used charger/ batt question

[grainbrane]

Hi, I just acquired a used FG Leopard. I'm confused about the charger and receiver battery and how long to charge them for. The charger is a rx/tx 60mA/ 60mA wall charger by weston uk. It says input 240v, output 5v + 10v dc. The receiver battery has no markings but it is a rechargable 5 cell and a total of 6 volts. The transmitter has 8 / 1.2 volt aa nimh batteries that are 1300 mah each. Does anyone know how long I should charge these batteries for? Can I damage them if I leave them in too long? Do the transmitter and receiver batteries have different charging times? Is there a way to check the voltage on the receiver battery? What voltage am I looking for? Thanks

 

[voo2doo]

With a 50mA charger you can leave them on over night they normally go to trickle when they have charged the battery.That goes for RX and TX.
To check the voltage on the batts buy yourself a multimeter off fleebay, you can get one for about a seven quid ($10) they can do a range of things.My advise would be to invest in a decent charge that will dis-charge as well.
J.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Digital-LCD-M..._Measurement_Equipment_ET?hash=item3efa50c7a3

 

[grainbrane]

Thanks Voodoo, I have a used pro peak charger that I got at a boot sale but I heard they fry batteries.

 

[BrawnFG]

almost all cells are 1.2v if rechargeable, and 1.5v if dry cell (goes for AA, AAA, B, C, D cells)

to charge a battery properly you need a charge voltage about 5 to 10% above that of your battery pack, i.e. can't charge a 6v pack fully on a 5v charger. if you use a lower voltage, nothing bad will happen, though your battery will never reach full charge or voltage (probably not an issue unless you have a lot of big servos in the Leopard)

Example charge voltages:
standard 4 cell Rx 4 x 1.2v x 1.1 = 5.28v
5 cell humppack Rx 5 x 1.2v x 1.1 = 6.6v
8 cell Tx 8 x 1.3v x1.1 = 10.56v

so from the above i'd guess that your charger is for 4 cell Rx and 8 cell Tx

It's possible to charge at a higher voltage if you are careful and take them off when they get warm (hot is bad!). If the charger is a delta peak one, it'll automatically cut off for you at the right point, and then drop on to trickle (in which case they'll be cold when you touch them).