Field Equipment: Battery Chargers

[jhelber08]

So I recently got bitten by the electric bug and broke down and bought an EF 64" MXS. Anyways, up until that point I only had a Hitec x4 charger for rx batteries and such and needed a better solution for charging some bigger batteries. Here's what I came up with.

Its powered by two 12V 900 Watt (Model DPS-1200FB) power supplies for a whopping 1800 Watts of available power at 24V. Here is a link on how to modify the power supply (http://www.rchelination.com/setting-hp-dps-1200fb-power-supply/). Buddy RC also sells these power supplies already setup to go in series and another good source is feathermerchantrc.com as they have several options to choose from for ready to go power supplies. The charger and binding posts are from progressive RC. Fan and USB plug are from Newegg and the switches and other odds and ends are from the local Fry's. The deck is made from a cheap peace of 6mm ply and covered with carbon fiber ultracote.

After using this for a few days at the field I have a few changes to make like adding another charger so I can charge different sized batteries at the same time and I may add some led lights so that I can see to charge during some night flying sessions. I also plan to add a trap door for charge lead storage as there is alot of unused space beneath the deck.

Just wanted to post this up for other people to share their setups so we can steal, I mean, applaud your ideas.

 

[Bartman]

Great to see different set-ups for charging on the road. I really like the use of the power port for putting AC power into the box. The only thing I'd add to your rig is a battery operated smoke alarm, I usually have one propped up just above the chargers, you could mount it to the inside of the top half of the case and it might tip you off if you ever have a battery go south during a charge cycle.

 

[mnfatboy]

Nice job!

 

[jhelber08]

That's a nice thought for a smoke alarm. I thought about getting one to keep around for when I charge inside my house but I'm 99.9% of the time in same room if any charging is going on.

I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to these things and have one of them electrical engineering degree paper thingy's that I don't ever get to use but I do for fun some day want to build a charging station for inside the house that would release CO2 and cut power to put out a fire if it senses one. However I don't really charge enough to warrant the cost, it would be fun though.

 

[pawnshopmike]

That looks great @jhelber08 . Nice job.

Here's my setup. Under the peg board is a 25 amp power supply and a couple fans to keep it cool.

I might steal your idea about adding lights. And @Bartman 's idea on the smoke detector.

 

[Ohio AV8TOR]

Here is how my PL8 lives and travels. A $6.99 gun case that I picked up from Sports Academy on sale. 24V power supply provides all the umph I need.
Spare connectors fit right under the foam.

 

[Twister]

Here's mine ProgressiveRc case, 24v power supply, power lab 8

 

[Jetpainter]

Nice setups guys!

Here is my setup with a PowerLab 8.

One more thing for you other guys using PowerLabs. By the end of the year they will have an ad on available called a Bump Controller. It's a really cool separate touch screen controller that also has Bluetooth capabilities. It plugs right into the servo wire port on the back and can run up to 4 PowerLabs. It's in beta testing now. I'm anxious to get my hands on one.

 

[jhelber08]

Dang I would have done my charge case a little differently had I known about the bump controller.

But that is pretty sweet, just watched a video about it and I have an old android tablet just laying around the house collecting dust that could be used with it. HMM...I see a redesign happening next year. Bummer though cause I just ordered an icharger206 (on sale for 99 bucks) to mount in the lid for charging smaller batteries as opposed to another pl6 or the new gt500. Being that the bump controller can control 4 chargers you could mount the chargers under the deck and have a very clean setup on top to control everything.

 

[Jetpainter]

One of my friends that's doing some beta testing has a dual PL8 and his power supplies under the deck and also has the Bump Controller flush mounted in the deck. It's a pretty clean setup.