Doug McLaren <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >Actually, the Triton can charge through a diode. It can't discharge >(which makes sense), but it can charge.
I don't know why you're saying that, but you're wrong. In normal operation the Triton stops charging for a few seconds each minute in order to sense the battery voltage and monitor the progress of the charge. With a diode in the circuit, the battery voltage doesn't appear at the charging jack, causing the test to fail immediately. (See http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1081041&postcount=1 ) In fact, a Triton won't even start charging in the first place if it doesn't first detect the voltage from a battery on its output. With a diode in the circuit, the Triton would only return a "no batt" error message. Also, even if the charger could somehow be rigged into charging anyway, the forward voltage drop across the diode would confuse the smart charging circuitry and give unwanted results. It's very well known that peak chargers can't be used to charge radios through their charging jacks unless any safety charging diodes in the radio are bypassed. You'll find it in virtually any general FAQ about our hobby. Everything else you wrote is pretty much the same as what I wrote earlier. It's good advice. >Well, if there's no diode, or a fuse didn't blow, then he almost >certainly reverse charged his pack. Exactly how much depends on how >full the batteries were when he started, and how long the charger was >on ... > >The batteries were probably damaged at least somewhat, but it may not >be enough to worry about (mostly the damage would manifest as reduced >capacity.) I'd strongly suggest at least running them through a >cycler a few times and make sure they're still OK. If the capacity is >down more than 10 or 20% from the original capacity -- replace them. > >Some people are down on NiMH cells for receiver packs, as they don't >stand up to abuse as well, and have higher internal resistances, and >there is truth to all that, but for transmitter packs they're perfect. >And even if you pay full retail Wal-Mart price, 8 2000+ mAh NiMH AA >cells will only cost about $20 -- cheap insurance, and you'll probably >get a pack that will last all day. (Assuming you can make your own >packs, of course.) Mike -- Winch Solenoid Safety Buzzer - http://www.vvsss.com/buzzer/ _____ \__________________|__________________/ (O) RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
