voltmeter/tach

Most ESV's will not include leads. You will need one lead wit hthe proper RX battery connector, and another with something like alligator clips. Most TX's have a diode in the charge jack circuit that protects the battery pack from a shorted or reversed charge plug. This diode also prevents the pack voltage from being checked while still in the TX. DO NOT jumper this diode. Simply remove the TX battery pack to check the voltage with the alligator clips. An alternative is to install a parallel jack to the TX pack that is used ONLY to check voltage, and NOT to charge with.

All this being said...I've usually found the voltage meter on the TX itself to be more than sufficient to monitor pack voltage. Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!"

So it looks like the solution is to trust the charge meter in the TX. For the receiver, buy another set of test leads and charge connector and solder it to the new set of leads instead of the alligator clips? That way I can just plug it into the receiver charge connector I put in the side of the Fusalage, or put the orig alligator clips back on if I want to check anything else???

Thanks for the help. Still new to all this.

Mine came with a 2-in-1 lead that had a female Futaba J plug for checking receiver packs, and a male barrel connector for checking transmitters. No alligator clips.

For what it's worth, I got a Hobbico extended range volt meter, so I could accurately measure the voltage on the battery with a 350ma (?) load. Then I bought a set of leads that connected the meter to the charging plug on the side of the plane. The lead had a Futaba plug on one side, and a bannana plug on the other to match the meter. The LHS had a choice of leads to match the meter with a variety of plugs.

With this set up, you can check the battery voltage at the field after 3 flights or so, and compare it to the voltage when you started. As was mentioned above, the meter on the TX seems to work just fine, and it's always in front of you.

If you spend the 7-8 dollars for the plug and wire harness assembly, you will not have to disassemble your plane to read the voltage. Same for the TX if you measure the voltage at the charging plug. And if it's easy, you will check the voltage before the flight. If not, you eventually will skip it as too much work, and risk a less than perfect landing, usually with a rather large sink rate.

Hope this helps.

Rich Beauchamp Excellent Flight Navigator Bad Student Pilot