Ultrafire in the transmitter

Where to find parts? Refactoring your entire transmitter, new cases? Sticks etc..
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Hasse.69
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Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Hasse.69 »

Ultrafire.JPG
This is how i set up my transmitter.
Batteries found here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-X-UF-18650-3- ... 41572d7dd2

Enjoy , best whishes to all of you in the new year.

//Hasse.
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Rob Thomson
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Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Rob Thomson »

I have always found it very very tight to fit these two cells in the battery bay.

My more recent version of this idea is to use 4AA sized trustfires. 2 packs in parallel - then series.

Result is a receiver size pack that delivers 8.5 volts.

Typical lifetime of the pack seems to be circa 8-9 hours.

Rob


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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Hasse.69 »

I did a benchtest with my ER9x and the Ultrafire 4000mah batteries.
Highly sofisticated ..........not
The transmitter had been on for an hour or two after the last charge.
I thought , why not let it sit for the night and i will wake up by the lovely alarm of the low bat.
This is how it all worked out.
11.00pm transmitter shows 8.1 volts.
9.00am transmitter beeps 7.2 volts.
How low can you go????
Starting to count when transmitter pass 7.0 volts.
0 min 7.0 volts
11 min 6.7 volts
16 min 6.5 volts
22 min 6.2 volts ??????? the thingee thing should kick in and cut.???? :?
25 min 5.7 volts ???? :oops:
I might need to double check readings with my multimeter...
The way i see it , if i have the low bat set at 7.0 volts i can land safely.
After a flight duration of ~ 11 hours :lol:
Happy landings , Hasse.

Ps . charged it and it says 8.4 volt in the display . ds
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noobee
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by noobee »

i'm planning to do this mod (maybe starting with just two 14500s in series first).

lots of questions :)

- what is the voltage to set for the tx battery alarm?
- does the tx need about around 2v margin for the regulator to work?
- if i go to 4 batteries, should i connect 2 cells in parallel and then connect 2 sets in series, or 2 cells in series and then connect 2 sets in parallel? any difference? i think you described the former, but it's easier to mod a battery holder for the latter.

thanks!
rob.thomson wrote:I have always found it very very tight to fit these two cells in the battery bay.

My more recent version of this idea is to use 4AA sized trustfires. 2 packs in parallel - then series.

Result is a receiver size pack that delivers 8.5 volts.

Typical lifetime of the pack seems to be circa 8-9 hours.

Rob


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Rob Thomson
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Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Rob Thomson »

Hi,

I normally set my alarm at 7.1v to be safe. I believe 7.0 is the lowest recommend alarm value due to the regulator issues.

No difference if you wore parallel/series series/parallel. As long as you get the correct voltage you are ok!

Rob


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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by erazz »

Though the voltage measuring was improved by Mike and now is actually able to read below 7.0v I still don't trust it in those levels. If you want to go that low - use a LDO.
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Hasse.69 »

@ erazz.
Thank you for making this software , with help from others i´m sure. ;)
Now when more people are in to it i think it´s amazing with the new hardware and
the software in a steady development.
Watch out maybe Fs will ewolve v3 with a frskyboard...... :roll:
The voltage reading was never my intention to use for flying under 7.0 volts.
Mearly to see if and when the protection circuit shut down the battery.
So if i set the alarm at 7.0 volt i know that the battery wont shut down in 20 sec or so.
I.e i have enough time to crash all by my self........ :lol:

Best regards , Hasse
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by ttabbal »

Does anyone have the dimensions of the battery compartment? I'd like to look into getting some cells to put a lipo together for my impending 9x... Is the current recommendation still to use 2 cell configurations?
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Hasse.69 »

Hi ttabbal

The battery compartment is EXACTLY:
(Now is everybody going to measure it............ )
:lol:

111x31x30

And if you are handy with the dremel you could get it to:

116x31x30

I use those in the first picture incl shipping i paid 7.20$
Needless to search any more , just my opinion.

Best regards , Hasse.
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by GrootWitbaas »

or you could just get this one, no mod's or dremel needed, set alarm to 8,5v, plug and play, and the connector is correct to eliminate reverse polarity.
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by noobee »

rob.thomson wrote:I have always found it very very tight to fit these two cells in the battery bay.

My more recent version of this idea is to use 4AA sized trustfires. 2 packs in parallel - then series.

Result is a receiver size pack that delivers 8.5 volts.

Typical lifetime of the pack seems to be circa 8-9 hours.

Rob


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my trustfires are almost here. will be planning to connect 2 batts in series, then 2 sets in parallel. what is a good way to charge them? i could pull them out and charge them individually with a 18650/14550 charger, or could i rig up a constant voltage source and charge them in the tx though the tx charging port? will the protection circuit on the battery regulate the current for charging?
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Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Rob Thomson »

I normally charge mine in my lipo charge. (IMAX).

It has a setting for LiON do I use that.

In theory the regulator on the battery should sort any funnies :)


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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Hasse.69 »

The last one i ordered for my second Turnigy9x turning it in to a ersky9x.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 2478wt_958
5.68$ incl shipping

Br , Hasse
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Westy »

I run the Trustfire 3000MAH batteries.

I have not soldered to the batteries as I have used the old batt case and cut it down to serve the purposes I needed and then soldered to the plate contacts.
I made a balance circuit to ensure the batteries were balanced.
Image

using these:

Image

I then hard wired direct to the charge port on the TX and use that as my charge point :)



If I did it again (or decide to re do it with my ideas) I would cut 2 Pieces of 5mm Plexi-glass as my contact plates. Drill 2 holes in each plate and put 4 x 5mm stainless rivets into the holes. place my wires and crimp the rivets to complete the circuitry.

Works like a charm .... 10 - 11 hours of running life ..... but who flys that long right? haha
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by TimJC »

What is the recommended charge rate for these types of li-ion batteries? I intend to use my lipo charger but I imagine a nominal 1C rate (3.0a) would be a lot for these 3000mah 18650 size batteries to handle.
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Westy »

no .... 3.0 amps is fine ..... 1C is safe .... and they do not even get warm during charge
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Crashj007 »

Just found this site with interesting capacity tests and size measurements. My trustfire cells just fit with packing tape but not with heat shrink, so maybe a smaller diameter would help?
http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries20 ... %20UK.html
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Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Rob Thomson »

I use 4 as sized cells. 2 in parallel... Then series to get the voltage up.


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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Ozzy »

Rob Thomson wrote:Hi,

I normally set my alarm at 7.1v to be safe. I believe 7.0 is the lowest recommend alarm value due to the regulator issues.

No difference if you wore parallel/series series/parallel. As long as you get the correct voltage you are ok!

Rob


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The 5 volt regulator in the Tx has a "drop out" voltage of 1.7 volts, so 5 + 1.7 = 6.7 volts would be minimum recommended battery voltage. So a 7.0v alarm is perfect. Could swap it out for a LDO (low drop out) regulator, but with two 2500mHA 18650 cells lasting ~16 hours, no need to bother.

If going the 4 cell route, I suggest making two parallel cells, then series them, this way a balance plug would work for for all the cells. But the two 18650 cells fit, quicker to assemble, more capacity and cheaper, win win win :)

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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by ReSt »

There are also protected ultrafire 18650 cells available that claim to have 4000mah (even I doubt it is as much)

Reinhard
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Ozzy »

4000mAH would be about 26 hours run time. When I raced RC cars 10 years ago, I ran three 18650 (or 17670) cells on my Futaba 3PJs or Airtronics M8, this would give 6 hours run time. That was excellent back then, but now more than 20+ hours on a charge, wow.

Back when I first few airplanes in the late 70's, we would always make sure to charge the 8 AA rechargeable pack over night before flying the next day, times have changed, for the good!

Ozzy
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by flynbrian »

I ordered my 9x from HobbyKing and 10 days ago and I'm anxiously waiting for its arrival. I noticed several youtube videos of people using 3s lipos in their 9x radios. From what I could tell that 8 alkaline cells would reach 12vdc respectively. From my experiences in electronics most things can tolerate a +/- rate of 10%. That being said I ordered this batterywww.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_vi ... duct=17825. After seeing what everybody else is using I am beginning to have my doubts as to weather this is the right choice. I see that others are using 2s life batteries that are much lower voltages. Polarity and plug are not a concern but the voltage is. If there is a problem with using this then please voice your opinion. I will make the necessary changes to not fry this tx.
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Kilrah »

2s lipo, 3s life, 3s lipo will all work perfectly well. Just that the extra energy your 3s lipo holds vs a 2s one will be useless (lost in heat). No risk of damage though.
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Malcurin »

Brihoo2k wrote:I ordered my 9x from HobbyKing and 10 days ago and I'm anxiously waiting for its arrival. I noticed several youtube videos of people using 3s lipos in their 9x radios. From what I could tell that 8 alkaline cells would reach 12vdc respectively. From my experiences in electronics most things can tolerate a +/- rate of 10%. That being said I ordered this batterywww.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_vi ... duct=17825. After seeing what everybody else is using I am beginning to have my doubts as to weather this is the right choice. I see that others are using 2s life batteries that are much lower voltages. Polarity and plug are not a concern but the voltage is. If there is a problem with using this then please voice your opinion. I will make the necessary changes to not fry this tx.
I'm using this in My 9X it works perfectly fine :)
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Crashj007 »

Brihoo2k wrote:I ordered my 9x from HobbyKing and 10 days ago and I'm anxiously waiting for its arrival. I noticed several youtube videos of people using 3s lipos in their 9x radios. From what I could tell that 8 alkaline cells would reach 12vdc respectively. From my experiences in electronics most things can tolerate a +/- rate of 10%.<>
I don't think anyone on this thread mentioned yet that voltage regulators on the transmitter circuit board drop the input voltage to 5VDC and/or 3.5 VDC, which is what the CPU needs, so that is the voltage you need to consider, not the nominal 12 VDC or whatever. The regulators do add some drop to that value.
That 12 VDC or 9 VDC setting is really a matter of tradition more than actual engineering requirements of modern circuitry. Everything above that is heater power, I think.
The advantage of the 2S or 3S LiFe batteries is the safety of being acceptable for charging in place.
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Ozzy »

[/quote] I don't think anyone on this thread mentioned yet that voltage regulators on the transmitter circuit board drop the input voltage to 5VDC and/or 3.5 VDC, which is what the CPU needs, so that is the voltage you need to consider, not the nominal 12 VDC or whatever. The regulators do add some drop to that value. That 12 VDC or 9 VDC setting is really a matter of tradition more than actual engineering requirements of modern circuitry. Everything above that is heater power, I think. The advantage of the 2S or 3S LiFe batteries is the safety of being acceptable for charging in place.[/quote]

Your correct, no one has talked about the linear regulator used in the 9x in this thread. I wrote about it here, thinking that was a electrical mod; viewtopic.php?f=25&t=1143

A copy/paste blip from that thread is here, I am comparing a 3S LiPo and 3S LiFe packs against 2S Li-Ion 18650 pack;

"less wasted battery wattage for the 2S Li-Ion (compared to the 9.9v LiFe or 3S LiPo packs),
and less heat in the Tx 5v linear voltage regulator. (at worst case, full charge 3S LiPo is 12.6v, minus 5v = 7.6v, times ~150mA = 1+watt of heat dissipated in the 5 volt regulator), the Tx uses ~0.75 watts (5v x 150mA)"

so in that worst case, more than half your battery power (wattage) is going up in heat. If you have other mods that are consuming more current, then that wasted wattage percent number goes up. I might throw on a thermal couple and see how well the pcb is heat sinking the regulator, its the only thing saving the regulator while burning up 1+ watts with a fully charged 3S LiPo pack.

Since the linear regulator burns up to 1.7 volts for it to operate, the minimum input voltage in to the 9x would be 6.7V (5v + 1.7v). EDIT: as pointed out by Gohst, the maximum voltage drop is 2.0v, so minimum input voltage would be 7.0v

Hasse's tests with Li-Ion protected cells shows no under voltage cutoff at 5.7V, Li-Ion cells can go down to 2.5V per cell, most recommend a cutoff at 3.0V per cell.

Ozzy
Last edited by Ozzy on Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Crashj007 »

Ozzy, your thread was what inspired me to set up my transmitter like that.
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Ozzy »

Cool Crashj007.

The other thread I posted no one has responded, here is a copy/paste from it, found here;
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=14

When starting eePe, it asked if I want to doanload the lastest version, R766 (7-17-2012), should I be loading R766 or the stable version R708?

Is there a list of enhancments/bug fixes for each revision?

Thanks in advance!
Ozzy
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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by calla969 »

Since no one is responding, I'll give it a shot. In my experience, based on hacking Android devices, you should stay with a stable version unless you have some useful development skills. Let the more knowledgeable people tinker with the newest versions.

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Re: Ultrafire in the transmitter

Post by Crucial »

I have been running the latest version for some time now. It is stable and shouldn't give you any problems.

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