I can't remember where I have seen it but can someone direct me to a webpage on using the telephone jacks from radio shack to charge/turn off the battery? I want to install it in my glider.

This one was body-bagged from an incident with a friend’s retriever,so please excuse the EPP remnants. Just how do
you say no to a dog doing his job?

A lanyard would have been nice on the null plug, just never got to it.

Radio Shack:

274-247 Normally Closed Two Conductor Pone Phone Jack
274-290B Two Conductor Phone Plugs

Each is a package of two, for around $2.00 per. I was only
using 110 mAh so watch for arcing if you decide to scale up.

These are VERY unreliable switches to be using to control power to the most crucial component of your model.
..a

Check out Hollyday Designs. They have some switch-jacks that have been very convenient and reliable for me. Unfortunately, they are a bit more expensive than the Radio Shack variety.

Bob

Thanks for the info to all!

I picked up the radio shack parts and soldered them together last night. However, I cannot get the green light to come on the wall charger when I use the jack and plug it in. If I bypass the jack and use the end that plugs into the receiver it lights up. Does anyone know if the hitec wall charger (came with the transimitter) can handle the jack? I tried it with 2 different plugs and same thing happened, the hitec green light would not turn on showing it was charging.

Randy- You bought N.C. jacks, right, not Normally Open? Double
check the wiring?

I have had this set up in two planes without problem, but agian
they were small batteries.

Randy G:

This setup first hit the sailplane community many years ago as a weight saver, but most smart folks have since abandoned it. Regular slide-type radio switches tend to be self-cleaning each time they wipe their contacts as you switch them on and off. Long-time fliers will remember older radios had "Noble" brand switches which were extremely relible because they had two pairs of contacts in parallel for redundancy -- unfortunately they are not used by radio manufacturers anymore due to cost. Phone plugs & jacks are NOT designed for very high current, and don't wipe contacts... the sprung internal contact simply presses against its mate to complete the circuit.

>>> Think about this now.... how many times have you had to twist the headphone plug in your discman jack to get that other channel to work or to get rid of noise due to poor contact??? Hmm????

Bottom Line: If your plane is a junker worth risking, or it flies so low & slow it won't hurt itself if its radio quits, then go for it.

Personally, I'm not willing to add a known risk to my own planes' longevity!!!