). It is quite thin walled. They are cross slit at 90 degrees thus giving four quadrants. The ends are pressed over in a tight curve leaving a hole of smaller diameter than the hollow length inside. They vary from suppler to supplier. Mine are from Logic rc.. Every so often I prise the ends apart slightly with a kitchen knife to maintain as high a contact pressure as possible. I do this because hhese things, like most model plane stuff today, whoever from, are not of the 'highest possible quality'. Deans. When soldering the wires on I connect a plug and socket together and lightly clamp the one I am not soldering with a Mole wrench which I then lay flat on thr work surface with a weight on top of thr handles to keep it steady.. Leaving the tags I inted to solder stuck up vertically. I don't have any difficulty soldering. them. I tin the tags first as well a tinning the wire - vertically down to limit the solder creep along the wire. I use a 100 watt Antex fairly inexpensive non-temperature controlled iron which is not too big and clumsy. 25 watt ones are near-useless for this purpose. Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 31/07/2020 12:12:52

Posted by Keith Miles 2 on 31/07/2020 01:17:16: Some time ago, I was persuaded, as others have done, to replace the original single-lead Spektrum 2S 2000mah Li-Ion in the Tx with a triple-lead 4000mah Li-Po, the latter seemingly only available from one source (a very reputable one) as far as I can tell. The advantage of doing so being (a) greater capacity and (b) a 1 hour charge at 4A using a separate Lipo/Multi-charger as opposed to a slow charge, onboard, using the Tx jack and Spektrum adaptor supplied. Flying mostly IC, aside from small indoor models plus a Riot, I’m now wondering (a bit late in the day!) if the Lipo conversion was such a great idea. It seems, with only a few exceptions, that majority advice is not to leave Lipos sitting fully charged for more than about 3 days and, if doing so, to put them into storage charge. This is not, of course, necessary with Li-Ion. So, I am now wondering , therefore, how many flyers who have done this Lipo conversion, regularly unplug and remove it from the Tx and put it into storage charge after a flying session and if they don’t expect to be using it again within 3 days i.e. treating it the same as a Lipo supplying motive power despite the fact that the Tx draws minimal current and will have lost much less capacity! Whilst the original Li-Ion required an occasional traditional slow charge by just simply plugging the adaptor into the Tx, it seems that under general Lipo care advice, I should now be regularly removing the 4000mah Lipo, storage charging it, then fully charging it for 1 hour before EVERY flying session i.e. as one would for a Lipo flight battery. Doing this in future would not only seem to defeat the object of the exercise but would also be less convenient, or am I missing something? UPDATE! To add to the confusion, I now see that Spektrum offer 2S 4000mah Tx Lipo albeit, again, with a single lead. I understand that the Spektrum batteries, both Lipo and Li-Ion have inbuilt balancing. Still doesn’t explain the Lipo “storage charge” anomaly, though, especially when that feature doesn’t exist in the Tx! Actually although the chemistry (lithium oxide with phosphates, iron, or cobalt) and voltage may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer (cobalt gives 4.2 volts) Lipo and Li-ion are the same thing. Only the packaging is different. and that is the only thing 'Lipo' refers to. Nothing else at all. So all the 'storage voltage', avoid storing at full charge etc. stuff is ideal for them all, though essential for none. It extends their lifetime somewhat. As for are they worth the faffing around? I think not. I use Multiplex rc and untl their very latest transmitter they used 2200 'Eneloop' Nimh cells. They hold their charge for a very long time, last all day, maybe two, on the field, and never need to be balanced. So some years ago I changed all my transmitters (and all my planes radio batteries) to those. Yesterday I used an old JR transmitter with Eneloops that I put in a cupboard unattended for three years, I just switched it on straight out of the cupboard yesterday lunchtime and it's still running this morning, and it's still showing a good voltage What else is needed?