Newbie Heli Pilot - Battery help

[Steve420]

Hi All,

I just picked up my first Heli. Its nothing special, its a Venom Ozone (that I purchased off a real stand-up rctech member), but for just messing around the house its perfect for me. And even though I suck at flying it right now, its still a blast.

Anyway, the RTF package came with (1) 7.4V 2-Cell 500mAh (I think) LiPo battery and gets around 7-10 min fly time. Here is a link to the actual battery:

http://www.venom-group.com/itemdesc....ENF%2D7900&tp=

I'd like to pick up an extra battery or two but want to make sure that I can use any 7.4V 2 cell LiPo and I don't need to only buy the Venom batteries. I saw a couple e-flite batteries on ebay for a good price and they appear to have the same connectors, but just want to make sure that they'll work before I go ahead an purchase any.

And assuming that the e-flite (or whatever other brand battery) connectors are the same, could I still use the stock Venom battery charger?

http://www.venom-group.com/itemdesc....ENF%2D7901&tp=

Sorry for the newb-ish questions. Just want to make sure I get the right stuff the first time around.

Thanks
Steve

[shultz]

Only 4 really important things to look at when selecting the battery

1) Voltage, in this case you'll want to stay with 2's or 7.4v

2) SIZE, in this case VERY important... as long as your new battery is the same length,width and thickness you're golden... IF you can fit a slightly larger battery the following is also important...

3) Capacity, this not only dictates how long your flights are it also can increase or decrease the weight of the battery to the point CG is shifted... in most heli's you don't have a lot of wiggle room and if power is marginal as is adding weight is the last thing you want so keep the capacity right around 450 to 550Mah.

4) Connector, not all that important really as most of use change them anyway... HOWEVER if you don't want to fool with it then buy the right connector all ready attached in your case you need a JST connector

[Steve420]

Appreciate the reply shultz!

Thanks for pointing out the whole weight / balance issue. That was one thing that I never thought of.

Thanks for the help
Steve