I had some of the LiFe batteries and A123's, both were 1100 Mah rated. I ran both of them thru several cycles on my West Mountain Radio CBA II. After plotting several discharge curves on top of each other you could definitely tell that the batteries are not the same.<br>
<br> The A123 cells had a very flat discharge curve, almost like they were on a regulator even during a continuous 4 amp load. The LiFe's voltage curve was fairly steep and the capacity would drop as you increased the discharge current. <br>
<br> The A123's didn't seem to care how much juice you drew, they just leveled at ~6.6V until they were empty. Charge at 4A, then immediately discharge at 4A, every time the same curve. The LiFe's curves were all over depending on how hard the last discharge was.<br>
<br> I threw out the LiFe's, and have stuck with the A123's. . .<br><br> Ed is correct that you can't use voltage to check the remaining capacity of the cells. However, since you can charge them at 4 Amps all day long (wire and connector limit, not battery), I just plug in my charger as soon as I land and it is done before I have gotten the tank half way filled up. Of course you can see how many Mah you're putting back in per flight and estimate how many flights you have, but I find it easier to just top it off each flight.<br>
<br> If anyone is interested in the CBA discharge charts, I can dig them out of my laptop and e-mail them. . . I make my 1100Mah A123 packs out of the Black and Decker VPX brand battery packs. It is very easy to disassemble the pack and wire it up with heavy gauge Futaba connector using the white wire as the balancing tap. VPX tools have been discontinued, so you have to go to E-bay and get them.<br>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Mar 4, 2010 at 9:06 PM, Ed Alt <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ed_alt@hotmail.com">ed_alt@hotmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
<div style="padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 15px;" name="Compose message area">
<div><font size="3" face="Calibri">Very flat discharge curve too, so it's more
difficult to know what's left to go.</font></div>
<div><font size="3" face="Calibri"></font> </div>
<div><font size="3" face="Calibri">Ed</font></div>
<div style="font: 10pt Tahoma;">
<div><br></div>
<div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(245, 245, 245);">
<div><b>From:</b> <a title="anthonyr105@hotmail.com" href="mailto:anthonyr105@hotmail.com" target="_blank">Anthony Romano</a> </div>
<div><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, March 04, 2010 1:56 PM</div>
<div><b>To:</b> <a title="nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org" href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org" target="_blank">nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org</a>
</div>
<div><b>Subject:</b> Re: [NSRCA-discussion] LiFe batteries
Hobbico</div></div></div>
<div><br></div>Sounds similar to the A123 cells the GS guys have been using
for a while. Most lipo chargers have a LiFe setting. Wonder who is making
the cells. A123's are very tough great current capacity but heavy when
compared to the energy density of lipos.<br> <br>Anthony<br> <br>
<hr>
From: <a href="mailto:johnfuqua@embarqmail.com" target="_blank">johnfuqua@embarqmail.com</a><br>To: <a href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org" target="_blank">nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org</a><br>Date:
Thu, 4 Mar 2010 12:49:52 -0600<br>Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] LiFe batteries
Hobbico<br><br>
<div>
<p><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-size: 11pt;">Wow
Steve Kaluf. As the nominal voltage is different assume you need a
different charger to charge them.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-size: 11pt;"></span> </p>
<div>
<div style="border-width: 1pt medium medium; border-style: solid none none; border-color: rgb(181, 196, 223) -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color; padding: 3pt 0in 0in;">
<p><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">From:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
<a href="mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces@lists.nsrca.org" target="_blank">nsrca-discussion-bounces@lists.nsrca.org</a>
[mailto:<a href="mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces@lists.nsrca.org" target="_blank">nsrca-discussion-bounces@lists.nsrca.org</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>brian
young<br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, March 04, 2010 12:32 PM<br><b>To:</b> General
pattern discussion<br><b>Subject:</b> [NSRCA-discussion] LiFe batteries
Hobbico</span></p></div></div>
<p> </p>
<div><span>Anyone try the LiFe
batteries Hobbico has listed for Receivers yet?</span><br><span> </span><br><span><a href="http://www.hobbico.com/radioaccys/hcam6415.html" target="_blank">http://www.hobbico.com/radioaccys/hcam6415.html</a></span><br><span> </span><br>
<span>Brian</span><br></div>
<p> </p></div><br>
<hr>
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