gangster Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Many years ago ( mid 80s) I purchased (and still have) a couple of on board battery checkers. Made/distributed by Flair these were simple two LED devices unlike the fancy multi led devices that every one else was buying. They did however have a major advantage over most every other on board volt meter As well as the green light extinguishing and the red lighting at about 4.2volts it had a latching feature causing the red led to remain flashing even if the supply restored. Much is written on this forum and others about situations of possible brownout but this cheap simple device delivers the info/warning straight away it is also a totally independent arbiter and identifies voltage drop caused by faulty Rx,wiring,battery's, faulty or overworked servos etc etc Over the years these have probably saved me a number of crashes. It definitely identified black lead corrosion on at least 1 switch harness and also warned me that my Rx was intermittently decking the supply. Only once was I misled by this baby !but the right way round) I did a low pass in the late evening with the sun low and glimpsed the red flash ,swift landing circuit only to find the flash was due to the low evening sun reflecting on the red anodised part of a Sanwa switch plate So why were these never popular. Why is a similar device not offered from several sources? Why have I never seen one used by anyone else? Far simpler and easier than anything telemetry can offer and of course there was no telemetry until very recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masher Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 gangster I use variations of this on all my models. To me this is much better than the one you describe (I've not seen your one though) since it gives a continuous INDICATION of battery status under load. Thus you can see at a glance if there is a fault or watch the gradual discharge over the flying session. The gadget you describe relies on pre-set decision circuitry to indicate when something goes wrong - could be nice solid green then go red a second after take off because it was just on the high side of voltage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert baker Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Hmm, I think I would struggle to read of the battery status whilst the plane is flying. I like it that once the batt has gone below a set level it will stay on red, so if it happens in flight you can see it after landing. Loads of modern stuff available with lights and audible, plus the new voice transmitters can speak the on board voltage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangster Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Cannot say I am very excited about the Loud audible devices the last thing you need when the battery has about died is some loud audio device sapping the last bit of energy that you require to land safely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert baker Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 At least it gives others time to watch you crash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john melia 1 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 trouble is none of these voltage indicators work with LiFe packs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert baker Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I'm glad I am poor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 The greatest safety aid is an active brain ernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Posted by john melia 1 on 04/02/2015 08:40:08: trouble is none of these voltage indicators work with LiFe packs Try these **LINK** I didn't get them from this source, but I use them with LiFe packs (on the 6.6v setting, obviously) and they're great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatscoleymo Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Get yersel a Frsky Taranis and have the rx voltage displayed on the tranny. With voice alarm for low level. I find it very helpful, you can twiddle the sticks before a flight and get a voltage readout under load which very reassuring to have. Fats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Posted by Masher on 04/02/2015 07:58:33: gangster I use variations of this on all my models. To me this is much better than the one you describe (I've not seen your one though) since it gives a continuous INDICATION of battery status under load. Thus you can see at a glance if there is a fault or watch the gradual discharge over the flying session. The gadget you describe relies on pre-set decision circuitry to indicate when something goes wrong - could be nice solid green then go red a second after take off because it was just on the high side of voltage. Despite using FrSky, I don't have telemetry on all my receivers. I use the device suggested by Masher. I do find it rather sensitive though. It frequently flashed red when hitting multiple servos but I have never had a brown out (especially on low capacity NiMh). It is a good indicator for battery condition though. What it is excellent for is identifying stiff or binding surfaces. They are much faster reacting than telemetry - which tend to use a larger averaging window. I now tend to fit them as standard on all my models but try not to read too much/worry too much from all the flashes. Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masher Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I agree with everything you say Martyn but as an indicator it still works because the brain computes relative state of the battery I think. I am also about to make the jump to Taranis after a couple of false starts. All my Rx's will have telemetry as that's one of the main selling points for me. I will still use the voltage indicator as well because it is another level of checking. By the way gangster, these LED's are very bright - it's surprising how visible they are if placed on the side of the fuselage covered by an acetate window! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john melia 1 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Posted by IanN on 04/02/2015 09:27:45: Posted by john melia 1 on 04/02/2015 08:40:08: trouble is none of these voltage indicators work with LiFe packs Try these **LINK** I didn't get them from this source, but I use them with LiFe packs (on the 6.6v setting, obviously) and they're great i've tried them , trouble is when you waggle both sticks the led's flash on and off up and down the scale , so cant see the use of that tbh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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