Radio Control Batteries Info

Radio Control Batteries FAQ

How do radio control batteries work?

When a load (motor, receiver, anything that takes power) is connected to a battery, electrons travel from the positive terminal to the negative terminal (also referred to as electrodes). The flow of electrons causes a chemical reaction in the inner electrolyte of the battery providing power to the load.

In rechargeable batteries, the chemical reaction can be reversed. This, in essence, puts things back the way they were. Thats why a rechargeable battery can be used over and over. By charging it, you just keep reversing the chemical reaction allowing it to start over.

What types of batteries do radio control vehicles use?

There are a few common types of radio control batteries:

Zinc-carbon This is the technology of inexpensive dry cell, non-rechargeable batteries such as AA, AAA, C, and D. Zinc and carbon serve as the electrodes while an acidic paste serves as the electrolyte.

Alkaline This is the technology of the more expensive dry cell, non-rechargeable batteries. Duracell and Energizer are two of the most popular manufacturers of alkaline batteries. These batteries have zinc and manganese-oxide as their electrodes and an alkaline compound as the electrolyte.

NiCd Nickel Cadmium radio control batteries are rechargeable with nickel-hydroxide and cadmium electrodes and potassium hydroxide as the electrolyte.

NiMH Nickel-metal hydride batteries are also rechargeable. They have a nickel hydrogen and a hydrogen absorbing alloy as the electrodes and potassium-hydroxide as the electrolyte.

Lithium polymer These have lithium nickel cobalt oxide-based and carbon based electrodes with a polymer biphasic electrolyte. (Say that ten times quickly!)

Whats the difference?

The obvious difference between dry cell batteries in relation to the others is that these types of batteries are not rechargeable. Once the irreversible chemical reactions inside them have occurred, they no longer react to create power.

In the world of radio control batteries, dry cells are used mostly for transmitters and receivers. The reason for this is that the radio components have much lower power consumption than the motor components of radio controlled vehicles. For this low power application with infrequent battery changes, many people would simply rather carry a spare pack of brand new dry cell batteries for replacement than deal with rechargeable radio control batteries.

The difference between the two most common rechargeable radio control batteries, the NiCd and NiMH, is not an exact science. The battery sizes used for radio control batteries come in both types, and there really arent many differences except that NiMh is lighter than NiCd.

NiMH have a higher discharge capacity and therefore may last longer depending on the size and application. They have virtually the same initial power and life cycles. One difference that interests a lot of people is that the NiMH batteries contain less toxic material and therefore create fewer environmental issues.

Lithium polymer batteries are creeping up on the market of radio control batteries. They claim higher power at lighter weight, no memory problems, and longer charge life.

What is the memory effect?

Rechargeable batteries do actually have what is commonly referred to as a memory. If a battery is consistently used at only partial capacity, the crystal structure of the inner chemicals will physically change, altering the capabilities of the battery. In essence, if you consistently use 25% of a batteries charge, it will change to only offer you 25% of its original charge.

For
radio control batteries

used in cars, running your vehicle until the charge is used up may not be so difficult. But if you use these radio control batteries in airplanes, draining the battery all the way down in your plane can obviously be disastrous.

Finally, lithium polymer batteries like those above never develop the dreaded memory effect and coupled with their light weight they are perhaps the ideal RC batteries availalbe today!