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Old October 13th 20, 03:21 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
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Default On board battery(ies) for powering radios/Flarm etc

On Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at 9:35:47 AM UTC-4, wrote:
Yes, I also looked longingly at the tool batteries as well. A 3d printer could make a holder/connector and there are plenty of demo boards around for switching powersupplies to make 12V.

But I decided to go with three K2's. So far I've never used the third K2..

They were already tested and in the physical and electrical form the glider expects.
LiFePo seemed more forgiving than LiIon.
I'd rather not divert the hobby from flying to building battery systems.
It seemed a thing that would be fun and easy to get close, but tricky to get right.

If the K2's didn't work so well, it might be a different story.


And tricky to keep a home-made kludge safe. Other types of lithium batteries are prone to spontaneous combustion. You don't want a fire in flight! A ready-made LFP battery, with a built-in circuit protecting it from over-current etc, in a proper case that fits in your glider, can now be bought for around $40 - hardly more expensive than an old-tech SLA. It's a no-brainer.