Futaba 14 sg battery lfe

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

Advised by lots of guys on here to buy this tranny, never been usd in anger till today, stock battery lasts a very short amount of time, never even got to the field, it went down to 5.6 after a very short time, charged it through the night with the stock futaba charger, this mornng, the set was very hot, as was the charger, and the lead, alarm bells are ringing!

[Bob Thompson1894]

As I pointed out to you on FB Alan, the stock charger will just carry on charging. These batteries for 2.4 radios are not the best, they are too small. I replaced mine with a quality battery from Stan Yeo of Phoenix Model Products and it has been superb. But I dont use the wall wart. Set my auto charger at 1c and leave until it beeps. I would suggest the battery is shot now.

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

Your bang on Bob, battery is shot, ruddy sets brand new, very dissapointing, I just hope the tranny not damaged, I shall be having words with the shop on monday,

[Bob Thompson1894]

Set should be fine. Every tranny I have had I have upgraded the battery.

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

So, is it the norm amongst futaba users to remove the battery to charge? Come on guys, a lot of you use futaba, what do you do? I find it strange that it needs removing to charge it, when there’s a charge system built in, and it’s a futaba charger I am using? I may be joining the wished I had bought a Jetti club!

[Dave Lowe]

Hi Alan,
Sorry to hear about your SG14, Bought mine new when they first came out, had no problems been very satisfied I only use the charger that came with the set, Still got the original battery in, just charge until the green light is showing and that seems to last for a whole weekends flying. I would return yours to where it was purchased, sounds like something is wrong, definitely not fit for purpose.
Regards Dave.................

[Bob Thompson1894]

On my Aurora I have a connector I simply plug my proper charger in and charge in situ. As I said, overcharging ruins batteries, a charge at 1c will ensure it peaks out and it stays in good condition. Four years and still as new. Not my advice, that came from a battery guru.

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

On my charger Dave, never seen a green light, always red, hmmmmm, tried to recycle the battery last night, got a bit warm, to say the least,

[Dave Lowe]

Mine is the charger that came with the set when you plug it in to charge you get a red light at both the receiver and the transmitter outlets, when fully charged the red lights change to green as and when each is full. The bottom of the transmitter does sometimes get warm depending on how long it's been charging but nothing excessive, I think I would be wanting a replacement battery at the very least.

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

That’s great info Dave, thanks, mine has never gone green,

[steve stuttard]

you should have bought a jeti

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

This was bought before my lot bought new radios,

[Dave Lowe]

Hi Alan, Just out of interest did you resolve this problem ?.

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

Yes, faulty charger, killed the battery, inwoods swapped the battery, and changed the charger for another make, flew the set for the 1st time last Saturday, no problems, thanks to all for your help and advice,

[Geoff McVey]

I'm thinking of buying the Futaba 14SG transmitter for the Sky 120 that I'm currently building.

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

Now I have had experiance of the tranny, it’s not gained my favour, the battery failed again, and I ended up with the replace charger, and a battery from overlander, bigger capacity, I don’t like the tranny, but will persevere, if I was going new again, I would be looking at the Jetti range,

[Bob Thompson1894]

Thats not good for a Futaba Tx Alan. They have always been my favourite. However, I reckon I'm sticking to Hitec now, not cheap but not ruddy expensive either. Only problem is the 9 channel limit, but it does not bother me. As I said, replace the pitiful batteries on these 2.4 with something better. I know people use lipos, but I have a bit of a down on those....

[Dave Lowe]

Hi Geoff, I have owned and used a 14SG ever since their introduction and once I mastered the manual have had no problems, it is my preferred transmitter. Thats my 2p worth..................