SinCityJets

OK, I have made the upgrade and learned some lessons along the way. First, if you just want to put a pack together and use it in WITHOUT the stock battery case, this is a 5 minute job. The stock battery contains a small circuit board with the charge adapter attached. It has 6 pins, 4 of which are used by the radio. 2 positive and 2 negative. There is also a "fuse" on the board to prevent idiots like me from charging the battery in the wrong polarity. If you are not going to use the stock case, solder away. There are only two inputs on to the circuit board. RED for positive and BROWN for negative. Even if you don't use the stock battery case, you will still need this circuit board to operate the transmitter.

If you DO want to use the stock case, it becomes a little more cumbersome. The biggest problem is this, that case is designed to hold 8 batteries and THAT'S IT. It won't allow any solder between batteries, large battery straps on the ends, or large wires attached to the battery.

My initial attempt, I simply busted out the soldering iron, soldered the batteries together, soldered battery straps on the end, and VOILA! A functioning battery pack. Trying to put it in the case was a whole different story. I made it go, but ended up destroying the case in the process. Again, it functioned but was not acceptable.

After examining the stock pack, you see it is assembled with tack welds and small nickel straps. If a new battery pack was going to fit like stock, it would have to be built like stock. So, I made friends with the owner of a battery tack welder and invested more money in Eneloops. (Buy Sanyo NASDAQ: SANYY, I alone will push their stock up).

This time, the pack was built just like the stock pack. The ONLY difference is the Eneloops have the small tab that sticks out on the positive side, whereas the stock cells have flat tops (common for OEM applications).

I disassembled a spare 10X battery pack (thank you Paul Judice), disconnected the old batteries, soldered my two wires, AND VOILA! Brand new, stock looking pack with Eneloops.

So, if you're going to do your own packs (and you want to keep the stock case), you MUST use a tack welder and THIN straps. If you want someone else to do it......call me

SinCityJets

I received a questions asking *** were Eneloop batteries. I apologize, I should have mentioned that in the first post. Eneloop batteries are the latest in Nimh technology from Sanyo. For lack of a better term, they are the A123's of Nimh's. While they can not put out any where near the current, or be charged as fast as A123's, they do ahave a long shelf life, no memory affect, can be recharged ~1000 times, and retain 85% of their charge after a year of sitting.

As a few of us have found out, they also have a little higher off-the-charge voltage. This settles down quickly to "normal" levels. For me, my stock 12X pack was not giving me 2000 Mah worth of energy....there's no way. I plan to hook it up to my CBA II and find out the real capabilities.

Anyway, for those that want to heed Horizon's warning NOT to use a 3 cell Lipo, this appears to be the next next best thing (as well as the most economical).

Have fun. Let me know if you have any questions.

http://us.sanyo.com:80/Batteries/FAQs

Chad

E.N.T.

My Feedback: (1)

Chad: the ones I've seen here in Puerto Rico are the Rayovac Hybrids. Is
there any difference between both?


Hector

SinCityJets

Yes, I believe there is. As far as I know, the Sanyo Eneloops are the only ones out with this current capability.

s3nfo

My Feedback: (14)

I've got Eneloops in my 10X and my Stylus. Great batteries, but I've found they don't like to be fast charged.

Hammbone

My Feedback: (309)

Do you just use the stock 12X charger to charge the Eneloops?

Jim

SinCityJets

Jim,

I don't. I don't like that charger. i use the new CellPro Multi 4 since it charges everything under the sun.

Chad

Edgar Perez

My Feedback: (13)

Hector, the local Costco has the Sanyo Eneloops

seflyer

My Feedback: (12)

how much runtime were you getting out of the stock battery pack? is there a time advantage to these cells?

thanks Kevin

SinCityJets

Kevin,

The argument can be made that Mah's are Mah's, and that is true to a certain extent. I used to have to explain this same thing with the A123 batteries.

Watts (energy) = Volts x Amps [V x A = W]

So, as your voltage drops, the amp draw has to increase to deliver the same wattage. So, if you have a pack that maintains a higher voltage longer, the amp draw is reduced, whereby allowing you to get more time out of your battery.

A friend and I both have 12X's. My radio has the Eneloops and his has the stock pack. Both off a fresh charge at the field today and were on about the exact same time. At the end of the day, his radio was at 10.1 volts, mine was at 10.6.

That could mean a couple of things, the eneloops actually have more capacity (or the stock pack isn't really 2000), or since it is able to maintain a higher voltage level, there is less amp draw on the battery.

One day of testing is not exactly scientific, but it tells me I'm on the right track. So, the potential time advantage aside, the real advantage is longevity of the cells, and the fact they maintain a charge over a long period of time.

Chad

seflyer

My Feedback: (12)

cool, where can I get some cells? how much are they? my 12x will be here Friday or Monday, then I get to transfer all my models from the 9303.

Kevin

SinCityJets

Kevin,

Costco has them, and they available online. The set from Costco comes with 8AA, 2AAA, a charger and some C and D adapters. It's like $29.

I'm selling packs ready to drop in the battery case for $40 (plus $5 shipping).

Chad