A New Safety Bulletin Has Been Issued By The BMFA Regarding The Use Of Mobile Phones
The T.M.A.C. News Page
A New Safety Bulletin Has Been Issued By The BMFA Regarding The Use Of Mobile Phones
Battery Charging
Having been flying for more years than I care to remember, the rules were trickle charge your NiCad’s / NiMh’s at 1/10th of the nominal capacity, for 14 hours before each days flying, even if you had charged them a couple of days before and not used them. The NiCad’s etc. should also be cycled about once a month, to prevent a memory occurring within the cells, thus reducing the overall capacity.
Delta peak quick chargers are now widely used by flyers, but ideally, they should only be used occasionally to top up NiCad’s etc. or to go flying when you have forgot to charge your model the night before in the traditional manner described above. When using these chargers, a maximum rate of 1 times the nominal capacity can be used ( 1 C ), any higher can seriously damage the ability for your NiCad’s etc. to hold their charge. It has been known for NiCad’s etc. of say, 1800 mah to only have a capacity of about 400 mah when tested with a capacity meter. However, batteries I have only trickle charged have lasted me years, but it is still good practice to replace NiCad’s after a seasons flying (better safe than sorry). A very informative article on this subject is included in the 2005 March edition of Model World & is well worth a read if you can get a back copy.
