HAHA, here we go again Serum. 480 grams was a larger bank, which is unnecessary large. The 140 Farads would do it, prob the 120 Farads too.

OK, I think I'm going to order several of these caps and make a "2s2p" bank for a total of 11v and 1F and install it on my Jato for giggles. All I need is an Eagletree to take some readings on voltage drop. I guess I could strap my Fluke meter on top and set it to record min/max/average voltages...

Brian, i really don't think 1 Farad will do the job, that would only be 60 Joules, even if you used 1/4 of that on a burst you are down to 3/4 the voltage, prob higher than your batts in the first place. It might have too high resistance/impedance you think? I don't think they will help it. You could try it though, they're only $3.50...

I see what you are saying, but I know how much difference a 1.2F cap makes with my 800w (conservative rms) car stereo when pushed. Without it, the headlights dim quite badly. With it, the dimming is hardly noticeable. Of course, more capacitance would obviously be better, but 4 of those small caps won't weigh much at all or take up much room and will at least help somewhat. They will be going to go in the rear battery compartment of the Jato. If I can fit two more in there (1.5F), I might try running 2s1p since the pulse load on the battery will be less.

Arh.. The blinging light problem.. Get Xenon lights on your next vehicle, and the blinking problem will be gone.. LOL

indeed, for a car a 1F takes away some punnish.

Yeah, or a high-output alternator and a second battery. :(

I was actually looking at regulating the lights to a solid 12v even though they won't be quite as bright. That way, they won't dim when the electrical system goes from ~14.4v to ~12v when the bass hits. But a linear regulator would be large and toasty.

Brian, i have been thinking. You know when you said all that matters is the average power for a ultra cap... that still didn't sit right with me. So i was thinking is it the term 'mean', the mathematical term, it's kind of like average. Only in this app, I would be higher than average power output (from battery).

Do you know what i mean when i say the 'mean' discharge, not the average discharge? It would be a little higher than average.

I am not totally sure if thats the term, so if you think you know what im talking about, if you could help out?

Well, IIRC, "mean" is the physical center value of a dataset, whereas "average" is the sum of the values of the dataset divided by the count of numbers in the dataset. If this is correct (and please let me know it it's not), what do you mean (no pun intended :))?

BTW: Where did I say that? I'm trying to think what I might have been talking about...

(no pun intended) lol i was going to say that :005:

I guess it's not mean, it must be called something else. It will come to me, some like RMS, but not...

Well, scratch that idea. After looking at those caps a little more closely, I started to wonder if the terminals and internal conductors could pass the kind of current I'm looking for. So, I finally found a datasheet and found that the rated continuous current is so low that it would be all but useless. They are designed for long, very low current discharge (in the mA range).

Really? I would have thought that they would do fine as far as current.

Maxwell Technologies haven't replied yet on the email about the 120,140,310,and 350 Farad medium size cells. Im starting to think that the smallest cell, the 120 Farad cell should be enough. Enough to keep the voltage of my pack at least 16.0 volts (16.5volts nom.) under normal driving, which is bashing for me. But you know what, it would be so cool, cuz if you let the truck sit a couple seconds you would be able to bring the system up to no load voltage, which would be 17.25 volts (around 3.45 volts/cell), and then get a huge burst of NOS. :026:

I just hope the caps are around 20-25 dollars a cell.

Yeah, and it makes sense really. Look at the caps used for car audio. They are only 1-1.5F typical and rated for 20v, and they are huge and heavy. Well, the connections and the internal plates are designed to pass heavy amounts of current. The small caps I was looking at are WAYYYY smaller and lighter even discounting the voltage rating. This is due to the thinner conductors used internally. High burst current was compromised in favor of small size and weight. Makes sense since these are designed for memory backup applications. This datasheet is what I was looking at (page 2, table at the bottom headed by "Standard Ratings").

Well, what are you saying? That a few mA isn't enough to throw around your Jato?
LOL

I really want to try this, it appears so promising for my setup. The A123's cells will last and last, they will run super cool and low discharge; this would allow them to easily reach over 3000 cycles. At 25 degrees, after 1000 cycles at 100% DOD they are still at 95% capacity retention, and they say the internal cell resistance goes down over use!

woah... 1 farad can be that small cap... that is cool

Yeah, it is quite small. Because it is rated for such a low voltage, the plates can be very close together; and because the current rating is so low, the thickness of the plates can be ultra-thin.

I think that if I tried to use these, they would heat up and expand/pop before too long. Plus, if you look at the ESR, it is kinda high compared to caops designed for high currents...

Have you ever had a cap blow on you?! I have, it's not fun, reverse polarity... the end vent opened right up, filled a large portion of my room with steam from the electrolyte. Very stinky :020: :036:

Ya, the new Super-Ubar-Ultra Caps from that group from MIT uses Nano carbon tubes like hair that drastically increase capacity and current. They claim 60Wh/kg gravimetric density. EStor, another company claim i think ~120-150 Wh/kg, IMPRESSIVE. For a capacitor.

Oh yes, I've had a couple pop. One was because of too high voltage - I could actually see it expand until it vented. It happened before I could shut the power off. The other was from reverse polarity. That was a 1,000uF 50v cap in a power supply. Yes, they do stink.

BTW, I now going to give in and get the DX 2 Spektrum Radio. I don't really like running out of room after one small town block. How are they for range?

I've had good luck with my DX3 system. The range is about as far as I can effectively control it; ~100 yards at a guess give or take. Although, I always try to make sure the receiver is as far away as possible from the noisy motor wires to avoid potential interference problems.

I have never had a problem with range with any FM or my Spektrum system... you lose perspective on the car before you run out of range as Brian said.

But, long range is not the Spektrum's strong suit actually. A good regular FM system should have better range. That's why the plane guys are not converting to DSM. That's what i am told by the plane guys at the LHS, when I asked why they aren't using it.

I like the momadio! it's got a total different looks than the others.

Yah it does, it looks really cheap! :005:

I don't doubt its high performance though. A few of my buddies have switched from spektrum to nomadio and are loving it.

I like the fact that the Nomadio has the sensored equipment as well. You can check the temps and voltage...etc...

I thought about getting a Nomadio radio and keeping the Spektrum receivers for the size. Really, the only plus for the Nomadio for me is the ability to store more models...

If you already have spektrum, just add the telemetry package if you want to keep track of voltage and temps. Or get the eagle tree recorders. I'm leaning towards either getting the USB car data recorder or the micro logger.

http://www.eagletreesystems.com/Car/car.html

I love my 3PK with spektrum too much to switch over to the Nomadio set-up.

Yeah, I've been eyeing that Eagletree device for a while now. Would come in useful to get the appropriate batteries for the discharge current being used in real-world conditions.

How many does the spectrum hold?

The DX3 holds three models, the newer DX3.0 holds four. :mad:1

And coupled with the GPS module you can get fairly accurate speed readings to see if a change in set-up results in real perfomance gain or psychological. I also think of it as cheap insurance for the batts, esc, and motor.

I just wish the real time lcd display that works with the micrologger would work with the data recorder. That would be the icing on the cake.

You are not lying! I would love an eagletree, but I think I need more experience before Iget more numbers that I don't understand! But, I've got Metal, Brian, Serum and all those guys until then!:005:
My JR holds six models.

Haven't you got enough on Sandra Bullock? Djeezz... Some guys are hard to please...

No doubt! If it wasn't for them I'd still be running nitros. LOL

I run both! But love my maxx the best I think!

The Nomadio radios are completely adjustable/tunable. PC hookup is your friend, just like with the MM! There's a good chance I'll win a $500 gift certificate to Tower Hobbies (not my choice of where it goes, otherwise I'd get it through Mike), and I'll get a React with that money.

I never heard of a React????

http://www.nomadio.net/?pg=hobby.html&sub=react.html

It's transit time is faster than the original Sensor (2ms vs. 5ms), and it's cheaper. It can even be put into a Tank mode, where the throttle and steering of the transmitter are mixed so that they would control one ESC for the left-side wheels, and another ESC for the right-side wheels.

That is a VERY neat feature! I think I'd get it for that alone! :004:

When you talk about transit time, you are talking about the the time from teh radio to the rx for signal?

neweuser, yes, but I think it's more of the time it takes for the RX to receive the signal after you change the position of the trigger or steering wheel.

Brian, that really is a cool feature! If you ever wanted to make a desk crawler using one servo per wheel (tank-style), you could! The React also has 4 channels total, which could definitely come in handy for things like servo mixing. AND, you could do the servo mixing on the computer, which would be a lot easier to do than with the buttons on the TX! There is just so much to love about this radio...

Yup. I plan on getting one as soon as funds permit...