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I recently received a WLB817 battery with its charger.
The instructions say to use only the originale charger? but then also says to use a balanced charger in un-balanced configuration for max 3A.
Has anyone loaded the battery with a different charger?
Tnx
--
73 by Max IK0TIX
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I use the charger that came with the battery
Been working fine for at least 5 years
Best accessory for the 817 John ve3ips -- Sent with a Palm Pilot.
Radio: it's not just a hobby, it's a way of life
All content is personal and confidential
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I had no doubt about the original charger.
In my go-kit I have the balanced charger for my 6000mAh LiPo.
One like this:?
I would like to use only a charger.
This balanced charger can be configured to operate as un-balanced and with variable current (f.e. 1-3A).
Can I use it to charge the WLB-817? Has anyone tried it?
-- 73 by Max IK0TIX
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Can't say that I have charged it with anything other than the included charger, but I did email Eric Liu, the WindCamp guy, to ask about using a solar panel and controller.? His answer, although not as detailed as I would like, seemed to say as long as you are supplying 12.6 volts then you are good to go.? For what it's worth, here's he words below, and his email if you chose to email him.? :-)
Lynn - KW4WL
Hi Lynn,
Thanks buy the?WINDCAMP?series products!
The charging limit voltage of WLB-817s is 12.60v (not 12V), so I suggest that if the output voltage of the?solar?panel cannot reach this stable value, a dc-dc circuit should be used to adjust the output voltage to 12.60v before connecting the battery for charging.
According to your description, the output power of your?solar?panel should be relatively small. In case of emergency use, it is also possible to directly connect the?solar?panel to the lithium battery pack. After all, the lithium battery pack has built-in charging protection board.However, if long-term stable use is needed, I still recommend to keep the charging voltage stable at 12.60v, so as to ensure the charging safety to the greatest extent.
Good luck!
------------------ Eric Liu,BG9DW WINDCAMP?Workshop http: E-mail:bg9dw@...Add:LiJing Rd.1,DongSheng Town,ZhongShan City,CHINA
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Hmmm ¨C I understand it fully.? But then ¨C I have 2 kW of available solar, several experimental panels, run 200w of solar on my off-road camping trailer, and at work I have up to 110 MW (that is 110 million watts) of solar integrated into our balancing area. ? His information is quite clear.? At least what he supplied to you.? The battery has a built-in charge controller.? For a full charge, you need at least 12.6 VDC into the battery charge circuit. ? What he did not specify was a maximum voltage, and a rated current.? You could get an acceptable current rating by looking at the max current available from the supplied charger.?? I would feel comfortable with up to 15 VDC supplied. ? So ¨C to recap.? Your solar panel and charge controller combination should output at least 12.6 volts, but not more than 15 volts.? And it should be able to supply a steady current of at least the rating of the supplied wall charger.? If your system meets that spec, you should be good to go. ? Mike ¨C KD5KC -- El Paso -- Texas. ? The canyons are calling, colorful and deep.? But I have promises to keep. And miles to go still in my Jeep...?? And miles to go still in my Jeep... ? 
? ADVENTURE:? The respectful pursuit of trouble. ? ? ? ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Michael Francis
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2019 7:59 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [ft817] Windcamp WLB 817 - recharge with a charger for LIPO ? Can't say that I have charged it with anything other than the included charger, but I did email Eric Liu, the WindCamp guy, to ask about using a solar panel and controller.? His answer, although not as detailed as I would like, seemed to say as long as you are supplying 12.6 volts then you are good to go.? For what it's worth, here's he words below, and his email if you chose to email him.? :-) ? Thanks buy the?WINDCAMP?series products! The charging limit voltage of WLB-817s is 12.60v (not 12V), so I suggest that if the output voltage of the?solar?panel cannot reach this stable value, a dc-dc circuit should be used to adjust the output voltage to 12.60v before connecting the battery for charging. According to your description, the output power of your?solar?panel should be relatively small. In case of emergency use, it is also possible to directly connect the?solar?panel to the lithium battery pack. After all, the lithium battery pack has built-in charging protection board.However, if long-term stable use is needed, I still recommend to keep the charging voltage stable at 12.60v, so as to ensure the charging safety to the greatest extent. Eric Liu,BG9DW
WINDCAMP?Workshop
http:
E-mail:bg9dw@...
Add:LiJing Rd.1,DongSheng Town,ZhongShan City,CHINA
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Hello. The instructions I got with my kit said you could charge the battery with such a charger. However you had to set up the charger as non- balanced configuration. Being a avid RC Pilot, both planes, quads and copters, I had to try to charge the battery with my LiPo charger set to non balanced charging. Did not work. Due to the regulatory PC BOARD, built in the battery, I could not charge it. The charger would show "Cell error". THE ONLY difference between the LiIon battery in the kit and my regular aircraft battery is the control board on the kit battery. Any 12 volt wall wort charger with a max charge current of 3 amps can be used. However the charger that comes with the kit has a LED charge indicator that shows when the battery is fully charged. The control board on the battery is looking for 12 volts dc to charge the battery. Being the LiPo - LiIon charger can not measure the voltage and internal resistance of the battery due to the control board on the battery, it will not charge it. I would highly recommend using the wall charger that came with the kit, or similar one to charge the kit battery with the LED on it you will know when the battery is fully charged. Hope this helps. Tom Lambert KC7BJE?
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I'm following this with interest because, although I don't have exactly the same question as posed above, I am looking for some way to charge the LiPo without using mains AC, i.e. from a 12v dc source.
I have a unit to lift 12v to 15-16v without difficulty, rated at around 6A but I haven't been able to find the correct technique for charging LiPo batteries.
Constant current or constant voltage, or a combination of the two, over a timed interval?
If anyone could point me towards suitable text, that would be great, and if someone knows what signals the red led on he wallwart to turn green, that would be a start!
Thanks
John G0GCD
?
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John,
Here is one article on charging LiFePO4 batteries.? It is from a company who is probably going to try to sell you a charger, hi, but seems good info.
73, ron, n9ee/r Ron Wright, N9EE/R Hernando Co ARES EC
BSEE Micro Computer Concepts Spring Hill, Florida
146.64 repeater, 1100 ft HAAT 352-835-5610
On Saturday, November 16, 2019, 11:11:29 AM EST, John-G0GCD <g0gcd@...> wrote:
I'm following this with interest because, although I don't have exactly the same question as posed above, I am looking for some way to charge the LiPo without using mains AC, i.e. from a 12v dc source.
I have a unit to lift 12v to 15-16v without difficulty, rated at around 6A but I haven't been able to find the correct technique for charging LiPo batteries.
Constant current or constant voltage, or a combination of the two, over a timed interval?
If anyone could point me towards suitable text, that would be great, and if someone knows what signals the red led on he wallwart to turn green, that would be a start!
Thanks
John G0GCD
?
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It is some time since I used Lithium-Ion batteries professionally and I have no idea if Li-Po batteries are different.
What I DO remember is you have to be VERY careful charging Li-Ion packs. They can be little bombs unless very carefully charged. I would STRONGLY advise using a properly designed charger.
As I said, I have no experience of Li-Po packs. What I do recall was that about 1 in 150000 Li-Ion packs failed and product recalls were a nightmare and very expensive. Is it any wonder computer makers and mobile phone makers are very scared of recalls?
I know of at least one person who had her flat burnt down whilst charging a mobile phone unattended.
All I am saying is treat Lithium Ion cells with great care. Do NOT be tempted to take shortcuts. It could cost you your home or life.
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Perfect Ron, very useful, many thanks.
Noted Roger. In my early days at Philips, I witnessed the effect of a NiCd battery pack being overcharged. The pack's internal wiring insulation melted and the energy released from the resulting short circuit of the?cells blew a 4inch diameter hole through a very substantial bench. A good lesson learned early in?my career. I am aware of the?more recent press regarding incidents of Lithium batteries releasing their energy in explosive ways too! Extra care? Certainly...
Thanks all
John?
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BE CAREFUL! ? Li-Fe-PO4? does not charge the same as? Li-Po. ? Battery University ¨C a place where you can spend hours studying up on anything battery related. ? ? Vy73 - Mike - KD5KC. El Paso, Texas - DM61rt. SOTA W5T-Texas Association Manager. NA-SOTA info is at:? ? ? ? ? ?
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From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Ron Wright via Groups.Io Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2019 9:32 AM To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [ft817] Windcamp WLB 817 - recharge with a charger for LIPO ? Here is one article on charging LiFePO4 batteries.? It is from a company who is probably going to try to sell you a charger, hi, but seems good info.  ?
| | How to charge Lithium Iron Phosphate lithium ion battery packs includi...High capacity LiFePO4, Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries. |
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Spring Hill, Florida
146.64 repeater, 1100 ft HAAT On Saturday, November 16, 2019, 11:11:29 AM EST, John-G0GCD <g0gcd@...> wrote: I'm following this with interest because, although I don't have exactly the same question as posed above, I am looking for some way to charge the LiPo without using mains AC, i.e. from a 12v dc source.
I have a unit to lift 12v to 15-16v without difficulty, rated at around 6A but I haven't been able to find the correct technique for charging LiPo batteries.
Constant current or constant voltage, or a combination of the two, over a timed interval?
If anyone could point me towards suitable text, that would be great, and if someone knows what signals the red led on he wallwart to turn green, that would be a start!
Thanks
John G0GCD
?
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The papers you gave the link to applies to that type battery ONLY. Each different type of Lithium battery takes a different charge voltage as well as current. The types of chargers we use in the RC Field has settings for most of the varieties, LiIon, Li-Poly and other Lithium?chemistries. The types of Chargers we use are CPU controlled with software settings for the type batteries that is being charged. The Li-Ion battery in the Windcamp? kit or those made like it that are made for the FT-817 have a controller PCB that not only charges the battery but also protects it from over charging and from over discharging the cells.? That type of system requires a constant and regulated voltage and current. Again that is due to the control board attached to the battery. A battery without a control board requires a specific charger made for it Also the "C" rating of the battery has to be considered when charging. The "C" rating of a battery is used to determine the charging current used. Our RC Club and others in RC has used multiple types of Lithium batteries and Chargers for over 10 or more years. May I suggest to anyone who does not really know how to use, charge or handle any of the Lithium types of batteries contact your local Radio Control Club members. We or they have used, charged and handled these batteries for many years. We do not know everything due to many new Lithium chemistries being used in new batteries, but we do keep up on them. If you intend to use them also, PLEASE, make sure you use the appropriate Chargers, charging containers and know how to handle them. They ARE dangerous. No matter the Chemistry. Tom Lambert KC7BJE?
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My emergency call button contains an Li Battery. At least I know they are dangerous.? Hell the service I got it from was unaware of that fact. 72/73 DR TIMOTHY-ALLEN ALBERTSON
KD?OIA/(ex KG6IRH)
The papers you gave the link to applies to that type battery ONLY. Each different type of Lithium battery takes a different charge voltage as well as current. The types of chargers we use in the RC Field has settings for most of the varieties, LiIon, Li-Poly and other Lithium?chemistries. The types of Chargers we use are CPU controlled with software settings for the type batteries that is being charged. The Li-Ion battery in the Windcamp? kit or those made like it that are made for the FT-817 have a controller PCB that not only charges the battery but also protects it from over charging and from over discharging the cells.? That type of system requires a constant and regulated voltage and current. Again that is due to the control board attached to the battery. A battery without a control board requires a specific charger made for it Also the "C" rating of the battery has to be considered when charging. The "C" rating of a battery is used to determine the charging current used. Our RC Club and others in RC has used multiple types of Lithium batteries and Chargers for over 10 or more years. May I suggest to anyone who does not really know how to use, charge or handle any of the Lithium types of batteries contact your local Radio Control Club members. We or they have used, charged and handled these batteries for many years. We do not know everything due to many new Lithium chemistries being used in new batteries, but we do keep up on them. If you intend to use them also, PLEASE, make sure you use the appropriate Chargers, charging containers and know how to handle them. They ARE dangerous. No matter the Chemistry. Tom Lambert KC7BJE?
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And... let's not forget that virtually every cell phone and every laptop computer, tablet, etc., has a lithium battery inside. ?Most phones run off a single cell battery and are designed to use a 5 volt charging source. ?I have a little gadget that I can insert into the USB cable that's used to recharge those devices. ?The gadget is a voltage and current metering device, so I can see exactly how much power is going into the device when charging. ?It also confirms when charging is complete, because the current draw is down to almost zero. ?This also tells me that the device has an internal battery management system.
73 de Ray
K2ULR
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Im using a power supply to run my laptop, hotspot and cell. Got cigarette plugs with LCD inpuit V, output V and output A 72/73 DR TIMOTHY-ALLEN ALBERTSON
KD?OIA/(ex KG6IRH)
On Sun, Nov 17, 2019 at 8:32 AM Raymond Sills via Groups.Io <raysills3= [email protected]> wrote:
And... let's not forget that virtually every cell phone and every laptop computer, tablet, etc., has a lithium battery inside.? Most phones run off a single cell battery and are designed to use a 5 volt charging source.? I have a little gadget that I can insert into the USB cable that's used to recharge those devices.? The gadget is a voltage and current metering device, so I can see exactly how much power is going into the device when charging.? It also confirms when charging is complete, because the current draw is down to almost zero.? This also tells me that the device has an internal battery management system.
73 de Ray
K2ULR
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And the deep cycle batteries and solar panels will be here soon.? Also run my ft817 off of them too. 72/73 DR TIMOTHY-ALLEN ALBERTSON
KD?OIA/(ex KG6IRH)
On Sun, Nov 17, 2019 at 8:36 AM Timothy-Allen Albertson via Groups.Io <kd0oia= [email protected]> wrote: Im using a power supply to run my laptop, hotspot and cell. Got cigarette plugs with LCD inpuit V, output V and output A 72/73 DR TIMOTHY-ALLEN ALBERTSON
KD?OIA/(ex KG6IRH)
On Sun, Nov 17, 2019 at 8:32 AM Raymond Sills via Groups.Io <raysills3= [email protected]> wrote:
And... let's not forget that virtually every cell phone and every laptop computer, tablet, etc., has a lithium battery inside.? Most phones run off a single cell battery and are designed to use a 5 volt charging source.? I have a little gadget that I can insert into the USB cable that's used to recharge those devices.? The gadget is a voltage and current metering device, so I can see exactly how much power is going into the device when charging.? It also confirms when charging is complete, because the current draw is down to almost zero.? This also tells me that the device has an internal battery management system.
73 de Ray
K2ULR
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On Sat, Nov 16, 2019 at 09:59 AM, Clyde Lambert wrote:
Hello.
The instructions I got with my kit said you could charge the battery with such a charger. However you had to set up the charger as non- balanced configuration. Being a avid RC Pilot, both planes, quads and copters, I had to try to charge the battery with my LiPo charger set to non balanced charging. Did not work.
Due to the regulatory PC BOARD, built in the battery, I could not charge it. The charger would show "Cell error". THE ONLY difference between the LiIon battery in the kit and my regular aircraft battery is the control board on the kit battery.
Any 12 volt wall wort charger with a max charge current of 3 amps can be used. However the charger that comes with the kit has a LED charge indicator that shows when the battery is fully charged. The control board on the battery is looking for 12 volts dc to charge the battery.
Being the LiPo - LiIon charger can not measure the voltage and internal resistance of the battery due to the control board on the battery, it will not charge it.
I would highly recommend using the wall charger that came with the kit, or similar one to charge the kit battery with the LED on it you will know when the battery is fully charged.
Hope this helps.
Tom Lambert KC7BJE?
Clyde,
thank you very much, it is the kind of experience I was looking for. Thanks for the answer even if, frankly, I was hoping for another outcome.
It seems to me that you have done all the tests I would have done these days too. In my GoKit I will have to find space for another charger. What a pity!
? -- 73 by Max IK0TIX
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Hello,
You are going to find a heck of a lot of Chargers out there.
There are single charge port to multiple ports. The main thing in choosing a charger is make sure it will charge different types or chemistries of LiIon batteries.
Lithium ion, lithium poly ect.
As I suggested before, go to your local RC hobby shop or if you want to get one via mail order, HorizonHobbies.com.
The one I have, actually one of many, will charge different Li-ion chemistries, but also, SLA, ni-cad and metal hydride type batteries. Single to multiple cells, two charge ports and balanced or un- balanced. It will charge, discharge and cycle batteries.
Hope this helps,
Tom KC7BJE?
All software and menu selected and controlled.
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Clyde,
the type of charger I have is of the type you described.
The problem is what you said: if the battery charger recharges the battery, there is no end-of-charge confirmation.
I think the charging circuit, present in the after-market cover, actually blocks the power supply.
For this the original charger LED turns green.
But, if I use the RC charger (configured unbalanced), what happens when the charging circuit, contained in the cover, cuts the power supply?
Does my RC charger continue to pump energy or does it notice that it no longer requests power?
It seems to me that you did this test.
--
73 by Max IK0TIX
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Well... I think that this falls into the 'too complicated' bucket.
My solution will be to use a 12vdc to 240vac inverter, driving the supplied wallwart charger.
Job done...
Beauty of that solution is, I can also use a 240vac to 12vdc psu to run the FT817 'off the mains' whilst recharging the battery?!
Thanks again
John G0GCD
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John
Clyde Lambert