Scorpion packs

[Papa]

FMA Scorpion Packs prices are coming down.

[squeeforever]

thats a pretty good decrease in price but there still expensive as hell...

[Papa]

Compared with?

[squeeforever]

impulse 4s 3200s are only $140 and they are 20C.

[Papa]

Scorpions are 20C and 3200MAh 2S 60 Amps continuous with a built in LVC, and built in Cell balancing, and a 3C charge rate for $109.95. Am i missing something?

[MetalMan]

Originally posted by Papa
Am i missing something?

They aren't true 20C cells :L:, that is if you factor in end temperature.

[Papa]

Your quote?

"-Kokam cells are distributed among a number of vendors. FMA direct is the main one, but there are smaller ones like Watt-Age, Great Planes, and Impulse might be using the 3200mah cells."

Any thing else?

[MetalMan]

They have excellent burst characteristics, and generally are more safe than most other Lipo cells. How's that :)?

Originally posted by MetalMan
They have excellent burst characteristics, and generally are more safe than most other Lipo cells. How's that :)?

Which cells are you talking about???

[MetalMan]

The Kokam 3200mah cells.

[Papa]

Unless some one convinces me otherwise "invitation" I am going to pull the trigger on the Scorpion Packs.

In the mean time i need a power supply capable of handeling two chargers at the same time. I found thisKO PROPO Alinco 30 amp continuous power supply that looks real sweet. What are your thoughts?

[MetalMan]

Expensive... You really don't need that much of a power supply. This is the one I use:
http://www.emtel.com/search/product_...t_id=EMV15012V
It's cheap, pretty small, and works well. Unless you will be charging at 10amps all the time, it should work well for you. Besides, charging a 3200mah pack at 10amps would be over 3C, which would reduce the battery's life.

[Batfish]

Papa - I'm with you on this one. I think the Scorpion packs are worth the extra money for the benefits and features they provide. I'm tempted to buy a couple Scorpion packs at the new low price myself. I have the BalancePro packs (the original BalancePro, which is just like the Scorpion except for the cutoff) and they have performed exactly as advertised.

I would not hesitate to buy more FMA/Kokam packs, provided the price is still worth the features and benefits.

That KO Propo supply you list is a decent price for what you get. The power supply that MetalMan links to would also suffice for the Scorpion charger. Mike should be able to get you good pricing on a power supply if you ask him. Lastly, I use a 25A power supply that you can get at your local Radio Shack for $99.
All of these options are valid for a power supply. Choose what you like best :)

[Papa]

I was curius as to what limitation s there where in hooking up multiple packs in series and parallel. The following is the response from Kokam/FMA.

"The Scorpion packs were tested up to 4 in series, making an 8S pack. There should be no limit in parallel configurations, keeping in mind current limitations of the connectors and wire. The ESC and receiver wires are daisy chained through each pack to ensure the LVC works on each pack. The charging must always be done on single pack disconnected from the system. This is due to the common ground of multiple chargers shorting stuff when connected to multiple series packs at the same time.


_____________________________

Visit my Web Hangar at www.gregcovey.com/rc.htm

FMA Direct
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:cool:

[Batfish]

I've had that conversation with Greg Covey before, as well. The "limitations" he mentions are the Deans connectors on the packs. FMA states that the Deans connectors are good for 60A, but just about everyone knows that higher currents are pushed through those connectors daily without problems.
FMA makes this statement as a warning and to cover themselves. Since the Deans connector is rated at 60A, FMA states that the connector limits the pack discharge at 60A. While this is not a true statement, I'm sure it's more of a legal formality and disclaimer than anything else.