John Wagg Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 I have a battery charger/discharger. Does anyone have an idea of what would be be be an average current draw for a receiver battery. I have a couple of batteries that I want to test but can only set a constant current draw. At the moment I have set 200 mA but is this enough to give a representative of battery life time ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Your receiver will be less than that, but it's the servos that consume the power as they are doing the work, average current will depend on the servos and how much work they are doing. A 1/4 scale glider will use less mah than a 1/4 scale 3D aerobatic model (if flown properly ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMON CRAGG Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 I did some experiments on the subject prior to changing to Life rx packs. Not at all scientific but a 10 minute flight= Vintage 3 channel = 80ma Low wing aerobatic = 120ma Basic 3D = 150ma Full house / flaps / retracts = Max 200ma All run on 1100mah Life packs. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wagg Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 Thanks guys. Yes I meant including servos. So my 200 mA would seem to be reasonable test. ? Getting abut 2 hours for each. One is an old 500mA Ni-Cad and the other a poorly 800mA Ni-mH. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 John Just remember that whilst the average current draw may be measured in ma the servo peak current can be more than 10 times as much. Small batteries suffer voltage drop more than big ones. Receivers tend to be more voltage sensitive than servos and the loss of a receiver for just a second (not all recover than fast!) at the wrong time can be serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wagg Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 Noted Simon, Thanks. The Ni-Cad is from about 1994 and the Ni-mH is fairly new but got cooked on a fast charge, Might use the Ni-mH but not the Ni-cad. Currently (pun intended ) the Ni-cad does over 2 hours but not done a full test on the Ni-mH yet. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Posted by Simon Chaddock on 09/11/2019 18:54:49: John Just remember that whilst the average current draw may be measured in ma the servo peak current can be more than 10 times as much. Small batteries suffer voltage drop more than big ones. Receivers tend to be more voltage sensitive than servos and the loss of a receiver for just a second (not all recover than fast!) at the wrong time can be serious. At situation best resolved by a low ESR pack, not by adding another equally poor cell in series Cheers Phil www.4cells-are-enough.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMON CRAGG Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Posted by John Wagg on 09/11/2019 19:07:15: Noted Simon, Thanks. The Ni-Cad is from about 1994 and the Ni-mH is fairly new but got cooked on a fast charge, Might use the Ni-mH but not the Ni-cad. Currently (pun intended ) the Ni-cad does over 2 hours but not done a full test on the Ni-mH yet. Cheers John, I would seriously have a look at Life packs. There are lots of good videos etc. available. I ditched all my NIMH packs years ago, and have never looked back. There is a load of rubbish talked about them, but as an average club level flyer, I would not use anything else!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wagg Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 Simon, I'm not sure about Life packs as to being able to trickle charge or fast charge properly. With the NimH's I can trickle charge with some impunity and get reasonable safety margins for flying. Always open to new ideas and education though. Just returning to RC and I am more used to ni-cads as being the staple source back in the 70s,80s & 90s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wagg Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 Posted by Steve J on 09/11/2019 20:38:01: Posted by Phil Green on 09/11/2019 19:09:00: www.4cells-are-enough.com +1 Sorry but no "link" and done a search as well. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Manuel Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Posted by Steve J on 09/11/2019 20:45:27: Posted by John Wagg on 09/11/2019 20:42:30: Posted by Steve J on 09/11/2019 20:38:01: Posted by Phil Green on 09/11/2019 19:09:00: www.4cells-are-enough.com +1 Sorry but no "link" and done a search as well. www.4cells-are-enough.com is a joke. You're not kidding. Low on stock and outrageous prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wagg Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 Posted by Steve J on 09/11/2019 20:45:27: Posted by John Wagg on 09/11/2019 20:42:30: Posted by Steve J on 09/11/2019 20:38:01: Posted by Phil Green on 09/11/2019 19:09:00: www.4cells-are-enough.com +1 Sorry but no "link" and done a search as well. www.4cells-are-enough.com is a joke. About the number I have left working LoL. https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2863122-A123-LiFe-performance-as-Receiver-Battery-Packs Just reading through the above post and not convinced yet. Seems a bit over-complicated just for a couple of hours flying. My usual max' flying time would be a couple of hours slope soaring or I.C. power flying at the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 Posted by John Wagg on 09/11/2019 19:07:15: Noted Simon, Thanks. The Ni-Cad is from about 1994 and the Ni-mH is fairly new but got cooked on a fast charge, Might use the Ni-mH but not the Ni-cad. Currently (pun intended ) the Ni-cad does over 2 hours but not done a full test on the Ni-mH yet. Cheers 1994 NiCd giving in excess of 4/5 of its rated capacity? Bring back (good quality) NiCds... I'd be happier using that battery (after a black wire corrosion check) than a new budget NiMH although I favour LiFe where my servos allow them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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