Trig TT21 Transponder ... reports?

On Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:04:35 -0700, Eric Greenwell wrote:

The Pro-Peak appears to be identical to the Multiplex LN5014 that I
already have. I like the charger, it works well, it's simple to use, and
is very handy for the glider and other purposes, but I still wish for
one that charged 12 volt SLA batteries at 14.6 volts instead of 14.0,
and would discharge at 1 amp or more, instead of only 0.4 amps.

That last sentence makes it unlikely that they are identical - the Pro-
Peak has a max. discharge rate of 1.0 A. I don't think I ever turned it
up that far, but I've certainly run discharges at 0.5A and know I could
have set it higher.

Its branded and distributed by Ripmax, a UK model supplies distributor,
but its almost certainly an OEM device. Sez on the box that it was made
in Korea but all addresses, etc. are in the UK.

Maybe someone has another recommendation?

There are considerably better chargers on the market, but you'll pay the
difference. Ask your local friendly electric RC competition flyer if you
want that sort of kit or, if you can't find one, contacting the AMA,
http://www.modelaircraft.org/ and asking them for names might be useful.
Likely a better bet than talking to an RC sport flyer, anyway.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

I have a Triton (first generation) multi-mode charger that will charge
NiCad, NiMH, LiPoly and SLA. It will cycle and record capacity and
both the charge and discharge rates can be adjusted.

In the US it is distributed by Great Planes hobby company. Their
products are carried in most hobby shops. The URL for the most
current version, Triton2 is he

http://www.electrifly.com/chargers/gpmm3153.html

Most modelers use the same 8AH size SLA that are found in sailplanes
and this charger is used to keep them charged.

Mike

SoaringXCellence wrote:
I have a Triton (first generation) multi-mode charger that will charge
NiCad, NiMH, LiPoly and SLA. It will cycle and record capacity and
both the charge and discharge rates can be adjusted.


I'll throw my 2 cents in. Ive been using the Accumate charger
(http://www.accumate.com/612/) for the last 9 years. Hook up the battery
and forget about it until you need it. I cycle though 2 batteries -
bring a fresh one to the field, return with the other to recharge.

What I would like is an effective way to measure battery capacity - that
doesn't cost more than the charger.

Tony "6N"

On 8/23/2010 3:43 PM, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:04:35 -0700, Eric Greenwell wrote:


The Pro-Peak appears to be identical to the Multiplex LN5014 that I
already have. I like the charger, it works well, it's simple to use, and
is very handy for the glider and other purposes, but I still wish for
one that charged 12 volt SLA batteries at 14.6 volts instead of 14.0,
and would discharge at 1 amp or more, instead of only 0.4 amps.


That last sentence makes it unlikely that they are identical - the Pro-
Peak has a max. discharge rate of 1.0 A. I don't think I ever turned it
up that far, but I've certainly run discharges at 0.5A and know I could
have set it higher.

The Multiplex will discharge up to 1 amp, but it also has a 5 watt
discharge limit. At 12 volts, that means a current of 0.4 amps. I can
set it for a 1 amp discharge, but it won't exceed that 5 watt limit,
automatically using only a 0.4 amp discharge.

It would be great if the Pro-Peak can discharge 12 volt batteries at one
amp. Can you check your manual for the watt limit? Or try to discharge a
12 volt battery at 1 amp? If it will do the 1 amp, let it run for a
couple of hours to see if it survives. My interest in the discharge rate
comes from having 18 ah and 36 ah batteries in my motorglider, so a 0.4
amp discharge rate takes forever (two full days for just the 18 ah battery)!
Its branded and distributed by Ripmax, a UK model supplies distributor,
but its almost certainly an OEM device. Sez on the box that it was made
in Korea but all addresses, etc. are in the UK.

They don't seem to offer it any more, and I can't find a manual for it,
so maybe it's moot. They do offer the Imax B5, which is functionally
identical to the Multiplex, so it's not any help.

About a year ago, I did do some searching and asking around about 12 vdc
input chargers, but the units I found were expensive ($200) and
complicated, not the kind of thing I'd recommend to average pilot who
just wants to charge and test his batteries, not develop a new hobby!

--

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (netto to net to email me)

- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz

On 8/23/2010 5:04 PM, SoaringXCellence wrote:
I have a Triton (first generation) multi-mode charger that will charge
NiCad, NiMH, LiPoly and SLA. It will cycle and record capacity and
both the charge and discharge rates can be adjusted.

In the US it is distributed by Great Planes hobby company. Their
products are carried in most hobby shops. The URL for the most
current version, Triton2 is he

http://www.electrifly.com/chargers/gpmm3153.html

This looks like a better choice to me than the Multiplex, based on it's
20 watt/1.6 amp@12volt discharge capability. The only quibble so far
seems to be the 90 ma shut-off point is rather low for my 18 and 36 ah
batteries, but the shut-off timer might be adequate instead.

Do you know what voltage it uses to charge a 12 volt battery? The manual
didn't seem to specify the voltage.

--

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (netto to net to email me)

- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz

On 8/23/2010 5:38 PM, Tony V wrote:

What I would like is an effective way to measure battery capacity -
that doesn't cost more than the charger.
I like the CBA for discharge tests (westmountainradio.com), but it's
$150 price may be too high if you don't want to be a battery geek. The
Triton2 that SoaringXcellence suggested would do a good job, and it's
only $100 from Tower Hobbies. The Multiplex LN5014 is $75 from Tower,
good if the 0.4 amp discharge rate is OK for you.

The CBA is discharge testing only, but the other two will also
charge/discharge four types of batteries. They are powered from from a
12 volt source, like a battery or an AC input, 12 volt DC output supply.
There may be cheaper discharge testing units, but I don't know of any.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (netto to net to email me)

- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz

On Aug 23, 5:38*pm, Tony V wrote:

What I would like is an effective way to measure battery capacity - that
doesn't cost more than the charger.

My experience says that's a waste of time and money. About 20 years
ago I invested a lot of time in measuring SLA discharge
characteristics in the hope I could predict the failure of the glider
battery. What I found was that most failures were caused by one cell
going bad and that it was not predictable. The battery keeps looking
good with only a slow decay in capacity until the flight where one
cell goes bad and there is very obvious fall off in performance.

Maybe measurement techniques are better now. I loaded the batteries
to sink about 1 amp and continuously sampled voltage and current using
the game port of my Beeb computer. The software stored off the values
and plotted the results in real time All the results were saved to a
data file and periodic testing and comparison of the discharge plots
showed how the battery was holding up. Despite all the data I was
never able to to predict the cell failure that rendered the battery
useless.

My solution was to buy a new glider that had room for 2 batteries.

Andy (GY)

On Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:04:39 -0700, Eric Greenwell wrote:

The Multiplex will discharge up to 1 amp, but it also has a 5 watt
discharge limit. At 12 volts, that means a current of 0.4 amps. I can
set it for a 1 amp discharge, but it won't exceed that 5 watt limit,
automatically using only a 0.4 amp discharge.

Reversing myself - I think the Pro-Peak is functionally identical and
probably the same OEM kit as the Multiplex. I just started a discharge of
a 12v SLA at 1v. When I started the run it immediately dropped the rate
to 0.39A and now, 22mAh later its running at 0.4A and 12.6V.

Just to see if we're talking about the same machine, mine is:
- a rectangluar metal box 110 x 76 x 25 mm
- ventilating slots on the left front edge and the right rear edge,
front of the left edge and rear of the right edge
- power inlet cable through a grommet on the left side
- outlet is two banana plugs on the right side
- two line yellow backlit LCD display center rear of the top surface
- four push buttons center front of the top surface labelled
Batt type, dec, inc, enter/start/stop

It would be great if the Pro-Peak can discharge 12 volt batteries at one
amp. Can you check your manual for the watt limit?

Blasted manual doesn't mention a 5 watt limit or anything about limiting
the discharge rate it 5 watts.

They don't seem to offer it any more, and I can't find a manual for it,
so maybe it's moot. They do offer the Imax B5, which is functionally
identical to the Multiplex, so it's not any help.

I'd have said the Pro-Peak Gallant is the replacement to to Prodigy II
and that the IMAX B5 is the same OEM guts in a different case.

If I was after a new charger or an small upgrade for the Prodigy II, I'd
probably be following SoaringXcellence's advice and going for the
Triton2. I see that Tower Hobbies and Amazon are both selling it for
$99.98 or thereabouts.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

"Eric Greenwell" wrote

The Pro-Peak appears to be identical to the Multiplex LN5014 that I
already have. I like the charger, it works well, it's simple to use, and
is very handy for the glider and other purposes, but I still wish for one
that charged 12 volt SLA batteries at 14.6 volts instead of 14.0, and
would discharge at 1 amp or more, instead of only 0.4 amps.

Maybe someone has another recommendation?

MMmmmm. I am not so sure why you would want to go for more charge voltage.
From what I read, that higher voltage is very harmful to SLA batteries.
Same reading says not to use a charger meant for car batteries (flooded lead
acid) because of the higher voltage hurting the sealed versions.

I have never used a multi stage charger. I only use a small float charger,
which I normally charge and leave on floating for 3 or so days, then remove
it until a month later, then charge with the float charger again for one
day.

The thing I have found that kills SLA quicker than crap, is leaving them
sitting around in a low charge state. That, and do not use an adapter or
jumpers to charge it from a running car electrical system. I once destroyed
a battery in one weekend, using that idea. After that, I read about the
higher charge being a "bad thing" and now I believe it.
--
Jim in NC

"Tony V" wrote in message
...
SoaringXCellence wrote:
I have a Triton (first generation) multi-mode charger that will charge
NiCad, NiMH, LiPoly and SLA. It will cycle and record capacity and
both the charge and discharge rates can be adjusted.


I'll throw my 2 cents in. Ive been using the Accumate charger
(http://www.accumate.com/612/) for the last 9 years. Hook up the battery
and forget about it until you need it. I cycle though 2 batteries - bring
a fresh one to the field, return with the other to recharge.

What I would like is an effective way to measure battery capacity - that
doesn't cost more than the charger.

Here is a very cheap, low tec solution. Make a jumper to tie into your
battery, that has a regular car taillight bulb soldered into the circuit.
Hook it to your battery and measure (inline, of course) the amperage
discharge with a volt ohm meter. Use that reading as the discharge rate,
and hook up the setup while you are sitting around, and take a voltage
reading every 10 minutes, and graph the voltage, time along the horizontal,
and voltage on the vertical. You will see the voltage take a quick nose
dive, at some point. The last reading along your graph before it dives is
you time value you use to figure the capacity. Use some math to figure the
capacity. Like if the drain was one amp, it should take 7 hours to
discharge a 7 amp hour battery.
--
Jim in NC