On Tue, Feb 07, 2006 at 11:35:29AM -0600, Morris McKenna wrote: | Andrew, take a look at this web site. [1]www.slkelectronics.com I | think it will show you how an Alpha 4 can be used to charge Li-Po | batteries.
The Alpha4's hardware is obviously physically capable of properly charging a LiPo battery, but the firmware does not support it. So until there's an update for it, it's a no-no. (And at this point, it doesn't sound like there will ever be such an update.) In theory, you can use almost any NiCd or NiMH charger to charge even LiPo cells if you properly watched the charge rates and voltage and stopped it manually at the appropriate time, but considering that LiPo cells are *ruined* by even one overcharge and sometimes will even catch fire due to it, I'd never ever suggest even attempting this except under some very rare conditions, and then only if you know what you're doing and take all the needed precautions. It would really suck for your house to burn down just because the phone rang and you forgot to watch your charger ... As for this LiPoAdapter at slkelectronics, it looks like it will make it work and do so safely, but considering that the Alpha 4 is capable of only a 1 A charge rate *total*, it seems like a big waste. LiPo cells are easy to charge, at least from a charger design persepctive. The circuitry needed to do so is even simpler than the circuitry needed to do peak detection for NiCd and NiMH cells, so chargers are available very cheaply. | Personally, I think purchasing a good Li-Po charger is the | best way to go. Morris Absolutely. I'd suggest either getting a dedicated LiPo charger, or something like the Triton that can do it all. Don't mess with things like this LiPoDapter -- while it might be useful in some cases (like if you need high currents and already have a NiCd charger that can provide them), it also costs more than a low-end (but still perfectly functional) dedicated LiPo charger will. -- Doug McLaren, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Can ya dig it? RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
