Help!! I am new to this part of the R/C sport. I recently purchased a Koyosho ep caliber m-24 heli. I am getting better at flying but for 2 min. of fun for 6hrs of charge doesn't give me much stick time. I have contacted the manufacturer of the unit for more batteries and they are not available in the states from Koyosho. It is a 9.6 v pack with 8 batteries about the size of a dry cell AAA battery. Is there any way to increase flight time without frying the ESC unit? There are no specs for this unit from the tech I spoke to. He also said not to even try Lipo batteries. Why? From what I see there is a tremendous amount of knowledge here at this site, hoping someone can help me out. Don't get too techinical as I have little knowledge of electronics. Thanks,
Maxxrunner (yeah I am 4 wheel impaired)

Ttt

OK... The m24 should fly for more than 2 min. If it's not, then your main motor, or bateries are going bad. Over charging NiMh is the biggest cause of bad batteries... and the 280 type motors only have a short life in a micro heli. My aerohawk wouldn't fly with the motor that came with it. But it was an easy fix... I just put in a speed 300. I don't know if you can do that because it may pull too many amps and fry your ESC.

The reason you shouldn't run Lipo's in that heli is because a 2 cell lipo will be around 7.4 volts (too low, and won't fly it) and a 3 cell will be 11.1 volts. (too high and will smoke the electronics)

This is why you don't see too much talk of that heli on this board. it's expensive for what it is, and there is no good way of making it fly better without spending a lot of $$$ to replace all the electronics with standard micro heli RC stuff.

Sorry to be a buzz kill

A more decent charger will charge your pack in a lot less time than that! Two mins run time is really low... Something isn't right, I agree w/ Dr Honda on that!!! And, if you're capable w/ a soldering iron, feel free to make up some packs out of loose NiMh cells (keeping the same cell count). Use CA or hot glue or other to tie the cells together, use something like 24 ga between the cells, solder on a connector, and give it a go! I don't know the package deal, and don't know the actual cells that go in 'em, but an equivalent cell is most likely available somewhere, and most likely cheaper than you'd buy from anyone as a pack for this heli.

If I owned an M-24 in your shoes, I'd check:

Binding! See if any gears are binding- a piece of thin paper can be used to set spacing for the gears- not too tight, not too loose. Check the friction by hand everywhere something rotates. Ball joints (not as critical to run time, but critical to handling), they should be very loose but without play (other helis, squeeze w/ pliers to loosen up). Decent charger, be sure your pack is getting charged properly. I'd try a different battery pack, as at 2 mins run and 6 hrs charge, I'd bet the motor isn't even broken in yet! Also, break in the motor properly - pin a couple of D sized cells together, connect the motor (disconnect it from the Heli electronics) to 'em, run it for 30 mins or so (some say longer, depends on the motor). Make sure all bushing (read NON-bearing) surfaces are lubed - motor, shafts, whatever.

If your pack has been overcharged (and heated! Heat is BAD!), it's probably shot and in need of replacement. If it got overcharged, you need a better charger w/ proper peak detection - is your charger a wall transformer type that you disconnect after a certain amount of time?

Hope this helps!

Take Care,
Paul