Old Futaba "M" series battery.

[Engine Doctor]

Just as a matter of interest I tried charging a battery from an old plane I was given a few days ago . It had been hanging in a loft of a deceased modeller since the early 1970s . I say loft but it was like an upstairs room . He died some years after that, then his son kept it in his garage hanging up as a reminder of his dads models for 5 years or so  To give an idea of its  age it is from a Futaba "M" series AM set all in a beige plastic and in very clean condition . The leads and switch harness had no sign of corrosion or black wire so just out of interest I but it on charge  . Nothing at first but after 20 min or so it started to take a charge . Now showing just over 5 v .  No it wont be used in a model  but to take a charge after all those years is pretty good going for old Nicads.

Our modern Nimh die much quicker if neglected !

There is a complete flight pack inc  four of the beige servos two red and two black (L and R hand } a harness and Rx . If any radio collectors are interested then a small donation to Our Air ambulance and postage cost and they are your . PM me .

 

Edited September 29, 2022 by Engine Doctor

[Phil Green]

I have a drawer-full of 50+ year-old DEACs that still hold a charge!       (for decades, DEACs were the standard NiCd battery used by almost everyone)

 

[Peter Jenkins]

Ah!  Them woz the daze!

[Andy Stephenson]

You never needed a battery checker for a DEAC flight pack because all you had to do to see if there was enough left to have another flight was to look at the speed of your servos. DEACs have a very gradual discharge curve but they do hold charge for years.

[Phil Green]

I wouldnt fly them now but we still use them for demos, & I have a few bench test bits & bobs that still run from decades-old DEACs 🙂

Heres the story, its absolutely true.

Forty or so years ago my Dad was an NCB surface worker maintaining underground electronics, much of which was hermetically sealed or potted.

He saw the waste and expense of changing faulty modules and, ever curious,  set about a scrap intercom module with a bandsaw. 

After destroying just a few intercomm units he'd found exactly where to cut to expose two internal 7.2v 500 DKZ DEAC packs and

from that point on he supplied the entire club (Sheffield SSA) with DEACs at a time when few could afford new ones.

Its been 15 years now, I wish he was here, I really do, he'd have loved it - I think he would have revelled in the retro R/C revival, probably DEAC powered 🙂

Cheers

Phil

Edited October 8, 2022 by Phil Green

[Phil Green]

>>𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑔𝑜 

Just realised, it was fifty years ago... around 1970. Time is scary, make the most of it!