iCharger and balance board query

[FailureToFly]

I've just picked up a 208B and my six port EC3 balance board just arrived. It's this item from Hobby King

Here is the 6 port balance board with EC3 connectors:



http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=19431

I went to plug it in and noticed the 7 pin balance plug is smaller than the 9 pin balance port of the 208B...hmmm

I have the CB1010-XH&EH balance board which connects to the icharger via a 9 pin plug and it has various balance port options from 2s to 6s (but no power ports unlike the other board).

Here is a pic of the CB1010:



So...my question is this: can I use this CB1010 to piggy back the 6 port 3S balance board?

Essentially, it would require me to plug in the six port balance board into the 6S port on the CB1010 and then the CB1010 into the iCharger.

This is because the six port balance board has a plug with 7 pins and the 6S port on the CB1010 also has 7. The CB1010 output plug is 9 pins as is the icharger so everything 'could' be ok.

Is this fine or have I just wasted my money on the 6 port board and need a 6 port board with a 9 pin plug?

It's a little confusing and I don't want to toast my charger, PSU, battery and two boards if I can help it!!

A pic of the setup:

[Mentalic]

Only thing I see you need to change in your picture is plug in the power leads from the balance board.

[Gregor99]

Originally Posted by Mentalic

Only thing I see you need to change in your picture is plug in the power leads from the balance board.

And they should NEVER be disconnected from the charger when there is a pack connected to the board. You've got some live exposed 4mm plugs there that can short against each other or take out your charger

[The WoodCrafter]

That would be the way to use your boards, yes.

And as Greg said, Plug in the board to the charger before you short out your batteries.!!!

[Gregor99]

I seem to recall Chris once saying that you can also just put the 6s connector into the 8s slot as long as you align the negative pins. That would eliminate the middle adapter board and clean up the workstation a bit. Have you guys tried that? Comments?

[The WoodCrafter]

That will work.
You have to trim off one of the indexing pins.
I would make up an adapter cable from an XH extension cable.

[Gregor99]

Just had a better idea. Get one of these from Digikey.

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/dk...keywords=XHP-9



Gently remove the pins from the 7 pin male connector and re-insert them into the 9 pin. Start at the negative pin and work your way up. Last two pins will be empty. No need to crimp or solder.

[The WoodCrafter]

That's a great idea Greg but how do you get 1 of thoughs dudes?

[Gregor99]

I was able to add just one to my cart. Only 18 cents. I didn't check the shipping, but its most likely not worth it to buy just one. If I were placing the order, I just fill my cart with JST-XH male and female connectors of various sizes. I'd use them sooner or later.

[FailureToFly]

Thanks guys it's working!!

Just doing a charge of two 3s 2200 batteries at 4.4 amps to shake it down.

Was too nervous to just 'try it' last night as if $200 of charging gear went up in smoke it would have been pretty painful.

Next test will be six 3s 2200 batteries @ 13.2 amps.

This is going to be great. 6 batteries charged in under an hour!

[FailureToFly]

One last question...

If I connect three 3s 2200 batteries to the icharger, if I've run them ~80% down will the charger add them and display that it put in ~4800mah?

[TJinGuy]

If it were me, I would trim the pos side key off the 6s plug on the paraboard and plug it directly into the 208B. Just line the plug up on the (-) side of the port.

[FailureToFly]

Originally Posted by TJinGuy

If it were me, I would trim the pos side key off the 6s plug on the paraboard and plug it directly into the 208B. Just line the plug up on the (-) side of the port.

So I can literally cut the little clip off the pos side, align the neg side and it'll work without the 2nd balance board? No chance of blowing anything?

That would be a bit simpler with one less item to cart around.

[desertstalker]

Originally Posted by FailureToFly

So I can literally cut the little clip off the pos side, align the neg side and it'll work without the 2nd balance board? No chance of blowing anything?

That would be a bit simpler with one less item to cart around.

You wont blow anything up, if you misalign the pins the worst that will happen is the charger will think you have a 7/8S pack with a dead cell or two and refuse to charge. There is a fair amount of built in checking on the iChargers.

[TJinGuy]

Originally Posted by desertstalker

You wont blow anything up, if you misalign the pins the worst that will happen is the charger will think you have a 7/8S pack with a dead cell or two and refuse to charge. There is a fair amount of built in checking on the iChargers.

Correct that if you plug it into the wrong pins it will not hurt anything but it is not because the iCharger does anything, it is simply because of the way balance circuits work. They don't charge, so they can't cause shorts to the main leads or anything. If you plug it in wrong, it just won't work. Now that is to the charger, if you plug in something wrong in a parallel or serial charging setup, you will fry something.