Hey Guys, I was just wondering how hard it is to build your own Battery Pack!!! I have a 4.8volt 2000MaH Targus Rechargerable Receiver Battey pack that i would like to use with the LST, it to small power wise (4.8volt)and I know that!!! Its a AA Pack, But I would like to copy it, and i was wondering what all i need to do that!!! I also found a 6volt already Made Receiver battery pack to: http://www.batteryjunction.com/tenergy-6v-1600mah.html .. Let me know what you guys thing ok!!! But i wasn't sure how much run time would get with 1600 Mah, any Idea? My mom and i were talking about this last night to! Nikki
On an LST 1600mAH would be plenty for a receiver pack on a convoy ship. If you're soldering, be sure to be careful not to short the wrong things together. An alternative that many use is to buy a AA battery holder and solder a servo plug onto it to plug into the receiver. You could either use rechargable AAs or alkaline AAs (which you just change at the start of the battle weekend).
Soldering your own battery packs is a bit specialized, especially if you are not using tabbed batteries. It is easy to overheat and ruin a battery if not careful. There are literally dozens of configurations, capacities, and chemistries available at places like www.batteryspace.com/ I recommend not going with Lithium Ion (including LiPo or even LiFePO4) unless you are ready to get additional knowledge due to the dangers involved. LiIon in particular do NOT like water. NiCd and NiMh are relatively mature and benign, as are SLAs (if you need the ballast) and I use a lot of NiMh myself in ready made packs that I then waterproof (to keep vents from corroding shut). I am experimenting with LiFePO4, but that is a long, involved discussion not to be taken lightly, and they are relatively new to the hobby. One thing, it is not just the Voltage that should concern you (4.8v is ample for many motors), but the Amperage. You need to learn about the discharge and charge "C" rates of the batteries you will be using, and the total amperage draw of your system. Sometimes a battery with a lower mA rating will give better performance than a higher mA rated one if the C rating is higher and the one with the higher mA rating is being over-discharged. Batteryspace is good about giving the C rating for both charge and discharge. Cheers,
