FoxK

Hi all.....newbie to the group here so first of all hi! Secondly, I just purchased a new U.S. Air Force F-16 "Fighting Falcon" 64mm EDF Electric Ducted Fan RC Jet RTF w/ Brushless Motor+ESC+LiPo plane from nitroplanes but I'm concerned about my battery. Of course while completing the setup of the plane, inserting the battery etc, I fired it up to check the control surfaces, engine etc. Over the next day or so, i was occasionally turning it on just to marvel at the flaps working, the engine sound etc and even took it out on its maiden flight in which I lawn darted it and broke it in half It was a clean break and easily repaired but being a hand launched plane with no wheels, I think i may try to let it skid on the grass on take off next time...anyway, with this use, I would think that ther battery would need to be "topped off" but i'm not sure how the new batteries work. I hook it up to my emergency car starter battery and the green light comes on for a few seconds, then fades out to no lights on at all. The plane I have is here: http://www.nitroplanes.com/f-16-edf-rc-jet.html Could someone take a quick look and let me know if I may have a bad battery?....Shouldn't the red light come on now that I have run the engine for a bit etc until its full again? Thanks for any help you can give me....lesson learned BTW....the jump from durable plastic planes to foam EDF jets is HUGE lol...I may have to put this away for a while till I get used to a similar, yet less expensive plane and wreck that instead Thanks all!
edit: looks like I have a bad recharger...it indicated a full charge but it lies...no current is leaving the charger to the batteries...hence severe lack of thrust at maiden flight and crash

opjose

Even if the battery is not connected the charger should light up when it is hooked to power.

If not it is likely to have been shorted or hooked up with the polarity reversed even if briefly.

Fortunately this should not have hurt the battery pack, but it probably ruined the charger.

You should invest in a good computer controlled charger. Nitroplanes sells a decent one for NiCD, NiMH, LiPO packs.
The one charger will serve many purposes.

FoxK

Thanks for the reply. I see what your saying, but I think its wierd that the green light does come on when first hooked up but then fades out and i can rewpeat this indefinately.
If things work out, i will undoubtably buy better componants to allow longer flights etc but for now i'd like to get this one working if possible. I'm a little intimidated now though making the switch to jets. I just couldn't seem to get the power i needed to get sufficient lift which caused my f16 to auger and now I have 2 f8's instead of 1 f18 lol until the glue resets. Not sure if my fuselage is replaceable but at least all the electronics seem undamaged. I think the battery prolly wasn't charged sufficiently even though the green light indicated so. I hope someone at nitro can chime in on my battery type and whether the batter needs to be discharged and recharged etc before use. Unfortuneately, there were a few notes on 1 small piece of notebook type paper which told me almost nothing on battery use for this plane


BTW...I had never used the battery, nor hooked it up incorrectly. The green light just comes on and then fades out. There really needs to be some better paper on these componants and their use and behavior

opjose

I'll have to double check this on one of my own units, but I believe the power light should not go out. Only the battery indicator lights should, once the voltage levels are attained.

LiPo's DO NOT have to be discharged/recharged before use, however it is always advisable to do so at least once before you fly the plane, to check out the power system and capacity.

The manuals are what they are, not very good, as with all Asian Arfs it seems. That is unlikely to change.

I'll check one of these units out, but at worst you can PM John here ( nitrostaff1 ) and he'll probably send you a replacement.

Make sure you include your order number ( it usually begins with YSTxxx ).

FoxK

Not mad at you of course but its kinda absurd to have to buy another charger.





It doesn't sound like you had a battery issue, rather that the charger failed for whatever reason.
Even with no battery connected, the charger should remain lit.

Though John will send you a replacement charger and they do work well, a good computer controlled charger is a sound investment.

These let you check the condition and capacity of a new battery, they let you see how much current you pull out of the battery in a typical flight. This lets you set your flight timer and avoid crashing the plane because of lack of current, etc.

The benefits are numerous so they pay for themselves no matter which plane or set up you use them for.

If you have more than one electric plane, I'd advise you to make the investment.

I was reluctant to drop the $150.00 I spent on my first one, but after purchasing one, I ended up with three more, as I couldn't fathom living without them.

nitrostaff1

what's the voltage coming out from the battery after fully charged. it should be somewhere 12.6V. Let me know. If your battery has problem I'll replace it.

John
Nitro Planes

FoxK

That's just it...I think its the charger and not the battery. I think the charger never worked though the green light behaves in such a way as to indicate a full charge. The battery reads 11 volts but this includes a 20 second "maiden flight" in which i could not get sufficiant speed and airflow to maintain flight..hence a crash and broken in half plane at the canopy. Even now, I hook the battery up to the charger and the green light glows for 7-8 seconds then slowly fades to off which is what the "manual" says indicates a full battery. (The manual by the way is 1 piece of paper with typewritten instructions) The F16 emits a beep code when the battery is hooked up to the plane but its completely useless when nowhere in the package does it indicate what a series of 10 beeps means....but i guess I can guess now, lol....a low battery

Talking to others here, it seems the RED light should glow at all times when the charger is hooked to a 12v source and the green light should charge and then dissipate when fully charged. The RED should remain on though. I've never seen the RED light on on this unit however

Also, if you determine I need a replacement to the broken parts, I have another order from Nitroplanes order yhst-17210252890263-80748 that UPS will prolly be picking up tommorrow you you wish to save on shipping

The original order with the defective? charger was yhst-17210252890263-80223

nitrostaff1

what would you like me to replace? Can you please list me the parts.

John
Nitro Planes

FoxK

Thanks for your time John by the way

Do you agree about the charger?....the red light never comes on. Does that sound like a charger problem?
My order was this plane http://www.nitroplanes.com/f-16-edf-rc-jet.html
And the fuselage is broken at the canopy so its pretty severe so if you agree with my assessment of the charger being broken i need a charger for this unit and a fuselage.
The charger is G&C-08001 3-cell Li Poly Balance charge
Thanks again
Fox Keri

PS I checked the charger....the cord from my 12V Field battery is fine but nothing is coming out of the charger so that must be the problem

FoxK

Frustrated...emailed and PM'd nitroplanes folks...no responses...plane still sitting unuseable for over a week now

opjose

He responds whenever he checks in here. It can be several days between check-ins.

FoxK

He just contacted me and sent a new charger....in return for good service, I bought a second plane.  Good service can pay off in the long run

nitrostaff1

Yes a new fuselarge and charger is on its way to you.

John
Nitro Planes