SkyRC — IFA 2014 — MC3000 charger-analyzer

[OttaMattaPia]

So far, everything on this thing seems to work well. I was skeptical about buying it.

Even the Bluetooth app works perfectly.
I find the Bluetooth control very convenient.

I guess they've worked out most of the issues at this point. Patience pays ;-)

 

[Konflikt]

Mine sounds exactly the same. Have you found the problem? Solution?

I have exactly the same issue. what is this, how can I solve it?

 

[amf14]

I opened my unit and found nothing rubbing and everything looked good, I put it back together and the fan buzzing noise was gone :thinking:

I have no idea what was causing the problem, but just opening the unit fixed my fan issue.

I have exactly the same issue. what is this, how can I solve it?

Thanks Mp0w3r!

Maybe loosening the screws a solved it.

 

[OttaMattaPia]

They must have changed the fans....the one I just received is so quiet I JUST BARELY (If I put my ear right next to it) hear it, but I can feel the air moving and if I put my ear to it I can feel it humming ever so slightly.

Super quiet fan.

 

[dfacex]

What about charging this LTO (Lithium Titanate) Cells?

http://www.batteryspace.com/LTO-1865-Rechargeable-Cell-2.4V-1300-mAh-39A-rated-3.12Wh.aspx

 

[kreisl]

What about charging this LTO

LTO, what's that?

Haven't heard of it before afaik. Do you have a battery manufacturer's full datasheet PDF? I didn't find it on BU :thinking:
Sure we (=cpf community) could add it to mc3k firmware why not, it would be a straight-forward implementation with the charging algorithm being same-old-same-old cc-cv :tired:.

However we need to be clear and agree on the admissible voltage ranges and their defaults, Linden for example doesn't agree with the maximum limit as proposed by BU, and BU isn't consistent with the max limit recommendation either:

Depending on the specific lithium-ion battery chemistry that is used, the upper voltage limit on charge, as specified by the manufacturer, is usually limited between 4.1 to 4.3 V. On discharge, the cell voltage should not fall below 2.5 to 2.7 V. Newer lithium-ion and polymer formulations have significantly different over-voltage and undervoltage limits. Phosphate-based lithium-ion voltages have maximum limits near 3.8 V and minimums below 2.0 V. Titanate-based chemistries are even lower, with maximum limits near 2.5 V and minimums near 1.8 V. In all cases, the tolerance for primary detection is typically +/- 25 to 50mV for overvoltage conditions and +/– 50 to 100mV for undervoltage conditions. (…) nominal cell voltage 2.4V

BU-205 However, the battery is expensive and at 65Wh/kg the specific energy is low, rivalling that of NiCd. Li-titanate charges to 2.80V/cell, and the end of discharge is 1.80V/cell. (…) Summary Table Voltages 2.40V nominal; typical operating range 1.8–2.85V/cell Specific energy (capacity) 70–80Wh/kg Charge (C-rate) 1C typical; 5C maximum, charges to 2.85V Discharge (C-rate) 10C possible, 30C 5s pulse; 1.80V cut-off on LCO/LTO Cycle life 3,000–7,000
BU-216 Nominal voltage 2.40V Full charge 2.85V Full discharge 1.80V Minimal voltage 1.50V (est.)

Any suggestions?

Lithium voltage option	{admissible voltage range}	Default
LiIon CHARGE target voltage	{4.00|4.01|…|4.24|4.25}V	4.20V
LiIon CHARGE restart voltage	{OFF|3.98|3.99|…|4.17|4.18}V	OFF
LiIon STORAGE voltage	{3.65|3.66|…|3.99|4.00}V	3.80V
LiIon DISCHARGE cut-off	{2.50|2.51|…|3.64|3.65}V	3.00V
LiIo4.35 CHARGE target voltage	{4.10|4.11|…|4.39|4.40}V	4.35V
LiIo4.35 CHARGE restart voltage	{OFF|4.08|4.09|…|4.32|4.33}V	OFF
LiIo4.35 STORAGE voltage	{3.75|3.76|…|4.09|4.10}V	3.90V
LiIo4.35 DISCHARGE cut-off	{2.65|2.66|…|3.74|3.75}V	3.30V
LiFe CHARGE target voltage	{3.40|3.41|…|3.64|3.65}V	3.60V
LiFe CHARGE restart voltage	{OFF|3.38|3.39|…|3.57|3.58}V	OFF
LiFe STORAGE voltage	{3.15|3.16|…|3.39|3.40}V	3.30V
LiFe DISCHARGE cut-off	{2.00|2.01|…|3.14|3.15}V	2.90V
LTO CHARGE target voltage	{2.60|2.61|…|2.89|2.90}V ?	2.85V ?
LTO CHARGE restart voltage	{OFF|2.58|2.59|…|2.82|2.83}V ?	OFF
LTO STORAGE voltage	{2.25|2.26|…|2.59|2.60}V ?	2.40V ?
LTO DISCHARGE cut-off	{1.50|1.51|…|2.24|2.25}V ?	1.80V ?

hehe. this thread seems to motivate longtime lurkers to (finally) post something (again). hh

 

[dfacex]

Do you have a battery manufacturer's full datasheet PDF?

Here it is:
http://www.batteryspace.com/prod-specs/7472.pdf

Based on datasheet, my calculations would be:

Lithium voltage option	{admissible voltage range}	Default
LTO CHARGE target voltage	{2.65|2.66|…|2.89|2.90}V	2.85V
LTO CHARGE restart voltage	{OFF|2.63|2.64|…|2.82|2.83}V	OFF
LTO STORAGE voltage	{1.90|1.91|…|2.16|2.17}V	2.04V
LTO DISCHARGE cut-off	{1.50|1.51|…|3.64|3.65}V	1.80V

P.S.
BTW I found out, that Sony VTC6 Cut Off Voltage is 2.0V, but why it's not possible to set this value on mc3k?
Datasheet:
https://www.imrbatteries.com/content/sony_us18650vtc6-2.pdf

 

[dfacex]

Sorry, Can't edit my post... in DISCHARGE cut-off i made a little typo

{1.50|1.51|…|3.64|3.65}V

must be
{1.50|1.51|…|2.64|2.65}V

 

[kreisl]

my calculations would be:

Lithium voltage option	{admissible voltage range}	Default
LTO CHARGE target voltage	{2.65|2.66|…|2.89|2.90}V	2.85V
LTO CHARGE restart voltage	{OFF|2.63|2.64|…|2.82|2.83}V	OFF
LTO STORAGE voltage	{1.90|1.91|…|2.16|2.17}V	2.04V
LTO DISCHARGE cut-off	{1.50|1.51|…|2.64|2.65}V	1.80V

Great 2 pdf's and thanks for your voltage range suggestion! I think you got Storage and Discharge wrong, they are not following the original scheme. According to the Design Spec the original scheme be that
CHARGE ∩ STORAGE ∩ DISCHARGE = Ø
So how about the following set? Should be error-free now:

Lithium voltage option	{admissible voltage range}	Default
LTO CHARGE target voltage	{2.60|2.61|…|2.89|2.90}V	2.85V
LTO CHARGE restart voltage	{OFF|2.58|2.59|…|2.82|2.83}V	OFF
LTO STORAGE voltage	{2.25|2.26|…|2.59|2.60}V	2.40V
LTO DISCHARGE cut-off	{1.50|1.51|…|2.24|2.25}V	1.80V

Oh that Sony VTC6 performs exceptional! oo: It will be no problem to lower the lower bound to 2.50V in the firmware, thanks for the pointer, appreciated.
lovecpf

LTO has been noted in de list, and i would expect this and the 2.50V change to be included in the next firmware update release. But please don't hold your breath, it could take months before the small batch of new k#'s gets processed, finally. the batch must be sizable to make their work time worthwhile or sum ting.

 

[dfacex]

I think you got Storage and Discharge wrong

Yep, you are right about scheme, i missed that point.

Now it looks good, thanks!

 

[OttaMattaPia]

Odd occurrence today with the MC3K and DEX.....

Refreshing an INR 18650 3000mAh Samsung 30Q...but it got stuck on the first discharge cycle....

Program set to .7A discharge current
Cutoff voltage at 3.0v

For reasons I can't discover, the charger went to 0.0A discharge current when the battery was at 3.1v and never recovered.

That caused it to "hang" (because it could never reach 3.0v if there was zero discharge current)...and so it sat for an hour at 3.1v until I noticed....which is not good to leave batteries that far discharged for long so I was a bit disappointed with the charger. I'm not certain, but my guess would be that the charger failed to account for the rebound voltage after the discharge load was removed.

Here is the log entry where it went from 3.1v to 3.0v after about 4.5 hours....
00:16.277 / 3.00 / -0.7 / 2766 / 2.1 / 10.2 / 27.7 / 24 / 41.6

Here is the log entry where the discharge current dropped to zero........about 3 minutes and 45 seconds later.....
00:16.501 / 3.00 / 0.0 / 2809 / 1.3 / 10.3 / 27.7 / 24 / 39.8

Then the battery voltage rebounded back up to 3.1v.....only 36 seconds later...(probably because the discharge load was removed)
00:16.537 / 3.10 / 0.0 / 2809 / 0 / 10.3 / 27.6 / 24 / 38.5

And almost an hour later......still at 3.1v....and 0 current (stuck forever!)
00:19.711 / 3.10 / 0.0 / 2809 / 0 / 10.3 / 25.7 / 24 / 26



Here were the program parameters....

• Battery Type: LiIo
• Mode: Refresh
• Capacity:3000
• Charge Current: 1.0A
• Discharge Current: .7A
• Charge Cut Voltage: 4.2
• Discharge Cut Voltage: 3.0
• Charge Cut Current: 0.1
• Discharge Cut Current: 0.5
• Cut Temp: 45C
• Cut Time: OFF

The Temp never exceeded 42C for the system or 29C for the batteries

Anyone have any idea why it did this and how to avoid it?

Thanks

 

[kreisl]

your log says "3.0V", so the charger reached cut-off voltage -you set it to 3.0V didnt you- and current dropped to "0.0A". sounds legit to me!

what symbol are you seeing in TOV when the current is 0.0A? the symbol indicates the operation mode and or the routine, in which the charger currently is.

 

[OttaMattaPia]

your log says "3.0V", so the charger reached cut-off voltage -you set it to 3.0V didnt you- and current dropped to "0.0A". sounds legit to me!
what symbol are you seeing in TOV when the current is 0.0A? the symbol indicates the operation mode and or the routine, in which the charger currently is.

I could understand that if it was in Discharge mode. But it wasn't. That's my concern.
It was in Refresh mode as I said above, and it essentially left the batteries discharged.

IIRC, it showed the up/down arrow and was in Refresh mode.
I wasn't expecting the charger to leave the battery dead. I was expecting it to Charge > Discharge > Charge and then leave it fully topped off. Isn't that Refresh operation?

The only possible explanation I can think of is IF the rest period between the charge and discharge or discharge and charge is a full hour. And I don't think it is.

If that is not the explanation, then it could be a firmware bug.

 

[kreisl]

haha.....I see what you did there ;-)

 

[OttaMattaPia]

How can we know how long the rest period is? It should be noted somewhere in the manual me thinks, did you check?

haha.....I see what you did there ;-)

Thanks!

Definitely a learning curve for an old goat like me.

 

[dfacex]

Can we hook to MC3000's one of the battery channels, something similar to this universal external cellphone battery charger dock cradle? Will it charge discharge cellphone batteries without problems? Any specific parameters needed? Someone tried to charge, test phone batteries with mc3000?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New...for-Smartphone-Drop-Shipping/32742006874.html

 

[kreisl]

Testing smartphone batteries

Started by kreisl, 01-10-2016 02:41 PM

Yes you could misuse the AX thing as holder for your smartphone battery. You'd still need to wire up its cable to the positive and the negative terminals of the mc3k slot. :huh:

( for smartphone batteries there is imho no advantage of misusing the mc3k instead of a hobby charger like IMAX B6 other than for better accuracy and graphing capability. i don't do it anymore because all new premium-like phones with metal or glass housing have built-in batteries and one would have to break the sealing of the smartphone screen to get to the battery. me not likey. )

 

[dfacex]

Oh, Thank you kreisl for quick and helpful response!

 

[Nev]

If it charges by usb ,you can charge it with a drok or similar usb tester inline to get mha put into the battery , that's what I do to my iPhone & iPad.
I also do it when charging my led lenser H7.2 , from empty it shows virtually the mha that's it's suppose to have (1400) Same with phone , it shows about 2000 mha short of the speck iPad mha but it is a few years old now.

 

[HighLight]

Did some Googling, and found it.

Two codes (sounds like either work, I used the top one) - 12% off, for use on Gearbest.com:
GB17LED
GBCHS
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2844265-SKYRC-MC3000-Charger-(-79-19)

Just ordered one myself (included free 3-7 day shipping :rock

Just ordered the MC3000 from GearBest using the top code and saved 12%.You have to register on the site first. Best price I can get here in Canada and it seems like free expedited shipping. Thanks for that code!