Competition Electronics TURBO30 TURBOFLEX Operating Instructions Manual

TURBO30 TURBOFLEX
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

WARNING

It is dangerous to work in the vicinity of a lead-acid battery since they generate explosive gases during normal
battery operation. To prevent an explosion when using a lead-acid battery, such as an automobile battery, you must
disconnect the 6 fool leads from the Turbothirty before putting on or taking off the leads connecting to the lead-acid
battery terminals. Operate the Turbothirty as far away from the lead-acid battery as possible. This will keep any
sparks or arcing away from the lead-acid battery.
To reduce the risk of injury, use only high-rate rechargeable nickel cadmium or nickel metal hydride batteries with
the Turbothirty. Any other type of battery may burst and cause personal injury.
DO NOT leave the Turbothirty unattended. The remote possibility of an electronic failure could cause an extreme
overcharge. This could cause the battery to burst and cause a fire hazard.
The Turbothirty is designed to provide data about high-rate rechargeable nickel cadmium batteries used in R/C car
racing. In order to simulate the discharge rates obtained during racing, The Turbothirty is designed to discharge at
high currents. While the methods used in the Turbothirty are common in selecting cells, excessive cell heat
generated during the process may cause damage to the cells or cause them to vent battery acids. To reduce the risk
of injury, Always wear safety glasses when operating the Turbothirty.
Always made sure all the batteries in the pack are in the same state of discharge before charging a pack. Otherwise,
the cells that are partially charged before charging will get extremely hot and may be damaged or vent battery acids.
Check your battery pack occasionally for overheating. If the cells are too hot to touch, there is something wrong and
the pack must be disconnected from the charger.
Competition Electronics, Inc. shall not be liable for any property damage or personal injury which may result from
the failure to follow these instructions or other improper use of this product.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Turbothirty is a microprocessor based charger/discharger system for high-rate rechargeable batteries for use in
R/C. It is a linear type and can fully charge 1 to 7 cells at a digitally presettable amperage up to a maximum of 12.0
amps using the peak detection method. It can automatically repeak up to 2 more times with different charge amp
rates and peak detect drop-back volts for each peak. After a charge, the charge time, peak charge volts and time
since the charge was done can be displayed. Turboflex charging (reflex) may also be selected with intensity being
settable from 1 to 9 for every peak. The Turbothirty can discharge 1,4,6 or 7 cell packs and automatically turn off at
a user settable cutoff voltage. The settable discharge amps can be between 5 to 30 amps for 1,4 and 6 cells and
between 5 to 25 amps for 7 cells. After the discharge cycle, the discharge time and the discharge average cell
voltage can be displayed. It can also automatically charge, repeak and discharge 1,4,6,7 cells using the parameters
set for the charge and discharge functions. It can automatically cycle cells up to 9 times with up to a 16 hour wait
between cycles. Upon completion of the last cycle, all the charge and discharge readings can be displayed along
with the relative cell resistance. Another mode available on the Turbothiry is the buzz box mode. This mode is used
to obtain higher initial voltage from SCR cells. The final mode available is the motor break-in mode. Here the
motor voltage and run time may be set. The run current is displayed. Another screen will display the source supply
voltage. All the settable values can be saved in one of three available power-down memories. Upon power up, on
of the three setups may be selected and reloaded from memory.

SUPPLY VOTS

The Turbothirty will operate from a 12 volt automobile battery (see above warning notes) or any DC supply within
the voltage range of 12 to 16 volts and 12 amp or more capacity. It will operate with less amperage, but the charge
current will be limited to the maximum capacity of the supply. Do not use a 12 volt car battery charger. It is
unfiltered DC and will damage the Turbothirty.

CONNECTIONS