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Features
Simple to operate: just connect the Cellpro 4s charger between a power source and a pack.
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No jumpers, plugs or dials to set! Charger automatically determines pack capacity and sets
optimal current, then dynamically adjusts charge rate as needed. Manual charge rates of
0.25A to 4A (in 0.25A increments) allow for special situations.
Charges Lithium Polymer, Lithium Ion, Lithium Manganese and A123© chemistries. Adapt-
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ers are available from FMA Direct.
Each cell is charged independently, providing exceptional charging safety and elevating RC
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packs to the safety level of cellphones.
Charges LiPo packs having one to four cells and any capacity up to 24Ah. Typical packs of
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up to 3Ah capacity charge in 50 minutes or less using charger's 1.4C Auto Current Mode.
Multifunction display shows operating mode, individual cell voltages, charge current, supply
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voltage, and amount of charge (mAh) put into pack. Plus, the unique Fuel display shows per-
cent capacity remaining in a pack.
Viewer software (a free download) displays real-time data and graphs.
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Latest technology provides the ultimate in safety. Even charges packs having hidden physical
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damage without danger of fire. A pack will not charge if individual cell voltages don't equal
total pack voltage.
Cell balancing to 10mV and automatic overcharge protection assure longest pack life. Auto-
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matic temperature monitoring prevents pack overcharging at low ambient temperatures and
charger damage at high ambient temperatures.
Low Voltage Restore feature automatically attempts to repair overdischarged packs. Cells
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discharged as low as 0.5V may be repaired to as much as 98% of capacity.
Cold Weather Charge stops charging at 4.10V/cell when temperature is below 55°F to prevent
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cell damage.
Operates from any 10–16V DC power source. Inputs and outputs are protected against re-
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verse polarity.
Precautions
Follow all instructions in this manual to assure safe operation.
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Always watch LiPo packs while they are charging. Never leave LiPo packs unsupervised dur-
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ing charging.
See additional warning sheets provided with this charger and FMA LiPo packs.
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Follow all guidelines for charging, discharging, handling and storing LiPo cells.
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FMA, Inc.
5713 Industry Lane, Suite 50
Frederick, MD 21704
Sales: (800) 343-2934
Cellpro 4s Gold Charger
Model LIPOCH4S04-GOLD, for use with LiPo, Li-Ion
and A123 battery packs with node connectors
Automatic and manual charging at up to 4A with cell
balancing and overcharge protection
Technical: (301) 668-4280
www.fmadirect.com
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Related Manuals for Revolectrix Cellpro 4s GOLD
Summary of Contents for Revolectrix Cellpro 4s GOLD
- Page 1 Cellpro 4s Gold Charger Model LIPOCH4S04-GOLD, for use with LiPo, Li-Ion and A123 battery packs with node connectors Automatic and manual charging at up to 4A with cell balancing and overcharge protection Features Simple to operate: just connect the Cellpro 4s charger between a power source and a pack. No jumpers, plugs or dials to set! Charger automatically determines pack capacity and sets optimal current, then dynamically adjusts charge rate as needed. Manual charge rates of 0.25A to 4A (in 0.25A increments) allow for special situations. Charges Lithium Polymer, Lithium Ion, Lithium Manganese and A123© chemistries. Adapt- ers are available from FMA Direct. Each cell is charged independently, providing exceptional charging safety and elevating RC packs to the safety level of cellphones.
- Page 2 Connecting the charger Connecting packs with a Cellpro connector Connect Cellpro Packs as shown in this diagram: Mode Optional connection to PC Button Data display using FMA FSIM1 cable 1s to 4s Power LiPo or A123 Connector Pack (not used Cellpro 4s Charger during charging) Connect to 10–16 VDC (e.g., gel cell or power supply) Node Connector CAUTION: When two LiPo packs are connected in series, do not connect them to two...
- Page 3 Charging modes The Cellpro 4s Charger provides several charging modes. Please become familiar with them before charging packs. Normal charging modes The Cellpro 4s Charger provides both automatically controlled and fixed charging current modes: In 4.00A A123 3.60V Mode, cells are individually charged to 3.60V per cell. This is for A123 brand of high current Lithium Ion cells that handle charge rates up to 5C. Charge current is fixed at 4.0A or the maximum charger output current. Important: Only one mode is available for charging A123 packs. The 4.00A A123 3.60V Mode charges A123 chemistry to 3.6V per cell. Do not attempt to use any other mode to charge A123 packs.
- Page 4 How to charge a pack Tip: Because FMA’s cell balancing technology monitors individual cells, you don’t need to cool a pack before charging it. Go from flying to charging to flying again without wait- ing. FMA cell-balancing chargers are the only ones that can charge a pack immediately after discharge without damaging the pack.
- Page 5 About the data display The diagram below explains the data display, how to view data about the pack being charged, and how to manually set the charge current. Start Connect charger to power source Note: In A123 Mode, "A123" will appear Batt V Fuel=Lev% where "LiPo" appears in these examples. LiPo Chgr. Ready Connect pack to charger Batt V Fuel=Lev% LiPo Checking V. Available capacity (as a Total pack voltage percent of total pack capacity)
- Page 6 Practical information about the Cellpro Charger General information Cells in a pack have different voltages when they are discharged. The Cellpro 4s Charger bal- ances (equalizes) cell voltages while it is charging the pack. During charging, cells that charge the fastest are the weakest cells in the pack. At the end of charging, cells with the highest voltage are weakest. This happens because weaker cells have lower capacity, and they charge faster than stronger cells. If the Cellpro Charger displays LOW VOLT RESTORE, the pack was overdischarged during its last use. The charger will attempt to repair LiPo cells measuring between 0.5V and 2.7V, or A123 cells measuring 0V to 2.0V. To avoid additional damage to restored cells, do not overdischarge a repaired pack. By definition, end of life for a LiPo cell is when the cell can only be charged to 80% of its original capacity rating. The number of charge/discharge cycles a cell undergoes before reaching end of life depends on several factors, including cell quality, discharge rate, internal heat generated during use, and other parameters. Cells in an older pack may be more out of balance, but the Cellpro 4s Charger will still balance them to within 10mV by the end of charge. For this reason, it may take longer to balance older packs. The charger may show FUEL=99% for several hours while it is balancing a high capacity (3Ah and up) “veteran” pack that is severely out of balance. Charging packs You can top off packs, or remove them when they are partially charged. There is no way to damage a pack when using the Cellpro 4s Charger. If a pack is at 80% or less of its capacity when connected to an auto-detect speed controller, the controller may lower its cut-off voltage. This could overdischarge the pack during the flight. Auto-detect speed controllers should properly set cut-off voltage if packs are charged to at least 90%. To save time, stop charging when the pack reaches about 95% of capacity. That last 5% takes the longest. Some cells may sag 0.10V within an hour after charging. This is normal as packs age. When charging an A123 pack that has been discharged very low, the charger initially may not be able to accurately count cells in the pack. To eliminate the possibility of an inaccurate count, the charger applies current to “wake up” the cells, then recounts. Overdischarging an A123 pack below 2.0V/cell will damage the cells (contrary to some re- ports). The Cellpro 4s Charger requires a minimum pack voltage of 1.5V to activate charging.
- Page 7 How Auto Current Mode works The Cellpro 4s Charger’s Auto Current Mode precisely monitors individual cell fuel levels (cell voltages) in a pack. If the charger determines it is charging too fast, it slows down. Likewise, if it is charging too slow, it speeds up. The charger adjusts charge current at one minute intervals throughout the charge cycle. When charging starts, it takes a short time for the charger to determine the correct parameters, so it may “hunt” for up to five minutes before it settles on the optimum current. This is nor- mal, and doesn’t harm the pack. The longer the charge, the more accurate the calculation. The plot below shows how Auto Current Mode adjusts the charger’s current when charging a 1.25Ah pack at 1.0C. Initially, the charge current is higher than 1.0C. Within a few minutes the charger adjusts the current downward, and it eventually reaches 1.0C (1.25A in this case). Current drops as the pack reaches full charge. When charge current drops to about 0.1C, the pack is fully charged. Since Auto Current Mode always starts at the last current calculated during the previous charge cycle, the charger detects and adjusts for an overcurrent condition: if any cell’s volt- age increases more than 10% during the first two minutes of charging, Auto Current Mode defaults to 0.5A. This prevents overcurrent if the previously charged pack had a substantially larger capacity. With the 1.0C Auto Current Mode, a fully discharged pack is charged to its nominal capacity in about one hour. Auto Current Mode takes into account a pack’s starting charge level, so topping off a 50% discharged pack takes only about one-half hour.
- Page 8 Estimating performance factors If you don’t have a way to directly measure your propulsion system’s electrical parameters, the Cellpro 4s Charger enables you to estimate them using before- and after-flight measurements. 1. Collect data a. Charge pack. b. When charging is finished, record Fuel % and total pack voltage (i.e. sum of cell volt- ages). c. Fly plane (or test on the ground). Record flight time in minutes. d. Connect pack to charger. Record Fuel % and total pack voltage. 2. Calculate performance factors (Fuel % before flight) – (Fuel % after flight) x (Pack capacity, Ah) = Capacity consumed during flight, Ah (Capacity consumed during flight, Ah) x 60 = Average current during flight, A (Flight time, minutes)
- Page 9 Charger Viewer Software Installing the Charger Viewer Software For detailed information on installing the Cellpro 4s Gold Charger Viewer Software, please go to www.fmadirect.com/downloads.html, scroll down to the Software Updates section, then click the link for the Cellpro 4s Gold Viewer Software. Using the Charger Viewer Software Use the Charger Viewer Software to monitor pack voltage, cell voltages, charge current and safety codes on your PC. 1. Connect the Charger to a pack and to a power supply. 3. Connect the Charger to a PC using an FMA FUIM2 or FUIM3 adapter. Plug the adapter’s 3-pin connector into the jack on the Charger’s left side. The black wire should be toward the top of the Charger’s panel. 4. On the PC, launch the Charger Viewer program. The program checks ports until it finds charger data, or open the Comm list and select a port. To add notes: View > Battery Notes To see voltage versus time: . Then in Graph window, View >...
- Page 10 Updating the Charger’s Firmware 1. Disconnect any packs from the charger. 2. Connect the Charger to the PC using an FMA FUIM2 or FUIM3 adapter. Plug the adapter’s 3-pin connector into the jack on the Charger’s left side. The black wire should be toward the top of the Charger’s panel. 3. Apply power to the charger. 4. On the PC, launch the Charger Viewer Software. 5. In the Charger Viewer, . The Firmware Update utility Help > Update Charger Firmware opens in a new window. 6. In the Firmware Update utility: a. Select the firmware version you want to install. b. Click the Update Firmware button. 7. Wait—and do nothing to the PC, charger and interconnection—until updating is complete. IMPORTANT: During firmware downloading, do not disconnect the charger from power, do not disconnect the charger from the computer, and do not exit the firmware update program.
- Page 11 Troubleshooting Operating errors appear as safety codes in the display. To determine the problem, look up the code in the table below. Correct the error. If errors continue, contact FMA Customer Service. SAFETY CODE 23 Push to Reset Typical error message Code Cause Resolution Low-cell-voltage timeout on startup Try charging again no more than 2 times. Cell may have internal short. Input voltage below 10 volts Lower charge amps, get a bigger power source (power source must output at least 5A).
- Page 12 Charger specifications For battery type Lithium Polymer, Lithium Ion, Lithium Manganese and A123 packs; charger can be used with 1s to 4s packs having node connectors and connected to charger with an appropriate FMA adapter cable Pack capacity 250mAh to 20Ah (charge time limited to maximum of 8 hours) Input voltage 10 to 16VDC, reverse polarity protected Input current...
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