Charger Safety

!! WARNING !!

Entering an incorrect charging current could cause the battery to "rapidly disassemble" and/or catch fire. Never enter a charging current value greater than the listed capacity of the battery.

Charger Controls

Figure 1: Single Charger Control

Figure 1 shows the control of a single charger. The individual controls are described below.

• Charge Current Slide Control. This allows the user to select the charge current with a mouse. The range of control is 50-200mA. Values greater than 250mA must be entered through the “Enter Current” button.

• Status Group LEDs. This group of 5 LEDs show the current status of the charger. They are

  • Shutdown – the charger is disabled.

  • Standby – the charger is waiting for a battery to be connected

  • Charging – a battery is connected and charging

  • Done - the charge sequence has finished

  • Fault – a fault was detected in the battery charging sequence.

• Enter Current Button. This allows the user to enter the charge current value. The value may vary from 50mA to the maximum value. (See data sheet for maximum value.)

• Store Current Button. This allows the user to store the charge current value in the module for use in the stand alone mode.

• Charge Enable Switch. Pressing this button turns the charger ON or OFF. The button is ON when the top portion is depressed and the RED light in the switch is on.

How to use the charger

Steps for safe charging of LiPo batteries using the connected to a PC mode.

1. Verify the charging current desired does not exceed the listed capacity of the battery.

2. Enter the charging current using the “Enter Current” button.

3. Optionally, press the “Store Current” button is using the stand alone mode.

4. Connect the battery to the charger being used (either #1 or #2). Verify that GND connection is to the negative side of the battery and the Batt #1 (or Batt #2) connection is to the positive side of the battery.

5. Press the “Enable Switch” and verify that the switch changes state and the RED light comes on.

6. Verify the Status changes to Charging.

7. Once the charging is complete as indicated by the Status changing to Done, turn the Charger Enable switch off and disconnect the battery.

In the Stand Alone Mode use steps #1 through #4. Then press the small button on the side of the module to toggle the state of both chargers. The tables below state of the module as indicated by the LEDs.

Module Status LEDs

There are 3 possible states and they are indicated by the blue and yellow LEDs on the side next to the button as shown in this table.

The charger status is indicated by red and green LEDs as shown in this table.