How often do you charge the Rx and Glow Starter

[rossb]

I bought a new 1100mAh 6V NiMH receiver battery from onlybatterypacks.com and it seems as though my receiver battery does not last very long. I charged it, drove for about 2 hours, and then put the truck away for a few days with the Rx switch off. Today I took out the truck and the battery was pretty much dead. My Rx is a Futaba FM R133F standard 3-channel receiver. I use an OFNA failsafe, a Futaba 3305 High Torque Servo, and two Futaba 3003 standard servos.

I also have a Tower Hobbies rechargeable Glow Starter with a meter and I was wondering how often I need to recharge it. If charge it, use for a few minutes, and then let it sit for a day or two it seems as though my truck is hard to start when I use it a few days later. The needle on the meter still points all the way to the end of the green zone but the truck seems hard to start. I wonder how accurate the meter really is. How often should I be recharging this thing? I am not sure that I should recharge it too much because the NiCd battery might develop a "memory" effect.

 

[SkyMaxx]

You should let the glo-ignitor sit on the charger over night before running with it. That will guarantee at least the better part of the day with normal use. The memory issue is only going to occur if you recharge the battery while it carries a partial charge. You can insure that the glo-ignitor is without charge by sticking a flashlight bulb in the tip in the same fashion you do a glo-plug. This will either light up indicating a charge (in which case, leave the bulb there until the light goes out...no more charge) or not light indicating a dead battery.

As for the receiver, give it the same treatment. I recharge mine a full 24 hours or until the trickle charger indicates no more juice is getting into the battery. Expect that it will loose its charge of its own volition when left untouched for long periods of time. Just the nature of rechargeables.

 

[rossb]

You can insure that the glo-ignitor is without charge by sticking a flashlight bulb in the tip in the same fashion you do a glo-plug. This will either light up indicating a charge (in which case, leave the bulb there until the light goes out...no more charge) or not light indicating a dead battery.

Good idea, thanks.

Someone on another forum is saying that he has the same Rx pack as I do and his only lasts about 2 hours on a charge. That is about what I am getting. Is that normal from a NiMH Rx pack?

Would a name brand pack like this HPI Hump Pack be any better? How long would regular AA Alkaline Dry Cells last?