Originally Posted by kingsflyer

I haven't seen that with my S2100. Are you running the latest firmware update?

McD

Probably not. I will find Dave marshal's video on how to do that.

Originally Posted by kingsflyer

Correct. The G2 Smart Batteries do not have any balance plug. That means you will not be able to check the individual cell Voltages with your little hand held Voltage tester nor will you be able to balance charge your battery on a "Normal" LiPo battery charger. Some chargers have a "Fast Charge" function that does not require the battery balance lead connections. You might be able to charge the G2 batteries on one of those chargers.

I would recommend the purchase of a Spektrum S1100 Smart Battery Charger and a Spektrum Smart Battery Checker to properly charge and check G2 Smart Batteries.

McD

And this statement kills my interest in the SMART battery line. I dealt with buying proprietary tech in the early 90's, when dealing with computers. Packard Bell (which is now defunct) used to manufacture their hard drives to be a different size than everyone else. That way, they could get you to buy their drives and enclosures at an exorbitantly higher fee if you had to replace components. Never mind that it was a standard IDE connector on the back of the drive, you couldn't fit it into any enclosures unless it was of their manufacture.

I don't want that to be the only way I can go. If I forget my charger at home and want to charge a battery, I can't go to my buddy and ask to borrow his charger at the field unless he has a Smart charger. I can't test my battery to see which one has a good charge and which one doesn't if I don't have that proprietary tester now, so I can't borrow someone's battery checker at the field to see...It's putting me into a severely handicapped and specialized niche, and it really isn't a good place to be. Yes, the telemetry from the battery is nice IF I have a Smart ESC, and yes, the ability to plug in the battery and have it recognized is nice, so that I don't have to program it, but Hitec did something similar with their X2 AC Black charger and a smartphone app - they added the ability to create QR codes that you tape to your battery and scan it with your phone, regardless of brand of battery.

I know I'm probably being negative, but I can't justify this switch.

I understand your concerns and you make some good points. However, you can still buy the G1 Smart Batteries that have the balance leads. Remember, Smart Battery technology is more than just charging, it is a part of the Spektrum Smart Technology system that includes Smart ESCs and Smart RXs and TXs. They all work together to give us access to a new world of telemetry and data.

McD

Originally Posted by kingsflyer

I understand your concerns and you make some good points. However, you can still buy the G1 Smart Batteries that have the balance leads. Remember, Smart Battery technology is more than just charging, it is a part of the Spektrum Smart Technology system that includes Smart ESCs and Smart RXs and TXs. They all work together to give us access to a new world of telemetry and data.

McD

Understandable. If the G1s stay around, and the G2s don't phase them out, I'll definitely put the G1s in mind.

Does one risk buying "new old stock" when buying the G1 batteries?

Will Spektrum discontinue the G1 batteries? I hope not I already have 2 chargers and I’m pretty invested already with the G1 batteries and smart technology. My LHS still has a ton of G1 batteries and I hope it stays that way. There’s money to be made in both technologies.

Mike,

Thanks for the great info you provide in this thread!!

I'm new to Spektrum Smart technology, so please tolerate this basic question:

Looking at battery voltage percentage on the charger, checker, and via telemetry, the 100% setting is obvious - 4.2V per cell. But what is 0%? is it a completely dead battery, or is it relative to the cut off voltage?

Put another way, if I monitor voltage percent as a gauge of mah used (the 80% rule), what % would 3.75 V/cell show?

Thanks for the newbie indulgence.

Gene K

My Smart Chargers show about 27% charge when the Smart batteries are discharged down to 3.75 Volts per cell. Smart Chargers have storage voltage set at 3.80 Volts per cell and when the batteries are charged or discharged to 3.80 Volts per cell, the Smart Charger shows 32% charge.

Hope that helps.

McD

Originally Posted by kingsflyer

My Smart Chargers show about 27% charge when the Smart batteries are discharged down to 3.75 Volts per cell.

Thanks. Do you consider this 27% a good indicator that the 80% capacity used "rule" has been reached?

Gene K

I prefer to fly my batteries down to storage voltage on all but my high-draw EDF and performance planes. Those I'll take down to the 3.7s and then charge them up to storage when they cool down.

McD

Originally Posted by kingsflyer

I prefer to fly my batteries down to storage voltage ... .

Thanks, McD, for your help!

Gene K

Sorry, nevermind.

Curious: is there a suggested solution for SMART ESC's and telemetry for multi-engine aircraft? Or is this like the multi-battery pack situation where it "just works" because it's another SRXL2 device?