Originally Posted by grampi

Why shouldn't you fly your 120 until the low battery light flashes? I do it all the time...that's what that light's for...

That's what I have been doing, I hope it's okay on the batteries??!


Off to the local middle school gymnasium to do a little flying, wish me luck on day 6 of my heli training! (spare parts in hand!)


Edit to add: While getting dressed this morning I found $11 in the pocket of a pair of jeans I hadn't worn in awhile, gonna be an awesome day!

Originally Posted by grampi

Why shouldn't you fly your 120 until the low battery light flashes? I do it all the time...that's what that light's for...

The factory LVC is programmed too low on most stuff like this to maintain healthy lipos. If you're running any of these things to LVC you've run them too long and you WILL degrade the lipos over time (sometimes a short time)... guaranteed. Which is why people go through the trouble to use more advanced chargers that let you see how many mah you are putting back into the battery so you can time your flights to keep a safe level remaining in the battery by the end of the flight... the rule of thumb is to keep at least 20% of the battery's rated capacity. Once you've figured it out for a given lipo you own you're good to go, you don't have to keep calculating it, but it's still a good idea to take note of it on your charger as that battery ages... you might at some point need to adjust your flight time on that lipo.

On more advanced ESC's the cutoff is user programmable... I never set mine to lower than 3.4v per cell under load. You can't do this with the 120sr... or msr or mcx2 etc. and they are set way too low. You'll probably ask why would the manufacturer do that? Probably marketing... so owners will get longer flight times thus making the product more enjoyable (but at the expense of going through batteries quicker).

This is all common knowledge... any of the regulars here will tell you the same, and most of us have upgraded our chargers from the token "dumb" ones that come with these products. It's something you're going to want to do if you plan on staying in and advancing in the hobby... especially once you start paying 10, 20, 40, 80 bucks or more for batteries.

gawd, I had alot of mis-typed stuff in that last post... fixed it up.

If your looking for a better battery holder, look no further:
http://astroid-designs.myshopify.com...-battery-mount

I only have two mods on my 120SR. This battery holder which will allow you to be a little more versatile in your battery selection.

My second mod is an Xtreme top collar:
http://helidirect.com/xtreme-metal-c...20-p-22421.hdx
There is just no way to put this on wrong and many have done so.

I have a third mod (no cost) that will allow me to keep my canopy PUT in one place (see my blog). If you don't understand, ask

Mike.

Is anybody using a Triton to charge thier packs? I've always just used the included chargers.. basically for convenience... as there's the stand alone for the 150mah or so packs... that operates with AA batts,(for smaller helis).. and the one that plugs into the wall..with adjustable amperage.. for the 500's.

I've got the Triton.. and I'm sure it would work well.. just wondering if the stock chargers are working just as well. I've not had any noticable problems.. and the runs seem consistent.. but thought I'd see if there's other experiences out there. Thanks.

It's pretty much common knowledge the chargers that come with the models charge at a "little" higher rate. I use my Thunder AC6 for all my batts.

Mike.

AC6 all the way. If I have more batteries to charge than I have charge leads for, I'll dig out the Celetra chargers and run the batteries in them as needed but I always take those batteries and "top them off" in the AC6 as it always adds a little more juice to them than the Celetra did.

I'm still using the stock Eflite 15Cs that came with my 120SR. They're new enough that they give me plenty of power even outdoors right now. However, I'll typically switch over to the Nanotech 600s since I have a lot more of those.

My Bud just bought the Thunder AC680 for the same price I paid for my AC6 4 years ago. Has a cooling fan and is 30watts more powerful than the AC6.

My Bud can parallel charge 3 2200mah batts. I can only parallel charge 2 1300mah batts.

3 of my 4 550mah being parallel charged...

BTW, I don't use the Celectra pictured. At the moment, it's collecting dust...lol



Mike.

Originally Posted by Chap1012

If your looking for a better battery holder, look no further:
http://astroid-designs.myshopify.com...-battery-mount

Mike.

Awesome, just placed an order!

Originally Posted by Chap1012

My Bud just bought the Thunder AC680 for the same price I paid for my AC6 4 years ago. Has a cooling fan and is 30watts more powerful than the AC6.

My Bud can parallel charge 3 2200mah batts. I can only parallel charge 2 1300mah batts.

3 of my 4 550mah being parallel charged...

BTW, I don't use the Celectra pictured. At the moment, it's collecting dust...lol



Mike.

Where did you get it and what was the cost?

Originally Posted by OKJeepin

Awesome, just placed an order!

I don't know if you can see it but, I CA's a flat piece of credit card to the underside of the holder giving it more/better grab when you apply the velcro.

Mike.

Originally Posted by rwek

Where did you get it and what was the cost?

Not sure which charger you are talking about. Just google "Thunder AC6" OR "Thunder AC680". There are many vendors that carry them. I think I got my AC6 at Hobby Partz.

Mike.

Originally Posted by Chap1012

I don't know if you can see it but, I CA's a flat piece of credit card to the underside of the holder giving it more/better grab when you apply the velcro.

Mike.

Good tip. I have some thin lexan laying around and it might just be the ticket for that. Should be lighter than the CC too.

Originally Posted by Chap1012

Not sure which charger you are talking about. Just google "Thunder AC6" OR "Thunder AC680". There are many vendors that carry them. I think I got my AC6 at Hobby Partz.

Mike.

Thanks

SDS Hobby has chargers that look like they're the same things as the Thunder AC6 (or at least out of the same factory... same specs, same chassis)... What's cool is they now have the balance ports integrated into the side of the chassis... no external break-out board. They're cheaper than the hobbypartz Thunder brand too.