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Charger + Dual Cell

Posted: Fri May 23, 2003 9:53 pm
by mpbiv
Well I broke down finally and decided it was dual cell time. I decided to go with the Layman's dual cell mod because I am all about stealth 8-)

The cells came from www.allelectronics.com as a 6 cell pack. I just took it apart and followed the instructions found on another forum, which basically just involved placing it where the old battery resided. Here is the finished product, a dual cell 27mhz MS Pro.
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Then of course I wanted my own standalong charger
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Its pretty simple and all the wiring is point to point inside. Its powered by 2 AA batteries which I went with based on Namuna's charging posts, and the LED is wired in parallel to help absorb a portion of the large current the akaline batteries are supplying. While the charger is on, the LED is lit.
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The LED also functions as a car battery discharger when the switch is in the off position. This is something I had not intended when I put it together, but its good because now batteries can be discharged prroperly after play.

I am thinking about making one revision to the charger, wired in connections for a volt meter to detect peak charges. I will try and get a schematic up in a few days in case anyone wants a simple charger/discharger. In the meantime I have to start checking the current and voltage at the connections so I can figure out how long I should be charging the car. From the short charge it has had so far, I am very excited about this whole dual cell thing :-D :cool:

Posted: Fri May 23, 2003 11:22 pm
by CaboWabo
very nice pimp.
I garuntee you've just opened up a new world of driving now with that dual cell. I like the option of going back to single as well - don't get me wrong... but my dual cells are my blast through brick walls, tuff as nails, kick your grand daddy in his nuts, stunt cars :rockon:

Posted: Sat May 24, 2003 8:23 am
by kwikbb
Sweet dude! Nice and clean... the way i like it.

Can't wait to see that schematic of yours, tell me how did you accidentally create a discharge mode?

Thanks,
-B

Posted: Sat May 24, 2003 6:02 pm
by mpbiv
Well what happened was I wired up the LED parallel to the charging stand. When the switch is closed (on position), the two akalines supply 3v across the charging stand which charges the battery and lights the 3v LED. When the switch is in the open position, the LED is still wired parallel to the charging stand so when you place a car on it, it lights the LED using the remaining power stored in the cars battery.

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Just a simple charger.

Posted: Sat May 24, 2003 6:10 pm
by kwikbb
outstanding! Thanks :-D

Posted: Sat May 24, 2003 7:38 pm
by sessiz
That's the same way my charger acts. When the switch is on off the charger drains the bats. At first I was like WTF :mad: Then I was like :-D but now I feel more like :???: becuase I wanna do the VM thing. 8-)

Posted: Sat May 24, 2003 9:09 pm
by MaxximumRC
i am interested in that dual cell upgrade do you have a link to how to do it, I know how to do the normal one.

Posted: Sat May 24, 2003 9:42 pm
by MaxximumRC
wait I found it, I wonder if theses cells will work http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/c ... type=store

Posted: Sun May 25, 2003 10:42 pm
by mpbiv
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/c ... type=store this is the pack that I used. I believe the ones that you are looking at are a little too large.

Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 3:21 pm
by mpbiv
Well I don't think the two teeny little 40mah cells like the current the AA's were trying to shove down their throat. I couldn't seem to get more than a minute or two of runtime before the cells dumped, but they should have run longer considering they have almost as much capacity as the stock cells.

After digging around I found an old DC adapter rated at 3v and 200mah, this should be gentler on the cells. I tried it and the cells still act the same way, it may be that they have been ruined. The good thing is I have 4 more cells here to play with. With this new setup the cells should take about 15mins to charge after doing the math (including a 20% defficieny factor).

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And since I am posting pictures I might as well post another of two bodies I am working on.

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The red one is airbrushed (finally figured out the right mixture of thinner and paint), the black is stock ms. Both have airbrushed graphics which would have came out better had I not been in a rush. I am still perfecting my technique and learning with every new body. When they are done I might use one as my second entry into the pimped out ride contest, any opinions?

Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 3:24 pm
by MaxximumRC
those look really good, I can not get my airbrush working rite.

Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 3:32 pm
by CaboWabo
mpdiv the jobs on those bodies are the shiat!
awesome, love the black one

Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 7:05 pm
by cowfish_29
I'm thinking about getting a couple of those button cells....for that 1 minute is it fast (like a dual cell should be?)

also, very nice bodies! i love rx7s :eek:

Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 7:43 pm
by Stoli
Since a few of you have airbrushes and seem to know a bit about them:

Are those home air brush kits by taimaya and testors worth the 25$?

I know there air can propelled but is there anything around or under $45 USD that works any better? :?:

Posted: Tue May 27, 2003 8:21 pm
by MaxximumRC
I got mine off of ebay for 12 dollars, it is a peice but it work most of the time.