Yeah, several, but they don't grip like a mini machine vice 😉

an adjustable spanner holds XT connectors and I suspect you have one to hand!

Mornin' John (aka Sleepless in Unknown, UK, 😉)
That's exactly the jig I found recently for the batch of XT connectors I bought when I finally went LiPo (better than NUTS!).
Ref. your 'wall wart' (horrible expression, must have come from our 'colonial brothers. Sorry Ed!)-
If the resistor burnt out I'd be very surprised if the rectifier wasn't also damaged. Check the voltage with your multimeter in both AC and DC ranges and let me know the results. Also give me the data of the 'wart'.
Input voltage, W or VA rating, output voltage and current. Should all be embossed on the thing somewhere.
Cheers, Doug 😎

That's a neat gizmo, Peter. in fact they both are.

Martin

If you want an assistant with your soldering, leads, 4mm gold thingy's!, XT plugs, deans plugs, in fact it caters for every type,
such a simple idea,that works.👍
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/mr-grippy-soldering-jig.html
Cheers, Peter😊

You guys might like to have one of these.I can really recommend it-----https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aluminum-jig-Soldering-Aid-Station-adjust-heat-insulation-XT60-90-TPlug-Bullet-E/381885854656?hash=item58ea2bb3c0:g:qIQAAOxyNThTdeHT My tool was from Bang Good and cheaper but I can't find it again now.👍
Just come across some Lithium Thional Chloride batteries 3.6 v per cell.Doug I have a wall wart that has a burnt out resistor in the final output pos line.Voltage across the terminals 15 v. I need to drop the voltage to 7..v or a bit over to charge a 4 pack of AA Nimh cells any idea what value resistor I should replace The burnt one with as the value bands were burnt off. Someone shorted it out during a charge. That is the only damage. I don't want to lash it for the sake of a resistor if I can avoid it. I hope you can work it out . I'm guessing 20 Ohms but just a guess🤔🤔 Quite small so maybe 1/4 or 1/2 watt.

Hi H, have you actually seen the TX battery?
It has contacts deeply recessed in the case, the corresponding spring contacts are in the TX case. There ain't nowt to clip onto 🤔
Only way would be to make a little jig and frame to hold some spring contacts. Then cables to 4mm bullets. is it worth the bother?
Cheers Doug 😎
PS decided not to saw into the already fragile cutter hull. Am about to EzeKote the outside. Will pin and glue a keel extension on later, prior to fitting prop tube and rudder stock. 😉

Thanks Doug, I'll copy that down and pin it to the wall!

H, the LiPo in the TX has just 4 gold pads on one end. No way to charge it anywhere else.

Martin

Lipos can be taken to a storage setting which is supposed to keep them good for a long term storage. You can still use the imax just make up a lead with a couple of crock clips to clip to the TX battery.

Hi Martin,
No need to get yer knickers in a twist 😲
With the NiMh just stick 'em on your iMax every 2 months and run 'em through a discharge / charge cycle. Otherwise in three months they'll probably be Dodo-like 🤔 NiMh batts lose about 1% charge per day.
So, assuming fully charged to start with, they will die in about three months. They should not be discharged below 1.0V per cell or they most likely will not recover and will not take a charge anymore.

Your TX LiPo you have no control over so just rely on the charger in the TX. Over winter just switch it on every month or so and check if the red LED lights. if it does stick it on charge until the green LED lights again.
Your other LiPo you can give a Storage charge with the iMax.
Check it with your Capacity Tester now and again. Storage charge will probably indicate 30 to 50%. if it's less than 30% put it on a Storage charge again. Voltage per cell should never be allowed to go below 3.0V MINIMUM. Start a Battery Diary!!
Cheers, Doug 😎
Back to hull sanding for me 😡 P'ing down again today so no outdoor spraying🤔 Just discovered construction fault in my fish cutter😲 First hull planks were set flush with the keel bottom instead of leaving about 1/4" of keel showing 😭 To saw or not to saw ? That is the question!!

I thought they all had to be cycled to keep any charge in 'em. What do I know? All my batteries have died...Lead acids, Nimhs (except for the new ones for the testing of the Spektrum). I hate bloody batteries. I don't use my stuff often enough to keep them working. Such as all Winter. Basically from September to May all boating is on hold. So batteries get left. I now have a Digital radio which uses 4 AAs, but they get charged in a wall wart, no packs of them and no fancy connectors, so that still leaves out the NiMhs. I suppose all you can do is run a motor or something. Maybe a light bulb. Then recharge. What a faff. I wasn't cut out for working models.

Cheers,
Martin

Mornin' Martin, You don't need to cycle LiPos !!!
Play 'silly buggers' with it and you might bugger it! 😡
Just use it normally and charge it when the red lamp appears on the TX front indicating low voltage. Keep an eye on it and unplug the USB charger lead as soon as the LED turns to green.
You could also use your Capacity Tester to check the LiPo status, IF it will connect to it. Sounds like it has a very non-standard plug? Pic?
The cycling is for NiMH batts to minimise the memory effect.
Cheers, Doug 😎
PS Just checked the manual and saw the battery connector!
You can forget connecting the battery to any other charger or the Tester 🤔

I guess the imax would, Haverlock, but for the fact that the LiPo in the Tx. has it's own built in connectors on the end of the case which connect with four sprung thingies in the Tx.'s battery box, so I suppose it has to be charged in situ, like a 'phone or a screwdriver/drill. I'll have to just play silly buggers with it to cycle it.

Martin

more on the care and feeding of the strange beast called LiPo

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lithium-Polymer-Etiquette/

your IMAX charger will handle a single cell LiPO fine! so you can put the LiPO into its storage state if your not going to use the TX for an extended time.

http://learn.trossenrobotics.com/arbotix/arbotix-external-hardware/11-lipo-battery-guide.html

Some good data there on the care and feeding of LiPo batteries

Goodnight and thanks as usual. it hadn't occurred to me that the device would have a charge circuitry.
Now I have to see how I can run it up and down to cycle it, when I don't have any models to put it in straightaway.

Ta very much, chaps.
Cheers,
Martin

Well, it is getting late H 😁
G'night all, 😎

mea culpa mea culpa mea maxima culpa I shall now put the ceremonial sack cloth and ashes on. grins

Hi Martin, sorry was distracted by primer/filling my PTB 😉
"Don't worry, BE happy" (Sing along now folks!) 😁
Haverlock is right, the TX will have the necessary charger electronics built in so should cut off when required. Keep an eye on it though and check the temp with your finger tips now and again.
The USB connection is 5V and usually anywhere between 0.5 and 2Amps. The TX charger will just take what it needs, so Plug & Play away 👍 I don't expect it will take much more than an hour-anna-half to charge.
What Haverlock forgot was that a 1S ain't got no balancer plug cos it's only got one cell! Use the TX to charge it.
Don't get more charged up than usual 😁😉 Cheers, Doug 😎

But, Haverlock, you get a charge lead with it. I just can't help wondering whether the usual 5 volts on the other end isn't too high, but, like I said, my wife's efags and her phone are charged from the same source...her laptop.

Martin

If the charge lead plugs into the transmitter while the LiPO is still connected it probably has the needed electronics to limit the charge. Failing that you can charge the LiPO from your main charger just plug the LiPO lead into the charger balance port

Hi Doug, the battery in the new FlySky Tx is a 1s LiPo, so 3.7volts. it's 800 Mah and the set comes with a charge lead from a USB port. But they're 5 Volts, aren't they? So wouldn't that damage it? And they don't cut off when charged do they? Chris's efags are done that way as is her phone and I had a 4 port USB thingy in the glove compartment of me Reliant Fox for Chris's fags and phones. Now I have a neat tower of 6 mains sockets and 4 USB ports and they are down as 5 volts too. I have it to use shorter leads on all my small power tools and to charge stuff.
As long as I'm not risking frying a LiPo, I'll be happy!

Cheers,
Martin

Hi, looks like you've already got the Tamiya connector on that one lead. Just put the 4mm plug on the red lead and you're good to go!
If you only recently bought the NiMh batts they can't be dead yet.
Half dead maybe 😁
Re charging:
1 what voltage and capacity is the battery?
2 what current does the charger supply?
Look at the info on a label or embossed on the back.
Cheers, Doug 😎

Right, thanks, Doug, I think I get that. I need to get a Tamiya female connector with 4mm plugs on tother end for the nimh packs, although they could be dead too by now.

I didn't get a Spektrum combo as I knew I could get a perfectly good Rx. cheap and as ever I have to watch what I spend carefully. I didn't expect Greeno to flog me a dead 'un.

So this time I bought FlySky and in order to get it for an amazing 20 quid, it turned out to be one of those pistol jobbies. I don't like the look of them, I must say. I couldn't think of anything worse than buggy racing, BUT that's what comes with a 20 quid spend. I might make a ship's wheel to go on the steering twiddler On the yacht the sails will be going out as the throttle goes forward and in when it's pulled back. Seems logical to me.

Thanks for the info on the charger bits, but could you tell me how long to charge the LiPo in the Tx? There's nothing in the instructions about it as it must be a modern upgrade. The leaflet says put in 4 newly charged AAs!

Cheers,
Martin

Evenin' Martin,
OK-
1. Your NiMhs have Tamiya plugs.
2. Correct charge lead for those would be the one in your last pic.
BUT; it puzzles me that it seems to have one 4mm plug, OK, and one 4mm socket?? if that IS the case; Why? Should have two plugs to go in the charger. Change it for one of your new 4mm plugs.
3. You can charge the LiPo with the lead second from right.
The 'bricks' are 'T' or 'XT' connectors.They look like XT60. Common on LiPos.
Select LiPo and 'Auto' on the charger and it will do the rest.
Don't forget to plug in the little white Balancer plug so the charger knows what it is charging and can balance the cells.
Guess the next question will be:- 'But the white plug is too big to fit the charger'! if so you need an adaptor! See pic. The adaptor is in the middle; 'XH Adaptor'. Plugs on batteries are XH, sockets on chargers the smaller EH. it's a conspiracy to force us to buy adaptor boards or cables 😡
However, if the LiPo hasn't been used or charged for years I don't hold out much hope for it 🤔 At the bottom of my pic you can see one of my capacity / cell voltage testers.

Glad the FlySky package works. What does a Luddite learn from that?
Buy TX and RX together as a so called 'Combo' and they come ready bound, saving a lot of F'ing and Blinding 😉
Was very surprised you bought a car pistol grip with trigger throttle.
Might be OK for throttle (cars are usually 'digitally driven'; i.e. Flat Out or Stop!) But I wonder how you'll get on with that on a sail winch 😲
Bon chance mon ami 👍 Cheers, Doug 😎

Right, gentlemen who know fings, here are shots of the wires I have. OK, I must have put the banana plugged wires in a box marked R/C Gear, I'm assuming, but the charger's wires mainly have brick red flat contact -containing plugs. However, none of my battery packs have those, they have the white things with two small round pins in 'em, one socket square, one round. The newest pack for binding duties has a little black jobby that fits the Rxs.
Pictures included of all relevance. I tried to charge an old(ish) lead acid after making up a lead, but the charger put up a "Connection Break" legend on its screen. I assume that means, That one's f****d, mate. Fair enough, I thought it might be. But i still haven't worked out a lead to charge those green wrapped old NiMhs. I HAVE charged them before, because I have had two attempts at flying the aircraft. it went round in circles and then took a slate off my daughter's roof, proving that aircraft models really DO need insurance!

Anyway, enclosed are three pics. The shot of a Lipo is to show that I do have such things, but that dates way back and although not damaged or bulged hasn't been charged while I've had it. it was sent to me with 2 small outrunner brushless jobbies and a couple of brushed ESCs as a thankyou for sending plywood to a part of Britain that the PO won't go to with biggish parcels.

Finally....I have today received my FlySky RC set and guess what? it all works, perfectly, out of the box. it's PRE-BOUND! Whoopee do! it musdt be an upgrade as it came with a small Li-Po battery pack for the Tx. and a charge lead from USB to Tx. body. That's all great, but how do I know how long to charge it for? it currently has what looks like a full charge on it, judging by the brightness of the LEDs. Getting used to a passable impression of my son's old Subaru front wheel and tyre (complete with vented disc and caliper behind!) will take a while. I am guessing that pushing the throttle trigger forward is like a brake on a car. I assume on a boat it would be reverse? The instructions are not in any way exhaustive! But hey...on a tatty old Futaba servo it all worked a treat.

Here's the pics of wires.

Cheers,
Martin

Haverlock, soldering per se isn't a problem, I use jigs all the time to save burning or getting too much solder on things (1/43rd scale exhaust manifolds for F1 cars for instance), but I was just wondering if there was a problem with big hole, small wire, kinda thing. Thanks for the tips.

Doug, I'll take a pic later and send it along with the leads. There are several, but nothing with a 4mm plug on the end!

I wish I'd scrolled along a bit more on the listings and found the screw on plugs!

Cheers,
Martin

That's exactly what I would recommend Haverlock👍
I have such jigs for all the common plug / socket types I use.
Also a small vice with rubber jaws 😉

Martin; surely you got at least one charging lead with the charger?
Post a pic of it please, also of your batteries so we can see what plugs they have.
Reason for the big 'ole in 4mm plugs; they are intended for high currents so you need a thick wire!
I also thought of the screw plugs. Only snag is that they are usually nickel or silver plated and they corrode so the connection is not so reliable.
'Gold don't do nuffink wiv nuffink' 😉
Cheers, Doug 😎

As an after thought if your not sure about doing this message me your address and I will send you a couple of plugs ( one red one black) that have a screw fixing for the wire.

find a piece of wood thick enough to take the pin of the plug and drill a hole of the needed size so the plug will sit upright with the hole for the wire to the top and will stay there without the need to hold it ( this will mean a lot less swearing because you burned yourself.)

Having positioned the plug heat up the soldering iron and " tin " the inside of the hole
Strip the insulation from the end of the wire to be soldered into the plug and tin the bared end.

Slip the heat shrink onto the wire ( if you do not have a battery plug on yet you can leave this step out)

Now put the tinned end of the wire into the hole of the plug heat with your iron on the OUTSIDE of the plug and feed solder into the hole until your happy

remove heat and allow to cool give it plenty of time and give thanks for the wood because trying to hold it all while doing this HURTS

Help, Doug!! I just bought a pack of gold plated 4mm plugs for my iMax charger. it didn't come with any! Leads for everything else, but no way of plugging them in unless they're LiPos, which I know nothing about.
The plugs turned up today, BUT, the hole in the top is HUGE! How does one go about soldering a fiddly little wire into such a massive 'ole! They come with red and black heat shrink, but only for AFTER you get the battery wires into the plugs. I'm assuming I'll have an "other half" plug to plug the battery pack wire into, which I can then solder these mahusive plugs onto.
Why is all this stuff so bloody difficult?!

Martin

Evening, Doug, or is it morning? Just had a well earned rest having had the family round for Fathers' Day. Now catching up with the pootah. BTW, I had a garden full of blue and purple Lupins till the big breeze blew 'em all down recently. My star was a plant I didn't knowingly sew and that was an amazing mixture on the same stems of purple alternating with yellow. Gorgeous.

Anyway, Kakos. Yes I have quite a few and as I was given 2 original little Marinecraft hulls, I have earmarked two of my mint, new in red boxes Kakos for those with little AAA 3-at-a- time flat packs which even have switches. I wish we could still get Ever-Ready or Vidor batteries. Remember them? Can get scans though and my Sea Urchin has a styrene home made AA flat case ready for the daughter to print me out an Ever Ready bell flat pack, just like yours. The brass contacts aren't a problem for an old metal basher like me.

Your Sea Scout looks nice and I would say at 24" it would be about 1/16th to 1/12th. 24 feet would be a reasonable size for a sport fisherman or inshore cruiser. But in 1/16th scale at 32 feet I would say the style of the model and the use of the boat would be best represented by that combo.

Just looking at some info on the FlySky Tx I've got coming (it's already been posted) and find it uses no fewer than 8 AA cells...12volts! Ye Gods, why? OK, I can get two packs of NiMhs, but then that wouldn't be 12 volts, would it? it would be 9.6Volts. Would it even work? So, on further checking, I notice that several people have gone for the LiPo path, which means a 4s at a more acceptable 11.1Volts. Now I also see that a few have gone for the LiFe option, which I much prefer the sound of as they are a lower fire risk and keep a charge in storage for ages. But they would only be 9.9Volts as LiFe cells are 3.3 volts each. Would 9.9 volts be enough I wonder for a nominally 12 volt Tx. I'm assuming that if people with no objection to NiMhs have been using those for the rechargeability, then the Tx will, in fact, accept 9.6Volts. So, logically, a 9.9Volt LiFe would be OK, do you agree? I'm thinking down the line a bit after I'm used to it. My Imax magic blue box of chargery caters for LiFe cells too.

Steering teddies, et al, yeah, I can come up with some mechanical magic. My nickname with little gent, Lothar, at Wolfsburg was Mekanist (spelling), as I was always making little mechanisms for VW and SEAT cars. I made a rolling TV monitor that replaced the passenger airbag in the Passat CM2, which also had headrest TVs for back seat passengers and a wireless internet laptop built in to the rear seat central arm rest. A palm computer could come out of the dash using a mechanism that I designed and made and for which VW got a patent, with me as nominated inventor! Never made me a penny extra of course, but it was nice to know.
I did a static model of a 1/12th scale Riva where, if you turned the model Cadillac (yes it is, really!) steering wheel, the rudders moved via a worm and wheel steering box and two home made Universal joints! Gawd knows why. I just thought it might win me some column inches in Classic Boat....Nah!

You might find that 6" figures are more available for 1/12th scale boats than 4 1/2" figures for 1/16th, but I have to find or even make some for my Crash Tender. I look out for dollies at boot fairs and Sunday markets. I got a very square jawed geezer, 12" tall for my 1/6th scale Darby One Design and he fits, thanks to bendy bits. On your sports fisherman you need some arrogant bastard to be standing with one arm up on the screen and just the one on the wheel. Think Audi driver in a boat. Up yer arse or in yer way, but always thinking the sun shines out of his primary orifice.

Keep my socks dry? I was bought a pair of Granddad socks by the two little horrors today along with a chocolate Marmite pot and a Smurfs do Pop CD, which they insisted I play during the barbie! They've done the Smurf wind up since they were old enough to crawl because they know I despise the Dutch ghouls

Right, bedtime I suppose. Compost and Busy Lizzies tomorrow, she tells me. Yes, Ramona, my love....

Cheers,
Martin

Evenin' Martin, Just back from 'nosh' with Gisela, my camera girl in the vid!
She's mean like that too, keeps me hoppin' about like the proverbial cat on the proverbial hot stuff 😡
Can't wait to see the rotating teddy👍 Put a couple of mini Cam lenses in his eyeballs and you'll get a terrific 360° First Person View from the driving seat😁
Re Sea Scout,
I took your advice and did the hull in Royal Blue (no navy knickers!😆) or what passes for that here. Anyway I'm pleased how she turned out.
OK, I admit I accidentally turned her into a Sport Fishing Boat😁
She's 24" what scale do you think that makes her?
I'm looking for crew figures and stuff to fit out the cockpit but I'm not sure what size to look for. I thought maybe 1/20 i.e. a 40 footer? Waddya think?

Re Kako; while recently trying (fruitlessly🤔) to make space in the workshop (got two renovations on the go in parallel - saves getting the same tools, rattle cans an' stuff out twice!😁) I ran across the original Kakos and Mabuchis I used in my scratch 53" H class destroyer Hotspur in 1966. She ran off a 4.5V EverReady flat (form not volts😁) battery until Granny took pity and bought me some 6V Lantern batteries!
I ran 'em up on a power supply and they turned but now sound like mini football rattles! Think they need new big end shells 😁 Jeez, how many guys under pension age have ever been down to the bitza bazaar looking for 50 thou oversize bearing shells and compression and oil control rings??
Pics show her Sea trials in Radnor Park pond, Folkestone, Kent, summer 1966. Sorry about the quality, only had a Box Brownie 127 in those days and could only afford Gratispool free B/W films🤔 Pentax? Canon? Sony? Not to mention Digital? HD? Wassat? 50 years on I got all three😉

I like Lupins too, preferably the blue and purple ones.

BTW, for your steering guy's arms you don't need a separate RC function or channel! You just need a coupling from the rudder control to turn a pulley and cord which turns a suitably scaled pulley attached to the wheel axis. The arms are fixed to the wheel and go with it! Dead simple (to write anyway😁) and no lecktrickery! 😊
OR you could just put one of his hands on the wheel and the other on the throttle. Then use a 'Y' cable to split the ESC cable into two.
Connect the second output to a servo which moves the throttle lever via a push-me-pull-you-rod, pulleys and cord or gears or whatever. Sure you can figure out the mechanics better than I.
Whatever, have fun and don't electrocute yourself, keep your socks dry😉 Cheers, Doug 😎

Doug, 28 years ago I decided she was worth a punt and I was right.

I should get it delivered before July, but won't get it in my "stickies" until 22nd of July, actual birthday. She's mean like that too! I also have an Rx. coming to try with the TX. if that works I'll have 2 sets of modern stuff, one with 5 channels (functions) I suppose I could do a head turning teddy bear like Sail tales does on youtube. My Darby has a scale sized dolly man, which will need dressing in some 40s gear and can turn his arms on a steering wheel, so maybe a function for that.

The Sea Scout goes nicely, if a bit too fast for my tastes for what is really a river cruiser. But she looks nice and your Dad would be pleased I'm sure. My Sea Urchin remains resolutely free-sailing and Kako equipped.

Forgot to say, I would have to be Lupin as they are my favourite flowers.

Cheers,
Martin

I'm certainly Well Chuffed with your Missus👍😊
You've gotta good'n there mate😉

Great, now we're all on the same wavelength.
When will you get your 'stickies' on it?
So now you've got (or will have) basically the same set as I and many others here, just with a different brand name. Mine is from Conrad and they just rebranded it Reely and almost doubled the price😭
Spare Rxs I bought from HobbyKing for peanuts and bonded the lot as soon as they arrived. No problems at all😊 I have one in my restored Sea Scout, did you see the videos I posted of her Sea Trials in the Ostpark?
First run

Final run, bier was getting warm😉


Cheers Doug 😎
BTW: Apropos 'Pooterism' which one are you, Charles (left) or Lupin?😁😁

Doug, you'd be proud of me. On exclaiming at the amazing low price of a set of Flysky RC, my dear bride ordered me a set for my Birthday next month, so I'll end up with same make TX and Rx, which is very well reviewed and should just work. Spare Rxs. are 7 quid.
This lot must work, surely? (Don't call me surely)

Cheers,
Martin

Haverlock,
I have watched all those videos. They all say the same, some more succinctly than others and my set doesn't do the same as they say. I'll pick up some Alkaline batteries for the TX this afternoon, so it at least has its 6 volts and we'll see if the lights flash. if not, who knows?

Martin

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/766905/Spektrum-Dx5e.html?page=10#manual

I was looking around and found this page showing how to bind.

One question that springs to mind is are you actually putting the bind plug in the correct place? I know it seems stupid to ask BUT when things do not work one has to check all the stupid things which may be the root cause.

Watching those vids, I see that the Tx. lights are supposed to flash while binding. Mine don't. I will buy some heavy duty batteries, non chargeables and see if that makes any difference. Maybe there hasn't been enough battery in the back of the Tx.?

Martin

Haverlock,
seen that video too! All appear to say the same and that's what I've done several times, without effect. interestingly the friendly Kiwi in the very next video says how tens of thousands have been used and they "jist work". Hmmm.
I wouldn't touch one of those fancy programmable things with a barge pole. Least of all for a boat. I want 2 reliable functions (what used to be called 4 channels), as said above, I no longer plan on doing any aircraft, so if I were buying now I would have got a cheapie from Steve Webb, if he weren't out of stock!

If I were in the market for a bust yer gut programme -necessary set I would go mad and buy a Jeti Duplex becuase if THAT didn't work it would go straight on my wall as a work of art, being the finest piece of engineering I've seen since the Coventry Climax FWM V8, which I will already have pressed into use as a coffee table. Czechs are SO clever.

Cheers,
Martin

Doug,
what gave you the idea that I spent all that on my Spektrum DX5e? it cost me 45 quid from somewhere up North, brand new. The Rxs were, I thought, too much, so I got an Orange for 8 quid. I got the Spektrum because I was considering doing aircraft. 4 footers, scale, so not needing anything fancy, but costs of everything else stopped that. if they did a 2 function set cheap, I'd have had it. No chance selling the DX5e as it will have been superceded at least twice since I bought mine, probably at least once since I first removed it from its box! The Tx., isn't complicated. I was careful NOT to buy one that needed a degree in pooterism to operate. it's a toy boat fer Krissakes...go left, go right, speed up, slow down, stop, maybe go backuds, although my kind of real boats rarely do. I'd use my old REP single channel if some toad hadn't stole it. But it doesn't stand me in that much. This new Rx. which states DX5e compatibility is 7 quid. After that, if it don't work it will be back to the 27 meg. or nothing at all (much better exercise).

As to the battery capacity thing, it is exactly the same to look at as the ones you linked me to, but, although it didn't say it didn't do Nixx, the fact is it doesn't. On the box is a row of x's where the facilities are shown under NiCd and NiMh. Sending it back would cost almost as much as the thing cost in the first place. in the unlikely event that I ever get any LiPos, it'll do for those.
As to the NiMhs, I'll put them through a discharge recharge cycle on the imax thing according to what you and Haverlock have said. Then, just do the same when I've finished sailing. I use this stuff so rarely I suppose I should think again about whether to get any more stuff at all. is it possible to constantly cycle the batteries during the long winter fallow period? Should they be discharged by running a motor or can one trust the imax to do the job?

Once again, thanks for your time, Doug. I do appreciate your efforts to help out the Luddite.
BTW, when I bought the DX5e it really was the cheapest option, trust me! Now, I'd probably get one of those cheapies that are sold by the same outfit I bought my DX5e from, but they weren't around then.

Cheers,
Martin

looking around on YOUTUBE I found this



it walks through the bind process to an orange receiver.

I do have a planet t7 and 2 bound receivers which I could be persuaded to part with this is no longer in production but is a very simple system to use being none computerised. No idea what they are worth though .

if you think your transmitter is complicated have a look at a taranis I spent many (un) happy hours trying to get it to do anything since for any model you need to effectively tell it twice what each function is doing.

Evenin' Martin, Oh dear oh dear oh dear! 😲
There is some good advice above, but maybe not optimally expressed for use by a Luddite! Sorry guys but this might be a relatively long post to separate the wheat from the chaff, explode a few myths and resolve this little conundrum of Martin's!
One thing at a time!
NUMBER1. THE RADIO-
Dear Martin: Whatever possessed a self confessed Luddite and Scrooge like you to spring a large chunk of your hard earned pension on one of the most expensive and complex RC sets on the market in the first place????
I bought a Spektrum DX6 on impulse a few years ago while strolling around Conrad here in Munich. I've regretted it ever since. in retrospect it was way too expensive >600€, and complex. it is intended for the Fly Boys, as unfortunately most sets are these days.
I have still not successfully programmed it to do what I want to do, instead of what it is pre-programmed to do for helis and fixed wing aircraft. Not even with it's own Spektrum RX, let alone a 'foreign' RX like Orange.
So I have not yet risked it in a model. Definitely NOT my Catalina.
Since then I have bought a Turnigy I6. Which does the same as the Spektrum, works fine with my Orange RX with giro for the Catalina😉, cost only 69€ (is now available for around 33 quid😡) and within a few hours I had it programmed and tested to do all I want in my destroyer and Sea Scout.👍
In short: the Spektrum is way way way Overkill for your yacht or Fire Float or similar, where you will only ever want rudder and sail servo / winch or rudder and speed control. So flog the Spektrum and get a nice simple (and cheap😉) 2 or 4 channel set. I can't imagine you ever wanting to start building special effects into your models so 2 (max 4) channels is all you will probably ever need. Stick your Spektrum on eBay, maybe you'll get at least a 100 quid for it.
If you still want to go 2.4Gig get yourself a Turnigy i6 set with RX, 6 ch but cheap enough and I can help you directly with binding and programming from experience - I have a good English manual with no Chenglish gobbledygook.
If not and you still have a working 27 or 40MHz FM set (40 would be better) use that. Where you sail, all alone, who's going to bother you or be bothered?
BTW: Yes the Spektrum TX IS DSM2 and DSX compatible BUT you have to tell it what you want to use!!! Frankly I think trying that with a non-Spektrum RX is risky - especially first time out and for a novice Luddite😉

NUMBER 2. THE NiMh BATTERY-
Voltage is not a reliable indication of battery charge / remaining capacity.
After use a battery will recover slightly when at rest and the open terminal (off load) voltage will rise, often to the nominal voltage or slightly above.
This is NO indicator of remaining charge as when a load is applied the voltage will drop again rapidly, the higher the current drawn the faster the voltage drops. if it goes below 1.0V per cell the battery will be permanently damaged and never regain it's original capacity.
Haverlock is dead right about batteries losing charge when not used or regularly recharged. An NiMh batt loses charge at the rate of about 1% per day so after 3 months or so you can send it to the great recycling depot in the sky and buy a new one. Periodic cycling, discharge / charge prevents / minimises this - see care hints I posted above.
And yes, NiMh do have that irritating Memory effect🤔 albeit not so pronounced as with NiCads. Lipos apparently not, but I ain't seen any evidence yet - the jury is still out!
Sooo - ignore the 6.37V and run the batt through a discharge and full charge cycle. if your new NiMh batt has not yet been cycled and charged I would bet that it's present capacity is about 45%. See example below (and in attached pic) of one of my new 4.8V (nom) NiMh RX batts.

NUMBER 3. THE CAPACITY CHECKER -
"Glorified voltmeter" ?
Where did the 6.37V reading come from if not from your 'new toy'?
If it is showing volts it should also be showing capacity in %age.
If you received the wrong thing it's not the "bloody electrics" but the bloody nit who packed and sent it that's at fault. Before you send it back check the below😉
Send me a photo of the Checker you have and with your battery plugged in so I can see what's happening on the display. Otherwise we are all poking about in the dark (Are we back to Jules and his friend Sandy😉😲)
The link I sent you was for a checker exactly the same as mine except for the labelling! As you can see in my photo, properly connected it shows the terminal voltage and the remaining capacity (charge level) of the battery pack. Forget the Nixx (=2 Ni possibilities) display, that just means 'It ain't a LiXX' (3 Li- pissibolities).
Attached photo shows a brand new 4 cell NiMh RX pack 4.8V (Nominal) connected to one of my Checkers.
As you can see the voltage shown is 5.19V, according to the popular 'folklore' that would seem to indicate FULL charge.
Unfortunately not🤔 Capacity indication is 45% which is normal for brand new batteries in storage and transit. Explanation thereof - see above!
RE: " if it can do LiPos, why not the relatively simpler NiMhs?"
a) the LiPo pack has a different chemistry and construction which requires different input circuitry on the checker,
b) LiPos need balancing and are fitted with Balancer Plugs which connect to the multipin connectors on the checker. Each pin connects to one cell of the LiPo so that they can be monitored individually. LiPo chargers use this to balance the cells to within 0.01V (100mV) or less by adjusting the charge / discharge currents to each cell. The checkers use this to show you the individual cell voltages and charge states. A big difference, i.e.lower V and capacity, indicates cells with faults, e.g. higher internal resistance, or a discharged pack which needs charging and balancing.
NiMh packs don't usually have this facility to measure individual cells. They are thus connected to a separate input on the checker which can then only show total pack terminal voltage and capacity.

BTW: if you can get it passed 'THE Management' store your battery packs in the fridge😲 The 'coolth' slows down the rate of self discharge, which is a function of the battery internal resistance, which reduces slightly with reduced temperature😉
Enough for now, back to stripping my PTB for it's Midlife Refit!
Cheers, Doug 😎
PS Martin: Just saw your post about another RX. Why the hell not buy a Spektrum designed Rx guaranteed to work with their TX?
Or better still; flog the Spektrum and get a nice simple Turnigy set as above, also recommended by Ron, albeit the 9 ch version.
All this frigging about with 'claimed compatible' bits and pieces just wastes money and time, fogs the issue and don't prove nutt'n!

Your not having much luck Martin , I've never used the orange rx's so can't help you with that I've always used the turnigy 9x and for the money it's been a great radio that's never let me down. I'm sure you will figure it all out and it will be something simple staring you in the face .
Ron

To save time, I have decided to treat myself to another Rx. This one claims to be compatible with my very type of Tx. so I have great hopes for it. it's cheap enough to take a punt, but it will be the last attempt. if this one don't work it's back to the 27meg and a wee green flag off the 6 foot aerial.

Cheers,
Martn

I tried the plug, but it is pushed in. The Tx. has lights on the front. Are they supposed to tell you the charge level? if so. I had 4 cells in it which lit up the light second from left (green) and then tried a more recently charged set I just found and they lit up the second from right, (also green). People have said that the TX. light should flash, but which one? There are 4 of the things. And none of them flash. Somebody suggested fixing the TX. in DSM2 mode, but the instructions insist that it is compatible with all, but one of Spektrum's own!
I can see me flogging it all off for once and all and going back to free sailing. When the boat slows down, it's time to recharge and sod the RC!

Martin

as a rule of thumb charge your battery pack the night before you intend to take your model out to play ( that includes your transmitter).

As to binding step 1 with binding plug in power up the receiver

look for a rapid flashing light

step 2 power up the transmitter with the bind switch held ON.

rapid flashing light should change to solid

power everything down remove bind plug and keep it safe.

Since I have never used the spectrum that's the best I can do.

an afterthought you say you have never removed the bind plug are you sure its actually plugged in where it should be not just " parked" for transit?

Haverlock, so when The servos don't don't want to work any more, it's time to recharge I take it? I don't know how else you could tell. Because they have an RC plug on the wire I can't try them out in the DAB radio or my camera.

As to the binding problem, yes the plug is in because I have never removed it as I wouldn't know what to do with it.

Martin

as to charging and discharging a battery pack. if you leave an NiMH pack untouched for long enough it winds up DEAD, So if your not using a pack for any length of time you should cycle it every couple of months. if your using a pack regularly and just " topping up" the charge again its a good idea to cycle it occasionally to keep the capacity ( I know NiMH are not supposed to have the " memory" problems NiCads had but.......). Yes the charger senses the battery condition and stops when charged. However its good practice to never leave a charger running unattended and to touch the pack often to make sure its not cooking.

stupid question you did have the bind plug in? Whenever something like this occurs you have to ask all the questions.