rcbirk21
70cc twin V2
As a guy who flies 100% electric planes, having a convenient way to charge up flight packs at the field is always an issue. Over the past few years, guys have started to make custom charging cases with power supplies, paraboards, and chargers all wrapped up in a suitcase for use at the field. Luckily for those of us more electrically challenged, dont have the time, or cant make wonderful works of powerful art there are now options. One common option is progressive rc, who has some great options for making charging setups. Even more luckily for me, a helpful guy at my LHS is a master electrician and started making cases for people over the past year or so. I decided to give a little bit of an outline of what Stu, from Cyclone Hobbies, made for me. If anyone else is interested, feel free to give cyclone hobbies a call and ask for either Kyle or Stu, and just tell them Erik sent you. I promise they will treat you right. They are located in Columbus, OH but I am sure they would not mind working with people regardless of location. Because this is complete custom, you can do whatever you want! Steal some ideas from me, use power supplies you already have, chargers you already have, or get it all from them and make a giant bundle! They are a distributor for EPbuddy.com, so anything on his website is fair game to include!
Case Features
Cyclone hobbies is actually located inside a professional audio store called Sound Ideas (ok, now it is more like a 50/50 split of storefront space
). That is a HUGE advantage as they have access to a lot of different items, including this case. There are a lot of great features with the case. The first is the size. It is large enough to fit large power supplies and still leave plenty of room for a charger and batteries to not only throw in together when you go to the field, but to also spread on with parallel cables while charging. This case has a telescoping handle and wheels that make it very easy to move around.
The case also has velcro pockets on the inside of the top which is great for cable storage, paraboard storage, and any other miscellaneous items that you like to have with you at the field like voltage checkers, a common screw driver, etc. The meat of the setup is really phenomenal. On the top left of the platform is a on/off toggle switch that has a cover so you don't accidentally turn it on or off. With my power supply setup, using 2x 12v power supplies, I had him wire it up so that I have two 12v taps and a 24v tap, so theoretically 3x chargers can be plugged in at any given time, allowing me to use a power 1000w 24v charge and a smaller 250w 12v charger, both running at full power (with the power supplies I used). Then, my favorite feature, is a USB jack on the bottom right corner of the platform. There is a 5v regulator tapped off of the power supplies so that I can charge a phone or any other usb device at the field! Really a must have for fly ins!
For the business end, there are both intake and exhaust fans wired up to keep the powersupplies running cool. This is an absolute must for any case as these power supplies can get over worked if not properly cooled. I used to have 2x feathermerchant power supplies in an old setup, but burned them up to what I assumed was lack of cooling. There is also an external plug in that is installed in the outside of the case. Very convenient to keep wires from getting tangled and such.
And finally a picture of the amazing wiring job that Stu did for this case. Really makes you appreciate how much time and effort went into not only getting everything wired up correctly, but keeping a clean install.
Now I want to hear from all of you! Lets see/hear what you guys have done! Id love to see pictures of everyone's charging setups, tips, cool and unique ideas. Now I do not want to start a brand war. This has nothing to do with certain brands of chargers or certain brands of anything. This is about sharing ideas so that when the next person is ready to make/buy a charging setup, they have some really cool ideas! So lets see 'em!
Case Features
Cyclone hobbies is actually located inside a professional audio store called Sound Ideas (ok, now it is more like a 50/50 split of storefront space
). That is a HUGE advantage as they have access to a lot of different items, including this case. There are a lot of great features with the case. The first is the size. It is large enough to fit large power supplies and still leave plenty of room for a charger and batteries to not only throw in together when you go to the field, but to also spread on with parallel cables while charging. This case has a telescoping handle and wheels that make it very easy to move around.The case also has velcro pockets on the inside of the top which is great for cable storage, paraboard storage, and any other miscellaneous items that you like to have with you at the field like voltage checkers, a common screw driver, etc. The meat of the setup is really phenomenal. On the top left of the platform is a on/off toggle switch that has a cover so you don't accidentally turn it on or off. With my power supply setup, using 2x 12v power supplies, I had him wire it up so that I have two 12v taps and a 24v tap, so theoretically 3x chargers can be plugged in at any given time, allowing me to use a power 1000w 24v charge and a smaller 250w 12v charger, both running at full power (with the power supplies I used). Then, my favorite feature, is a USB jack on the bottom right corner of the platform. There is a 5v regulator tapped off of the power supplies so that I can charge a phone or any other usb device at the field! Really a must have for fly ins!
For the business end, there are both intake and exhaust fans wired up to keep the powersupplies running cool. This is an absolute must for any case as these power supplies can get over worked if not properly cooled. I used to have 2x feathermerchant power supplies in an old setup, but burned them up to what I assumed was lack of cooling. There is also an external plug in that is installed in the outside of the case. Very convenient to keep wires from getting tangled and such.
And finally a picture of the amazing wiring job that Stu did for this case. Really makes you appreciate how much time and effort went into not only getting everything wired up correctly, but keeping a clean install.
Now I want to hear from all of you! Lets see/hear what you guys have done! Id love to see pictures of everyone's charging setups, tips, cool and unique ideas. Now I do not want to start a brand war. This has nothing to do with certain brands of chargers or certain brands of anything. This is about sharing ideas so that when the next person is ready to make/buy a charging setup, they have some really cool ideas! So lets see 'em!
