OK, well, this is exactly what I expectedto happen. First time out of the box for the Spektrum TX and first time for any power into the Orange Rx. Youtubes watched, instructions read, did everything they said and nothing. The Rx. light flashed, non stop, the Tx lights came on and it biddly booped. I had the trainer toggle switch held on while the Tx was turned on, but still, the Rx. flashed and did nothing more.
Any ideas what now?

You see, this is why I like static models so much. None of this faffing about with lecktrickery.

Cheers,
Martin

Thanks, Haverlock.
When should I discharge the batteries? Currently as you could see from above emails, they have a pretty full charge. I need to bind the Rx and see that the sail winch works. After that I probably wouldn't need them for a while, so would that be a good time to discharge them? Does the imax thingy stop discharging when it should automatically? Should I then leave them while and recharge a la Doug's advice, which seems to make very good sense with a new pack.?

Cheers for the advice on the iMax. I'll let you all know how the binding/servo testing goes.

Martin

ok step 1) plug in your charger

step 2 ) keep hitting the STOP button until you can see "Program select NiMH BATT"

step 3) press start

step 4) a status button until you see "NiMH CYCLE DCHG>CHG 1"

connect up your battery pack and press start!

Well, you could, Haverlock, if you understood a word of the instructions. But if they're reading 6.37Volts I reckon they're charged, so I shall try to use them to bind the Rx. and see if the Vanity sheet winch works.

Ron, I reckon they're charged at 6.37Volts. I'll just check that the Rx. is good for that higher voltage and then tomorrow see if I can get my head this binding business.

Martin

I know when my 5 cell receiver pack is charged it shows 6.7v in my meter , and like yours Martin it also shows "Nixx" in the top left

if your using an imax 6 you can run a discharge cycle for NiMh packs this would allow you test the charge state of your pack and set it to a state where you can recharge to full. The cut off level for NiMh is 1V/cell.

OK, I plugged in the 5 cell pack and it said 6.37 Volts, so I guess it's fully charged. I'll have to use the voltage as an idea of capacity remaining I suppose. it also doesn't show the same display as the ad shows. it says Nixx at the top left instead of NiCd and NiMh at the bottom left.
If it says 6.37 Volts is that indicative of a full charge?

Cheers,
Martin

Bloody ebay!
I ordered a battery capacity checker and guess what, just like the one that said it didn't check NiMhs, neither does this, even though it DIDN't say it didn't. So all I've got is a glorified voltmeter. Another weekend wasted.

Do you have a link to one that DOES do what it says in the advert, Doug? if it can do LiPos, why not the relatively simpler NiMhs? I'm bloody furious and very close to throwing it all in because of bloody electrics.

Cheers,
Martin

Natch I remember 😉
"Oh Hello, I'm Jules and this is my friend Sandy"!
"My mother made me a homo"!
"Oh goody, can she knit one for me"?
etc etc 😁

Doug,
I'm told that all the goodies are on their way, so should arrive tomorrow or Saturday. Saturday, I hope as I won't be tempted to play with them when I should be doing work-type jobs. Weekends is boaty time this time of year and slot racing/scenic time in the winter.
I wouldn't have dreamed of correcting your memories of the Navy Lark in public! And when I speak of my "dear wife", Chris I don't mean that she is in any way like Ramona! We used to cackle to the Navy Lark while the Sunday lunch was in it's final stages of cooking every week. There used to be 2 shows together Sunday lunchtime, Navy Lark and Round the Horn/Beyond our Ken. Both were a scream. The Clitheroe Kid I could live without though. "How bona to varda your jolly old eek". You'll remember that I'm sure.

Cheers and thanks again for your help. if I can get the iMax to do 0.3A, I'll do the 12 hour jobby.

Cheers,
Martin

Mornin' Martin,
Yep 6 hours would be right for 0.6A.
With a new battery 'Less is More' so 0.3A for 12 hours would be ideal.
Just 'finger tip' check the battery temp now and again!

Many many thanks for the tip about Radio 4 Extra👍
There's loads of classic comedies you can stream to listen to on the PC.
Just have to rig up an analogue recorder now to nick 'em😉
Digital recording is jammed🤔
I've just had hysterics listening to 'The Floggle Grummit Missile Project'.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0081vx2#play
I cried laughing 😁😭
Now looking for 'I'm sorry, I'll read that again'!
Cheers Doug 😎
PS: it was Jon Pertwee and Capt. Povey of course! And his 'Dear wife' Ramona😲 You can check currently availablle episodes here
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00bfvkd/episodes/player

Hi Doug,
thanks for all that. I will be getting my battery capacity meter tomorrow or Saturday according to ebay, so will go through the above then.
They are 2600MaH VP batteries, well thought of, it seems.
So would that be a whisker over 6 hours of charging? (6.0666)

The Rx. and the servos all say they can go up to 7.4V and as mentioned, as a sailing boat there's no ESC (thank Gawd).This is just drum winch and steering.

I wouldn't know how to fast charge anyway, so that's not gonna be a problem. Who needs fast charging. There's always something to do while batteries slow charge.

Navy Lark is lost on Radio 4 as is all supposedly funny stuff these days. Desert island Discs is still on R4 on Sunday lunchtime with a repeat during the week, but these days the guests are either such obscure arts, media or science types you never heard of or so young they haven't even lived yet. Or sports people, in which case I turn off, unless they're motor racing maybe. I hate sport.
Fortunately R4 Extra on digital gives us a lot of the old series the likes of which they no longer make for fear of upsetting some imaginary grouping of people who would actually laugh as much as the rest of us probably. On R4, the News Quiz and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue are still funny. Nothing else in the so-called comedy slot is remotely amusing.

I would think, by the time my sail winching stuff is working right, I will have cycled the new batteries quite a few times, but I'll report back as soon as the gizmo arrives for capacity metering.

Thanks again for your help, Doug.

Cheers,
Martin

Night Doug,

Glad it was only the ESC!
No major damage just had to wait for the darn thing to float back!

Mornin' Ed,
Damn lucky it didn't burn a hole in the hull 😡
But then we didn't have LiPos back then did we!
Even so, a big NiCad or NiMh can pack a big punch if it finds a way😉
Glad you got the boat back 👍
G'night all, 😎

Hi Doug,

Sorry to see that ESC went up in flames!
Guess better now than latter at the pond...😭

I remember one of my tugs about 35 yrs ago.
Having a main space fire. Problem was it was in the middle of the pond!😡 All I saw was black smoke out of the engine room....😱 Luckily the tug floated back to shore about an hour latter. But I was able to recover the model! with one burnt ESC....

Mornin' Martin, my PTB problems will take a while to sort but I was anticipating a complete refit anyway. Soooo ---
Basically Ron's right about the charger👍
Press 'Batt Type' and then 'Dec' a few times until 'PROGRAM SELECT NiMh BATT (pic one) appears in the display. Press 'Enter' and pic two should appear. Press 'Dec' so that 'NiMH CHARGE Aut' appears in display.
Seems the default current is set to 0.6A in this mode. Leave it at that.
If not 0.6A use the INC/DEC button to adjust it to that.
Press 'Start/Enter' for more than 3 seconds and away it'll go.
Charge time depends on the capacity of the battery.
Rule is Capacity (C) in Ah/Charge current (I)x1.4 hours.
Example; a 2Ah (2000mAh) at 0.6A would need (2/0.6)x1.4 = 4.66r hours, or about 280 minutes. The charger should stop at the right time automatically.
BUT: check the capacity of your new battery with your new toy first!
If it has residual capacity significantly greater than about 30% and voltage of more than 1.1V it should be fully discharged down to 1.0V minimum first. There is a function in the charger to do this. Then charge it as above with the Auto mode at 0.6A. This is to help prevent the so called memory effect. Extract from imax manual page 9-
"Some rechargeable batteries have a memory effect. if they are partly used and recharged before the whole charge is accomplished, they remember this and will only use that part of their capacity next time. This is a 'memory effect' it is said that NiCd and NiMH batteries are suffering from memory effect. NiCd has more memory effect than NiMH."
Don't get too charged up😉

I envy you listening to 'The Navy Lark' 😲 A Sunday afternoon delight back then. Before or after 'Desert island Discs'?
HMS Troutbridge, Capt. Poby "HENRY are you wearing odd socks?" - "No my love", Number One Sub Lieutenant (Leslie) Philips "Cor! Who threw that?", CPO (Bill) Pertwee, and "Bridge? Staaarboard Lookout Able an' when am I gonna be Leadin' Seaman Goldsteen (?) 'ere. I jus' thought you might like to know that we're 'eadin straight for the Admiral's Barge an' maybe you'd like to change course or summat"! Luvly stuff 😁
Cheers and good night from Munich, Doug 😎
PS: Well meant Haverlock but I wouldn't recommend fast charging for any battery chemistry, MAX 1A charge current for any battery, except perhaps a car battery but then Max 5A. it reduces the useful lifetime of the battery.
Fast charge rates are more or less a marketing gimmick, it just means you CAN charge at higher rates without the battery exploding. Of course the manufacturers are very happy if you do do it and then have to buy new batteries more frequently because you've reduced their capacity and shortened their life. Most especially a brand new battery should NEVER be Fast charged. To get maximum life and capacity out of a new battery it should actually run through about 10 discharge / charge cycles to condition it for maximum output and minimum memory effect.
Martin: check the label or packaging of your battery for 'Standard' and 'Fast' charge current!
PPS: a fully charged 5 cell NiMh can be significantly above 6.0V. Up to ~6.5V, which is why I warned Martin to check the specs of his RX and any ESC. Some are rated for 5V only and go pop at 6V. That's why I only use 4 cell NiMh packs for my external RX supply.
1.2V per cell is only the nominal rating of an NiMh cell, fully or over charged they can go up to nearly 1.28V per cell.

ok here we go ( I hope) your 5 cell pack is rated for so many mAh we need to know that pls. You need to decide if you want to quick or slow charge the pack. Since the pack is 1.2V per cell it has a fully charged voltage of 6V. The charger will ( if you page through the screens and select MiMh ) switch off when the pack is fully charged. However you do need to select the charge current. That's why we need to know the pack rating.

Heat sink! That's the devil. I kept thinking heat shrink, for some reason.
I see "wall wart" describing plug-in chargers for 4 cells, but why "wart" I don't know.

Looks a right mess in there, Doug, but at least you know what to do.
Conrad...used to go in for a nose when I was in Munich. I worked in Sauerlach for about 6 months. Loved it. Conrad seemed to have everything, especially for making working scale model trucks. Wonderful place.

I really appreciate your helping me out, mate, as I haven't got a bloody clue about charging batteries.
But sort your problems out first. Meanwhile I'll make some nice wee boxes to put the batteries and Rx in, to limit any chance of water ingress.

Cheers,
Martin

Evenin' Ed, Yep! Starboard MCR U/S 😡 What is it the explosives experts yell before they fire a charge or test a cannon? 'FIRE IN THE HOLD'
Got a bit exciting for a moment, good example of what LiPos can do if unleashed the wrong way😲 All the motor and battery lead soldering melted and they just dropped off 🤔 Whatapong😡
Pics show the good port one and what's left of the stbd one, and the rest of the rat's nest in the boat. The ESCs are not much bigger than my thumb nail so I'm not really surprised one couldn't cut the mustard!
Not sure if the wiring was faulty, cos apparently it did run before I bought it, or if the motor was defect or shaft stiff. Shaft seemed to move by hand OK though. Dunno🤔
Never mind, looking for beefier replacements on Conrad, they usually deliver in 1 or 2 days 😊 Now I'm pulling all the wiring out and will rebuild the Engine Rooms, MCR and COMMS Office 😉
While I'm at it I'll dismantle the shafts, clean and lubricate and fit oilers.
Now to sort Martin's little snag!🤓
Cheers, Doug 😎

"Heat getting ridder" Just what you don't want your craft to do "SINK" Wall wart is usually used to describe any plug-in charger or transformer i;e;crimbo lights.

Doug, I just ordered that one off ebay. Odd how the exactly similar looking one I'd seen sad it didn't do remaining capacity of NiMhs. Never mind. So I now have a multi meter and a battery checker. No need for ESC worries as this is in a yacht, no ESC required.

Bummer about your PT boat, but it seems to be what ESCs do, from what I've read. I found 2 the other day and I've no idea where they came from! Both the same with a bit of ally section as a heat getter ridder (what are they called?). But I don't need anything for motor boats just yet, although my Darby One Design will be needing it all soon as will the Crash Tender. But that's another day, another question.

Cheers,
Martin

Main space fire, Huh!

Hi Martin, there's loads of the little beasts here on eBay UK, and cheaper than mine was here in Germany 😭
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1311.R1.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.XDigital+Battery+Capacity+Checker.TRS0&_nkw=digital+battery+capacity+checker&_sacat=0

More on the charger later, I just melted an ESC in my PTB 😡 Odd, port engine worked, stbd 'Machinery Control Room' burst into flames.
And no, I didn't wire it up! I bought it 'as is' to renovate and convert to PT109, what else!? Now about to rip out all the wiring and do it My Way (thanks to Frank😉) Ciao, Doug

PS HobbyKing do have some, but more expensive which is unusual for them😲 and not in stock in UKor EU warehouse😭
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/cellmaster-7-digital-battery-health-checker.html?___store=en_us
SORRY🤔 forget this last one, they put a servo tester where on mine the NiMH tester is!

Doug, I went on hobbyking and it seems what little they have is all for LiPos only. So I found something on ebay, but it doesn't really seem happy with NiMhs, even though they are on its list. it doesn't do capacity remaining for NiMhs and NiCads.
So I'm a bit lost for where to go next. There are some that just go green, yellow, red, but I know you'll tell me they're too crude

Now, I really must eat!

M

Thanks, Ron, but it also wants charge rate, voltage settings and all that stuff about which I know nuttn.

Martin

Doug,
Gawd bless yer , Guv'nor, I knew you'd come through with the advice on electrical stuff. My Dad would be ashamed of me as that was his game, but I could never raise interest and therefore retain any knowledge he ever imparted to me about it.

A wall wart is what I've seen those little plug in the wall chargers that do 4 AAs or AAAs and charge up overnight described as, mainly by overseas chaps. They do, however become alarmingly warm sometimes, but do a good job for my camera and my wee digital radio, so I can always catch the Goons or the Navy Lark on BBC 4 Extra, or some good new music on Guy Garvey's programme on 6Music. So they work, but I have a pack, now, pre soldered, of 5 cells. My Orange Rx and servos are happy with 6Volts or so their blurb says.
I'll look up a battery condition meter and get one. I just ordered a Multimeter to just do volts. Always a good adjunct to a household anyway. I have my Dad's two Avometers in their original leather cases, but can no longer get the high voltage batteries they contain. Found a miniature Avo in a smaller leather case, but don't know how to use it.
I hope you can get some sense out of the words and music for the imax B6 charger.

Off to eat myself (eat myself?) Eats, shoots and leaves

Martin

hi martin using the imax b6 for the basics is pretty simple
once you switch it on you short press the first button (battery type) to select the type of battery lipo,nihm,nicd,leadgel
once you have selected your battery type and all leads are connected just long press the last button on the right (start) and it well start charging the battery, but if charging a lipo you will need to short press the start button again for it to start charging.if you want to stop the charger mid way just short press the battery type button.
hope this helps
Ron

Hi Martin,
1. What the blue blazes is a wall wart? 🤔
2. You can't do any harm to the RC gear with an under charged battery👍
But if you use it before charging it you may drive it below it's damage threshold of 1.1V per cell if you use it too much in that state.
A word of warning: some RXs and ESCs don't like more than 6.0V (e.g. Action electronics/Component Shop) and a fully charged NiMh can be more than that so check the specs of your RX and ESC first!
3. Get yourself a simple battery capacity checker, see attached pics of the two I have. As you can see, they all look the same except for plastic colour and brand name. They only cost few quid and save a lot of ruined batteries and cost/heartache😉 Available from HobbyKing etc etc.
They can check voltage and capacity. For LiPos they check individual cells. For NiCad or NiMh it just checks total voltage and capacity as most NiMh don't have external connections to individual cells like the LiPos do for balancing the cells. As I still have some hi power NiMh drive batteries, for ESCs that are not LiPo safe, I made a simple JR/Tamiya adaptor to connect to the monitor.
In my pics you can see the % charge / capacity display. Some show only around 46% cos they are 'as delivered' with a storage charge only.
Before use they need fully charging.

4. Re Charger: Just downloaded the manual - I'll get back to you on that when I've read it. Now it's 'Eat'n time' 😁
Cheers, Doug 😎

Oh and please don't send me to a Youtube as if it's an American chap it will all be in that excruciating Herrrn dee Herrrn sing-along style which make me want to take the pootah out and separate it into its elements.

M