The solo batter uses an proprietary plug and charger. Does anybody know if 3DR will sell an adapter so I can charge 3 batteries at once with my RC chargers and Efuel DC power supply?
Thanks
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It sounds like the battery balance circuit is inside the battery.
That means if the charger is 'dumb' you could theoretically charge the battery with any DC source supplying 16.80V DC.
It would be interesting to find out if the solo battery also has voltage regulation so that you could put in a higher voltage and still charge safely.
The Solo charger indicates an output of 16.80 VDC at 3.3 amps. I calculate 55 watts. Power connection is simply + and - with no balance connector. With absolutely no knowledge, my guess is that the smart part of the battery is the balance circuitry for the 4S. The charging plug looks like an oversized Deans connector, though in parallel, with a black plastic locator to keep the polarity correct. You'd need 175 watts to charge in parallel, nothing your eFuel couldn't do with power to spare. With the smarts in each battery, they probably would protect themselves. Again, I am speculating.
I'd also guess that you are on your own for charging outside of the 3DR Solo charger. Everything about this quad is simplified, integrated, and packaged in an Apple sort of way to prevent all the crashes that we've learned from (that I've learned from). Features like the throttle control having a neutral (mid-range) hands-off position. Hands off on startup and it leaps into the air and hovers at 6-8 feet. Push the button to land.
It will be interesting to observe the failsafe behaviors. I'll fly it on my one battery this evening and report back.
So how do you like the eFuel? How do you balance the charge with LiPo's, or is it the power supply for downstream balance chargers?
It is a DC power supply for Turning 4 port charger. It can handle 4, 4 cell batteries.