First attempt..........

[strat1960s]

MotorRotor,

Looks like I need to start pricing packs again. I totally didn't see anything stating NiCad. Learning gets to be very expensive.

Ted

[guitarherowanab]

i got a 1s 3250 lipo from www.maxamps.com. it works great. you have to call them, tho, as they dont list 1s's on their site but will do it for ya. just make sure you tell them in no uncertain terms that you want the smaller gague servo type leads and not the big leads that come on most packs. i have my own crimper, so i put my own plug on, but if you measure the length you need, im sure theyd put one on for ya. consequently, the 3250 fits perfectly in the rear tray underneath where the boom goes, and weighs practically nothing.

on a side note, i took the switch out of the loop as well. i think some of my problems were coming from it. now i just plug the battery directly into the ignition. make sure you unplug it when you are done flying tho, as i left mine plugged in and it killed my battery!

[Dennis P]

I am using the same setup, a 1s lipo with the stock ignition and it has served me well.The thing about the lipo is it can take a large draw and that is what Motor Rotor is saying about the Nicad also.The voltage on the Nimh may drop way down under load .Another thing is a spark plug takes way more power to fire under compression (load) than under no compression checking spark .I just mixed up my 4th gallon last night and put in 2 more flights between rain storms !!! .I also run no switch and just have deans connectors on the ignition and battery .This makes it simple to charge the pack on my chargers.Something to think about is your 3250mah pack being charged at just 1c is 3.25 amps going through a servo lead.When I built my lipo pack I used 14gauge wire.My pack sits right behind my ignition so the lead length is short.I do not charge my pack at over 1c ,but your pack is probably rated for up to a 5c charge rate which would make small wiring turn to instant smoke . Hope you get that heli flying soon.Take care

[guitarherowanab]

never thought of that wire gague deal. i just charge it at 1c, to, and didnt have a problem. ill keep that in mind though.

[charlieoneseven]

Ted the plug boot comes off easy after getting it all the way on the spark plug no problem.
I gave up on the pull start method and got mine going on a standard 4.8 1400mah pack on the stock EI. Did you try to electric start yet? Hovering my G20 today was interesting and a lot more fun than just pulling that cord...

[strat1960s]

Charlie,

I gave up on the pull start on the first day. I had blisters between my fingers like so many others. I picked up the Align starter that runs off a 3-cell lipo. Using the electric starter caused my clutch to rotate loose and push up on the clutch bell. this in-turn caused the clutch bell to rub on the frames. Long story/short version, it caused a few problems.
I'm far from giving up on my heli. I'm still working on it. I've got a new ei unit on it's way. It can handle 4.8 to 6v. So I'm looking at buying another regulator and looking at using a lipo to power my ei. I have a question for the manufactures making these ei units. If no one makes Ni or lipo packs that work on a 4.8v ei unit without the use of resistors/diodes or a voltage regulator, why not make your ei units that will work on a 3.7v or 7.4v lipo pack which is much more common than a 4.8 NiCd or Lipo??
I've been flying electric helis for several years with no problems. I went with a gasser to get away from lipo packs and obtain longer flight times. I've discovered with my Radikal that I need two packs and still have yet to get any flight time. (Oh the Irony)

Ted

[guitarherowanab]

Originally Posted by strat1960s

Charlie,
If no one makes Ni or lipo packs that work on a 4.8v ei unit without the use of resistors/diodes or a voltage regulator, why not make your ei units that will work on a 3.7v or 7.4v lipo pack which is much more common than a 4.8 NiCd or Lipo??

the rcexcel ignition does fine on a single cell lipo. actually, www.rremodels.com was selling a combo of a 2s 2000 and 1s 1000(or something like that) specifically for the radikals. i dunno if they still sell it because they are not a century dealer any more. but yeah, the rcexcel can be run on 4.2v 1s lipo

[strat1960s]

I ordered a RC Xcell ei a few weeks ago. Should be arriving soon, I hope. The problem I have is that the RC Xcell is rated for 4.8 to 6.0V. I can either use the 4.8 v NiMh packs that I have, which eveyone says cannot provide the needed amps or I go with lipo packs that I have which are rated at 7.4v 3600 mAh. But to use my lipo packs, I'd need to either add some resistors/diodes or buy another voltage regulator. That is why I say the ei manufactures should make their ei units so they can handle the common pack voltages. If I recall a single lipo cell produces 3.7 volts. Common 2 cell packs produce 7.4v. Why not spread the voltage range to 3.7 to 7.4v???

Ted

[guitarherowanab]

its rated at 4.8, but mine does fine on the 4.2v from the single cell lipo. actually, i visually see a stronger spark from the rcexcel on the single cell lipo than i did from the stock on a 4 cell nicd pack, and the spark looks and sounds the same on the 1 cell lipo and the 4 cell nicd. my engine runs just fine on the single cell lipo. there are numerous guys using the single cell lipo on their setups. and a bonus is it is MUCH lighter

[strat1960s]

I got my RCXcell today. (Woot Woot)

Here is what I was thinking:
Re-locate my voltage regulator to the from of the heli. Instead of using a pack for my RX and a pack for the EI, I may try to use one 2-cell lipo rated at 3600 mAh.
What do you guys think? I know it's kind of a heated topic as some are for it and some are against. It's either one pack and one regulator or two packs and two regulators.

Ted

[guitarherowanab]

if you use the single cell lipo for ignition, it just plugs straight in. no regulator requited. i dont even use a switch, but just plug it in and go.