Half done with Ion build

[DrScoles]

So far so good, spent one night in front of tv and got up to bellcranks... Now all I need is a little rain and this thing will get done ;) Canopy is on its way to Wade Mcgee, I can't wait to try this thing!!!!

I flew Jasons at Phoenix, but not as hard as I would have liked to.... Can't wait to have my own to torque on :twisted:

Whats the consensus on chargers???

Mike

[Russ McC]

Hi Mike,

I am very happy with the Astro Flight 109, two of them will run you 250 to 260 $$ and you will be ready to go in an hour after a ten minute flight. These chargers have not screwed up one time yet, they are smart in the sense that they sense the number of cells in the pack and all you have to do is to set the current rate, the 109 will charge at 7 to 71/2 amps max with these packs so there is no way you can screw up and have a fire ball!!

I cant keep my hands off this Ion-X, I do all my week day flying in my 5 acre yard and with the heli just sitting there ready to go with no fuel, no mess and no vibration tearing it to pieces I just can’t keep from putting in several flights a day, 51 flights so far and it still looks new, nothing loose, no worn canopy grommets, no oil dripping off and no dirt/dust stuck to the oil all over every thing. Remember to oil your tail out put shaft and main shaft this model will not oil them for you. I can tell you that if you forget to oil the tail shaft that the slider will seez on the shaft and you will have a hand full to try and land! Ask me how I know this! :D

[misskimo]

hey , thanks for the oiling tip , didnt know that . and yep , I sure like the no mess deal , I havent wiped mine down since I got it built 4 months ago ,and its still clean. the conversion that is,
51 flights , thats cool , and thats quick too . I have 2 new astros coming , can you tell me your style of charging ?


Tony

[Russ McC]

Hi Tony,

Around the house during the week I have been charging at 6 amps to 100% every time, on the weekend at the field I have been charging at 7 amps to 100% every time. I fly ten minutes max but have gone eleven a couple of times but am tending to stop at around eight minutes lately. At home I just plug the 35amp power supply in to the wall; at the field I use a Honda EU1000i generator. I have one charger that charges to 21.00 every time and one that only gets to 19.95 every time (using a calibrated Fluke meter) so I alternate the batteries between the chargers each time and every couple of charges I will bring the low pack up to the same level as the high one. Tomorrow we are going to remove the heat shrink and install taps/small leads to each of the five cells so the voltage in each cell can be matched, this will prevent under charging some cells while over charging other cells. This supposedly will help the pack last and perform longer. We (Rob Clark & I) figure to balance the pack all you have to do is to charge the pack tell the charger goes in to mode 3 or approximately 90% then stop and finish each cell with its individual charge lead. You can also use these leads to check the balance so you know when balancing is needed :)

[ChrisS]

Good thoughts Russ

Let us know how this works out for you.

Chris

[ChrisS]

Ooops duplicate post

[Tom Fiddler]

I would have hoped the Astro Flights would be more consistant than this :cry:
Since the 109's won't do 10s I went with the Orbit Pro $329
The Orbit tapers the current off for the last 10% of the charge
The 109 just turns the set amps on and off for the last 10%. I don't know how this effects the final charge but I would believe Orbit's method would be easier/safer for the batteries
Just a guess
I believe the 109 has a set 1 hour time limit which will not be a problem after your charging at 1C but would be a pain when first conditioning your cells at .5C
Please correct me if I'm wrong....It would not be the first time :mrgreen:

[JonMann]

Tom,

Your right, the 109's will "timeout" if the packs don't reach the C3 mode within one hour which is a hassle when conditioning the packs at lower charge rates.

I've not had the voltage variation problem with mine, all my packs are charging to 20.8v (I plug them into a Whatt meter afterwards) and i have been keeping a close eye on them between flights (I fly two 5 min flights on each pack for now, till I get a better feel on what I am taking out of them. So far the average is about 6000mAH) It seems that 12min total flight is going to be pushing it with these packs, gonna be more like 10min (of course depends on flying style).

-jon

[Tom Fiddler]

"I have one charger that charges to 21.00 every time and one that only gets to 19.95 every time"

Russ is this a typo? Are your 2 chargers 1 volt off?
Please look at the battery voltage display and tell me if there is a difference in supply voltage between the 2.
Shannon has seen that, and it matches the difference in his cells after charging

Mike:
Don't mean to run your thread off in a different direction.
I'm sure you wil love the Ion-X

[DrScoles]

Anyone have a good place to get the power supply for home???


Thanks, Mike

[z11355]

you want a good quality switcher. There are a bunch of online places, all of which escape
me right now but I got my Samlex 13.8v 23A from RatShack for around $80-90 last year.

13.8v is fine, it's actually made for Ham Radio stuff but all chargers will accept it and it
lets you take advantage of volume mfgring.

Remember to get one that is beefy enough. 13.8v @ 25A is 345w of output power and
a 10s pack is 36v nominal which will get you around 9.5A charge rate assuming zero
conversion loss in the power supply (which is BS). You'd probably be able to get away
w/ 10s @ 8A

[cdrking]

Mike,

Samlex is an excellent choice for a power supply. I use a Samlex 1212 at 10amps max. I use it on a Triton charger. I am sure they make larger power supplies.

(Yes, I know I should be using a 13amp power supply for the Triton but it works for me)

We have a Boeing surplus power supply at work and the thing is a monster. They got it for $200. I am sure that it would be perfect for home use but you would have to make sure that it's a good power source.

You going to be flying next week at Snohomish? I may make the drive up there if there will be some other people up there. I hopefully won't get called into work.

Jeff

[Russ McC]

Tom,

Yes damit, it is a typo. One charger is doing 21.00 and the other is doing 20.95 so it is very close, sorry but thanks for calling me on it otherwise every one would think the chargers aren’t as close as they are :D

[DrScoles]

Russ,

where did you get the astro chargers???

I looked on ebay for power supplys..there are a million of them! I read an article about using a PC power supply...any of you guys do this???

Mike

[Russ McC]

Mike,

I am using a Pyromid 35amp regulated power supply model number #PS-36KX. Rob is going to try a couple PC supplies. 10 to 13 amps are not enough we tried it on a 13a and it shut off after about 20 minuets. I think my chargers came from Micro Electric, don’t remember where the power supply came from (an on line dealer). The Astro chargers are hard to come by right now, Rob searched every where, he finally found some outfit that just got three so his two are on there way, good luck!! I bought my equipment early before the big rush :D

[Shannon Davis]

I am using a Radio Shack 25amp switching power supply. Works Great- only problem is that they quite carrying them. I bought all of them in town when they went on clearence for $50. Usually cost $125. You may get luckly and still find one at your local store.

[z11355]

thats odd cause I was at the ratshack website today and saw the 25A power supply.

Mike, the PC power supply thing ain't gonna produce the wattage you need.

[DrScoles]

So this is the beast I want???

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=22-510

It will run two chargers no sweat? Or should I look around and get something bigger? DO NOT want to have to buy a bigger one down the road...


Mike

[Shannon Davis]

Thats the one I have. I have ran my two Astro's at 6.5 amp charge rate each (5S4P) packs w/ no prob.

[misskimo]

hey , I have the samlex 12-23, I also have the 12-12 to , couldnt charge my cells at 6amps with it , now that 23 should , I hope charge both my packs at 5C , hope so , I just got in my lipos , yep pee ! 13s3p new gen 6000s Jason said these production cells show a tad better at delivering power . also recieved 2 astros too today Got mine at hobby club, way different than my 636 , but as long as they deliver the charge Im happy,

Tony

[EricLarson]

I am seeing 18amp continuous draw charging with 2 Shultze 330 chargers at 5.5 amps each. Power supply gets nice and toasty too :)

Eric

[DrScoles]

Russ,
you bought a generator... is that necessary? I thought of a dual battery in truck, but I would hope that my big truck has a strong enough alternator to charge these things.... I know I'll probably have to keep engine running....wait, I only get 11mpg..at idle, for one hour.........Hmmmmmm :shock:

Mike

[skippy]

Hey Guys,

Here is the power supply I’ve been using. It's typically used by the HAM radio crowd. Very clean 25 or 45 amp versions.

http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?catid=18

[Russ McC]

You get “0” MPG when the vehicle is not moving, it is however doing work, charging your batteries. Hummer right?? 50-60k $$?? So this means you have a 50K $$ generator that has 350 CDI gas engine. If you fly all day at a FF say six hours, you will be continuously charging with the truck running much of the day maybe. I ran my $699.00 Honda 7 or 8 hours on .6 of a gallon plus I won’t be plugging my truck engine up with carbon or idling out the rod bearings. :)

[larryf]

I have a pyramid 40 amp continuous 52 apm surge

with variable voltage and meters....

it works great.... you can power just about anything from it...


http://store.yahoo.com/bsless/ps52kx.html