All about the Battery!

I want to pass along a bit of techie advice I've picked up along the way from other airsofters.

If you only understood the POWER of the Dark Side! Emphasis on the POWER!

Batteries are key components of your gun. More important than having many magazines, a cool red-dot scope or even (dare I say it!) LASERS!

I will break the info down into 5 distinct properties of the battery:

1. Voltage
2. Milliamps
3. Connectors and Chargers
4. NiCd, NiMH and LiPO
5. Overall pack design and construction

I will update this post with a greater description of each point (add pictures and other references) one at a time. But for right now, I gotta get back to work.

See Ya,
Astrikk

get website to order battery packs:

http://www.cheapbatterypacks.com/

nothing but great reviews for these people... I imagine small elves working in some dudes closet churning out magical battery packs (they are that good)

UPDATE on POINT #1

OK Boys and Germs! VOLTAGE!

At the level of our play, there are two voltage types of battery packs: 8.4V and 9.6V.

It's simple: 1.2V/cell; so if your pack has 7 cells (8.4V) or 8 cells (9.6V)

Voltage (current) = Power to turn your motor

Greater the Voltage = The Faster the motor turns.

The faster the motor turns = the Higher the Rate of Fire (ROF)

Be aware of motor heat, but generally not a problem with stock setups.

To a lesser point that we don't need to worry about as much:

The higher the Voltage = stronger spring you can use = Higher FPS; however, that is more controlled by the motor and gearbox configuration.

By simply using a 9.6V battery, you will avoid ALOT of problems that plague out-of-the-box guns; such as low ROF, quick battery discharge and "sticking pistons" in the gearbox.

If your gun just all-of-the-sudden dies with an 8.4V battery, just charge your battery and that will most likely solve the problem.

STOCK BATTERIES from China usually start to suck really quick! (green 8.4V in picture)

Ibought 2x 9.6V "nun-chuck" style packs from the website listed above (black packs in pic) to use in my AEGs. That brings me to:

UPDATE on POINT #5

Pack configurations:

In the broadest catergories: Small packs vs Large Packs

The type of gun you have (or modifications you are willing to do) will determine what pack to use. Both of the packs shown above are "Small" packs to fit in the front handgrip area.

I think Levi's E90 (as well as the AUG design) came with a 8.4V "Large" pack because they fit into the butt of the gun (more available space). I think the major difference between "Large and Small" packs is the upper limit on milliamp availability (~2200 mA for small and ~4500 mA for Large). More on mA later:

I'll used my 9.6V "small" nun-chuch packs in the butt-stock of a friends gun and blew away his "large" pack 8.4V battery. This may be a quick remedy to avoid serious alterations to an AUG and use a 9.6V pack... just use a "small" configuration.

I could go on and on about the different cell configurations but there are alot of diagrams of each possible type on the "Custom build your own pack" portion of the wesite listed above. Some guns use "straight" packs (AK-47), some use "brick" packs (P90), nun'chucks...ect ect

UPDATE on POINT #2

Milliamps: it's so simple a caveman can figure it out!

The Higher the Milliamps = Greater the Storage capacity

The Greater the Storage = The More shooting between Charges (but takes longer to charge)

Enough said on mA but a quick note on battery chargers:

The wall charger that comes with your gun will KILL your battery eventually. If you are going to buy a better battery, you need a better charger to get the most out of it.

ShortyUSA carries a "universal smart charger" that will charge whatever you get and (most importantly) will detect when you are fully charged and automatically shut-off... thus not killing you battery. I bought one that's nicer (~$60) but comes with many more features to help you get the most out of your packs (I'm snobby when it comes to chargers - a hold-over from my R/C car racing days!) see pic above

The charging of the packs brings me to my next point:

UPDATE on Point #4

NiCD (Nickel Cadmium) = old technology

NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) = current technology

LiPO (Lithium Polymer) = newest technology

NiCD (Nickel Cadmium) = old technology

LiPO batteries require major internal upgrades... they will COOK yo' SHYT!

NiCD batteries will build up "memory" over time and reduce battery life, bt still work fine.

NiMH batteries have no "memory", have higher mA capacity, will run longer and are the same price.... you can guess my preference!

And Lastly:

UPDATE on Point #3

Connectors are the most inefficient part of your guns electrical system. Anything that affects the voltage of your system will reduce your RoF. There are three types of connectors that I am familiar wth:

Small "Tamiaya" (small green), Large "Tamiaya" (white) and "Dean's" pins (red)

The energy loss using Tamiaya connectors is pretty great (i don't have any values but it's pretty substantial). It's commonly thought that the Dean's pins are one of the best form of connector. You'll be able to tell the difference just by the feel (secure and strength) of the connection. A little soldering and your on your way!

Alright... that's about all I got on batteries. My recommendations:
9.6V NiMH ~2000mA pack that fits in your gun with dean's pins and a "smart" charger. You'll be all set!

Astrikk

One thing I'm not sure about: the different sizes of cells. The green pack has 2/3AP cells, the black pack has "AA" type cells and large packs use other cells... may wat to read alittle on that!