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Lipo Battery Tester

Discussion in 'Electronics' started by Andy Post, Jul 27, 2015.

  1. Andy Post

    Andy Post Member

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    Hey Thrillseekers.
    I've been using these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JGG449C?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00 to judge remaining charge, and have two problems.

    first is old age. I put them down and then can't find them a second later.

    Second. I ordered three more so I'd hopefully have one on hand at all times. BUT...the new ones report about 10-12% lower remaining charge. I don't want to have to remember some logarithmic scale so I instantly know that 22.872 volts means I' have 40% charge left.

    Does anyone use a tester that reports remaining % charge that they feel they can trust?
     
  2. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    Hey Andy:
    First problem: Hot glue it to your forehead. Works for me. I can find my forehead two out of three times. I'm sure Steve Maller would do the same thing except his head is currently occupied with other hardware. :)

    I've not seen a tester that reports as a percentage. I think it's a plot to keep us all doing mental arithmetic.

    Andy.
     
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  3. Andy Post

    Andy Post Member

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    But my head is my weakest point!

    I know what my target minimum voltage is, but at this point I have yet to develop that muscle memory of how far along 23.1 volts is and how much that tells me I have left besides "more".

    I did find these http://www.horizonhobby.com/lipo-voltage-checker-and-balancer-hrc44173 and ordered a couple. It reports in % and lists the voltage of each cell. So you don't have to wait for the thing to cycle through cell by cell. Yeah....I know I can get the same "what's left in the tank" value by using cell voltage. But like I always say....there's a reason I didn't go to Princeton to study mathematics. Actually, I'm reasonably good at math, but I think I misspelled it on my application. Bitter? A tad.

    I'll let you know how these things work out.
     
  4. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    Firstly, the hot glue helps reinforce my forehead thus, in case of impact I can avoid serious injury by taking the full force of it on my head (to paraphrase W.C. Fields).

    Secondly, nice find for Lipo checkers. That's the first I've seen with percentages. Otherwise it would require a spreadsheet that relates voltages to percentages. But that would be soooo 20th century....carbon powder smeared on dead trees. Yuk.

    Thirdly, what a coincidence. I didn't go to Princeton either!

    Andy.
     
  5. Jason Smoker

    Jason Smoker Active Member

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