<DIV>This is one of those "your mileage may vary" things. I recommend every one cycle their batteries after a practice session to see how much power was consumed to establish a baseline. My own personal experience is I consume about 75-100mAH per flight, so I am comfortable putting 5 flights on a 4 cell 700mAH pack. There are a lot of variables involved. A 5 cell pack will cause the radio to consume more current, so a 5 cell pack will not last as long as a 4 cell pack of the same capacity. Digital servos will consume more power than analog, etc. Also check the voltage before each flight, a bad servo or binding linkage could drain your pack quickly.<BR><BR><B><I>Chad Northeast <chadnortheast@shaw.ca></I></B> wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">I run a 4 cell 1100 mah AAU cell pack, with 4 Futaba digitals and a small<BR>servo on the throttle, 4 flights take around 500 mah out of the pack. I<BR>dont usually do more than 4 at a time so I am not too sure if I could<BR>squeeze more flights on it, but I could probably get at least one more maybe<BR>two.<BR><BR>The pack weighs in at ~3.5 oz, the Duralite Plus page lists their pattern<BR>package at 3.9 oz.<BR><BR>Chad<BR><BR>----- Original Message -----<BR>From: "Joe Lachowski" <JLACHOW@HOTMAIL.COM><BR>To: <DISCUSSION@NSRCA.ORG><BR>Sent: Friday, April 11, 2003 9:16 AM<BR>Subject: Re: RE: Best battery choice?<BR><BR><BR>> I'll make it FORE <G>. One 1500 ma 4 cell nicad pack (digital servos, as<BR>> well) and a Sirius Charger in the van to top them off after 3 flights to<BR>get<BR>> dsafely get in 5 flights. After 5 flights I'm toast. I don't know how guys<BR>> like Eric Henderson and Earl Vincent, to name two I know, go through one<BR>to<BR>> two gallons in a day.<BR>><BR>><BR>> >From: Ron Lockhart <RONLOCK@COMCAST.NET><BR>> >Reply-To: discussion@nsrca.org<BR>> >To: discussion@nsrca.org<BR>> >Subject: Re: RE: Best battery choice?<BR>> >Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2003 10:55:27 -0400<BR>> ><BR>> >Make it three of us flying nicads. <G>Do I hear a fourth?<BR>> >For same reasons Mark notes. I use two 5 cell 700mah packs.<BR>> ><BR>> >Ron Lockhart<BR>> ><BR>> >----- Original Message -----<BR>> >From: "Atwood, Mark" <ATWOODM@PARAGON-INC.COM><BR>> >Date: Friday, April 11, 2003 10:22 am<BR>> >Subject: RE: Best battery choice?<BR>> ><BR>> > > Lol....ok Anthony...then there's two of us flying Nicads. I use<BR>> > > some of the newer technologies for my electrics, but with regard<BR>> > > to Pattern, the new batteries appear to fix problems I don't have.<BR>> > > I run a 5cell 6v 1400mah nicad pack. I personally haven't heard<BR>> > > an argument that even comes close to making me want to change.<BR>> > > Cost/reliability/convenience all seem to favor Nicads. The only<BR>> > > one against it is weight. And from my perspective, if I need that<BR>> > > ounce...I have bigger problems. Just my .02...I'd love to hear<BR>> > > others opinions on the subject...<BR>> > ><BR>> > > mark<BR>> > ><BR>> > > -----Original Message-----<BR>> > > From: AAbdu@aol.com [AAbdu@aol.com]<BR>> > > Sent: Friday, April 11, 2003 10:00 AM<BR>> > > To: discussion@nsrca.org<BR>> > > Subject: Best battery choice?<BR>> > ><BR>> > > It seems like every month a new battery technology is introduced.<BR>> > > NiMh, Lithium ion, NiCad etc. Each one claiming to be better than<BR>> > > the last. It seems like I am the last pattern flyer still using<BR>> > > old familiar, heavy, memory burdoned NiCads. I am considering<BR>> > > investing in updated batteries and all of the other things needed<BR>> > > to maintain them. I have accepted that I will need not only the<BR>> > > battery, but a new charger, regulator, and all the other fixins.<BR>> > > Given that condition, what is the latest info pro and con on the<BR>> > > new battery technology. I know there was an availability issue<BR>> > > with the duralites that has seemed to be resolved, then I<BR>> > > remembered hearing something about them overheating or blowing up<BR>> > > or spontaneously combusting or something. My point is, there is a<BR>> > > lot of misinformation out there and I am trying to find out what<BR>> > > works best from those who use it.<BR>> > > In order of importance of features:<BR>> > > 1. Reliability<BR>> > > 2. Weight (lighter is better)<BR>> > > 3. Capacity, can I get 5 flights on them, can they be quick charged?<BR>> > > 4. Durability / margin of error / expected life span. If I leave<BR>> > > the RX on do I have to replace them?<BR>> > > 5. Price<BR>> > > 6. Availibility<BR>> > ><BR>> > > I appreciate any information you guys can provide.<BR>> > > Thank you.<BR>> > > Anthony<BR>> > > =====================================<BR>> > > # To be removed from this list, send a message to<BR>> > > # discussion-request@nsrca.org<BR>> > > # and put leave discussion on the first line of the body.<BR>> > > #<BR>> > ><BR>> > ><BR>> > > ffffffffffff# To be removed from this list, send a message to<BR>> > > # discussion-request@nsrca.org<BR>> > > # and put leave discussion on the first line of the body.<BR>> > > #<BR>> > ><BR>> > ><BR>> ><BR>> >=====================================<BR>> ># To be removed from this list, send a message to<BR>> ># discussion-request@nsrca.org<BR>> ># and put leave discussion on the first line of the body.<BR>> >#<BR>> ><BR>><BR>><BR>> _________________________________________________________________<BR>> Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.<BR>> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail<BR>><BR>> =====================================<BR>> # To be removed from this list, send a message to<BR>> # discussion-request@nsrca.org<BR>> # and put leave discussion on the first line of the body.<BR>> #<BR>><BR><BR>=====================================<BR># To be removed from this list, send a message to <BR># discussion-request@nsrca.org<BR># and put leave discussion on the first line of the body.<BR>#<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><BR>Bob Kane<br>getterflash@yahoo.com<p><br><hr size=1>Do you Yahoo!?<br>
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