ASK Cubby, 09.18.2014, Version- Whoomp! There It Is (Your Answer)

“Hello Cubby, I hope you read and answer my letter. My question is in regards to lipo batteries. Is there an easy way to tell how full my pack is?

Sincerely,

William R.”

Cubby- Yo hey Big Bill, thanks for the email, shoot us another one with your snail mail so we can hook you up with a sticker pack.

So… is there an easy way to tell how much charge is left in your LiPo battery? Sure there is, but it’s an industry secret and you have to know the secret handshake to gain access to such information. Oh what the heck, you seem like a good guy, here is the scoop.

The resting/static voltage of a LiPo is a great indicator to the state of its charge. For example, a LiPo battery that shows 4.2 volts per cell (8.4 volts for a 2S pack) is 100% fully charged. A LiPo at 4 volts per cell is just over 75%, 50% is right at 3.84 volts, and 25% is 3.75 volts per cell. You can either buy a simple multi-meter to check this, or you can pick up a dedicated LiPo battery checker from a wide variety of sources.

Have fun, go fast, turn it into rubble.

“I KNOW how much you like whats better letters, so here is mine. Whats better, a small scale like 1/18th, or a big scale like 1/5th? I cant decide on going small or going big.

Drew”

Cubby- Oh yes Drew B, each and every week I get inundated with “What’s Better??” questions. Most are the typical “What’s better, a Slash or a Blitz?”, and a few are like yours, something a bit more interesting.

To get to your question… should you get a small scale vehicle or get something huge. Hey, I gotta be honest here, I can not answer your question. The answer totally depends on what you are looking for (which you left me zero information on). So… I can’t just say “Cut the check for the 5th scale HPI 5B ASAP!”. However, I can certainly break down the two as I see them.

Small scale (1/36, 1/18th, etc)- Their upsides include low price and the ability to be driven in very small areas. Their major downsides are they are hard to work on (especially if you are old like me and your eyes are going bad) and they don’t drive well on rough surfaces.

Big scale (1/8, 1/5, 1/4)- On the upside, big vehicles tend to be easy to drive and can usually take a good beating without breakage. On the downside, big cars cost big cash (both initially and for parts), they can take up a lot of space in your garage, and they can leave a pretty good dent in your shin should you hit yourself.

IMO it really comes down to how much money you want to spend and how large of an area you have to drive in.

Good luck and shoot us some pics of whatever you end up buying (coming off a roof of course).

Submit your letters to Cubby at BigSquidRC.com. If, and I highly doubt it will, your letter hits the big time, you’ll get a free BSRC sticker pack. If I pick yours as the “Letter of the Month” you will even win one of our ridiculously uber BSRC t-shirts.

YOUR Cub Reporter