LBA10 Balancer with M1 Cells?

[neweuser]

Originally Posted by BrianG

That does sound like a P/S issue. What error message do you get?

If you are getting no charger errors, depending on what amperage you are trying to charge at, you might be hitting the 120w limit of the charger. With a 5s pack, you can only charge at 5.71A (assuming cells are at 4.2v/cell). With 4s, you can charge at 7.14A before you hit the 120w limit. Actually the Hyperion can only go up to 7A, so that will really be the limiting factor at 4s.

If I remember right, output voltage too low is the error message. It has been awhile though. Or it said input voltage is too low. It would say it with the 5s even charging at 2 amps. The 4s I can charge at 5 or 6 no problems at all. I was just curious, if I could bump up what the PS is putting to the charger if this would help charge the 5s if ever needed. My 989 can do it no problems.

[BrianG]

I'd imagine you got an "input voltage too low" message if it was a power supply issue. As the current goes up, the voltage output of the PS will start to fall depending on the build quaility. However, if it does that at a low 2A, that doesn't make sense.

I've also seen "output voltage too low" and haven't really figured out why it does that. From what I could tell, since the circuitry does an adaptive CC charge for lipos, the sensing circuitry is a bit too sensitive and trips the alarm.

I did notice about 14mV of 53kHz AC ripple (from the charger's power supply) on the output connectors. I thought maybe the sense circuit was seeing this ripple causing the alarm to trip, so I tried using an inductor and capacitor network to kill the ripple, but it still had the "output voltage too high" error. I just have to manually adjust the current for now until I figure out why it does this. Eventually, I plan on getting a better charger that will do higher cell counts at higher currents, but it is a PITA for now.

[neweuser]

Originally Posted by BrianG

I'd imagine you got an "input voltage too low" message if it was a power supply issue. As the current goes up, the voltage output of the PS will start to fall depending on the build quaility. However, if it does that at a low 2A, that doesn't make sense.

I've also seen "output voltage too low" and haven't really figured out why it does that. From what I could tell, since the circuitry does an adaptive CC charge for lipos, the sensing circuitry is a bit too sensitive and trips the alarm.

I did notice about 14mV of 53kHz AC ripple (from the charger's power supply) on the output connectors. I thought maybe the sense circuit was seeing this ripple causing the alarm to trip, so I tried using an inductor and capacitor network to kill the ripple, but it still had the "output voltage too high" error. I just have to manually adjust the current for now until I figure out why it does this. Eventually, I plan on getting a better charger that will do higher cell counts at higher currents, but it is a PITA for now.

I see. How would I get my PS to send more juice the charger if this is the case. Anyway, I love the 989 Brian. I'm not a big fan of MRC, but this thing rocks! It charges anything I throw at it. And the price dropped to 135.00 somewhere I saw, can't remember where. sjcrss knows though, you could shoot him a PM if you were interested.

[BrianG]

Well, I did a how-to for modding the PS a while back. Basically, you can do two things; load the 5v and/or 3.3v line with about 1A of current. This helps to stabilize the regualtor circuitry and keeps the 12v more stable.

There might be a small poteniometer somewhere inside. You could tweak that if there is one. Be careful though! Just because there is a pot in there doesn't mean it's for the voltage, it could be for other parts.

[neweuser]

Originally Posted by BrianG

Well, I did a how-to for modding the PS a while back. Basically, you can do two things; load the 5v and/or 3.3v line with about 1A of current. This helps to stabilize the regualtor circuitry and keeps the 12v more stable.

There might be a small poteniometer somewhere inside. You could tweak that if there is one. Be careful though! Just because there is a pot in there doesn't mean it's for the voltage, it could be for other parts.

You mean putting resistors on. I did the 5v (red) ones. I put two on like you showed. Could I do another set?

[BrianG]

Newe: If you already have resistors on there, it's probably enough. You generallay want to draw about 1A or a tad more. Just be sure you size them appropriately to take the heat!

Well, now that I know the LBA10 will balance the M1's OK, I really don't need another balancer. Whatever charger I get will have a high cell count capability (10s), high current charge (~10A), able to have an adjustable peak v (for any future chemistries), and higher power limit (preferably about 400w).

[neweuser]

Originally Posted by BrianG

Newe: If you already have resistors on there, it's probably enough. You generallay want to draw about 1A or a tad more. Just be sure you size them appropriately to take the heat!

Well, now that I know the LBA10 will balance the M1's OK, I really don't need another balancer. Whatever charger I get will have a high cell count capability (10s), high current charge (~10A), able to have an adjustable peak v (for any future chemistries), and higher power limit (preferably about 400w).

I would love to send you a pic of the inside, i know there are adjusters (2 I believe) but my camera sucks at close ups. Anywho, my resistors are about a 1/2 inch apart and right under the fan on the PS. So I think they are ok. If I add one to another set of 5v lines, would that hurt anything?
The 989 can do 10s and has the 10amp PS, I know that it's not adjustable though. You are looking for an adjustable PS?