How long do I charge my Honeybee FP heli (stock) battery for?

sls.spec

Okay, I got my Honeybee FP in the mail today. I'm trying to charge the stock battery (I'll charge the others later on). It's an ESky 8.4v 650mAh NI-MH (Ek1-0100).

It doesn't say how long to charge the battery for. The manual literally says "During the charging process, you can determine whether the battery is fully charged as follows:

1. Voltage measurement:
Use a voltage indicator. This is the best way.

2. Temperature:
When charging, examine the temperature of the battery all the time. When the temperature of the battery is rising, it shows that the charging is close to finish. Please turn off the charger.

3. Calculation of the charging time.:
charging time = capacity of the battery/charging current."


Why does this poor English translation not surprise me? I guess I should have known they would give me a charger that doesn't even have a stupid indicator light on it to tell me when the battery is charged.
Is there a specific amount of time anyone charges their battery for?

I'm dividing the capacity of the battery (volts or mAh's?) by the charging current.

The charger output is: 12VDC 300mA. The charger itself gets very hot after being plugged in for just a few minutes...but I don't feel the battery warming. Can something give me a time estimate...how long do you charge yours for? I can see that this is going to get annoying, and I'm going to have to get a charger that will actually give me some sort of indication that the battery is fully charged.

Answer
Hi,
If you have 650mAh batteries and are using a charger that charges at 300mAh, then a typical charge will be a bit over 2 hours.
The first few times that you charge and discharge the pack, it will not deliver full capacity. So the heli may be underpowered. After 4 or 5 charge cycles, it should be better.

You might want to read up on the dedicated RC heli forums.
http://www.rcgroups.com/micro-helis-42/
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Helicopter_Beginners_Forum/forumid_165/tt.htm
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Electric_RC_Helis/forumid_167/tt.htm
http://www.rcgroups.com/mini-helis-374/

Good luck!

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Brookstone mini u control helicopter is just hovering and not turning or moving foward or back. Any help?

rhc99

I got a u control mini rc helicopter and it flew fine the first few days. There's not much damage except for minor scratches on the blades. Now when I try and fly it now, it goes up and just hovers. It won't turn or move. I already replaced the batteries and tried adjusting the trim but nothin worked Can I fix this? How? I do not have the box or receipt anymore, so if I can't fix it, will brookstone take it back or give me a new one?

Answer
I would definitely try to take it back. Is there a warranty?

How do I Make a RC Remote?

Alex

I lost the remote for a Brookstone Silver Bullet helicopter. I know that it's not a big deal, but I don't just want to throw it away. If you don't know the answer, can you think of some creative ways I could use the parts of the helicopter? By the way, this helicopter still works perfectly and the romote uses an infrared senser. Thanks!

Answer
You could try contacting Brookstone and see if you could by an extra remote. Or, since they seem cheap ($29.99) just buy a whole new helicopter/control, and then you'd have an "extra" helicopter for parts. http://www.brookstone.com/mini-remote-control-rc-helicopters

Trying to build your own remote would be next to impossible (unless you're an electronics engineer, in which case why are you asking?)

Another possibility is to try a different brand of helicopter, such as the Blade series helicopters from Eflite. They are quite a bit more expensive, but they use what is called "Bind N Fly" technology which allows you to use better transmitters for the helicopter if you wish. As well as the Blade helicopters are fully repairable down to the last little screw or bit of plastic. I have the predecessor to the mSR X, and I love it. Tough as can be, challenging to fly (if you've never flown a heli before) but once I learned how to do it, it is tons of fun.

the Blade mCX coaxial helicopter (similar to your Brookstone in that it is coaxial)
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products/blade-mcx-rtf-EFLH2200
or
the Blade mSR X which is a single main rotor with a working tail rotor. Harder to fly, but much more realistic looking.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products/msr-x-rtf-BLH3200

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