RC10Talk - The Net's Largest Vintage R/C Community

Hello,

I'm reviving an RC car I built years ago with my father, for my son. It's the original RC10T, #7011. The problem is, both batteries I have for it only last for a couple minutes, so I need to get new ones.

I was hoping someone here could suggest a battery for me to buy, and/or inform me of the power specs (max/min voltage/amperage) on this engine so I might browse batteries on my own. Currently, I have 2 NiCd 1400ma 6-cell sport packs; they have a white case with a pink and blue label that says "Racers Edge", and below that, "SP 1400". I charge them with a Hobbico 900 ac/dc auto charger.

I should probably just browse this forum more, but also, if you have any suggestions about maintainance I should perform before bringing this RC online for the kid.

Happy holidays,
Brian

Welcome Brian,

I would suggest getting a newer peak charger. If I remember correctly, the 900 is the basic charger with a 15 minute timer. A peak charger will ensure that the battery is charged to it's full capacity...which is very important with nicads (since they have "memory").

Make sure that the charger has the ability to charge both nicad and nimh (nickle metal hydride) batteries...incase you switch over to the nimh packs.

You should aslo pick up a battery discharger to ensure that each battery is fully drained (to the correct level) prior to charging. Again, this is very importnat with the nicads.

I'm not sure how old your packs are, but it may be time to pick up some new batteries. New packs aren't too expensive, but make sure that the new packs are compatible with your new charger.

Good luck!!!

Regards,
Roger

I second that about the peak charger. I never had one until recently (I didn't care that much when I was young), but it really makes a big difference.

I think the way to go is to find a peak charger on ebay. I picked up a novak millenium pro for a great deal, and it charges both nicads and nimh.

Don't throw away your old packs until you've at least had a chance to reverse pulse them with a peak charger, to "zap" them and see if they can be revived. I recently did this with a couple old scr 1200 packs. One was from '89 and the other from '91, and they now work better than when new.

I would check around your local hobby shops for good deals on batteries; I got four NOS packs of matched 2000 nicads for $5/per pack. They work great.

I would also pick up a set of ball bearings for the truck, unless it is already so equipped, as they will increase runtime and speed, in addition to preventing wear on key parts like axles and transmission gears.

Good luck and enjoy!

i invested in some 8.4v 7cell nmhi 4000 and im getting about 19 min run time, depending on the motor which probley wasnt designed to run for that long or at that voltage. i would go into an rc store and pick some brains about those things. i also found the triton2 to be a great charger if you do other rc's (planes boats helis ect.) but any 35 dollar peak charger should work just fine

I also have 1400 battery packs. It's safe to upgrade right? I can switch from nicd to nimh without having problems with my speed control or motor right? The speed control and motor I'll be using is old school. I forgot what motor it was but the speed control is those orange team novaks.


Since we are discussing about batteries, is it safe to switch from nicd rechargeable transmitter batteries to nimh? Will their be a difference on my "Blazer" transmitter and charger?

Thanks!

Danteazy wrote:
Since we are discussing about batteries, is it safe to switch from nicd rechargeable transmitter batteries to nimh? Will their be a difference on my "Blazer" transmitter and charger?

Thanks!

If you are referring to a charger that hooks up to the transmitter for recharging, then you might need to use a different charger for charging NiMH batteries.

This just my personal logic talking.....

I have a Nicad powered radio (Spektrum DX6) and 1 place told me (eBay seller for a battery)I could charge a NiMH battery in the transmitter with the stock charger. Perhaps the charge rate is so low, that it does not matter?

y2kgtp wrote:

Danteazy wrote:
Since we are discussing about batteries, is it safe to switch from nicd rechargeable transmitter batteries to nimh? Will their be a difference on my "Blazer" transmitter and charger?

Thanks!

If you are referring to a charger that hooks up to the transmitter for recharging, then you might need to use a different charger for charging NiMH batteries.

This just my personal logic talking.....

I have a Nicad powered radio (Spektrum DX6) and 1 place told me (eBay seller for a battery)I could charge a NiMH battery in the transmitter with the stock charger. Perhaps the charge rate is so low, that it does not matter?

not a problem to use a 'wall charger' for NiMH batterys that was designed to use for NiCAD batteries. Just takes longer to charge. Doesn't hurt them any. Almost all wall chargers have a trickle charge that it switches to once the battery is charged so it can't overcharge the batteries if left on too long. Some of the local guys will run with us one day a week and just go home from running to plug in the tx/rx batteries(nitro) and unplug next week when its time to run again. Would I do that...pry not. I like procrastination and end up using my field charger at the track so I'm charging instead of running .
Todd