David E Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 I have a question about the charger that comes with the Blade MCX:When I put the battery in to charge, the light doesn't ever seem to go out, and when I take the battery out, the light stays on, but blinks off every few seconds. this only seems to stop if i take the AAs out and put them in again. It seems to be charging the battery ok, but I'm a bit concerned that it might be doing the lipo a mischief.Is this simply a sign that the (included in box) AAs are getting a little flat, and that it's struggling to put the last bit of charge into the lipo? The manual doesn't say how to tell that the batteries need changing. I'd estimate I've done about 10-15 charges, so I guess they could be low.Also, another slightly question, there is an orange light on inside the TX. (the TX that comes in the RTF bundle.) It's visible past the right hand stick, and is located near the centre front of the transmitter. Does anyone know what this means? I haven't noticed it before, but maybe it's on all the time. Is this the low battery warning for the TX? How many flights do others get off a set of TX batteries?Also, while on the subject of AAs, does anyone have experience of using rechargeables? The appeal of not having to constantly buy new AAs is high, but I know the voltage is lower, 1.2V instead of 1.5V, so i don't know how well they work. Are charging times increased for the charger?One last question(!) Does anyone know somewhere with the lipos for the MCX in stock? Would like to get a couple of spares.Many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Hi David, and welcome to the MCX club!When the light on the charger remains on without a lipo charging the the batteries in the charger need replacing. Another sign is that the lipos take an age to charge although I don't think any harm comes to them.I have used rechargeables and essentially your assumption is correct re charging times because of the lower voltage of the batteries. Also, you do not get so many charges from each set.I think Robotbirds have the lipos in stock.I can't answer your question about the transmitter because I use my MCX with a DX6i.Hope this resolves some of your questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan B Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Hi DavidIf the charger light stays on for more than 20 - 25 minutes (approx) then your batteries are low. Depending on the quality of the alkalines I would suggest the supplied ones are getting low.I use rechargeables in mine. No probs whats so ever. They will normally recharge between approx 1.45 V and 1.5 v per cell anyway ( mine do ). I use rechargeables in the little transmitters supplied with these little heli's of this type with no problems what so ever. You just have to remember to charge them again as the voltage drops during storage unlike alkalines which hold their charge.I always get my rechargeables curtesy of Aldi for 4 x 2300 mha MH's for £1.99I have bound mine to my DX -7 TX so cant help you with supplied TX as I do not use it -sorry!Oops beaten to it. I also agree with the above. Ref spare batteries. Apparently they are a bit like Rocking Horse s**t to get hold of at the moment so you might have to ring around.Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David E Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 Thanks for all the replies guys, for some reason I didn't get notified of responses for this thread, will need to check my preferences. New batteries have fixed the charger issue. The TX seems to be working fine still quite a while after I noticed the orange light, and a multimeter shows 1.5V on the cells still. The dead ones in the charger were down to 1.3V without load. I've ordered some of the new nifty rechargeables that retain their charge much better (80% after a year apparently) so will probably be using those in future, certainly for the TX. I'll have to see how they work out with the charger. Reports of success seem to be mixed on that front. I thought charging the lipo off AAs would really annoy me, but actually it's quite handy not having to plug the charger in each time. Now to hunt for spare lipos... Thanks for the suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J BENNETT Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I got two batteries last week from Sussex Model Centre. They had only just got them in as I had ordered them several weeks earlier. I don't know if they have any left but you could give them a ring to check. Does anyone else have a problem getting the batteries out of the charger or is just my fat fingers? Regards JWB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Tee Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I get a lot more than ten charges since replacing the charger batteries with 2900mAH NiMh's, nearer 20 charges i recon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David E Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 The light I'm talking about isn't actually visible from the outside of the controller. It's a small orange LED on the circuit boards inside, roughly under the sticker below the aerial IIRC. (no, not the red power LED) I don't think it's anything important, just wondered if it was telling me something about the batteries. Can anyone else see my "forum face" btw? I can't, just get the red cross thingy :-s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aero120 Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Hi, I think the light visible through the gimbals is the light from the power led that leaks back into the case. I've got the supplied Tx and its still on its original batteries whilst the charger is on its third set if that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aero120 Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Be careful Eric, that could be him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David E Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 Lol, it's a marmot, photographed in the Swiss Alps last summer! After a quick disection (curiosity of an engineer) I found that the LED is on the board connected to the antenna, so I think it's just a power indicator on a sub-board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David E Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 Hehe, yeah, no problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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