Projects Soldering a new battery connected on my ESC?

[SkippyRC]

Getting back into the hobby after a few years of no stick time... I have a 20A ESC with female JST battery connector. Wondering if it's possible to solder a new female IC3 connector on to match spektrums new smart batteries? No one sells 1300 mah Lipo's with a JST connector...

Also, can Spektrum's new smart chargers charge batteries just from the balance port? I know that's how it worked on my old E-flite charger but I can't find anything saying that it will work.

New to this site! Excited to hear what you smart people have to say. Can't wait to blow some money on RC stuff!

 

[RandyDSok]

I can't talk much to your questions on the smart charger stuff... but I'd guess that if they don't mention it in the documentation, it isn't something that they can do. The IC3 ( and IC5 ) connectors have a 3rd wire connection used for data, using them on the ESC won't have any effect or benefit. I'd suggest just using a EC3 ( or EC5 ) connector since they are compatible with them and are cheaper to get.

More opinion, not based on any facts... I'm a bit of a sceptic when it comes to any claims made by a manufacturer about smart chargers. I think that it's just an attempt to get their clients into a proprietary standard that they can't buy from other vendors. Instead, I'd suggest looking into known quality LiPo chargers that can charge a variety of batteries and you can use the type of cable you want instead of being forced into a proprietary nonstandard product. Of course then ( using a standard type of charger ) you'd have to know how many cells the battery is capable of as well as the charge rate it supports.

JST connector... there are a lot of different types and each type has their own specs. I suspect you are referring to the 2 wire red connector. If so, they are only rated for up to 3a charging, a 1300 mah battery can be charged at higher amperage rates... Now, I've used other connectors at rates higher than their rating, but I'd be careful about doing it and do some testing to check that it isn't getting warm.

General info about the various JST connectors can be found here JST connector - Wikipedia