Help with CC setup

[sdartt]

Just received my batteries and charger, they are Li-ion Nano Phosphate from A123 Racing. 4600 mAh, 6.6 volts Hypersonic Pack. Question is are they 4 cell packs, they are listed as 2S2P. Does this mean 4 cells with 2 pairs in series and then the 2 pairs parallel.
I plan to start off running two 4600 packs parallel and change to series after I have a little driving experience.
Hydra doesn't have any Li-ion setup info listed. I'm thinking I use 6.6 volts until I go series then go with a 13.2 setup on the 120 hydra.
Any advise or direction will be welcome.

[AntronX]

What's the motor specs and prop size? I am running A123 cells over here too.

[sdartt]

Motor and Prop

I plan to start with a Octura X442 prop, my motor is a Feigao 540-XL9-1853rpm, The hull is a aeromarine Titan 29

[AntronX]

Go series right away 4s2p. At 2s4p it will be too slow. Start with smaller prop, x440 maybe or cheaper carbon fiber prop. Get data logger to measure your amps at full throttle (<<< IMPORTANT). You should be able to add another 2s2p pack in series to make 6s2p battery. Just make sure to stay below 100A. Also, on the Hydra 120 cut red wire from the cable that connects to the receiver. Use separate battery eliminator circuit to power your radio and servo. Castle uses simple voltage regulator chip on their ESC's that turn excess voltage into heat. Real BEC uses the DC to DC converter circuit that is more efficient and powerful. Make sure to waterprof the ESC. Use clear silicon sealant to plug both ends on the esc. I have Hydra 240 that came without conformal coating on the lower board. So the power FETs were exposed to water. I bought GC electronics print kote conformal coating solution and coated everything that's electronic in my boat (radio receiver, BEC and ESC). Don't use epoxy to coat the boards. I've read on another forum that epoxy will shrink and rip the components off the board.

[sdartt]

I bought 4 carbon fibre props to help dial it in. Thanks for rest of the tips.

[AntronX]

Post pics of your progress

[Joe Ford]

Go series right away 4s2p. At 2s4p it will be too slow. Start with smaller prop, x440 maybe or cheaper carbon fiber prop. Get data logger to measure your amps at full throttle (<<< IMPORTANT). You should be able to add another 2s2p pack in series to make 6s2p battery. Just make sure to stay below 100A. Also, on the Hydra 120 cut red wire from the cable that connects to the receiver. Use separate battery eliminator circuit to power your radio and servo. Castle uses simple voltage regulator chip on their ESC's that turn excess voltage into heat. Real BEC uses the DC to DC converter circuit that is more efficient and powerful. Make sure to waterprof the ESC. Use clear silicon sealant to plug both ends on the esc. I have Hydra 240 that came without conformal coating on the lower board. So the power FETs were exposed to water. I bought GC electronics print kote conformal coating solution and coated everything that's electronic in my boat (radio receiver, BEC and ESC). Don't use epoxy to coat the boards. I've read on another forum that epoxy will shrink and rip the components off the board.

Just so you know...we also make a switching regulator called the CC BEC that you can use when using a battery with a higher voltage than the onboard regulator will handle. You can even program the output voltage on ours to anything you want between 4.8v and 9v in 0.1v increments using the Castle Link USB programmer. :)