Frequently Asked Questions - 2005/03

THIS IS THE 12th monthly column in which you write in or Email
your questions, and I try to give you the best possible answers.
Each inquiry is given a sequential number for identification
purposes.
Because publication space is limited, part of each month’s
installment will appear here, and the columns in their entirety are
posted on the AMA Web site at www.modelaircraft.org/
mag/faq/index.asp. There you can access questions by subject matter
or category. This is to help you retrieve data for particular subjects.
When you call up a question, it reads “Answer ... ” at the end.
Double-click on that word, and the answer, along with any related
photos, will be displayed.
Let’s start!

Technical Review - 2005/03

THIRTY YEARS ago the first Ni-Cd
battery tester hit the hobby market. It was
called the Flite-Life, and it dischargetested
four-cell receiver packs or eightcell
transmitter battery packs at a fixed
load of 300 mA. You had to attach a
household electric clock to this device to
determine the time on discharge. From
that time and the load, you calculated the
capacity in mAh.
Since that humble beginning, dozens
of battery-testing devices have come and
gone. Now most provide the timing and
load integration, such that you read the
capacity directly in mAh! Many allow
you to test a single cell up to 20-, 30-,
and 36-cell packs.

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