Rechargable Battery

[cychow6111]

1) Could someone advise what type and brand of re-chargable battery and charger you are using it on the VsTank?
2) How much and where did you get it from?
3) Heard that high capacity battery is good for RC application? What is your comments and observations?
4) Is a quick charger good? Otherwise, what alternative?
5) Heard someone from a forum commented that when certain brands of battery are used, the tank's tab have to be adjusted ... otherwise, poor contact? Currently using Sanyo Alkaline battery ..... 14 battery cost me easily $10 .... very expensive lar

[icefoxy01]

1) Could someone advise what type and brand of re-chargable battery and charger you are using it on the VsTank?
2) How much and where did you get it from?
3) Heard that high capacity battery is good for RC application? What is your comments and observations?
4) Is a quick charger good? Otherwise, what alternative?
5) Heard someone from a forum commented that when certain brands of battery are used, the tank's tab have to be adjusted ... otherwise, poor contact? Currently using Sanyo Alkaline battery ..... 14 battery cost me easily $10 .... very expensive lar

Hi CY,

1) First up, one of the best brands out there for rechargable batts is the Sanyo 2300 or 2500 mAh rechargeables. On a full charge they give abt 1 ~1.5 hrs of playtime on the VSTanks.

2) The sanyos cost abt sgd $14 for a pack of 4; 2 packs is sufficient for the tank itself. As for the transmitter, I recommend using normal alkalines since the transmitter doesn't drain as much power as the main tank itself. Takes abt 3 - 4 weeks of weekend play to drain the transmitter batts. The charger for the sanyos is abt $45 for the quick charger, and comes with 4 x 2300 or 2500mAh batts if i recall.

As for where to purchase the batts, try SLS lvl 1. Our group bought a whole batch from Alan Photo, though at the time they were out of the 15min quick charger.

3) For RC high capacity batts are def a good thing cos' it means that you have more play time. Currently 2700mAh Sanyo batts are abt as powerful as you get, but the 2300 and 2500 mAh batts run just fine.

4) A quick charger is good for when you're tanking at a location with a power socket available for use. The biggest drawback is that your overall batt life will decrease dramatically, esp if your batts arent fully drained and you force charge them again on the 15min batts. Expect to see performance decrease after a few months of heavy play from the batts. Recommendation is you buy 2 sets of 8 batts for the tank and use a standard 1 - 4 hr or even a 6 - 12 hr slow charger unless you really really want to do quick charging out on the go.

5) A definite yes to cutting or trimming the tabs. There will be NO contact if you don't, so far thats the only problem the VSTank batt bay has. It'll take you abt 10 - 15 mins with a sharp Xacto scalpel/knife. Try not to use a regular penknife cos regular knives normally not sharp enuff. Here's the link for the pics of the tabs to be trimmed, courtesy of calvinlo from a few posts back

RCTank Universe article

Finally, as for alkaline alternatives, the humble GP batteries are pretty nifty and cheap to boot ! Currently theres offers for a pack of 8 GP alkalines for abt $4 from guardian pharmacies and other places which stock GP batts. It should last you a weekend or 3 of tanking; trust me we've tested extensively

Ok, hope that answers all your questions. Btw, do you own the airsoft or IR version? Oh, fyi (esp da main tank man calvinlo, Timemachine Studios brought in the Late model Tiger 1 in the woodland camo pattern; it proved too tempting for my buddy and he swooped in and grabbed it It has an updated accessories pack featuring a different tank commander as well as an MG 42 for the AA mount ) Happy tanking!

[baby_zyklon]

Can try sanyo eneloop also. 2000mah but can at least last as long as those 2500mah sanyo nimh because it doesn't self discharge. Can get at alan's photo also. 2 for $8. A bit more ex but can save the hassle of recharging every time just before you need to use the batt.

[cychow6111]

Thank you for the comprehensive reply.
What charger are you using it and the charge time?

I bought a LA5 and M1A1 yesterday from FEP. Do not know why, the M1AI and shoot the LA5 better than vice versa. Even both are out of sight, behind cover, M1A1 always manage to down the LA5.

2nd, whenever a start up on LA5, it will shoot by itself and move without controlling it. Have to restart again.

You have insight on this. Any advise will be useful and helpful.

Talked to the seller, he will look into the issue.

[cychow6111]

You mentioned that it need to fully discharge before re-charge it otherwise the battery will degrade. Are you refering to Mi-MH which has no memory effect ,i.e., can charge anytime!

Thanks

[icefoxy01]

Thank you for the comprehensive reply.
What charger are you using it and the charge time?

I bought a LA5 and M1A1 yesterday from FEP. Do not know why, the M1AI and shoot the LA5 better than vice versa. Even both are out of sight, behind cover, M1A1 always manage to down the LA5.

2nd, whenever a start up on LA5, it will shoot by itself and move without controlling it. Have to restart again.

You have insight on this. Any advise will be useful and helpful.

Talked to the seller, he will look into the issue.

Personally I'm using the Sanyo 15min quick charger; it force charges 4 x 2500mAh batts in abt 15mins.

The random shots could possibly be a glitch somewhere or a case of a misaligned sensor, either the gunfire transmit sensor or the IR receiver on the top of the tank. However before you jump to that conclusion have you tried to play around with barrel elevation, etc when battling? If everything else is ok and there are no barrel obstructions and this still occurs then yes, might be a glitch.

If the L2A5 shoots and moves without any form of transmitter input when you turn it on, and if it's a constantly recurring issue, one possibility is that it might be the area where you're battling might really have random signals at the same freq as the L2A5. One way of checking is to swap the receiver crystals on the L2A5 and the M1A1. If this isn't the case and it still occurs, again might be a glitch on the electronics side. So far I've not heard of any similar complaints abt VSTank electronics; most of the complaints are from mechanical wear and tear thru rough usage.

[icefoxy01]

You mentioned that it need to fully discharge before re-charge it otherwise the battery will degrade. Are you refering to Mi-MH which has no memory effect ,i.e., can charge anytime!

Thanks

Well, if im not mistaken Ni-Mh batts still do require an almost complete discharge just to be on the safe side if you want to prolong the lifecycle of the batts. Ni-Cd batts (older gen batts) definitely have the dreaded memory effects which is why we don't see them as often as before. Newer lithium polymer batts, supposedly don't have memory effects either, but notice that mobile phones now are mainly powered by Li-Po batts and even then the advice is to saturate charge em' first before use.

Either way, from experience using the Sanyo Ni-Mh batts, there is a noticeable drop in batt life after 6 mths to a year of usage, even with proper care. It's a pity that the newer Sanyo Eneloop batts doesn't seem to have enough output power to really juice the VSTanks, even though with Eneloop batts supposedly there is almost negligible memory effect for up to 1000 cycles. Eneloop chargers max charging is apparently a 1 - 2 hr charger. However the initial cost of Eneloop batts is almost double that of the regular Ni-Mh batts.

Hmmm......speaking of which I'd better check if I've discharged my first set of batts, if not then time for some tanking

[Planedev]

Hi, you can get your batteries from mustafas, as they are normally the cheapest you can find for the same batteries. If I am not wrong you can also find sanyo 2700s now.

[tattybear]

welcome in jeff!!!

[astroboyy]

[QUOTE=cychow6111]1) Could someone advise what type and brand of re-chargable battery and charger you are using it on the VsTank?


Try to get Digital Charger if possible as they got more option for charging. Carrefour or Winnie's shop for batt. It's better to recce around and check prices, you never know what you're gonna get.

[Planedev]

welcome in jeff!!!

Hi Chris

[cychow6111]

thank you all who wrote in.
I think I will go for the Sanyo quick charger!
BTW,I found Prime Supermarket selling Sanyo alkaline ( c/w 25% more power) for only $1.90 in a pack of 4. Anybody can get a better price elsewhere?

[astroboyy]

thank you all who wrote in.
I think I will go for the Sanyo quick charger!
BTW,I found Prime Supermarket selling Sanyo alkaline ( c/w 25% more power) for only $1.90 in a pack of 4. Anybody can get a better price elsewhere?

Should get what you're comfortable with. I think the Sanyo Quick Charger will serve you well.