[Elecraft] Lithium Polymer batteries

[Dan Barker]

Wow!

I received my new batteries Wednesday and put them in my model airplane.
With NiCd batteries (500mAh, 9.6V) the plane would run about 4 minutes (65%
power, 2.5 minutes wide open).

With the LiPo batteries (4400mAh, 7.4V), it ran over 40 minutes (I don't
really know - we got hungry and quit with power to spare. The Turkey was
already on the table).

These things are LIGHT! Each cell (I had 4) is only 45 grams; $15 from
BatteriesAmerica.com (usual disclaimers).

I'm not a backpacker or anything, so my gel-cell is fine for the K2, but you
"travelers" really ought to look at this new technology.

Charging is really different. It's constant current until 8.4V (4.2 per
cell) at 0.5C (about 90 minutes) and then constant voltage as the current
falls off rapidly (for the remaining 10% capacity, another 90 minutes). Not
exactly quick-charge, but SO WHAT?

Dan / WG4S / K2 #2456