9303 died

[phaed]

just bought a 9303. got it home and it turned on. it worked (well, the screen came on, wasn't in copter yet). turned it back off, plugged it into charger, the red LED on charger came on. left it to charge. came back later, and the radio is completely inop.

i also plugged my voltmeter into it and got nothing. i was going to take the battery out to test it directly, but it looks to be in there pretty tight and i didn't want to mess with it before returning it to the store.

anyone ever had similar a similar problem, or am i just the 1 in a million unlucky guy?

[bigrcr]

Check the fuse for the battery, they can blow during charger connection sometimes.

Later,

[tnreefguy]

JR = Junk Radios :lol:

[lakespinner2]

Mine did almost the same thing the first week I had it. I took it off the charger and within 2 or 3 seconds I flipped it on and nothing, dead, nada. It had blown the fuse. I replaced the fuse and now carry several extra fuses with the radio but haven't needed any more in the year or so since. Someone suggested not turning on the radio for a few seconds after coming off the charger. I now wait half a minute or so before flipping on the radio. I"m not sure if this makes any difference but since adopting the practice I haven't had any more problems. FWIW, YMMV. :wink:

[phaed]

good. hopefully that's it. can ya help me out as to where the fuse is? i looked throughout the manual and didn't see it. i can't see it from the battery compartment, and didn't want to take the back off the radio without asking someone first. i'm new (if ya can't tell) and still timid. i don't want to mess up any warranty if they consider opening the back as such.

[phaed]

nm, i found it, and it was the fuse.

for anyone in the future having this problem, you do need to take the back cover off. the fuse is 3/4" 125V 3A.

thanks for the help folks. saved me a trip back to the hobby shop (hour away).

[Phaedrus]

Here's a trick to stop blowing fuses.

1 - Make sure your charger is off, or the plug is not connected.

2 - Turn your radio "ON" before inserting the plug

3 - Turn radio off and plug in or turn on your charger.

This way nothing has power to it when you make the connection. The TX charge plug is dead when it is on. Your charger plug is dead when either disconnected or the charger is off. The trick is to never have anything powered when inserting or removing the plug form the TX.

[marked23]

Hmm... You guys use the wall-wart charger that comes with the Tx?
Who does that anymore? Mine is still in the shrink-wrap.

I'm not saying that anything is wrong with that... excepting this fuse issue.

I always charge my Tx with my Triton. Never had the fuse pop.

-Mark

[phaed]

um, what's a Triton?

yes, i'm using the charger that came with the tx. if this thing is cheap, and frequently causes the fuse to go out, JR is not starting off on the right foot with me.

[marked23]

All those wall-wart chargers are cheap. However it should not be poping fuses. If you pop just one fuse, then it was maybe a bad fuse.

Either way, you would do yourself a favor to get a computer charger. The Triton, or DuraTrax Intelli-Peak ICE are two of the better all-around chargers. This kind of charger will really let you know how you are using your battery and how much you have charged it. They charge a variety of battery types and cell counts.

Once you learn what to expect from your charger and battery, every charge becomes a battery diagnosis that can really change the way you trust your batteries. Slightly expensive, but way worth it.

http://www.electrifly.com/chargers/gpmm3150.html
http://www.duratrax.com/caraccys/dtxp4170.html

-Mark

[DavidH]

Barre,
The charger that comes with the radio is fine for charging the battery in the transmitter. The charger that comes with the transmitter will give it a nice C/10 charge rate.
The transmitter battery will last longer than the battery in the helicopter. So you should have no problem using the stock charger.

David