power source / battery pack

[slowflow (Barry)]

Lipos are great power sources but need special care, dedicated balancing chargers and low voltage shut off are essential. Look at sites like helifreak and rcgroups, they have a huge amount of info on lipos.
I have an rc heli addiction.

[sil (Steve)]

From what I understand lithium based batteries also have a limited lifespan regardless of usage. The chemical reaction dies out after about five or so years whereas nickel, lead and other types that have been around a while have a longer usage life. This is why you find people complaining about replacement batteries for their older phone/camera/laptop that they just bought, the batteries were probably manufactured several years ago and so even though they were purchased "new" are now pretty useless. I also have a long term RC obssession (mine's cars) and I stick with NiMH and avoid using LiPo as much as possible, much easier and safer to use/charge and no real performance difference that matters (I don't race, just play around for fun).

Spending money on a quality charger and quality battery will pay off in the long run with consistant performance. Wanting to be cheap about powering a good mount is like buying a new Lambo and getting them to swap out the V12 engine for a 4 cylinder.

[slowflow (Barry)]

Have a look at LiFe tech batteries, fewer issues than lipo but still need special handling, they are light & comparatively cheap for low draw applications. May are used control & servo drive in RC equipment.

[slowflow (Barry)]

double posted

[Irish stargazer (John)]

I have been using 20AHr jumps start packs for the past 5 years and they still work fine. Shipped them from Europe. Even after three months on a container they have performed flawlessly.
My next power pack when my current ones die ( which they will soon) will be a Waeco 36AH deep cycle battery used to power portable fridges etc.. A bit pricey but well made.

[RobF (Rob)]

Originally Posted by Merlin66

Rob, et al,
The Ctek charger won't charge the battery inside the "battery pack".
This is charged through the rubbish built in charger......

Actually it does Ken, and probably will preserve SLA battery life better than the cheapy. Just connect the charger contacts to each respective jumpstart clamp, turn jumpstart pack on, then commence charging. This has worked well for me for a couple of years without issue.

[chaffingbuttock (Matthew)]

Hi guys,

raising the dead with this thread. I've finally ordered my HEQ5 and it's on the way, so now I'm in the process of ordering in the bits and pieces I need. Is there someone technically minded who can help me determine if this battery is any good please?

http://www.abtbatt.com/PDF/6-DZM-12A.pdf
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12v-12-vo...item2a21630a83

I know there's something a bit more complex about power draining if the current is higher than what they use to calculate the Ah rating or some such? So if it's a 12 Ah battery and the HEQ5 uses 2A when slewing and 1A when tracking, it doesn't necessarily mean that I should get ~5-6 hours (assuming I don't drain more than 50%). For me, 4-6 hours of usage would be more than adequate for a night's imaging. I think I can also connect these in serial (or parallel?) to get a 24 Ah or even 36 Ah 12V battery if I find my usage increases down the track.

http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/batt_con.html

Thanks in advance.

[chaffingbuttock (Matthew)]

I found this really useful battery site with a calculator.

http://www.gizmology.net/batteries.htm

Useful for working out what battery to buy. Read a couple different forums, one that says Ah is calculated on 10h load and one that says 20h.

[RobF (Rob)]

Hi Matthew

On paper it sounds like a smallish battery with good specs. Would be worth investing in a decent charger, and thinking if you can afford the extra weight and expense of a larger battery for future needs and extra capacity. Up to double the size shouldn't be too unwieldy.

[chaffingbuttock (Matthew)]

Thanks Rob. I figure that if I get a smaller battery that will do the job for now, I can always get a second one later and then join them in parallel (or is it serial?) and get twice the Ah rating. I really don't see myself out there for longer than 3-4 hours though. Also looking at one of those ctek chargers for about $55.

Cheers.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Parallel is the connection you require. Just be careful that one battery is not too much older than the other as their capacity diminishes over time and the newer unit could have problems with the voltage difference and charging.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Bumping an old thread here.
My grab and go set up for when I am travelling in my little hatch back. To run my HEQ5Pro mount or Polarie, using my stock DSLRs. The SCA900 powers the mount and the SCA1900 runs the dew straps.
Been using both power packs for 4 or 5 years now and they are still going strong. They are used very regularly, a few times a week
In the camper van I've installed a 100ah AGM as my auxiliary battery, it's hooked up to a 400w inverter that can run my puter and CDS1100D and I have a slightly more portable 50ah AGM in a powered battery box as backup.
I can recharge all of the above during the day with a 140w solar panel.
With Zeus as my witness, I'll never run out of power again!!!