Peter Jenkins Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Having checked around the usual UK suspects, I cannot find anyone who is selling the JR Tx pack - 2S Life pack with a 2 pin JST plug. Does anyone know where else they can get such a battery pack? Also, as the pack just has 2 leads out, I wonder how they are balanced if at all. Again, anyone know if they are balanced during charging in the Tx? The connector seems to be a problem as well so, my fall back is to get a 2S pack that fits the Tx physically and then cut off the plug and length of lead from the existing pack and solder to the leads of a new pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 As long as the battery pack fits and is the correct rating then yes lol of the plug and fit a jst one be careful to cut one at a time to avoid a short Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Watkins Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Peter The stipulated JR Life pack Has an internal balance board fitted within the pack Edited By Denis Watkins on 12/06/2020 11:21:52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrman Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Probuild are the JR UK agent but NEVER seem to have much in stock. (Not good for an agent). I have bought batteries for a 28X direct from JR and delivery is normally very quick. **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 Thanks for your responses guys. Neither Probuild nor Motor and Rotors were absolutely sure about a balance board being included in the battery pack but, given the price quoted by Probuild (£69.99) that would seem a possibility. Martian - yes, I'm used to cutting off the connectors that come with my 5S Lipo packs - one at a time - before soldering on my preferred polarised 4 mm plug/socket and covering that with heat shrink before starting on the second one! jrman - I spoke to Probuild before posting and they were out of stock. They had 20 packs in and they sold the lot in 9 hours! They have another consignment coming but their website doesn't currently have the capability of notifying interested parties that the stock is in! As I see it now, I have two options. First, buy a 2S Life pack that fits and use the provided leads to balance charge the pack out of the Tx and solder the 2 leads and plug to a bared section of the 2 supply cables. Second, wait to buy the genuine article when it becomes available from Probuild. Now that I know that the JR pack has a charge balance function built into it that probably accounts for some of the increase in price but the rest is down to low volume I expect or just the fact that this is a captive market - just like the Futaba pack cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrman Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Peter, 3rd option is to buy it from the link I posted and not wait for Probuild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 Sorry jrman - I also meant to put in that M&R had suggested buying from DFA US but I see that your link is to DFA in Japan. I'll give it a go. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrman Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Peter, That link is to JR in California. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 Thanks for correcting jrman. Order has been placed for 2 packs at $144.98 incl shipping. Question is, will it attract UK duty and VAT on top? We shall see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrman Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Peter, Probably. VAT @20% + Parcel Force well earned and deserved "handling fee". I have never been charged "duty" even on items costing way more than that. At least you will have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 If we get a trade deal with the USA that might make buying stuff from the USA cheaper! Another headache for our UK based model shops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrman Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Unlikely as you will still be hit with VAT and the handling charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 Well, that depends on what's in the trade deal. If there are no additional tariffs then no VAT, duty or handling charges will apply. That, after all is what trade deals are aiming to achieve. Could be a trade off that we have to take chlorine washed chicken (!) but that's another story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 is it just me? what are the batteries made from Gold ...seem expensive unless i'm missing something.. ken anderson...ne..1.gold dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 Ken, if you read the posts above, you will see how this has come about. Otherwise, I will merely repeat myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 ok Peter,Sussex models have 1400 ma life packs,with a different pug fitted for £18.99.....I don't know the full in's and outs of these batts but...will these not do the job with a plug swap over? sorry peter...says they are out of stock...but these are what I was referring to.... ken anderson...ne...1.save some dosh dept. Edited By ken anderson. on 12/06/2020 15:18:50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 Hi Ken Well, that got me going. I ended up ringing up Sussex Model Centre and the outcome of that chat was that they did not have any 2S LiFe packs that fitted the size that I needed to fit into the battery space on my XG11 Tx. Also, there is no balance function with the pack that you identified - at least that's what SMC said. Also, I understand from Motors & Rotors that there is a wide variety of 2 pin JST plugs so it's not easy to find the correct one. The bottom line seems to be that either you put up with having to remove the battery pack from the Tx for charging, if you can find one that fits, or pay up the price of having a pack with an inbuilt balance board and able to be charged in situ. Believe me, I've looked high and low to avoid having to fork out what is a ludicrous amount of dosh for a 2S LiFe pack. I understand that a standard Futaba LiFe pack is around £90 and they go up to past £200 for their top Tx. Thank you for trying to find me a lower cost option. As I said in my OP, that option is there if you are prepared to make certain concessions - e.g. removing the battery to charge it if you can find one that fits and has a decent capacity. So, having cost me at least an hour in running around in circles to get back to where I started, I'd like to thank you for your efforts. Off to lie down in a dartk room now! Peter (running around in circles dept! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted July 23, 2020 Author Share Posted July 23, 2020 Just to finish off this thread, once I received my new JR Tx pack from Dee Force Aviation, I decided to take the old pack apart and see what was in it. Yes, there was a small pcb which had a charger and balance board. You can just see the connection on the left of the photo above that shows the link connecting the positive terminal of one battery to the negative terminal of the other. Laying it bare showed this: The cells are LiFePO4 18 mm diameter and 65 mm long. You can search for them on Ebay and Amazon as LiFePO4 18650 cells and they come at varying prices. I bought mine from RS paid £48.66 for 6 cells (I have two other XG11 Txs) plus some heat shrink 50 mm wide to clamp the whole lot together and insulate the electrics that was £3.40 for a 1 mtr length. The original pack had the contacts spot welded to the batteries. As I didn't have access to spot welding kit, I used a 25 watt soldering iron, sparingly, to put a blob of solder on the cell terminals and then, after tinning the tags you can see at the bottom of the charger pcb above, soldered the connections to the new cells and then stuck the 50 mm heat shrink over the lot and applied the heat gun. Interestingly, the batteries got hotter as a result of using the heat gun than when I used the soldering iron. So, this is what my new pack looks like: The finish is not quite as neat as the JR pack but it does have a 1600 mah capacity compared with the 1400 for the JR supplied pack. Both old and new cells are identical in weight so perhaps the JR folk are a bit more conservative in their capacity rating. I checked that the pack worked the Tx, which it does, and that the charging mechanism worked, which it did. So, if you need to replace your JR LiFe Tx batteries, the alternative to spending £70 plus on buying a JR branded pack is to buy some replacement 18650 cells and some 50 mm shrink wrap, carefully cut open the shrink wrap on the old pack, carefully remove the balance charger pcb and re-solder it to the new cells and then shrink wrap the lot to make the new pack. Depending on whether you go for the lowest prices or a mid range price, expect to pay between £10 to £20 for the new pack - represents a significant saving on buying a new Tx pack BUT you need to be careful that you: don't accidentally short out the cells have an appropriate soldering iron and have some experience of electrical circuit soldering avoid excess heat to the cells during soldering Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 well done Peter... ken anderson...ne...1.admiration dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted July 23, 2020 Author Share Posted July 23, 2020 Thanks Ken. I at least now have the batteries to replace the packs in my other two tranny's at a sensible price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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