Ohm readings on new True RC packs

[Exfokkerflyer]

I tried to charge my new True RC 10c packs that I bought a few months ago on my Cell Pro. This was this first night that I have used the charger since I got it. Tried a few of my HXT packs and took the Ohm readings and they were around 4-5... for packs of their age they seemed about right.

Then I soldered up my True RC packs and put them on the charger. I tried to charge it at 1C and after two hours it only put in 13 mah, and showed 39 V. The mOhm reading ranged from 6-9.9 on one cell... This is the first charge, and I have heard of these readings going down, but has anybody seen this? Are these packs shot?

I have another set that I will try to charger later today, not sure what I will find.

Tom M

[Anthony]

Most of my Trues are between 3-5. Sounds very off.

[astropuppy]

Today in 50 degree weather my 10C trues had ir's above 6. In warmer weather they where  3-5. The packs have around 25 charges on them.

[Exfokkerflyer]

True RC exchanged that set no questions asked. I am flying the replacement set now and it's working pretty well. The set that had good initial readings started acting funky and I sent it back too. I was not developing as much power as the other set, and one cell had a high IR reading. Sent it back and was told that I had a damaged cell and that was the problem. I did had an off runway landing (yes it still does happen to electrics when the deans plugs come undone *ouch*) and had a 'puncture' of one of the cells. I tested the pack for a few flights and it still worked well, and it did not appear to be punctured, just dented. But apparently that was the issue and he repaired the pack. Set now gets hot, real hot in comparison with the other pack which is barely warm after a flight... only about 12-15 total cycles and three or four on the repaired cell...

Will test it again this week or next and see what it's doing. If it's still acting that way I'll send it back again.

[Stuart C]

I have had a bunch of True RC packs, several were replacements for packs that didn't last at all.  They have been very good about replacing packs that weakened after 20 cycles or less.  I have only 1 pair of 5 cell packs that are up in the 40's of cycles and still seem reasonable.  Resistance is up a bit rom 3-5 per cell (cellpro charger) when new to 6-8.  I have a couple of other packs with less than 20 cycles that are already up to 6-8 per cell.  As the season is pretty much over and they will be stored over the winter I doubt I will get much more usefullness out of them.  Although I will continue to buy smaller packs from them and their 250 mah 2 cell pack is my favorite for indoor F3P, I doubt I will buy any more pattern packs from them.  The nice thing was that their packs were a good weight, same as TP for such a low priced pack.  Most other low price packs are several ounces heavier.

Stuart

[FlyAll10s]

I flew this past season with 4 TrueRC flight packs (10C) that were new at the beginning of this year.  They each now have about 35 cycles on them and they are all reading in the 8-10 ohm range.  They are all noticeably weaker than they were earlier this season.  I usually put between 3500 and 3800 ma back into them after a flight, so they weren't abused.  Only on one or two occasions did the charge put back in ~4100 ma.  As Stuart said, these packs were all a good weight ~1175 grams, so I'd like to stay with them.  However, longevity has me concerned, especially since Rhinos and Zippys are less costly.

Joe

[Chris Moon]

I think what we are finding is that there is a lot of variability in the cycle life we get from True.  Some packs are over 100 cycles, others don't make it half that far.  Just seems like there is a lot of variability in the cells that go into the packs.  My Zippy FlightMax are around 25 cycles and are still good, my Rhinos are around 35 and are still excellent with amazing IR numbers still in the 1's and 2's. The problem is the weight of the Rhino packs vs the True or FlightMax. 3 oz is a lot when you are already close to 11lbs.

[Exfokkerflyer]

At least so far, I think I would have to agree with all your statements. One set, the problem set, is working okay, but not great, I think I will either send them back, or relegate them to a less strenuous application. The other set at around 10 cycles is going great... but I know that they likely won't last all that long.

The Zippys I have are around 25-30 cycles and doing great. Stay cool after the flight, just slightly warm, and provide great power. If I have pushed them during the flight say at a contest, with both wind and adrenaline flowing, I do notice a loss of power at the end of the flight. Much better than the old generation TPs and ANY Flight Powers that I have used however. I plan on using up the four sets this winter during practice...

Then however, the Rhinos would be good, but are too heavy, same problem with the Hyperions at a higher price point, but lower than TPs. The TP 5300s seem to be on sale everywhere if you can find them... does that mean that something else is coming? Anybody have any info from 'sponsored' friends that they can share? Gonna need something for next season... right now sticking with Zippy Flightmax seems to be the best compromise.

Tom M

[can773]

Hi Tom

I recently spoke with TP, there are not any plans that I was told about to either eliminate or add to the F3A size packs at least in the near future.  From what I know they are focused on new chargers, and the 45C packs.