cadetman

Hi To All
below you will see a Circuit diagram of the Cascade Charger
its a simple concept and i will post a link to "The Words" of how it works and why it works
if anyone has any input to this subject there is an email address on the Pic
i hope this will be of help to anyone that finds a need to charge Battery packs Automatically
Cadetman

cadetman

Hi Again
for "The Words" of how it works and why it works Click on the link
[link=http://www.club-chat.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2100]The Words of How it Works[/link]
Cadetman

RayRay

Cadetman,

That's a brilliant idea! [sm=idea.gif]
Imagine that, charging 2, 3, 4, n battery packs in series. I'm having a hard time seeing the schematic on my screen. I'll trying printing it out.

Any more details you could share would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ray Ray

cadetman

RayRay
Print it out and read "the Words"
Cadetman

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Cadetman,
BRILL< BRILL< BRILL.
Cough, cough, I think I may have to call off work tomorrow, what time does Radio Shack open? LOL
BJ

cadetman

Hi All
i have 2 pics for you
the first pic is the original hook-up wire to prove the idea worked
its only 2 stages.. but it worked
the second pic is of a 4 stage Cascade and at the weekend i will recover/salvage the relays from the Mk1 and add them to the Mk2
to explain the 2nd pic you will see a red,black and white wires on the left,
the red is the 12v-13.8 volt positive the black is negative and the white wire is the trigger pulse wire from the 555 IC pin 3
the Brown wire coiled up is the Peak charger Input.. the brown wires exiting the top of the pic will go to the Battery Packs 1234 etc
the red/black/white wires on the right of the pic will go to the additional relays
there is no limit to the amount of packs it will charge as long as have a big enough trickle charger
it simple cascades to the next battery pack,
the tuff part was making it work with the X-Peak3 but i would imagine it would work with any charger
if anyone wants the circuit for the X-3/prodigy then..
Email CascadeCharger"at"aol.com
Cadetman

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Cadetman,
Spaghetti??????
I'll hang on till you get it finished up.That layout doesnt quite match the schematics you provided earlier. Only an engineer would understand that photo.LOL
BJ

cadetman

SHELBYCOBRA
you wanna see the schematics for the X3/Prodigy Mod i came up with !
at the min i am talking to a guy who can make a solid state version and its making my head spin
Cadetman

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Cadetman,
Just when I thought I was making sense of it all, you throw another curve ball at me(solid state version). Either squinting at the photos or the paint fumes from "The Dungeon", as my wife calls it, are giving me a headache. Need to get out in the fresh air and fly some more.
BJ

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Cadetman,
Now that the head's clear, the S/S system would be great. Base system could do 2 batteries. Add plug in module to do each additional pack, up to 10 packs. Just have to figure a hook up to each type of charger on market. Or.......... Make a complete unit, charger system that includes 2 pack charger, just add plug in modules to increase to 4,6,8,10, etc. Now that you have the logic figured out, use simple PC board to mount opto, 555, relays, etc. with additional jacks for add on charger packs. With built in charger, no hassle of trying to figure out triggers on each system out there. No more "spaghetti wires".
BJ

cadetman

SHELBYCOBRA
it would be brill if all manufactures made there chargers based on the same principle but unfortunatly they have widely different views and parameters
so this is the best i can come up with for the moment,
with a few minor alterations it will work with any charger that has an LED or Beep tone
the downside is it needs hardwire connections to the inside of the charger
the upside is the cascade becomes as intelligent as the charger it draws its charge from,
so as long as you dont mix battery chemistry you could have as many 7 cell packs.. mixed with as many 8 cell or even 10 cell charge your Tx & RX
i know its a bit complicated but this is as simple as i could make it
or to put it another way.. anymore complicated and i wouldnt have be able to build it [&o]
i will post a pic of the Finished Animal so the only wires you see is the Battery Connectors etc
Cadetman

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Cadetman,
I think it might be a little easier to understand, once it's done, to take some good close up shots of the whole system laid out, with different colored wires for each sub group in the system. Possibly with a small discription of what we're seeing. The not so electricly inclined (ME) would be able to understand it better then.
BJ
p.s. check my e-mail to you !!!!!!

cadetman

Hi
i finally got the cascade charger boxed up and its working a treat
i even made a few extra mods along the way one of them was to switch to the tx and drop into trickle charge mode after full charge,
in my honest opinion there is too many solder connections to make and even as you read this the Mk2 is being born in my head
although the circuit is relitivly simple in concept there is an awful lot of wiring involved and i dont think folks like doing that !
so the Mk2 is a much simpler IC transistor design and it gonna be Cheaper
even though its far more complex it will use what i can only describe as Building Blocks of electronics
one 16 pin IC can do the same job as 30 switches contacts and replace 60-70 solder connections !
it will take many weeks of design to get the prototype Mk2 built and tested but i am hoping the component cost will be about 15 -20 dollars excluding the cost of the Plugs as they are about 2 dollars a Pop !
but for the moment i have the use of the Mk1 Cascade Charger
the best part of using it at the field was each pack takes about 6-7 mins charging at 1C to peak and cascade to the next pack
and as my Stryker flies for about that same lenght of time as i was landing i knew i had a tip top battery ready to GO
Cadetman

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Cadetman,
Very very nice, aluminum case really sets it off, very professional!!!!!!!!!! Now where's mine?
I wonder how much trouble it will cause when you go through Heathrow, with it as carry on baggage?[sm=lol.gif] "Sir you need to come with us!"
How bout an unboxed photo so I can understand your wiring a little better than the spagetti version?
BJ

cadetman

Glacier
many years ago i accidently left my tool case at the airport carpark
and when i finally got it i stood at the check in desk and it went like this..

has your baggage been left unattended at any time... err Yes !
could anyone have interfiered with it.... mm Yes
could anyone have put something inside without your knowlage.. Yes!
is there anything battery operated inside your baggage.. Yes!
and finally is there any sharp objects .. Yes lots !

i always liked to take my tool case on board as hand luggage because i once waited 2 days in Gibraltar for it to surface,
anyway.. i was quickly swished away to a screening area for them to check out my tool case,
it was xrayed from every angle and i had to identify everything inside before they would open it,
and the one thing you should NEVER do is make a joke to these people,
the security guy looked at the screen and pointed to my battery drill and said whats that?
so i said its a battery drill but it looks like an automatic weapon on there!
anyway i finally got the all clear apart from the Utility Knife and i was told i would be given it back at my destination
they were happy to allow me to carry screw drivers chistle hammer on board but for some reason not a retractable blade utility knife !
when i arrived i went to collect my cloths suitcase and make my way to the hotel
i had given up on the idea of collecting the utility knife as it wasnt worth the effort..
Imagine my suprise when the first thing to emerge on the carosel is my utility knife in a red see thru plastic bag !
Crazy or What? !
its changed radically now at airports and no way would i be allowed to carry my tools on board

back to the charger
the Mk2 is gonna be a whole lot easier to build, i had to build the Mk1 to understand how it could be improved on,
i am hoping the Mk2 will be a Printed Circuit Board to drop the components into, i will keep you updated and post all the design info when i have it sorted
Cadetman

RayRay

Cadetman,

Funny post Go figure.
Now, where's my Cascade Charger?

Ray Ray