Has anyone modded their radio to use a low-discharge LIPO or some other SINGLE battery that can be recharged instead of using 4 or 8 AA batteries (depending on the radio)? I was doing some researching and found various mods but thought I'd ask here for any personal experiences.

It seems silly to use 4 or 8 batteries when a single rechargeable would do the trick. Are there electrical circuit or voltage regulating concerns besides making sure a Lipo did not discharge too much? Perhaps a battery using different chemistry?

Thanks!

I use Sanyo Eneloop or Duricell pre-charged nimh in all my AA devices. Almost as long of runtime as Lipo, none of the fire hazard.

I highly recomend them for all your AA needs: TV remotes, Game controllers, RC transmitters (my dx4, dx6i and dx8 are all using them.)

For the stock Tactic radio one can use rechargeables AA cells and the sanyo eneloops are the best drop in. Can be recharged in the TX if I remember it has a charge jack.

Yes I use Eneloops now, but was just wondering why radios didn't use the same type of rechargeable batteries as the planes. I was looking at the FlySky FS-T6 radio (http://www.hobbypartz.com/79p-t6-6ch-radio-lcd.html) and having to deal with 8 AA batteries (12 volts) seems strange when one rechargeable should do the trick. I figured there must be a good reason? I mean, we use them in the planes, why not the radio?

I have never had an issue with the eneloops so far, but they are really 1.2 volts or so, not 1.5 like a normal AA battery. Doesn't seem to matter.

The plane's power batt NEEDS to have a fast discharge capability (that is 6-12 minutes) the TX is ok with very low discharge current capability and can use either type. I use lipos and LiFe packs in my Turnigy TX , but the only reason is that the stock holder doesn't hold LSD AA very well. If I had been able to get a pack of LSD AA as cheap as I go the LI types I would've done it. Another nice benefit was a lighter pack to help my TX balance on the neck strap.

The flysky is a good radio but no timer , right? If I didn;t have the 9x radios I'd get that in a heartbeat.

Got my second Sensei today..first one electronics smoked. So first thing i do is take off the cowl but i dont have other tools and methods that others used so i had a computer case slot plate it fit perfect between cowl and firewall and after 15 minutes of shimmying and pulling it was off with no damage.

Now i can wait for my ESC http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...ontroller.html

And motor http://www.headsuprc.com/servlet/the...h-10%29/Detail

Ya know what , as I have been learning about props, current, and kv and tested some motors on other planes with a known kv I am questioning this stock Sensei motor's kv. Tower and another source says it is 1350 or 1280. I don;t think that's correct or it would pull more current with the 10x5 prop , right?

Another source says 870 kv and I can go along with that. It seems to be 1000-1100 kv.

The stock motor pulled 26 amps with an APC 11x5.5 electric thin prop.

Originally Posted by seattlebuoy

Converting the Sensei to floats for our club's yearly float fly in this weekend. I'll take pix and document the mods. Will be using stock mains for rear mount of float and fabbing an adapter to connect to nose wheel mount. For now, no rudder and the nose wheel adapter will allow for adjustment of float to plane angle of incidence. Planning on starting with about +1 degrees.

How did the floats turn out? I just finished the templates for mine yesterday. Im hoping to have them done in time for eWeek. I would love to see some pics of yours

Sorry Gary___W, lots of posts from the time I started writing up my response. Here is my two-cents worth:

Another way to do this for transmitters requiring 12v is to use a not-so-new 3S lipo that still has plenty of power but a little-too much resistance in the pack for the higher-demands of motors. The power draw for the TX is so low that it doesn't matter unless the resistance is way too high; in that case get out the clippers and salt water to kill the pack like you should have done long ago!

I have the FlySky FS-TH9X radio; it is a good one! I took one of my older 1500mah 3S lipos that fit the battery compartment. This is a "keep trying your batteries until you find one that fits" check; only one of my 3S lipos would fit. I had another of the exact same pack had slightly-larger dimensions and wouldn't fit, so be prepared for lack of uniformity in size. Cut the power lead off the AA battery carrier and added a male Deans connector. Hot-glued the circuit board connector back on to ensure it would stay put. Perfect fit, I can fly all day on this battery and recharge anytime with my lipo charging system.

See the attached photo for how I did it. Take note of your polarity, it might differ if you have a different radio. In the case of this radio just match red to positive, black to negative. I also use a rubber band to keep the battery from sliding around; this keeps it snug in the compartment. I think a 1000 mah 3S would also work no problem (I have one but it wouldn't fit the battery compartment), not sure about anything smaller.

Good luck, this was no big deal to do!

Kevin

Originally Posted by zhavener

How did the floats turn out? I just finished the templates for mine yesterday. Im hoping to have them done in time for eWeek. I would love to see some pics of yours

I ran out of time and my first attempt at brazing was woefully lacking. I was planning on using the stock Main LG struts and creating a Y and using a collar to hold it I the stock nose wheel mount. I'll have to put this in the project queue...

Thanks! Hopefully I can get mine setup in time, Please post some pics if you get around to finishing them.

Hi Gary and Kevin

My 2 cents on transmitter batteries.

I have a Futaba 7C transmitter and I got tired of charging the stock NiMh batteries for hours at a time. I decided to go with a lipo and bought a 3s 2500 mah 3C Transmitter battery from Heads Up RC.

The downside is Futaba apparently limits voltage to 12v or less. So I charge to storage level of 11.4 volts and allow the battery to go down to 11.0 v. I have not kept track of useage but I know I am getting a lot more flying time compared to the old battery.

Another downside, do not forget to turn the tx off.

That is how I extended my tx time and I can always keep the old NiMh battery arround as a back-up.

Roger

I put a couple of diodes in series to drop the voltage to work with full charge and as well puts it in range to use the t. Low voltage circuit. There are also commercial adapters that accomplish the same thing, but I felt comfortable wih my soldering to DIY this. Others are using LiFe batteries which have a more friendly voltage.

Originally Posted by Rightfly

Hi Gary and Kevin

My 2 cents on transmitter batteries.

I have a Futaba 7C transmitter and I got tired of charging the stock NiMh batteries for hours at a time. I decided to go with a lipo and bought a 3s 2500 mah 3C Transmitter battery from Heads Up RC.

The downside is Futaba apparently limits voltage to 12v or less. So I charge to storage level of 11.4 volts and allow the battery to go down to 11.0 v. I have not kept track of useage but I know I am getting a lot more flying time compared to the old battery.

Another downside, do not forget to turn the tx off.

That is how I extended my tx time and I can always keep the old NiMh battery arround as a back-up.

Roger

Flew out five batteries yesterday, had a blast, got dark, came home. Had soup and
sandwich..

Originally Posted by Kimber

Flew out five batteries yesterday, had a blast, got dark, came home. Had soup and
sandwich..

Hi Kimber, thats alot of flying...what size batteries are you using?
Thanks.