So, my iCharger 3010B started acting up. Wouldn't complete a balance cycle on 6S packs. 3S packs were fine. Tried calibrating it and still no dice. So I talked with the guys at BuddyRC and it's on the way to them for work/replacement. I'm suspecting the #4 cell balancing circuit is futzy.
In the meantime I needed something else, so what do I do? Go out and buy another monster charger, of course. Picked up a FMA Powerlab 6!
This is a bad ass charger. It will handle 1000W during charge. Has similar discharge power handling as the iCharger. Supports regenerative discharge (ie. discharging packs into the source if you are powering from a Pb battery). Physically larger in size than the iCharger 3010B, larger fan, etc. Nice backlit LCD. Once I had it setup and running the menuing kind of threw me for a bit, but realized it is basically a pre-set menu scheme. Unlike the iCharger which you select the battery chemistry and then select charge/discharge/cycle/monitor mode, the Powerlab has presets that you can use as is or modify as you wish. Each preset can be adjusted for battery chemistry, default charge and discharge rate, default mode, etc. While charging it will display cell internal resistance, per cell voltage. Starting and current pack voltage and overall charge amount (what it calls "fuel level").
Interestingly it has the option for charge rate of 1, 2, and 3C, in addition to a current value based setting. I haven't figured this out yet, but I suspect it will track discharge amount and calculate pack capacity, then charge at 1/2/3C based on that calculation. A nice feature that allows you to use a single preset for fast or slow charge on all your packs without having to manually set or select a pre-set for each pack type you have.
And I'm just scratching the surface. Have yet to plug this into a computer to see what capabilities are unlocked with that connection. Also need to explore more on the charging and mode options.
There are a couple downsides. The pre-set based top level menuing and pre-set modification is a little unintuitive, especially coming from the iCharger. I see the merits of it, but it is also a bit of a learning curve to deal with. The biggest issue I have with it is that it has a EC5 connector on it for power input. While interesting, it basically requires you to make or buy a EC5 to banana plug (or eyelet connector or aligator connector) adapter to hook it up to your power supply. On the power output side, it uses slightly non-standard banana type female connectors (the type that uses shrouds around the male connector that is plugged into it). While I found I could just plug standard banana connector balance boards into it, it seems unnecessary and may throw customers for a loop initially. Lastly, it uses a special variant of the JST type connector for the balance cable connector on the charger end. It came with a cable that terminates in a standard JST-XH 6S connector, but it requires plugging that cable end into the balance boards instead of having balance cables on each board (how I had been using them before). Minor, but kind of aggravating.
Overall I'm very impressed with it. I'd consider it an advanced charger, not suited to beginners in the hobby (the iCharger fits that bill I think in terms of ease of use and intuitive interface).
Once the iCharger gets back I'll either be using that one as a backup or using it as a second charger for charging up different packs at the same time. This new Powerlab is very likely to become my new primary charger.
In the meantime I needed something else, so what do I do? Go out and buy another monster charger, of course. Picked up a FMA Powerlab 6!
This is a bad ass charger. It will handle 1000W during charge. Has similar discharge power handling as the iCharger. Supports regenerative discharge (ie. discharging packs into the source if you are powering from a Pb battery). Physically larger in size than the iCharger 3010B, larger fan, etc. Nice backlit LCD. Once I had it setup and running the menuing kind of threw me for a bit, but realized it is basically a pre-set menu scheme. Unlike the iCharger which you select the battery chemistry and then select charge/discharge/cycle/monitor mode, the Powerlab has presets that you can use as is or modify as you wish. Each preset can be adjusted for battery chemistry, default charge and discharge rate, default mode, etc. While charging it will display cell internal resistance, per cell voltage. Starting and current pack voltage and overall charge amount (what it calls "fuel level").
Interestingly it has the option for charge rate of 1, 2, and 3C, in addition to a current value based setting. I haven't figured this out yet, but I suspect it will track discharge amount and calculate pack capacity, then charge at 1/2/3C based on that calculation. A nice feature that allows you to use a single preset for fast or slow charge on all your packs without having to manually set or select a pre-set for each pack type you have.
And I'm just scratching the surface. Have yet to plug this into a computer to see what capabilities are unlocked with that connection. Also need to explore more on the charging and mode options.
There are a couple downsides. The pre-set based top level menuing and pre-set modification is a little unintuitive, especially coming from the iCharger. I see the merits of it, but it is also a bit of a learning curve to deal with. The biggest issue I have with it is that it has a EC5 connector on it for power input. While interesting, it basically requires you to make or buy a EC5 to banana plug (or eyelet connector or aligator connector) adapter to hook it up to your power supply. On the power output side, it uses slightly non-standard banana type female connectors (the type that uses shrouds around the male connector that is plugged into it). While I found I could just plug standard banana connector balance boards into it, it seems unnecessary and may throw customers for a loop initially. Lastly, it uses a special variant of the JST type connector for the balance cable connector on the charger end. It came with a cable that terminates in a standard JST-XH 6S connector, but it requires plugging that cable end into the balance boards instead of having balance cables on each board (how I had been using them before). Minor, but kind of aggravating.
Overall I'm very impressed with it. I'd consider it an advanced charger, not suited to beginners in the hobby (the iCharger fits that bill I think in terms of ease of use and intuitive interface).
Once the iCharger gets back I'll either be using that one as a backup or using it as a second charger for charging up different packs at the same time. This new Powerlab is very likely to become my new primary charger.