Soldering individual cells..... does anyone do it anymore?

[JeffSpicoli 1363]

Does anyone still do this?

I sort of like the look of it, but I'm guessing with leaps and bounds since the 80s in battery tech nobody does this, no?

 

[sosidge 624]

No, because there is no need. LiPo cells come in packs and that is what we all race with now.

[Unknown Driver 262]

What ^ he said. People used to build their own packs (side-by-side or saddle) to accommodate the chassis of the vehicle and because "race packs" were usually sold as loose cells.

Even a killer "old school" pack can't hold a candle to a LiPo - so if your car CAN fit LiPos, they're the easiest route. If you were to try ordering loose cells to build your own packs nowadays you'd end up with run of the mill cells since I don't think anyone out there matches anymore.

[El Gecko 1344]

I do! And I'm sure I've seen pics of others on the forum recently as well. NiMH cells are relatively cheap, you can get them in just about any capacity you want, and they can be soldered together just like NiCds. I've even started making little 2-cell "boost packs" with a Y harness to crank the voltage up if I want to go really fast. The boost packs weigh about the same as a 4AA receiver pack and give the motors a really nice kick. The eventual goal is to make some speedruns on 9 cells (10.8V), which is just a bit shy of 3S lipo territory. Just get yourself a roll of nickel strip so you can make your own battery bars, attach whatever connector you prefer, and you'll be off to the races.

[Mad Zero 316]

That takes me back.. we were so poor we only had the one cell & grandpa soldered it to his tongue to keep warm in the winter.. we didn’t have much, but we were happy. 

[SuperChamp82 743]

+1 @sosidge

Has anyone kept their vintage packs though ?

They look great on display ! 

Especially the rarer / better Orion etc cells 👍

[JeffSpicoli 1363]

Thanks for all the great input, I just figured with a vintage build it might be more period correct looking once this car goes onto the shelf.   I too, like the techy look of it.

 

I just remember the RCCA magazines with the ads, and the world champions holding their cars, all looking like this.

[Frog Jumper 3663]

Ah, magazines.  Now that takes me back…

[El Gecko 1344]

  

On 4/25/2022 at 6:12 PM, SuperChamp82 said:

+1 @sosidge

Has anyone kept their vintage packs though ?

They look great on display ! 

Especially the rarer / better Orion etc cells 👍

Yep it's a great shelf look for the cars! I have an old set of 6 Cadnica cells for just that purpose! And a few 1200 Tamiya hump packs too, which still charge right up and give a pretty good show for being over 30 years old!

  

On 4/25/2022 at 7:01 PM, JeffSpicoli said:

Thanks for all the great input, I just figured with a vintage build it might be more period correct looking once this car goes onto the shelf.   I too, like the techy look of it.

 

I just remember the RCCA magazines with the ads, and the world champions holding their cars, all looking like this.

Definitely more period correct. I bet you were remembering this Trinity ad... two pages, full color, and it's in every 1993 issue of RCCA  (well, I'm missing a few, but it's in every issue I have!)

 

[Tbird232ci 333]

I have a few chassis that I've been wanting to build a few packs for. Those are ones I want to keep period correct.

MCIracing sells some battery decals to dress up generic cells as some of the batteries from yesteryear.

[JeffSpicoli 1363]

Anyone use Maxamps.com?

I'm looking at their site and it looks promising for NMHI.   Prices are high but quality appears to be good from reviews.

They sell individual cells, so I'm thinking of building my own battery.   :-0

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

I use exclusively NiMH.  I prefer the weighty packs for crawlers, and most of my Tamiya cars are sprung for NiMH as well.  If battery bars were still available, I’d definitely make my own packs. 

[Tbird232ci 333]

2 hours ago, SupraChrgd82 said:

I use exclusively NiMH.  I prefer the weighty packs for crawlers, and most of my Tamiya cars are sprung for NiMH as well.  If battery bars were still available, I’d definitely make my own packs. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/381252786504?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=O9yRdRTBQFO&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=awV28duuRre&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Battery bars still are readily available. 

May never find the Dean's Ultra Bars or other name brands, but the ones from eBay should be more than sufficient. 

 

 

 

 

 

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

3 hours ago, Tbird232ci said:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/381252786504?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=O9yRdRTBQFO&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=awV28duuRre&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Battery bars still are readily available. 

May never find the Dean's Ultra Bars or other name brands, but the ones from eBay should be more than sufficient. 

 

 

 

 

 

Those are for little batteries, 1/18 scale packs

[Tbird232ci 333]

 

2 hours ago, SupraChrgd82 said:

Those are for little batteries, 1/18 scale packs

Good call. I was debating on ordering a batch of them, and glad you pointed that out. 

Back to the search. 

[mike in pa 64]

I restored my 1980 rough rider last year and built my own NiMh hump packs. I bought NiMh cells with welded tabs, solder bars, tamiya connector pack and wire to build 3 packs. Plus shrink wrap.  

 

 

https://batteriesamerica.com

[Tbird232ci 333]

It seems that Batteries America is the best source on this side of the pond so far. I did find some Deans ultra bars on eBay. They pop up from time to time and don't seem to get snatched up very quickly.

[Willy iine 18806]

I should make some saddle packs for my Evo.  Just for the heck of it as the chassis has 6 slots for the Sub-C's.. and I am sure the designer intended the car to run with that battery configuration.  

[Dakratfink 967]

My vintage YZ10 has a chassis slotted out for 4 and 3 7 cell NiCds saddle packs. 
When I die does I wanted to dust it off and drive it, I took apart a spare Nihm 7 cell I had and re soldered it into old school saddle configuration. 

[JeffSpicoli 1363]

On 4/30/2022 at 4:43 PM, SupraChrgd82 said:

I use exclusively NiMH.  I prefer the weighty packs for crawlers, and most of my Tamiya cars are sprung for NiMH as well.  If battery bars were still available, I’d definitely make my own packs. 

I've been looking at this MAXAMPS site in WA, they have the stuff to build packs for the most part.   I might have to try it myself.   Nothing on the market will fit my car except LIPOs really.

[JeffSpicoli 1363]

4 hours ago, Dakratfink said:

My vintage YZ10 has a chassis slotted out for 4 and 3 7 cell NiCds saddle packs. 
When I die does I wanted to dust it off and drive it, I took apart a spare Nihm 7 cell I had and re soldered it into old school saddle configuration. 

That's what I want in my GOLF, I want a 6 cell saddle pack 7.2v NMHI with a Tamiya connector.