A123 Help

[leelee]

I have looked through alot of the a123 threads and there is alot of interesting topics. But I have used NIMH from day 1 and ready to make the switch to A123's. I am getting 2 FMA Cellpro4 chargers and was wondering if anyone could lead me in the right direction for batteries and switches. This setup is for my 100cc Aeroworks Yak. Right now I have the heavy duty JR switches, will I have to replace them and I am running straight to the rec. with no power system and no regulators. I would like to keep it simple. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Kevin B]

I have an aeroworks 35% Extra 260 that I just outfitted with A123. Not sure what you should do. But I can tell you what I did. I used a wolverine switch and a badger switch from Fromeco, 2 2300 mAh packs and 1 1100 mAh pack from Tom at Wildhare. All of this is used to power 8 7955s through a Smart Fly power expander - no regulators. So far a very solid set-up. I need to work on servo binding, but not one problem with the batteries. I also have the Cellpro 4S and it is a breeze to operate.

[pepatrick]

I would consider this as a really awesome setup.

3 x A123 2300 packs
3 Fromeco Kodiac switches (these have deans in, deans out and deans to charge...They also have a fuel guage so you can tell how many amps were used in each flight...cumulative)
1 JR / Spektrum R922 / AR9100 receiver.

This is about as simple as you can get...lots of redundancy...and no match boxes or regulators.

[bodywerks]

And lots of money! No need for any switches whatsoever if you're running an AR9100, either.
Use what you already have. If it worked with NiMH, it will work with A123. No need for a fuel gauge switch - just do a typical flight or two and monitor how many amps you put back in. As a general rule, a 100cc bird burns between 300-400ma per flight.

[leelee]

	Quote: Originally Posted by bodywerks
	And lots of money! No need for any switches whatsoever if you're running an AR9100, either. Use what you already have. If it worked with NiMH, it will work with A123. No need for a fuel gauge switch - just do a typical flight or two and monitor how many amps you put back in. As a general rule, a 100cc bird burns between 300-400ma per flight.

I am running the R921 2.4, I was wondering where would be the best place to purchase the batteries. And would I be able to use my regular charge switches with these batteries. You are right those switches are very expensive but if thats what I have to do then I will get them. I was looking at SinCityJets and they have been out for a while. I noticed TroyBuiltModels has them very cheap but my biggest thing is knowing which connectors to use on the batteries and switches.

[BTerry]

Leelee, have you ordered the FMA Cellpro chargers yet? If not, they have a sale on right now, buy one get a second half price. PM me if you are interested and I will track down the coupon number from the email they sent me.

Standard heavy duty switches will work just fine, or you can get the very nice expensive switches. You will honestly see a big difference in servo reaction, etc, just swapping the A123's for the NiMHs without any other changes.

Be CERTAIN your servos are not binding. I set them up using a NiMH battery because the A123 batteries will arc weld your wires, switches, and servos if the servo stalls. They will happily provide any amount of current the circuit requests, far beyond the capability of our servos/wires/switches to handle.

When shopping for batteries, be sure to get actual A123 batteries. Nobody else makes the same thing as A123 has a lock on the design. Other batteries have a similar elecrolyte chemistry but none have the A123 cathode, which is the secret to the amazing power. I think Wild Hare has them in stock, as do other retailers.

[JimC-MD]

I am using the A123 cells on a 40%er. I have two 2300 packs for the Rx and one for the ignition. I have chosen to use the "expensive" switches with the "fuel meter" on my RX. Personally I like the meter on the side to look at after landing. They have always stayed within .1 (100 mah) side to side at the end of each flight. If they ever are not that way, it will tell me to look for a problem. Plus, if a circuit on the plane develops a problem and my current draw were to increase an unexpected amount, I would also have a "tell tale" that would catch my eye. Not needed, but useful. Out of the total cost of the plane, it is a fart in a windstorm.

[Kevin B]

As I stated, I have the wolverine switches, not the kodiak... If I knew that I would have the need to change over so quickly to A123, I too, would have purchased the Kodiak. As it is, the Wolverine pretty much matches the draw from one pack to the other. In tracking the numbers, there never seems to be more than .025 mAh difference between the packs.

[leelee]

	Quote: Originally Posted by BTerry
	Leelee, have you ordered the FMA Cellpro chargers yet? If not, they have a sale on right now, buy one get a second half price. PM me if you are interested and I will track down the coupon number from the email they sent me. Standard heavy duty switches will work just fine, or you can get the very nice expensive switches. You will honestly see a big difference in servo reaction, etc, just swapping the A123's for the NiMHs without any other changes. Be CERTAIN your servos are not binding. I set them up using a NiMH battery because the A123 batteries will arc weld your wires, switches, and servos if the servo stalls. They will happily provide any amount of current the circuit requests, far beyond the capability of our servos/wires/switches to handle. When shopping for batteries, be sure to get actual A123 batteries. Nobody else makes the same thing as A123 has a lock on the design. Other batteries have a similar elecrolyte chemistry but none have the A123 cathode, which is the secret to the amazing power. I think Wild Hare has them in stock, as do other retailers.

Thanks for the info, I have seen the sale for half off the second. That is why I was going with that charger. I appreciate the help.

[masterrebuilder]

Leelee,
The Cellpro is a great charger. Be sure and get balance taps on your batteries, and only genuine A123 from a reliable source or make your own from Dewalt 36V packs. It is easy to add balance plugs if you can't get them already installed. Deans for the power leads is readily available and needed to utilize the benefits of these batteries. When you get the chargers, get a couple of balance charge taps.

[pepatrick]

I wouldnt worry so much about balancing a 2 cell A123 pack. They are not likely to get out of balance. I have a couple of hundred flights on a pack...and just for fun..I decided to balance them. There was no difference in the 2 cells...If you make your own...and do not use the Kodiak..it may not be a bad idea to use 2 sets of deans...one to plug in the recieiver and one to charge with.

[GooseF22]

	Quote: Originally Posted by leelee
	I am running the R921 2.4, I was wondering where would be the best place to purchase the batteries. And would I be able to use my regular charge switches with these batteries. You are right those switches are very expensive but if thats what I have to do then I will get them. I was looking at SinCityJets and they have been out for a while. I noticed TroyBuiltModels has them very cheap but my biggest thing is knowing which connectors to use on the batteries and switches.

call fromeco. Iron corps extreme's are actual A123 2300's

[dick hanson]

I just put together a A123 powered model -which uses 2 of the cells for the radio.
It will pull almost 1000 watts not a lot - but that is from 7 2300 ma cells
all up is 6 lbs exactly

[leelee]

I am reading alot on these batteries but I am really lost. I would like to see a diagram of how they are set up from the batteries to the switch to the rec. I was going to go with the JR balance lead and the heavy duty JR switches that I have, but how will you run the wiring on this setup. I was told that you can only charge through the balance lead with the cellpro charger, so how do you hook the batteries up. Will I have to take my canopy off to charge, or can you charge through the charge jack on the switch. I am all confused.

[Hibrass]

Good news for those of us that don't assemble our own batteries...! NOBS is going to start offering A123 after the 15th!
http://www.hangtimes.com/index.html
If they do as good a job with the A123's as they do with NIMHs and NiCads they should be a hit... They also have a nice faq...

Hibrass