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Ace Hobby . Esprit Model . Thunder Power RC

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e-Minicopter Joker > MJ2 lipo suppliers, hunting
 
 
BungeeMike
Senior Heliman
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

Looking at buying another 8 packs. I am currently running 10s, 8000 mah (2 ea 5s) for AP
I know of TP, Tanic, I have both. FP doesnt service their lipos so they are out. Looking for feedback on any of the other mfgs or those of you who may have had custom packs made. I see new mfgs or retailers out there but a little leery strapping on a $6K bird. Any help appreciated
Aloha
Bungee
03-26-2008 08:15 AM
 
 
GerdSenior Heliman - Location: Vellmar/Germany -
Aloha Mike,

currently these Kokam packs, in Germany distributed from Plettenberg, are state of the art. They fit excellent in the Joker frame. You must connect two 5s/5000 packs. For connecting these permanent with tape long carbon plates will be offered soon. The Kokams are also available in 5s/4000, 6s/4000 and 6s/5000.
I have heard that Kokam packs are not availbale in the continental U.S., but perhaps from Hawaii...

03-26-2008 07:47 PM
 
 
snurre
Heliman
Location: Sweden, Stockholm

Maybe this might not be what you are looking for, but I believe it is decent quality at a very good price.
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/...?idProduct=6347
The house brand Zippy comes like Zippy (made in China, quality?), Zippy-H (made in China, good quality), Zippy-R (made in Korea, best quality).
If you order, estimate some backorder time, their business idea seems to be a big turnover but little stock.
03-27-2008 08:09 AM
 
 
BungeeMike
Senior Heliman
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

Thanks guys for the reply I will look into them.
Mahalo
Mike
03-27-2008 05:10 PM
 
 
pyaresquared
Senior Heliman
Location: Central Arizona

I don't know how hot it is in HI where you fly, Bungee, but in AZ I wouldn't use anything but a Tanic pack. I have tried most of the others and they all overheat to some degree. I have never tried a Zippy, but I would never expect my helicopter to be able to run on peanut butter anyway. (Oh, wait a minute, that's Skippy. )

Regards,
Steve S.

Surfin' the gravity waves
03-27-2008 11:07 PM
 
 
BungeeMike
Senior Heliman
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

PY
I have tanics, and TP. My problem with Tanics is the current ones wont fit my V1. Their older version 5s2p 7500 were great but no longer made, their new ones are these bricks, heavy and awkward to put in and out of the V2. I do have a new set of tanics for my V2. Brian great guy always willing to take a call.

TP have been fine, fit nice in both versions but 5s4p config has potiential for problems I feel. I use them, I baby them (always balanced, never taken out more than 60%) and had 2 puff on me in under 75 cycles. TP did sell me 2 sets at a discount which was appreciated, good customer service.

I am looking into the Kokam Gerd recommended. My hope was there was a fellow joker ap pilot who had some custom made that worked well.
It looks like I will be that guy as I have an ongoing email with a mfg to make me what I want and hope they can deliver. I will advise the group of what I find and pertinent details.
My spec's were 5s 7000 mah or better, TP balance taps higher than 12C rating, or 1ea 10s block, with a battery quality they would hang a $5k bill under.

Gerd, tell Kokam we need higher mah and you're kinda right Hawaii isnt part of the mainland US and a bit different than the US in its own way
My thoughts
Bungee
03-29-2008 07:05 AM
 
 
ehx
Senior Heliman
Location: Northern Minnesota

Obviously you aren't finding much. High capacity batteries that fit the Joker V2 frame are hard enough to find let alone the V1 frame. I was looking last summer for batteries that fit the V2 frame and after trying some MaxAmps 10S 8Amp and 10S 10 Amp batteries I ended up piecing together my own - some 14S, 5A FlightPower batteries.

The cost wasn't too bad as the pack was just two 6S "Trex" packs back-to-back with a 2S pack laid on top. The only thing that took a little work was soldering on some tap extensions. I made up two packs and they both have over 50 flights so far with good performance. I don't fly much over the winter or they would have more mileage.

Just a note on the MaxAmps packs as I believe you said you were talking to them. The 10 Amp cells worked, but didn't have quite even the power of the old TP Prolites. The 8 Amp cells (4 Amp, 2P) were better, but the dimensions were bigger than advertised and the fit was too tight. Nothing new here as I've never seen a battery that wasn't bigger than advertised.

If you do find something let us know. From what I've seen over the years you either pay quite a bit more for a custom pack (IF they are available), build your own, or mount the packs outside the designed battery area.

Over the years I've used TP, Tanic, FlightPower, MaxAmps, etc. and while everyone has a different comfort level I usually have a lot more than $5K in the air. Performance levels tend to match price and while I've never gone cheap if you test the battery several times before flying for real you are very unlikely to have a catastrophic event.
03-29-2008 10:06 AM
 
 
BungeeMike
Senior Heliman
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

Well guys I may have found a supplier, I am ordering packs today from True RC. I will advise with results. One other mfg I have been talking to and waiting on details, as I have found LOTS of talk little action
ALoha
Bungee
04-18-2008 05:32 PM
 
 
trackhead
Veteran
Location: utah

Mike,

I know of another AP pilot who has been utilizing the True RC packs on his 8s ship (not a Joker). He has had good things to say about them.

Well, if you're going to try it with a Joker first, then...........thanks!
04-18-2008 10:15 PM
 
 
HawkEyeMedia
Senior Heliman
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

I'm using the 5S 8000 packs from True RC on my MJ2's with good results so far. I don't have a lot of cycles on them yet to comment on longevity, but they're holding up better than the FlightPower packs I've used in the past.

Mark LaBoyteaux
HawkEyeMedia.com
04-19-2008 01:52 AM
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
BungeeMike
Senior Heliman
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

I am cautiously optimistic, good to hear hawkeye you like yours. A little leery to buy 5 or 6 sets until I try one set out. I will be able to compare, tanic, tp, and these pretty much side by side as the other packs are pretty new as well.
Aloha
Bungee
04-19-2008 03:22 AM
 
 
rerazor
Elite Veteran
Location: Mich.

I just bought a set of 5s2p 8000mah from TrueRC last week. Only have a few flights on them and they seem fine so far.
04-19-2008 03:34 AM
 
 
500Driver
Senior Heliman
Location: Columbus, OH

5s2p

How are the AP flight-times with a 5s2p pack?

Keep us posted on the TrueRC packs...those are some very reasonable prices!

When in doubt...auto out
04-20-2008 11:27 PM
 
 
rerazor
Elite Veteran
Location: Mich.

I'm running two 5s2p 8000 in a 10s2p 8000 configuration. These are 10C packs (80A continuous). I only have about 8-10 flights on them so far.
04-21-2008 01:37 AM
 
 
500Driver
Senior Heliman
Location: Columbus, OH

Ah I was reading it as "10 cells total"...as in....1 5s2p pack.

2 5s2p packs (20 cells total)...that makes more sense

Thanks again...

But do keep us posted on the True RC packs...

When in doubt...auto out
04-21-2008 11:31 PM
 
 
HawkEyeMedia
Senior Heliman
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

My MJ2 with video rig is 22lbs all up. I'm logging 50 amp peaks with about 25 amps in hover using a 10S setup. Since we do more forward flight for video, our average draw is around 350 maH per minute. The most I've pulled out of any of them so far is 5000 maH.

So far the TrueRC packs are doing ok, but we've only put 10 cycles on them. I was using 12S2P A123 packs, which I'm still using for photos, but the lipos are the same weight (2 lbs each) but double the capacity.

My A123 packs were costing me about $275 a pair and the lipos from TrueRC were $375 a pair. For double the capacity.
04-22-2008 02:01 PM
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
500Driver
Senior Heliman
Location: Columbus, OH

Hawkeye...where did you get your 12s2p A123 packs? (or did you build them yourself)

When in doubt...auto out
04-22-2008 02:36 PM
 
 
HawkEyeMedia
Senior Heliman
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

I built them myself with packs I picked up from Toolman on Ebay. $100 a pack for 10 cells that I disassembled and rebuilt into 12S1P packs, which I'd run in parallel for a 12S2P setup.

With connectors, etc. I figured it was costing me around $250 a pair. The cells are supposed to be rated for 2300 maH each, but I've never been able to reliably get more than 2000 maH out of 'em. So for a 12S2P setup that's only 4000 maH for 4 lbs of batteries. Works out ok for 7 minutes of flight time taking photos and you can charge them in about 20 minutes.

But for video work, I needed more duration, hence changing to the lipos.

The 12S1P setup also works perfectly on my Logo 10.

But the price of the Dewalt packs has gone up, seems like they're averaging around $130 now on ebay.

Mark LaBoyteaux
HawkEyeMedia.com
04-22-2008 03:10 PM
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
BungeeMike
Senior Heliman
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

True RC packs arrived yesterday. Fit is nice, construction looks good. I will be charging and documenting on cell pro 10s and comparing to TP and tanic. I will posts my subjective opinion as info comes in.
My thoughts
Bungee
05-07-2008 06:14 PM
 
 
Seablade
Veteran
Location: floating around

BungeeMike,
How do you like the True RC packs so far?

Steve

"Vini, Vidi, Velcro"
05-27-2008 10:59 AM
 
 
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e-Minicopter Joker > MJ2 lipo suppliers, hunting
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