simple battery question

[JakeDT181]

Hi this may be a very simple question but i have no knowledge when it comes to electronics, i am making a remote control car using the circuit from an old remote control car. In my new design their is not enough room for the previous battery box which consists of 4 AA battery, this adds up to a 6V supply, my question is can i use a smaller 6V battery to run the car? do the batterys have to be AA or can they be any aslong as its the same voltage? Another way of doing it i was think of is to used a 9V battery and using resistance decrease the voltage. Thanks for any help.

 

[ronsimpson]

6 Volts is good.
9 volts + resistor is not good. Under no load the voltage will be 9 volts. Under normal load 6 volts. With heavy load 3 volts.
If there is control logic or lights they may not like the 9 volts or 3 volts. Also 9 V battery do not hold much current. 1/3 of their power is lost making the voltage over 6 volts that you will throw away.
AAA Batteries do not last long but the voltage if correct.

 

[crutschow]

Does the battery provide the power to the car motor? If so, then a smaller battery will obviously significantly reduce your run time. I suggest going with AAA batteries if you don't have room for AAs.

 

[Vizier87]

the circuit of the RC car should have regulators.. so it should be okay to use AAAs. Or you can fit in two of those small cellphone batteries (which make up to around 7 Volts) and... when it dries out you can recharge 'em rather than changing 'em all the time.

 

[audioguru]

Hobby stores sell hundreds of Li-Po rechargeable batteries for model airplanes and boats. 7.2V batteries are common and come in many different shapes ands sizes. But they are 8.4V when fully charged which might blowup the toy car that was made for 6V.

Toy cars do not have a voltage regulator.

 

[JakeDT181]

so just to confirm, will it be ok to use a 6V battery such as **broken link removed** do different sized batterys have different current or is it simple just the amount of power they can hold, the battery doesnt have to last very long as my remote control car is a project so will only have to turn on and move for a few minutes for the examiner.