Specifications

ginners on nonmicro helis because they are reasonably priced and can discharge at high

rates. NiMH batteries are usually higher capacity but deliver less current than Nicad batteries,

so they are better suited for duration flying.

One exception is the Sanyo HR-SC which is a NiMH battery specially built for high current

drain which performs slightly better than the CP2400/RC2400 (HR-SCs must be used immedi-

ately after charging for best results).

NiMH batteries require about 5 charge/discharge cycles to reach full capacity. They work best

immediately after charging - if you allow them to sit and cool off they will not work as well. Both

Nicad and NiMH battery packs should be slow-charged on the first charge to ensure all cells in

the pack will reach a full charge.

If this is not done, the cells in the pack may be at different states of a charge and the pack may

never fully charge properly. If you notice a big drop in capacity in your battery packs after a few

months of use, this is probably due to the cells in the pack having different states of charge. If

this happens, you should try to "rebalance" the cells in the pack by slow charging them at a

constant current of C/20 for 24 hours. This will usually restore the pack to full capacity. This

should only be done for Nicad and NiMH packs, and not for other battery types such as Li-ion

or LiPoly. Your batteries will last much longer if you do not allow them to become too hot, be-

cause the primary cause of battery failure is the deterioration of the separator which is acceler-

ated by higher temperatures. Therefore, you should allow your battery packs to cool a little

after use before charging them again.

The batteries known to work well are:

Corona / Logo 10/16/20 / ECO 8/16:

• Sanyo CP1700SCR (NiCad 1700 maH, 5.5 milliohms)

• Sanyo CP2400 (NiCad 2400 maH, 4.5 milliohms)

• Sanyo RC2400 (NiCad 2400 maH, 3.2 milliohms)

• Panasonic HHR300SCU (NiMH 3000 maH)

• Panasonic RC-3300HV (NiMH 3300 maH, 5.0 milliohms)

• Sanyo HR-SC (NiMH 2600 maH, 4.0 milliohms)

• Gold Peak 3300 (NiMH 3300 maH)

• Gold Peak 3700 (NiMH 3700 maH)

• Thunder Power lithium-polymer batteries

• FlightPower lithium-polymer batteries

• Common Sense RC lithium-polymer batteries

Micro helis (Piccolo and clones, Hornet, etc but not T-rex or Zoom):

• Sanyo HR-AAAU (NiMH 720 maH, 35 milliohms)

• PowerEx AAA NiMH

• HECELL AAA NiMH

• Thunder Power lithium-polymer batteries

Helicopter Parts Selection