Receiver Voltage

Maybe it’s that there are so many packs available, maybe it’s that wide-spread insanity has suddenly taken grip of the hobby. I’ve never seen so many insane questions about voltage for receivers…. OK, Here goes…. The Airtronics Receivers are designed for battery packs with a nominal voltage of 4.8 to 6.0 volts. Specifically, that is the voltage range of a 4-5 cell Ni-MH and Ni-CD battery. YES, these receivers are designed to be used with 4-5 cell Ni-MH and Ni-CD batteries.

Yes, I understand that a 5 cell battery peaks at a higher voltage. That is OK. The receiver is designed to work with these batteries.

If you use A123 cells which have a nominal voltage of 6.6v, you are at the very top of the voltage range for these receivers. The receiver as well as some servos are not designed for this voltage range. However, in most cases it works just fine. You will NOT destroy anything by using a voltage range of this type. BUT if any of the servos twitch or jitter, it may simly be you’re out of the voltage range. Not all batteries work exactly the same and not all servos can handle batteries with a nominal voltage of 6.6v

IF you are using a 2 cell Lithium Ion or Lithium Polymer pack (Li-PO), you MUST use a voltage regulator AND that regulator should be of the “switching type” and able to handle the current draw of your servos. So, there you have it… 4 and 5 cell Ni-MH and Ni-CD packs are perfectly fine. A123 2 cell packs are “on the edge”, and 2 cell Li-PO and Li-ION battiers REQUIRE a voltage regulator.

Note that the computer in our receivers does not “reset” until under 2.0V, thus you don’t have to worry about brown out because if you’re having brown-out from overloading your receiver, the servos will be the FIRST indicator because they will stop working. Most servos do not work much below 2.75-3.0v or so.