A BASIC GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL |
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| chapter five | |
| Cells & Batteries | |
| A battery is made
of a number of cells soldered (or welded in the case of
some commercially made batteries or packs) together in
series. Each cell can deliver a voltage of 1.2 volts (we
are talking about NiCads here). The capacity of a cell is
determined by it's size and construction, it is generally
printed on the cell in milliamp hours (mAh). Hence seven
1200mAh cells soldered together in series will form a
battery of 8.4 volts with a capacity of 1200mAh. Various makes of cell are available. Traditionally considered the best for our purposes are those produced by Sanyo. Buy your cells from a model shop or mail order specialist that has knowledge of electric flight or at the least electric cars. Some cell types including certain Sanyo types cannot stand up to the high current input and output that we require. In time you will learn the various battery code letters that are suitable. In recent times Panasonic have produced some excellent cells for our purpose (below 25 amps). The Yuasa 1800 for instance and the Panasonic 1200 and 1700. Sanyo pencells (600/700/1000mAh AA size) are excellent for small models but should only be used with SPEED400 motors, i.e. below 10 amps. Batteries should be stored in a discharged state, just how deeply discharged is a matter of some debate but they should come to little harm if stored at the voltage remaining after the last flight. Treat charged flight batteries with respect, and discharged batteries as if they were charged (they look the same and sooner or later you will be confused). With the amps that they are capable of supplying you do not want to short circuit one. Never put one in your pocket on your way to your model, you may not get there! |
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