BATTERY CHARGING USING THE B6 - Part 3

START CHARGER

Be sure you follow, exactly, the printed instructions included with the charger. B6 charger charge parameters I use are:  LIPO - 3.7 V - 1.2 A. Press and hold the "Start" button for 3 seconds to begin charging. 

The charger will check your settings (LIPO - 3.7 V - 1.2 A),  and read the voltage of the battery to be charged. The "battery" 5x pile on the cable will be "seen" by the charger as: 1 battery at 3.7 V (nominal).

Remember they are in parallel ( all + to +, and all - to -,  and done automatically by the cable wiring). This means the voltages don't add, just the mAh values. 

Effectively those 5X batteries are now seen by the charger as one (1) battery @ 3.7 V, but the charger doesn't know there are 5X are in parallel.

What it will do is charge them all at the same time until it reaches 4.2 volts. This will take longer as  compared to a single, 600 mAh battery. 

But since the charger is set to 1.2 A ( double the UDI charger rate), the actual time will be closer to 2.5 hours for 5X batteries. That's about twice a quick as a single battery charging at 600 mAh. The B6 charge current will be about 240 mils per battery.

If all is correct it will allow you to press "Start" again and begin the charge sequence. In will automatically shut off at 4.2v (standard 100% or full charge). You are doing a parallel charge of 5x batteries, the shutoff will occur automatically at 4.2 V.

Check the voltage of all the batteries after the charging. There may be 1 or 2 batteries charges to 4.18 or so. Close enough. After measuring and sorting out the fully charged 4.2 V batteries, charge singly (one at a time), the remaining, now slightly undercharged (below 4.1 V) batteries. 

When the charger is done, it will shut off automatically. Put them in finished pile. When all are done, put the finished batteries into your flight case or box or what ever else you use to transport you equipment in.

Any batteries left? Repeat until done. I use 3X B6 chargers. I do 5x batteries per charger. It takes 2+ hours to complete the charge cycle at 1.2 Amps. With 3X chargers I can do all 14 batteries in about 3 hours. 

That's a lot better than the UDI charger which would have taken 15 hours to do 15 batteries. Then I'm ready to fly again. Why 14 and not 15 batteries? I fried one battery using the charger that came with the UDI U818A :(

BAD CHARGER!

First couple of times the UDI charger worked correctly, Them, for no apparent reason, it charge the next battery to 4.5 volts before it shut off. 

Yes, the battery died. 

I also have other chargers. Cheap stuff  I got from eBay. About 1.5" square, 5 charge ports, and uses the USB port on my computer for power. Works ok. It too has overcharged batteries. Now I use the B6 for ALL final charging.

KEEP ON FLYING

BATTERY CHARGING USING THE B6 - Part 2

You can buy a voltmeter at Amazon,  Home Depot, or Lowes, Harbor Freight, etc. $10 to $20 and up. Doesn't have to be a "Fluke" brand meter (very expensive), any meter will do and save you from overcharging your LIPO's. 

As you test the batteries, sort them into groups of "like voltages" using increments of .1 ( 1/10th ) of a volt as follows:

PILE #1   3.7 to 3.79 volts

PILE #2   3.8 volts and above

PILE #3   below 3.7 volts. 

3.7 is the "nominal voltage" of a 3.7 V LIPO battery. It's effectively "dead" (for flying purposes) at 3.7 V, but does leave about 15% of a useful battery charge left. You DO NOT want to take the battery voltage below 3.2 V. 

3.2 V is the critical "I'm about to really, really, really - go dead - and forever!", voltage. Fortunately, the quad's computer will "cutoff" at somewhere around or typically slightly below 3.7V. The charging voltage is about 4.5 volts and the correct 100% fully charged voltage (and charger auto cutoff) is 4.2 Volts.

WHERE TO GET THE 5 WAYS

You can get 5X 600 mAh batteries with a 5 way cable for a UDI U818A for about $24.00 from Amazon.com.

     UDI Batteries and 5 way Cable

Make sure if you buy batteries and cable as a package that the batteries actually fit your quad. I like to buy the batteries with the 5 way cable, included. It's cheaper buying in bulk too and I take a LOT of batteries when I go to fly. 

Buying the cable alone is about $2.00 with free shipping from China. About 3-4 weeks delivery. But, hey! Free shipping! Same cable sold in the USA, $5-7.00, each. 

I recently bought 3 each from China:

     5 Way Cables From China

$5.87 for 3 pieces. Free shipping! Can't have enough 5 way cables.

EQUALIZE

I take 5x "dead" batteries out of the pre-sort pile and put them on a 5 way cable. Do the same for the remaining batteries. I leave them on the 5 way cable for about 20 minutes or so. 

Note: they are NOT hooked up to charger. The weaker ones are charged up slightly by the stronger ones. The pack tends to equalize itself - but not perfectly. And that's ok.

You have finished the equalization and you have 1 to x number of piles of 5 each batteries on a separate 5 way cable and they are about the same voltage. 

If you have a lot of batteries and only one B6, charge each pile of 5 separately on a 5 way cable to 3.9 to 4.0 volts using the any LIPO charger. If your are JUST using the B6, skip to the "START CHARGER, otherwise you'll need to check the batteries occasionally to see what the actual voltage. 

If not using the B6, stop at less than 4.0 volts to be safe.

KEEP ON FLYING

BATTERY CHARGING USING THE B6 - Part 1

Here are the instructions for using the B6 computerized, battery charger to charge 5X LIPO batteries in parallel. I charge my UDI 500 or 600 mAh batteries using this method. The B6 is a Chinese made battery charger that can charge LIPO, LION, LiFe, NiMH and lead acid (Pb) batteries. 

It can handle multiple cell batteries and has a balancing function. It will charge all small drone batteries up to and include DJI Phantom quadcopters 11.1 V @ 5200 mAh battery. It comes with everything you need except:

1) The 5 way cables

2) The power supply

TECHNICAL STUFF

I use a 500 mAh 16 VDC out, wall wart as a power supply 'cause that's what I have as the power supply. You can use any DC output wall wart that outputs between 11 and 18 volts. Even a car battery!

Note that some B6s use a 2.1x5.5mm power input plug and others use a 2.5x5.5mm plug. I have 3 chargers. 2 are 2.1x5.5mm, and 1 is 2.5x5.5mm! It appears from all the literature I have read that the 2.5mm is the current charger jack size being shipped.

There is nothing included in the printed manual giving the size of the power source's required plug size. I suggest getting a charger with a 2.5x5.5mm plug. That's what vendors are selling on eBay now:

B6 Charger with 2.5x5.5mm plug on eBay

To charge 5x 600 mAh LIPOs, at 1.2 Amps,  you need a charger with at least 500 mA output. If you use a charger with less than that (as I initially did), the voltage output of the charger will drop to below 11 volts DC and the B6 will not charge.

I experimented and found that I can use a 500 mAh "wall wart" charger and charge at 1.2 Amps maximum for 5X 600 mAh batteries. The 5 batteries are "spread over" the 1.2 amps for about 240 milliamps each.

COMPUTE THE REQUIREMENTS

The total input "wall wart" wattage required is not shown in the B6 manual, but the input charging wattage can be calculated. The 4.5 V (approximate charger charging voltage) multiplied by the target charging current of 1.2 Amps is 5.4 watts. 

You'll need something higher ( maybe 20-30% higher - depends in the chargers efficiency ) to charge at the 5.4 watts required. 30-50% is safe - lower stress on the charger and wall wart. This means the charger will have to output at LEAST 200% of the required 5.4 watts. That's about 11 watts.

11 watts divided by low lowest allowable input voltage of 11 volts is 1 ampere. Therefore, as calculated here, you will need a 11-18 volts, with a 1 Amp output charger to do the job. There will be some "cushion" as the charger will put of slightly more voltage. 

The result is the charger will last longer as it will not run hot. If the charger gets too hot, it means the charger is outputting too much current and may damage itself. Can't have that!

SO GET A WALL WART, A B6, 5X CABLE AND LETS GET STARTED

After flying, individually test the voltage of all the batteries using a voltmeter set to DC and with a maximum voltage selected that it higher that batteries highest voltage which is 4.2V.

I use the 20 volts DC scale. The next DC scale down is 2 volts - too low. You can use a higher meter setting but NOT a lower setting. If you get a "weird reading" check to see if your on "DC settings". DON'T use AC settings. Reads wrong :(

KEEP ON FLYING

PILOTS FLIGHT LOG

Also know as: Flight Log, Log Book , Drone Pilot Log, etc. It's used to keep a permanent written record of your flight time. There are multiple entries. I use this one for drone flying: 

 

  PILOTS FLIGHT LOG

 

The entries are: 

Date, Flight #, Drone info (model), Flight location (where you flew), Flight Conditions (weather, etc), Operational Issues (problems & situations), Remarks & Comments (anything else), Piloting Time ( time in, time out, total time).

 

The entries run from left to right. The in/out times are added to produce the total time. The total time is added in column format to get the page total. The page total is added to the previous page's total.

 

Do you need a Flight Log? Well, yes and no. 

 

The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) says,  if you are a pilot (PIC - Pilot in Command) flying any airplane at any time (even as a student), you WILL keep a flight log. 

 

But, they also disregard any "RC modelers" who fly model aircraft and/or drones, because they are NOT actually seated in the cockpit :)

 

If you are NOT going to charge money for your flying, you do NOT legally need flight log. If you DO plan on eventually charging money, the FAA will REQUIRE you to produce your log book(s) on demand.

 

Should you start using a log book now? Yes, I think you should. I predict that in the very near future, the FAA WILL require log books for drone pilots. 

 

It's a way to control and keep track of people. And control for drones is a big concern - no pun intended :). 

 

Expect it - it will happen.

 

In any event, it's a good idea. I can look back and tell you how many different drones I've flown and when the motor of my first drone died. I can tell you if most of my flying was during windy conditions - it was. I can show my total hours flight time. It's all there.

 

What about verification? Who's to say I just didn't make it all up?  I could have. If I ask the FAA for a waiver to fly comercially, they might say, "You'll need a flight check". 

 

I'd be screwed if I actually hadn't flown the hours I said I did. Don't mess with the FAA. Keep accurate logs.

 

The FAA rules are currently in a state of flux. They change almost daily. I believe log books for ALL drone pilots could happen. In fact, I'm betting on it. So should you.

 

One more thing. Remember that any entry can be read by anybody at any time. If you log "that flight", you know, the one where you took your Phantom 2 up to 800' AGL (Above The Ground) ?  

 

"Oh, yeah. That was killer!" 

 

Well, you just documented a crime in the eyes of the FAA. Maximum flight height for a drone is 400 feet AGL, or 200 feet AGL commercial usage or slightly higher with a waiver.

 

Don't log the evidence :) 

 

KEEP ON FLYING!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAA REGULATIONS

Note: all regulations are subject to change at any time.

FAA Overview of Small UAS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

 PDF DOWNLOAD

Small UAS NPRM - Federal Aviation Administration 

PDF DOWNLOAD

Unmanned Aircraft System

FAA SITE 

Apply for Section 333Waiver

FAA SITE

 

CUT AND PASTE ME

THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU BUY A DRONE

What will be the effect on others? What will the neighborhood think? Your friends? Your significant other? Give this some thought. Are you going to fly in your back yard? If so, expect the drone to "go over the fence". It happens. What about the neighbors dog? Do you have a HOA covenant? Better check it out :)  

Is there somewhere else you can fly it? A park, or other open area? What's the ground there like? You'll need grass or soft sand for the inevitable crashes that will occur. Children will ask you to let them fly it. You WILL say NO! In fact, you won't even fly when they are near. Think of all the things the COULD go wrong.

You'll need some spare cash. You will need a small drone. $60.00 will get you a very good one. Comes with one battery - last about 5-7 minutes then you go home and charge the battery for about an hour. Gets old the first time you do it. You know this because you did your homework. So you buy more batteries. 

I fly my UDI U818A quad 6 minutes per battery and then land and change batteries. The batteries will last longer. I carry 10 batteries. That's about $50.00 more from Amazon.com.

You bought spare rotors (props) right? That's another $5.00. Carrying all that stuff in a gunny sack? No, not for you. A carrying case for UDI U818A if only $25.00 - so you get one. Oh, and some AA batteries for the transmitter - $5.00. Lets add that up. $145.00 plus S&H.

Know the law. Easy enough except it's changing almost daily. Stay 5 miles from any airport and fly under 400 feet above ground level (AGL) and not over private property and you should be ok. Do you need license? Generally speaking, no. Unless your are flying for profit (hire) as a "commercial operator". 

If so, the FAA will demand that you either have a pilots license and/or a waiver or both. FAA controls ALL airspace over the USA used for commercial purposes. Charging Uncle Harry $10 to take video of his house which for sale, means you now NEED a license and/or permission. The FAA is where you'll get it.

Get in line. Hundreds are waiting for commercial approval as you read this. Police may stop you at the local park. They quote you "their" local law. Do you know what to say? You better. Check the park regulations. You'll find it on a sign on the edge of the park. No sign? Call the city. Ask them. Ask for something in writing or online. Print it out and keep it with you when you fly.

If the sign isn't there how are you going to explain the law as it currently stands in your area to the police? They won't know what the current law is. The MIGHT put a call in to the "Sarge" and ask him. He won't know. Don't believe me? Call your local police department. Tell them you have a question about drone flying. I'm willing to bet they'll refer you to the FAA.  Get you ducks in a row, now!

A drone is NOT a toy except it looks like a toy and it's made from China where they make all the affordable cheap toys selling for less than $50.00. All that's true except the drone can be a toy and a dangerous flying object at the same time. And you have no training :(  If you crash your "not-a-toy" drone into somebody's face and they sue you, are you insured.

"Well", you say. "I certainly am NOT going to crash it in somebody's face. No way that could ever happen!" Wanna bet? It can and somebody will. It's only a matter of time. Lawsuits can wipe you out financially. Don't let it be you! Get the rest of your ducks in a row. Call your insurance agent and see if your covered for something like this.

Practice-Practice-Practice. Do you tend to get all excited about things like: the latest iPhone, laptops, X-Box, tablets, and blue tooth gadget  that everybody stuffs in their ear? You know - technical toys? Can you follow through on the training? Guess who the teacher will be? That's right - YOU!

Learning to fly a drone semi-proficiently will take you about 10 to 25 flying hours and many more study hours to become a proficient small drone pilot. Well, now you know what to expect. Can you do it? Yes, I think you can. So what are you waiting for? Go for it :)

Keep on Flying!