E-Flite Blade MCX RC Helicopter Charger Mod
The E-Flite Blade MCX Helicopter is a wonderful starter remote control (RC) helicopter. But… it uses four AA batteries to charge the small LiPo battery that powers the Helicopter. I didn’t like that. I mean, why use a battery to charge a battery for an indoor RC helicopter when there are dozens of AC outlets just begging to do the job. Here is a very simple mod to charge the LiPo batteries safely with any 5V (USB type) charger you have around the house. The mod takes about 20 minutes and can easily be switched back to AA use at any time in just a few seconds. We still keep one AA battery in the LiPo charger to power the little LED charge detector circuit. That one battery should last a very long time and let us know when the LiPo is at full charge. Please comment if you use this mod.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
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23 Responses to “E-Flite Blade MCX RC Helicopter Charger Mod”
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I think how your’s is wired, there will still be charging drain on the 1 battery, because your dc brick is only connected to 3 of the battery slots, so the current to charge the LiPo battery has to go through the real battery first. Might be completely fine – I imagine the resultant voltages are fairly close to what they are with 4 AA’s.
I think it’s a good idea to not have it plugged in when not in use, since it looks like it will still be sending current through the 1 AA battery
I did a similar mod:
* found old 6v 600mA dc brick
* bought inverse of brick’s plug from fry’s for < $1 * opened charger and soldered new wires from plug to existing connection points * drilled hole in charger body and hot-glued plug in place At this point I thought I was done, except then I noticed a 3rd wire - the charge detector power you mentioned. There are 2 parallel draws from the batteries - one using 4 batteries, the other 1 battery. So, just like you I'm leaving one battery in
@dthurbon Spot on!!!! This is a 1 minute mod!
EXCELLENT video!!! Thanks!!
You got a winner here. Nice vid
@earthling1984 Thanks for the kind comment!
Very cool. The newer 4 port charger has an AC adapter with it… but if you only have the single battery charger, as shown in your video, then this is an awesome mod. Great video! 5*!
@onefivefour its just like your charger except instead of batteries its got the usb cable…
@gfruy Say more about the “USB charger” that came with your copter. I don’t want to answer and without a better understanding of that.
hay, Thanks a lot… I was contemplating on whether i should hook it up to a usb or not… The usb charger i got with the copter got fried… i’ve been using my controller since to charge… have one question though… I can directly wire the usb to my copter right?(the batt is soldered to the circuit) I have my controller to act as an indicator… Thanks for your help. Very informative vid.
where would i get something like that?? so i plug that into the cigerat lighter and it turns to a usb. then what i get and where eould i get it ??
Sure. Do this… Buy one of those thingies that turns a 12V cig lighter into a USB charger. Then you will turn 12V into 5V. Then follow the video directions. Make sense?
im on the go and in stead of batteries i wonder if i can use wires like you did accept hook it up to a car battery and or cigerat lighter plug ?? would a car batter be to much i wonder if you know plz typr back or anyone that knows plz thanks
I just did this mod on my Blade mCX charger using a 5V DC transformer. However, I just stripped the wires and used a knife blade to lift the battery terminals and poke the wires behind them. This saved me playing around with pencils, screws and duct tape. I also cut a corner off the battery compartment lid with pliers, which was easier than cutting a notch. Bought a new Tenergy 160mAh battery and charged it fine with this, and got longer flight time over the usual 110mAh. Thanks for the mod!
Thanks for the positive feedback!
I completed this mod and it works a-ok!! Thanks!!!! great idea 🙂
would this work with a usb -> mini usb cable? Then you could charge from your computer 😉
ive hooked it up already with an old cell phone charger rated at 8.6 vdc and it is working fine.
nice mod im going to try this with my 9volt charger if i find a slupply that puts out 9 volts. i dont see them to ofter
6VDC would be fine, but mod is only replacing 3 of the AA batteries (3*1.5=4.5). Still, since the charger has a regulator hitting it with 6VDC is not problem. Thanks for watching.
if u can find a 6v ac/dc converter or charger of some kind it might work a little better because the AA batteries give out 1.5 dc each so 4 of em puts out 6v dc. great mod tho
Yeah. It is dc and I did use the right battery, so it could be my helicopter. After about 3 minutes of flight it can’t climb in altitude and it just spins in a circle when you give full throttle and after about 3-5 minutes the battery runs out completely.
You should be fine with even 7.5V and 800ma, Tadpolefarm. A few questions: Are you sure the 7.5V is DC? (It can’t be AC volts). Did you leave the correct battery in to power the charge indicator LED? Are you absolutely certain that you have “+” and “-” connected correctly? The mod is pretty simple, so the above items are about all I can come up with as possible issues.