# Battery Size & Options to Operate a reciver and servos.



## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

I must have been good, because Santa brought me Spectrum DX6i and AR6115e Receiver.









When we were at the store ( I helped Santa), I asked the clerk about power for the receiver and he gave me a shrunk wrapped pack of batteries. So I asked him about charging and he showed me the cheapest charging unit he had. In the end I bought a $2 plug that I can attach my own (AA?) battery pack to. Then take out the battery and charge them in the wall charger I have. But now I think it might be a lot easier to just plug in a tender to charge it, rather than taking 4 or 5 AA cells out of a tender for charging.


So I have three questions:

1. What voltage should I supply to the receiver?

2. WHat do you guys do Charge separate batteries or plug in to charge and on board pack? 


3. What kind of maintenance is required for on board packs? Monthly charging if it hasn't been run?


PS: I'm running live steam, but I don't know if that makes much difference.


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## Batsco (Mar 30, 2011)

In mu Ruby I leave the batteries in the tender and charge them in-situ. 

They are connected via a double pole, double throw, centre off switch. 

Throw the switch one way connects the batteries to the receiver and the other way they are connected to 2 small pins on the outside of the tender that I connect my charger to. 

I use this method for both my live steam and battery powered locos. 

The switch orientation I use is, viewed from rear of loco is to the left (port) for charging and to right (starboard) for running. 

This orientation is a reminder of which way to throw the switch, Port=same as in port or dock Starboard = start. 

I use 2500mAh low discharge batteries and charge then as required or after about 10 runs, they are a little more expensive but they hold their charge well. 

Graeme 
Nowra NSW 
Australia


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## Batsco (Mar 30, 2011)

One thing I forgot to mention in my previous post is that I use 4x1.2V AA's to power my receiver, most receivers need only approx 5V to operate. 
I use HobbyKing Brand Transmitter / Receiver combos. 
I modified my Transmitter so that I have direction on the right stick and throttle on the left stick. 
This gives me fine control of both the throttle and the Johnson Bar which allows me to control Ruby's speed very well and extend my running time.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

I use 4 AA or AAA sized batteries for my receivers, depending on how much room I have to play with. I'm afraid I'm not very environmentally friendly, using regular alkaline batteries for all but one loco. Here's why I prefer them to rechargables... 

1) I have two young children, so I always have a few 48-cell AA and AAA packs sitting around for use in all their toys. (Alas, rechargables just don't do well in kids' toys applications.) 

2) I know when I pull 4 cells out of a card and put them in the battery holder, they're charged, and won't lose power on the way to the steam-up because one of the cells is bad from being over charged. 

3) I know they'll hold their charge for long dormant periods of time. I can put them in the receiver, not run the loco but once every three or four months (if that often) and the batteries will still be reasonably well charged. 

4) If the batteries do go flat during the steam-up, I can easily replace them with spares from my steam-up kit. I don't have to have multiple rechargable packs that I likewise hope are holding their charge. 

For me, it's about reliablity. I've gone with Li-Ion batteries for my electric mice because the NiMH batteries I had been using began to get unpredictable in how they perform. I've used those same cells in my live steamers with similar results. I'd get to the steam-up, and the cells would go flat in minutes, despite being fully charged. 

The one loco with a rechargable pack is truly the exception to the rule. It's using a NiCad pack that's at least 20 years old and still works well. Go figure. When it finally goes south, I'll just replace it with a 4-cell AA battery holder, too. 

Later, 

K


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

Kevin. 
Now you know why, apart from the oft touted environmental reasons, NiMh batteries are/were favoured by the battery manufacturers. 
NiCd batteries last at least twice as long, in terms of the number of recharges, than NiMh do for roughly the same cost. Plus, NiCd do not self discharge in 3 - 4 weeks like NiMh will do. 
The dreaded NiCd memory effect can easily be avoided by sensible use and proper recharging. Even if they do get a memory, that can be broken quite easily. 
I agree with you about regular Alkaline batteries compared to NiMh and even NiCd. However, the later hybrid Alkaline/NiMh rechargeable batteries do not self discharge. They are guaranteed to hold at least 85% charge for 12 months. 
As to Li-Ion. So far it seems they have a time limited life span. Probably because their use in most consumer products does not require them to last much longer than two years. The ones I have and have had only lasted 2 years. My 3Gs I Phone was down to 3-4 hours stand by after 2 years and this 4 yo lap top now lasts less than one hour. 

One word of advice re RX batteries. Be careful of over voltage with some brands. Planet in particular does not like fully charged 5 x cell rechargeables.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

So I have three questions: 

1. What voltage should I supply to the receiver? 

2. WHat do you guys do Charge separate batteries or plug in to charge and on board pack? 

3. What kind of maintenance is required for on board packs? Monthly charging if it hasn't been run? 

(My) Answers: 

1. Receiver voltage should be specified by the manufacturer - not by guesswork. However, most receivers and servos work on 4.5 - 9 volts, so the common option is a 4xpack of AA batteries (4.8 or 6V.) 
I have used a Radio Shack battery holder with 4xAA alkalines (like Kevin) but the tender had to be taken apart to change them. [That being said - I never had to take it apart at a steam-up; the batteries lasted for as long as I ran the loco.] 
When I rebuilt the system to 2.4Ghz with a new receiver, I switched to a pack of 4 NiMH AA cells. No problems so far, but I concur with Tony's comments about NiMh - they can be unpredictable. I do a lot of photography and I keep 4 or 5 sets of batteries with me - and they will fail for no apparent reason, refuse to charge properly, etc. 

2. The Spektrum DX6i transmitter came with 4 x AA NiMH cells and a charger, so I decided to use the same charger for my loco. I found the socket at radio Shack (5.5mm power socket, if I remember correctly,) and bought a 'smart charger' from one of the online battery shops. However, I can take the betteries out of my TX and charge them in a separate wall charger. (Which I had to do for a while, as the TX was sent back for repairs and was returned without the charger jack, which was loose inside!) 

3. Yes, charge them regularly, but not necessarily as often as once a month. I try to go round all of my trains about every 3 months


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