new kinds of batteries?

[JohnnyKatana]

www.a123systems.com

apparently they are supposed to be better than lipos
they charge in 15 minutes, and are supposed to be lighter or around the same weight

anyone ever heard of these besides me
mark leseber said something about them in a magazine
not sure which but apparently hes used them in a plane of his before

[Ion01]

I assume it was on one of the larger planes...not a foamy....at this point.
Technology advances so fast its hard to keep up!

[macanaw]

I have looked at these. They are (performance wise) as good as Li-po's while being more resilient. However they are considerably heavier, and need a proprietary charger. The other down fall is the largest capacity cell is 1300 mha I believe.

[Boogie]

They have a slightly smaller punch than lipos too, so to have the same power you need more cells, which adds weight. They are not good for 3d, but for any other flying (if there is something like that), they're OK.

[madmax]

... and they specifically do not mention model aircraft as an application. http://www.a123systems.com/html/applications.html



I hear the larger heli guys are goin' nuts over them with great results! I understand they are ripping apart batteries from power drills to get to 'em but I forgot which manufacturer. Killer seeing new technology coming out like this, eh?

[dick hanson]

currently (rimshot), the cells we can use are 2300 ma at 3.6 v each cell - they charge at and run at 3.6v and can take one heck of a beating and discharge far higher than LiPo- they are about right between Lipo and Nimh in weight per ampere hour sizing. .they don't burn up. they can be charged in the plane - they have a c discharge capability that beats anything . If you run em too low down to 2 v - just recharge em and fly again .
I am into this idea with great ferver--- my two chargers are inexpensive -one being a Cellpro 123 for 4 cells (60 bucks) and the other a 123 Dapter patch that goes on output of my Ni/NiCad Deluxe 12 Astro - for 8 cells (40 bucks )
each cell is 10 bucks.
My DX 7 radio (why use any other?) will accept the 7.2 voltage with no reg needed - The servos (JR seem to like em too.) I can see where a stalled servo load would smoke servos using these -- I am going be berry careful--