By
Peter Dennis
Flying Sites Editor
Following
on from his success with his User Friendly Guide to the Super Nova
Charger, (see review here) Andrew Gibbs
has now released the second book in the series.
This
time Andrew guides us through some of the mysteries surrounding
Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) and Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh) batteries.
This book, like the earlier guide to the Super Nova Charger aims
to help both newcomers and the more experienced to gain a better
understanding of the equipment we all take for granted. And like
the first, it's certainly 'User Friendly.' So whether you are an
Electric flyer or just use rechargeable batteries in your radio
gear, this book is for you.
If
you're anything like me, when I first started in aeromodelling and
electric flying, the bewilderment of numbers, amps, cells and voltages
all sent my brain in overdrive. This is where Andrew's book can
help, by leading you, in simple steps, through an array of information.
By the end of the book it will give you an excellent grounding in
all the basics of battery usage, charging, care and safety.
The
book begins with some Battery Basics and some simple explanations
of Voltage, Current, Resistance and Watts. All the stuff we should
have learnt in our physics lessons at school, but (if you're anything
like me) didn't! Cell capacities come next, along with the principles
of charging and the dreaded 'C' rate. Actually it's not as scary
as you might first think. As always the book explains in a friendly
way, with the use of diagrams, all these basic principals.
Once
the basics have been dealt with Andrew moves onto the various characteristics
of the NiCd and the NiMh battery. There is also an interesting calculation
for the number of safe flights you can make from each charge.
One
of the great mysteries in battery technology is how long and at
what current should you charge your batteries! Well if you get it
wrong you could end up with a mess at the very least and serious
damage to you and your property at the worst. The photograph in
chapter 4 should be warning enough!
Chapter
4 also covers other basic charging safety precautions and procedures.
Like plugging the leads to your charger BEFORE wiring it to the
battery! And once again Andrew provides a simple formula to calculate
charging times.
Other
questions the novice electric flyer always asks is 'What connectors
should I use?' Well Andrew comes to the rescue with a detailed explanation
of all the types available, their good points and their bad point.
Plus the correct way to wire up your batteries and charge leads.
By
this stage of the book you will be getting a good insight into the
way your batteries are behaving. So the rest of the book now gets
a little more technical. Firstly covering the physical construction
of a battery, memory effect and storage. Battery checking and testing
and even an explanation of 'Black Wire Syndrome' is followed by
some useful maintenance advice.
The
book concludes with four very useful graphs mapping out charging
rates and times for different capacity cells and a Test Report Car
to keep a regular check on how your cells are behaving. Andrew finishes
the book with his top tips for Nickel based batteries for charging,
discharging and storage.
As
in his first book, Andrew has guided the reader through some complex
issues in a very enjoy and interesting way. A complex subject has
been explained simply and clearly. Each section is well illustrated
with either photographs or diagrams and the book is full of useful
advice and tips. Simple calculation are spread through out the book
so that you can check for your self exactly how your batteries work
and how to maintain them.
I
can guarantee that after reading these forty-four pages that you
will have a firm understanding of all the principals involved. Whether
you only use batteries in your radio gear or as a power supply for
electric flight, the greater understanding gained from this book
will only enhance your enjoyment of aeromodelling.
'A
User-Friendly Guide to Nickel Cadmium & Nickel Metal Hydride
Batteries'
is available from:
Andrew Gibbs
33 Aldwick Gardens,
Bognor Regis,
West Sussex
PO21 3QR
United Kingdom
www.gibbsguides.com
Price
£6.75 (inc p+p) Cheques made payable to Andrew Gibbs.
Email:
mrandrewgibbs@yahoo.com
Also
available from some model shops including Sussex Model Centre.
Please
mention 'Flying Sites'
when contacting Andrew
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