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LiPo low battery alarm...

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  • LiPo low battery alarm...

    For those of you who don't have/need transmitter telemetry, this simple & inexpensive device works superbly. I have all my planes timed on my Tx as to when I need to start the landing procedure depending on the size(mah) of the battery I'm using. I've had "senior" moments I forgot to start the timer & fortunately, only one crash from LVC. I picked up one of these Quanum Low Voltage buzzers that have a tiny transmitter(1"Sq.) that plugs into the Balance Plug of the LiPo & sends a signal to the receiver buzzer on your belt or Tx.. The receiver can be set for different voltages. Since I found that most LiPo's will always have one cell that gets to low voltage first, I set my buzzer for 3.6v. I use it on all my planes & has worked to distances beyond LOS. If you want an inexpensive method for safe flying time insurance, get one. Link attached....

    Denny

    *** \"A man\'s word is his honor....without honor there is nothing.\" ***
    *** I have no hesitation to kill nor reservation to die for the Flag & Constitution of the USA. ***

  • #2
    I got one of the Quanum battery voltage telemetry units and only achieved 50 ft range with it... I got a reading each time I did a low pass over the runway but otherwise it wasn't in range long enough to relink.
    FF gliders and rubber power since 1966, CL 1970-1990, RC since 1975.

    current planes from 1/2 oz to 22 lbs

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    • #3
      My old flying budding and I have gone through 4 of those alarms. As fhhuber says, the range is really crappy and the quality is suspect. Either the antenna comes loose or gets unsoldered or you only get a signal on a close in fly by. We've even tried both frequencies and both are just as bad. The other thing is that on many occasions, we forgot to turn on the receiver. We have long since given up on that product.
      I had hoped that this one would be the answer: http://www.quanum-rc.com/product-telesys.php However, after searching for over a year, HobbyKing never had any stock and now they say it's been discontinued. I can only presume that it never was sold by HobbyKing in the past year due to similar problems with performance.
      I find that setting the timer on the TX and making it count down when the throttle is more than 25% has worked the best of any device. I even have the Lemon telemetry but that one works only till the power module fails - it's pretty cheap and that one is difficult to swap into a different plane every time you fly it. Lemon also makes a RX with telemetry that you plug a lead into the balance port of the battery. That helps, but I don't always remember to look at the display as often as I should. Some guys I fly with use those cheap 2 dollar beepers but when the plane is too far, it can't be heard anyway.
      PS, I know all about "senior moments".

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      • #4
        I just fly high enough that when the plane hits LVC I can still make it to the runway.

        Sometimes that's 3+ minutes after hitting LVC. We have a pretty good thermal that develops in the same place almost every day. We had a Fun Fly with a 2 min climb and then glide for duration task. One of the guys got in the thermal for 30 minutes.
        FF gliders and rubber power since 1966, CL 1970-1990, RC since 1975.

        current planes from 1/2 oz to 22 lbs

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        • #5
          Sailplanes/gliders can be pushed to the limit as they can be run till there's just enough juice to power the servos for the landing with no "go around". EDFs, however, are a different story. Run those a bit too hard and you may not have enough altitude for a powerless landing.
          I've flown my Radian for 90 minutes once. Got bored and came down. I could have gone for hours more. Even these days, sitting in a lawn chair, 30 - 45 minutes is taxing our patience, especially when we've got other planes waiting to get their turn.

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