any merit in running dual battery packs ?

[Rcmaster199 at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/24/2005 7:19:07 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
hitesh at salt.ac.za writes:

Hi,
 
Now  that we all using high powered digital servo's with incredible holding 
power  etc - is there any merit in running 2 battery packs, say 1 Ah each as 
opposed  to 1 high capacity pack thereby eliminating the single point failure ? 
If  I did want to run 2 packs, is a diode necessary to prevent 1 pack from  
possibly charging the other if 1 pack were to go bad ?
 
Cheers,
Hitesh



Hitesh, a 1500 to 2000ma battery is all you need. There's little  advantage 
to redundancy unless you are planning to fly more than 5-7 flights  (res) on 
any given day. But then again, I use NiMH on the airborne and only  Sanyo packs, 
which have proven extremely reliable for several years now.  As such, a 
redundant power source isn't really necessary in pattern models  and you can avoid 
some unnecessary weight build up. 
 
What has been done in large models is to add another battery and  switch 
harness to an unused channel on the  receiver, which provides  adequate 
redundancy. The extra weight on such models isn't as critical as it is  in pattern 
models. Both switches "on" at take-off please.
 
Of course, if you just have to have the extra battery and you have enough  
weight margin and room, the above is one way to do it. There are other ways, but 
 this is simple and reliable.
 
MattK
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