Sneak Peek at the NEW Cellpro PowerLab 8

[Jack Doherty]

Just for anyone and everyone's. Attached you will find seven screen shots of a 10 cycle Charge/Discharge of a new RevElectric Platinum 2200 3s batter pack that had 3 previous charges on it. As you can see the PL8 is a great tool for analysis, maintenance and documentation of batteries. And did I mention how easy it was, push a button and walk away letting the PL8 do the work for the next 8 hours.

Jack

[everydayflyer]

Here is the screen on the CCS where you select power supply options.

Beside selecting between DC Power Supply or Pb there are options for limiting volts and amps. as well as regenerative options with Pb.

Added a screen shot of 6 of the Users Presets (25 total) and 50 more in the Library. Also some of the Tabs for the many different chargr,discharge,balance ,termination etc. are shown.

The CCS is similiar to the one used with the Cell Pro Multi Charge 4. This one has a lot more options however.
Charles

[Jack Doherty]

Hi Guys:

I am going to add a couple of post showing some of the screens available on the PL8's CCS (Computer Control Screen). The first post includes screen shots of the seven major tabs that can be selected from the main CCS window. Note also that almost all of the changed that can be made from the CCS windows can also be made directly at the PL8's LCD window.

Cell Tab: Select preset to use and observe status of charge/discharge.
Int.Res. Tab: Observe internal resistance of each cell during charge but not during discharge.
Supply Tab: Observe supply status as well as selecting power supply type and parameters.
Firmware Tab: Used to update FREE upgrades.
Options Tab: Used to select internal PL8 options/behavior.
Presets Tab: Used to select alter/edit presets. 25 User presets and 50 Library presets. Note: all 75 presets are stored in PL8's memory. Additional presets can also be stored on you computer and traded out at anytime.
No Errors Tab: Used to verify that new user presets and edits you make will work correctly with a new firmware update/download. If changes need to be made, they will be flagged automatically on this page and the correction can be originate from this page.

I will follow later with a second post with screen shots of sub-tabs of the main preset tab. This is where you would make the majority of edit and changes to presets.

Jack

[Jack Doherty]

Hi Guys:

This is post 2 of the Assorted PL8 screen shots.

The post will focus on the sub-tabs of the Presets main window tab. Each setting has its own drop down window for easy minimum and maximum allowable value selection.

General tab: The current preset can be exchanged for other presets in the Library or your custom presets.
Detection tab: Defines the way cell are recognized by PL8.
Charge tab: One of the most powerful and important of the PL8 screens. Here you set charge amps and charge to voltage of cells.
Discharge tab: Maybe the second most important and powerful screen. Her you set the discharge amps (up to 30A regenerative), discharge to voltage and number of cycles one to infinite.
Balance tab: For setting the speed and timing of cell balancing during a charge. PL8 does not balance during discharge.
Termination tab: Here one can alter how PL8 ends a charge based of different battery chemistry.
Screens tab: Allows you to add to, remove, hide or reorder the LCD screens that appear on the PL8's LCD screen. If a window is ghosted out, it can not be altered or removed.
Fuel tab: Each type battery chemistry, and capacity can effect the indicated fuel level. FMA supplies many generic fuel tables, and some specific to a brand of battery. But IMO one of the most significant feature of the PL8 will be a fuel wizard that allows you the user to create a fuel gage that meets the exact parameters of a particular battery you own. If you chose to, you could have a fuel gage created for each and every battery you own. An accurate fuel gage will also allow PL8 to perform a much more accurate AUTO xC charge whether it be 1C-5C or more to accommodate future battery technology advances.
Safety tab: Allows you to adjust how safety issues are handled.

Hope this is helpful,
Jack

[Don Sims]

Any of you beta testers planning to be at SEFF?

[heymac]

Guys,

Check the FMA web site!
PL-8 is up!

[ggcrandall1]

Here is a link to FMA's PowerLab 8.

http://www.fmadirect.com/new_applica...powerlab8.html

Glen

[Tim Marks]

We have completed our evaluation of the new Safe Parallel Adapter (Safe Adapter for short) concept. It works very well. This concept replaces the former Smart Parallel Adapter or "SPA" concept. The new solution offers the following benefits:

1) The revised solution incorporates a carefully selected polyfuse to be installed on each line between the pack and the pigtail of the adapter.

2) The solution is therefore, much lower parts count than SPA which greatly reduces cost and vastly improves reliability.

3) Due to lower parts count/higher reliability coupled with simple setup and operation, the new Safe Adapter concept is equal to, if not better in terms of safety than the older SPA concept.

4) Safe Parallel Adapters can be daisy-chained. There is no electrical limit to how many packs can be paralleled using these adapters. There may be practical limitations with regard to actually connecting large numbers of packs to the PowerLab 8.

5) Safe Adapters will not support node-only charging. They require the use of both the node and discharge leads to be connected to the charger. Therefore, FMA/REVOLECTRIX will be offer both single pack adapters (1s-6s) or the Smart Adapters (1s-6s) for parallel charging via nodes and discharge leads.

6) As noted before within this thread, stackable, safety banana plug cables will be available to facilitate a simple method for paralleling discharge leads of batteries charged in parallel. We will also be making a change to these cables to add a 35A blade fuse to the positive (red) wire. In the event that polarity is ever reversed during connection, this will prevent the risk of fire.


7) With this solution, we are also adding additional firmware features in the charger to help automate the process of parallel charge setup. To the start menu, one additional screen will be added asking for the number of packs being charged in parallel. In firmware, up to 9 packs can be selected for parallel charging. Subsequent screens will be altered to show total current as well as current available to each pack connected. This will make it simple and convenient to determine how much charge current is going to each pack. No need to calculate the correct charge currents externally.

8) Safe Adapters are intended for use only with Lithium chemistry packs.

9) As most in the industry are aware, lithium batteries represent a volatile potential. Always follow appropriate cautions with regard to the proper charging and maintenance of lithium batteries. Parallel charging offers a safe and effective means by which to make the most out of the power available in the PL8. The new Safe Adapters will provide added protection when charging in parallel. Polyfuses will protect the small pins of the adapters in the event of human error; e.g. reverse polarity. Fusing the discharge leads will prevent fire. But parallel charging does require diligence on the part of the customer to observe a few key rules to assure safety and prevent damage to his battery packs:

When Parallel Charging using Safe Adapters:

ALWAYS OBSERVE PROPER POLARITY
CONNECT ONLY PACKS OF SAME CELL COUNT
CONNECT ONLY ONE PACK PER ADAPTER


Tim Marks

[Jack Doherty]

Hello to all interested in changes and improvement in the Cellpro PowerLab 8:

The beta testing team just received the latest version to test yesterday. I though some of you might be interested. One of the major changes or improvement is in the the Fuel Wizard. It has been automated and enhanced from the previous version.

I am attaching a screen shot of the new Fuel Table Wizard to accompany the text.

Let me begin by explaining that a well developed/accurate fuel table will improve the quality, safety and accuracy of your charge as well as improving the Fuel Gage accuracy. By using the Fuel Wizard you can be assured that the fuel table matches you particular battery pack regardless of its brand, cell count or capacity.

After going to the Tool menu and clicking on Generate Fuel a window open with several questions to answer regarding your battery pack. Answer these and click on the Generate Fuel button and your done. All the work of saving the fuel table to a new preset is automatically done for you.

Another feature was also added to the Start charge window to aid the parallel charging of multiple packs. The charger does the math for up to 9 parallel packs. This way, you don't have to figure all the rules for parallel charging in your head. See the attach screen shot of this new feature.


Jack

[SteveM732]

In the latest version of the CCS FMA added the ability to export voltage vrs Ah plots into the bt2 format used by the WMR CBA. This permits the use of the CBA software to do overlays and compare data from the PL8 with existing data you might already have from a CBA.

I decided to test and see if FMA's 950mAh Revo Red pack performs as advertised or not. It is also worth noting that all discharges were regenerative with 80-90% of the energy going back into the deep cycle RV batteries and the little heat that was generated was passively cooled by the massive heat sink so the cooling fans never came on.

[Tim Marks]

Hi:

We have completed the development of all the new adapters coming for the PowerLab 8 Battery Workstation. These items have been released to manufacturing. Within 2-4 weeks we should have all of these up on the FMA Direct website as well as various PL8 combos we will be offering. As promised, at that time, customers having already placed on-line orders for PL8 will have the option of stepping up their existing orders to combos at equivalent introductory pricing.

So, please check the admittedly crude PR document to get the skinny on the various adapters:

http://www.fmadirect.com/support_docs/item_1315.pdf

Tim Marks

[Howard Matos]

First Production Run Delivery Update
FMA has received an update from our manufacturing partner on the delivery of first production run orders for the Cellpro PowerLab 8, PL8 combos and adapters. There has been a slight delay of about 3 weeks. The worldwide recession has created a situation in which allocations of certain raw materials, especially microcontrollers and FETS, have moved lead times out considerably. The result is that projections for receipt of these parts have been difficult to meet. With the latest scheduled date approaching quickly, we wanted to notify all those with orders that the schedule is now moved out to mid June for first production run. Because the new scheduled date is so near, our partner has assured us that the delivery of certain long lead time items is solid. In fact, most materials are in house now to complete the run. For those customers with orders on the second production run, you can expect about a two week delay to July 1. We know that everyone with an order is anxious to get the new PL8 work station in their hands, as is FMA. We appreciate your patience and commit to keep you posted with news over the next few weeks that may impact your orders.

[Tim Marks]

Hi:

The PDF version of the manual may now be downloaded from the FMA Direct website at the following link: http://www.fmadirect.com/support_docs/item_1322.pdf

[Larry3215]

Any updates on lead time?

If I ordered one next week, when could I expect to receive it?

[Howard Matos]

Originally Posted by Larry3215

Any updates on lead time?

If I ordered one next week, when could I expect to receive it?

Hi,

Orders placed now will be delivered in late July.

[Larry3215]

Thanks!

[Tim Marks]

The PL8 Charge Control Software (CCS) is available for download and install at the following link: http://www.fmadirect.com/new_applica..._software.html This Windows program does not require that you have the PL8 in order to install and run the software. Check the on-line help with direct access to pertinent information by clicking the "?" buttons throughout the various tabs.

[everydayflyer]

For the few who do not visit RC Groups here is a PL8 Monitor screen shot of a test I ran this morning on a new LiPoly I am testing.

Charles

[Larry3215]

Interesting that the knuckle where the voltage drops off steeply is much higher with these new gen cells than the older cells.

Another good reason to increase LVC with these newer cells.