ElectricFlight H
i Fliers: Visiting an E-Fly to participate or observe is almost a sure guarantee to learn some- thing new from the others that at-
tend and have a great time. Listed in the ac- companying box on the following page are some great E-Fly events that I’m sure you will all enjoy. The first two events have just passed but are worth keeping in mind for next year.
Revolectrix Cellpro Dual PowerLab 8x2
Aside from a crash, battery charging can be the most dangerous time for your LiPo pack. To get the longest life and performance from your batteries in complete safety, a quality battery charger is a must. I have used an FMA Direct (
www.fmadirect.com) Cellpro 4S balancing charger exclusively for years never having a single problem or safety issue. As my battery charging needs have grown though, it was coming time to upgrade. I went to the FMA Direct booth at last year’s NEAT Fair to see the new Cellpro Dual PowerLab 8x2. It has dual EC5 input cables capable of 1344 watts per channel for a total wattage of 2688 watts when powered with a 40-volt supply. While this charger may have more power than you need at the moment, it will be there if needed and you will still be able to enjoy the multitude of easy to use features that the Cellpro Dual PowerLab 8x2 has to offer, keeping you, your power supply and battery pack as safe as possible.
I was impressed with how easy it was to navigate through the control screens, mak- ing this charger very easy to learn. I’ll rec- ommend going to the FMA site for a com- plete roundup of every feature. You can also review the instruction manual which has links for further detail if needed. I printed out the manual for use in my shop.
by don belfort You can reach Don Belfortat 8250 Twin Cove Court, West Chester, Ohio, 45069
PHOTOGRAPHY: DON BELFORT
The Airborne Models Outrageous set up for E-F1 racing is a potent true flying machine. I do need some practice to feel comfortable at the controls.
Some of the major features are: selectable charge rates 10mA to 40A per channel, con- tinuous max output 1344W @ 39.53VDC in- put and 408W @ 12VDC. Independent input cables power each channel from a separate power supply to achieve max power. Smart Power Management allows the user to select between programmable input sources of a power supply or Lead-Acid storage cell with programmable low voltage and current lim- its. Regenerative discharge (used only with the storage cell setting) puts energy back
into your input power source rather than just making heat.
The free PC-based Charger Control Soft- ware is intuitive, allowing easy software/ firmware updates and complete control of the charger from a laptop or PC along with graphing options to monitor your packs. I first connected the Dual PowerLab 8x2 to my power supply which is rated for 12 volts at 16 amps. The first time you use the charg- er, or change your power supply or storage cell, you will set up volts and amps slightly
The instrument-quality Cellpro Dual PowerLab 8x2 by FMA (above left) has easy-to-program features galore with a max power output of 40 amps per channel. The Dual PowerLab 8x2 would make a great club charger. The optional
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Multi-Port Safe Parallel Adapter (above right) can parallel charge up to six 2S to 8S packs, or two 1S packs for indoor, or receiver and transmitter outputs. Every port is fuse-protected and it plugs right into the PowerLab 8x2.
JUNE 2014
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