TP-1010C and THP-210V charger / balancer questions for newb

[Ghostrider]

Just broke the bank with new TP combo. Does anybody have any information on how this works.

I tried reading the directions but its basically Chinese to me.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[WillJames]

You can call me and I can give you the quick rundown. I PM'd you my number. To much to write right now, working.

[Ziggy2711]

Same here. I tried reading the instructions at least 4 times through and I am just as confused as when I opened the box. All I can really do is plug my 2 batteries into the balancer and it beeps and says (in red) 5C for one and 6C for the other.

Can I give you a call also Will, or can anyone else offer a little help?

Thanks!

[Ghostrider]

Will was nice enough to give me his phone number :noteworthy and talk me through the charger but I have been PM'd by a couple of people asking me to pass the information on.
It sounds like we need a instructional sticky for this 1010 charger and the 210V balancer.

If anybody has the time and is willing to do it, im sure many people would be grateful. Maybe we can get finless to do a video :)

[WillJames]

I would bet if anyone does, Charlie would make it worth their while for the time.

Unfortunately time is not on my side, are there any experienced people with the 1010/210V who would be willing?

[ormandj]

I'll do it when I get a chance. Hopefully sometime this weekend. I'll try to do photographs too, to make it clear. Might just do a video for the heck of it.

Cheers,
David

[BFBCAcid]

Is this video being done? If not I will try but someone will have to watch it to make sure I have done it correctly before I post it. I am very lost with the charger / balancer combo but believe I have got it now. Please do a video or let me know and I will video what I do to see if it is correct.

Thank You,
BFBCAcid

[Ghostrider]

BFBCAcid,

God knows I would appreciate it. I have not been able to get in touch with Will yet so I am still at a loss.

[Ghostrider]

Hey Finless,

Didn't I recently read that you got this charger / balancer? If so, how about a video?

[Teej]

Well, after finally getting enough pieces together last night to plug stuff together, and work through a small issue I had...I believe I've got a pretty good working understanding of how this pair works and I'd be willing to step up and attempt to create a tutorial video for this if Finless isn't already working on one. I've gained some wisdom from various things on here (including Finless' Deans connector video) so it's only fair to give something back.

There are a few caveats based on my setup, however...

1 - I can show the process of balancing 1 5s pack as well as 2 5s packs in series to make a 10s. I don't have any smaller packs to show the "left end" of the 210 with.

2 - I've had to modify my 210 in a way that I'm sure is not approved by TP. This is because the packs I'm using are not TP packs and do not come with TP balancers - they come with blinky connectors. This does not change the operation or procedure at all - it will just look odd and TP will have no responsibilty if anyone tries to copy my setup. ;) Specifically, I've spliced female blinky taps in so I can use either blinky or TP tapped packs.

3 - I'm no LiPo expert. I've been around battery chargers for a lot of years, balanced my share of nicad packs "the hard way" and I know a fair bit about electronics. That experience has, I believe, allowed me to "make sense" of the directions and obtain a pretty firm grasp on what's going on even though I'm new to lipos.

[ormandj]

Teej: read post #1 and #2 here.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=456071

PS - 2.00c is out: http://www.thunderpower-batteries.com/TP1010CUsersGuideandProgramUpgrade.htm

I haven't had enough time to work on the video yet, if you do it, cool. I'll get around to it when I can if you don't. :)

[Teej]

Yeah, that's some good info in rcg.

The biggest issue I have with lipos as they're sold (packs with taps) is it's easy for a newbie to assume they can treat them like nicads (fast charge, fast discharge until the pack can't supply enough power). If you do that, you will very quickly destroy the pack. Whether or not it is catastrophic (explosive / fire) is a matter of luck.

DO NOT proceed with lipos until you understand what you're doing - don't just think you can "figure it out as you go".

[flymo]

Did anyone do a video?