Yello everyone :-)

Greetings, I'm Shashank from bangalore, new to the rc flying scene. Just picked up my modelart scale rc heli(bout the size of my hand). Had little trouble stabilizing it. Well my problem is that i'd like a little more flying time. Right now i get about 6 mins tops and would like to double it by adding another LiPo batt. The heli now uses a 3.7v 85Mah LiPo battery. I took a look at and doesn't seem very heavy, so i was wondering if i could solder another with the same amp rating in series connection. I have some expertise in electronincs and soldering as this has been my hobby for about 12 years.(did my first circuit in 5th standard lol, burnt my hand) I'd like everyones input. Glad to be a part of this forum.
             

Bump. Can anyone help me out here?

Quote from: mu57@ng on January 14, 2010, 08:13:45 PM
Yello everyone :-)

Greetings, I'm Shashank from bangalore, new to the rc flying scene. Just picked up my modelart scale rc heli(bout the size of my hand). Had little trouble stabilizing it. Well my problem is that i'd like a little more flying time. Right now i get about 6 mins tops and would like to double it by adding another LiPo batt. The heli now uses a 3.7v 85Mah LiPo battery. I took a look at and doesn't seem very heavy, so i was wondering if i could solder another with the same amp rating in series connection. I have some expertise in electronincs and soldering as this has been my hobby for about 12 years.(did my first circuit in 5th standard lol, burnt my hand) I'd like everyones input. Glad to be a part of this forum.
             

Hello Shashank, Welcome.....
         I believe that a better option would be to replace the original battery with a new single cell lipo with a higher mah rating. The higher the mah, the longer the flight time........... however do not go too high as it would increase weight.
         If u solder another 3.7v 85mah in series it will double the volts and may damage the controls designed for 3.7v. You could  put an additional battery in parallel though which will give u the same 3.7v but at additional mah.

Edwin.

You can add it, but you will have to mount it such that the CG is not affected. You'll need to wire it in parallel, not series.

Another thing to watch is that since now you have increased the weight, you'll need to fly at higher throttle setting. This will increase the current draw and you'll get less than twice the duration you are expecting.

According to me, the real worry would be if the motor and speed controller can take the higher load without affecting their life.

The simplest is to fly a battery for 6 minutes, land, change battery and fly again       That "break" recharges your brain/mind 

I'd agree with Anwar on that. For different reasons.

I have that model and have "tried" flying it... It does take efforts... and I am saying "tried" cos it is very difficult to make it fly the way you want.. not a at all stable.. In addition it is a chinese model.... So tweaking anything in it will be an unnecessary risk... At a cost of reasonable flight time, you shall me able to use the model for a longer time. IMHO 

Wow... Beautiful response. Hmmm. Well the problem is i do get 10mins of flying time but it takes roughly 30 - 40 mins for recharging alone. Yes i should connect in parallel. Confirmed with my dad earlier :-). I took a look at the LiPo and it doesn't seem that heavy. Adding one more shouldn't add much strain. Yes i've kept in mind about the centre of gravity. Although what Edwin said there should solve the problems of unbalanced charge in both batteries. I'll be taking a look at the model art showroom tomorrow. They sell LiPo 85Mah for 200 bucks. Is the price all right. Thanks a lot for your response guys. Really helped and gave me some new ideas too.