Simon Roberts Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Ok at my club your not allowed to use the DX6i unless it has a welded battery pack in there, now ive been to my LMS and they want £20 plus labour to do this!!! Can anyone give me any pointer on how to go about please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 There is another thread about this somewhere, and I think your club has over-reacted. On what grounds are they claiming this is necessary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Roberts Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 Im not sure really, im totally new to BDMAC (Blackburn District) and been told not allowed to use the DX6i with dry non welded cells There was some talk of cells leaking and catching fire i believe!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Roberts Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 http://www.bdmac.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Well obviously it is not correct for me to dispute a particular clubs policy - but this does seem a bit OTT. BMFA guidelines suggest that using dry cell /spring loaded contact battery boxes in airborne radio equipment is not a good idea, but in a Tx - I see no issues really. As for a dry cell leaking and catching fire - I would love to see the evidence of that one. I wonder just how particular they are with everyones models and their power supplies.... such as checking for black wire disease and gummed up switches, poor wiring, ancient NiCDs etc etc. To my mind there are FAR greater risks in certain models in every club, than this one. You would need to get a flat pack style battery and solder on the correct connectors, and somehow remove the spring contacts off the original battery bay etc. I should have thought that this will certinly void any waranty etc. I'm sorry, but I just think this is a bummer Edited By Timbo - Moderator on 28/04/2009 17:50:04 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Roberts Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 Yeah i think its a bit daft really but cant argue with their rules. Sounds a right paint to do and www.rossmod.co.uk can do it but as i say its very expensive from what they quoted me. Thanks Timbo Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris 75 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I actually agree with the model club about this. My experience of loose cells is that non welded cells are a disaster as the contact between the batteries & the holder deteriorates & eventually you loose power. My TV remote does exactly the same & I bet yours does too. I can understand that where dry cells are used in this fairly high load application the batteries are changed frequently & that this reduces the problem but with nicads that are left in place to be recharged disaster is not far away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Tee Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I have flown for 15 years with a Futaba 4 channel set that uses this system in both the TX and RX. I cleaned the contacts regularly and have not had any problems with it. The set was retired 2 years ago after buying the 6EAX system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garry Pollard Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Sorry Chris E Totally disagree with you on this one, as the DX6i is not a high load application as stated in manual, and it is supplied with dry cells and not nicads. I am sure that a company such as Spektrum would have done their homework. I have to agree with Timbo, this is a bummer Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bott - Moderator Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I agree with Timbo, this does seem to be knowledge of part of a BMFA recommendation being applied in the wrong place. I use a DX6i with rechargeable individual cells, I've left it on by accident overnight and they were still working many hours later, so it is not a high load. If there ever was any problem with contact resistance, then this would eventually start to show with a low battery alarm, and you wouldn't fly with that going off anyway. The welded pack recommendadtion is for packs in a vibrating airframe surely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Harris Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I've had one inquiry about this at the field, I was advised to use Nicads (Apparently in the BMFA book). Next visit I took the manual for the DX6i, All sorted out, the DX6i is fine with dry cells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 The current drain on the DX6i is remarkably low. I measured just 87 m/a consumption - even after fitting the power indicator display, as described in my piece about modding the unit - compare this to the DX7 which is 280 m/a ( with the standard linear regulator ) and I reckon you are good for many many hours of flying with the DX6i. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris 75 Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Sorry I did not mean high load but rather batteries that are changed relatively frequently - say monthly. It was meant to highlight the difference with the TV remote example I used where the batteries can last 12 months or more but with which I ALWAYS find that bad contacts set in before the battery is flattened. Over 30 years many of the radio problems that I have seen have been traced to the power packs of transmitters & receivers. Those with loose cells have a lot more contacts to fail than those with welded packs & this, in my experience, does make them more prone to failure. Personally I would not fly with loose cells but that is my choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Mills Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Here's a blast from the past. Many years ago, when I was a lad, and cars were nowhere near as reliable as they are today, the motor maintenance magazines used to advise cleaning the battery contacts before winter, and coating them with vaseline (petroleum jelly for international readers). This seems to be very effective at keeping corrosion at bay, and I still use it on all battery terminals and charger terminals. Just a word of warning - use a smear, not a blob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 But this was only really necessary due to rather harsh environment and chemicals involve - it was not unknown for battery acid to be splashing around the place, and the terminals also suffered from wet and dry conditions, vibrations, and so on. Thsi is hardly the case with out Tx batteries! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Roberts Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 Well i made a battery pack myself from a Futaba Rx battery pack, removed the wire and the shrink wrap and made some contacts on the pack to connect to the + and - terminals in the back of the Dx6i, All works perfectly and can be charged at the field if needs be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispin church Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 i use 4 AA rechargeable batterys and when fully chaged they give 6volts on a big charge and 5.6volts normally in 2 years never had a problem so why 5 AAA smaller more joints dont make sence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamish Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Unfortunately I had a flyaway with my Dx6i and put it down to the battery connections. Made up a NiMh pack and soldered in. Have had no problems since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Whilst I accept that my TV remote's batteries often need a twirl, I must say I wonder, despite Hamish's experience, about the likelihood of an in-use failure in a transmitter. I would think it more likely that a failure would occur on switch on before any current is flowing and not once the fairly steady discharge has been established. I did acquire a DX6i recently but it's my intent only to use it for indoor flying and the batteries will probably remain untouched for fairly long periods so perhaps I'll find out the (not particularly) hard way whether my supposition is right! Dry cells for airborne packs subject to vibrations are a definite no-no though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 This is a test message, please ignore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamish Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Just to elaborate a bit on my experience, if I can recall, the display started flashing and then went blank. Had I the presence of mind I could have "twirlled" the batteries and regained control. As it was I retrieved the model about 1 mile away and it had come down on a barn roof and slid to the ground only breaking part of the wing which was easily repaired.In addition I had a keycam fitted and it was very interesting to follow its very stable flight, although I do not wish to repeat the event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I have a DX6 which, like Martin, I use for BNF indoor models and also with my sim. I use individual rechargeable NiMh - never had a problem, even during the spring and "summer" months when I do no indoor and I'm only using it on the sim and the batteries last ages between charges! BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Posted by Hamish on 08/11/2011 23:41:51:Just to elaborate a bit on my experience, if I can recall, the display started flashing and then went blank. Had I the presence of mind I could have "twirlled" the batteries and regained control. As it was I retrieved the model about 1 mile away and it had come down on a barn roof and slid to the ground only breaking part of the wing which was easily repaired.In addition I had a keycam fitted and it was very interesting to follow its very stable flight, although I do not wish to repeat the event. My DX6i batteries have yet to run down but a flashing display suggests to me that a low voltage might have been experienced. Did you try some extended testing with the same batteries after the incident or just take them out and try them again for a short time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamish Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 I binned them and converted to the hard wired pack. I did measure batteries before binning them and the were ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Hargreaves - Moderator Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 The Blackburn clubs diktat does seem a bit harsh but if you saw where they fly you would probably understand their caution (paranoia..!!??) It really is right in the middle of a country park frequented by the public.....pretty much surrounded by football pitches etc. I am amazed they are allowed (or indeed want) to fly there at all really.......I have seen a model have to abort a landing because a dog ran across the strip.....rapidly followed by his owner trying to get the pooch back on his lead..... Amazingly they fly the odd model jet too........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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