Bob Burton

I would be interested to know how the setup is done to display individual cell voltages, particularly if nothing is connected to each individual cell in the Lipo....

Posted by Phil Claridge on 24/12/2014 09:29:17: play nicely, boys and girls each to their own this debate will run forever untill we start controlling models with brain power not our thumbs or fingers MODE 2 FOREVER DEPT Left or right brain though ?

I can't help feeling that the "Top" letter in AllWrite got it wrong with the conclusion "Don't Rely On Navigation Equipment". From the description given it appears to me that the navigation equipment behaved impeccably. The pilot on the other hand seems to have behaved in an unreliable manner.

By all means rescue the connectors with a view to reusing them but you will be be hard pressed to get the blue EC3 connectors apart. Solder and shrink wrapping the wires is acceptable but adds another point to failure.

Posted by Simon Chaddock on 17/10/2014 00:56:45: Quite a few out runners have the wires coming out of the back! All of my outrunners have wires coming out of the back. Installing them in multi-rotors would be interesting if that were not the case. In fact, how would it work as the whole of the outer part of an outrunner rotates by definition.

As I said earlier in the thread - OUCH ! Mr. bin, meet Mr. ESC Don't forget to cut off the leads before you throw it away. They and their connectors could come in handy in the future.

Posted by Shaunie on 19/10/2014 15:48:34: Remember that the ESC is probably made with lead free solder, you cannot successfully mix lead-free and leaded solder Shaunie. Is this really so ? I regularly remove existing solder when repairing things because I hate lead free, but by no means all of it, and then use real solder to make the new joint. As far as I can tell this works OK. Is your experience different ?

OUCH ! That certainly needs fixing properly. You are going to have to bite the bullet and take it apart to get to the terminal to ascertain the real level of damage, such as whether the PCB track has lifted or broken, then tidy up and solder it back in place. If that involves destroying the plastic case of the ESC then so be it. Heatshrink tubing can be used to replace the case when the repair is finished. Personally I would not fly with a motor connection held in place with sticky tape. Trust me, it will come apart in the air at some time.

It is not clear what you are describing but it sounds like you need to make a permanent repair or get a new ESC. It may just be a case of unsoldering the wires, tidying things up and soldering them back in place. I certainly do not like the idea of the solder "power joints" being broken and taped up. A picture would certainly help to give better advice.

Pete - that manual is much more explicit than mine. Out of interest I have emailed the manufacturer of my charger with sparse information previously quoted (Overlander) asking for clarification. I have long suspected that the firmware used in most '4 button' chargers is the same apart from the message shown on startup which would be easy to change. If this is not the case then several manufacturers have decided to use exactly the same menu structure and keypresses to access functions which seems unlikely in the extreme. The only exception seems to be some chargers which are able to provide details of internal resistance of the Lipo. These must have different firmware and/or hardware in order to provide the functionality.

" !2.505 volts" You need even more cocoa mate !

I find it disappointing that more information is not available about what my chargers actually do in each mode. A quote from the manual for one of them Charge – a basic charge process without balancing. Balance – a much better process involving both the charging of the pack and the active balancing of the individual cells. Fast – a process designed to allow charge rates at above 1C with the current reducing towards the end of the charge. This process reduces the charging time but also slightly reduces the final capacity of the pack. It may also reduce the cyclic life of the pack. That is the sum total of the information given. This is a '4 button' charger with what appears to be the generic firmware included in many/all of them.

The original problem was presented as the user doing a straight charge, not a balance one. If that is the case, then as far as I can determine, the charger will not use the information obtained from the balance connection and will not stop the charge to an individual cell when it reaches 4.2V, only when the total voltage reaches that expected for the whole pack. Stopping the charge to an individual cell only happens when an explicit balance charge is being done otherwise why have separate Charge and Balance Charge options as on the common '4 button' chargers ? The Fast Charge option introduces a further complication, and dangers, because the charge current is maintained at a higher level throughout charging process and it is not reduced as much during the constant current phase at the end of the charge,

What do you perceive as the danger of doing a non balance charge without the balance lead connected ?

I did as you suggested and got one hit from the search. Opening the link I was taken to a 112 page document entitled "Lithium-Ion Batteries Hazard and Use Assessment " It is not clear to me how relevant it is to Lipos. What is the relationship between Lion and Lipo batteries and are the dangers the same ?

Has anyone here got any experience of a Lipo bag being used in 'anger', ie, the Lipo(s) inside it caught fire for whatever reason ? I keep my Lipos, admittedly only 2 and 3S low capacity ones, in the detached garage. They are in a shallow terracotta flowerpot but that is the only precaution I take when charging or storing them. I store them at about 3.8V per cell and charge at a maximum of 2C, usually less so they are fairly well treated. I have been considering getting and using a Lipo bag or two but do they actually provide any protection and, if so, how ?

I wouldn't have a problem if it switched to the .com site and showed the prices in UKP but it doesn't switch and stays in USD. If I log onto the .com site I can change the currency. The problem seems to occur when using Chrome. If I use IE then clicking on the Currency button opens the .com site and I have to log on but at least I can change currency.

The currency converter button does not seem to work on the .co.uk site. It refreshes the page but offers no currency list. On the .com site it does offer a list of currencies including GBP Stupid or what ?