Happiness is....

[mkovalcson]

Happiness is having 2 PL8's running my Meanwell powersupply hard charging lots of batteries very quickly!

Adding a second PL8 and getting a generator is really improving my time to get ready to fly and keep flying.

Loving it!!!!!!!

[nightflyr]

If you like it once, you'll love it twice

[RedOctobyr]

Awesome! My charging needs are much more moderate. But trying field charging this season has let me get a lot more flying in. It is very nice.

[Gregor99]

I've been running this setup for several years and I love the power and flexibility. With new Dual Powerlab it just gets better. If you haven't done so already, be sure to try out the expansion channel mode.

[RedOctobyr]

Greg, that is a heck of a setup What kind of supplies are those? What output voltage range (high as well as low) can you get?

Went flying with a friend today, brought my EU2000i and our chargers. Perfect weather. I got in 15 flights on my 4 packs, he got in even more, I think. Pretty sweet. Flew until we'd kind of had what we could handle. The flight-capable count of helis had dropped from 4 at the start of the day, to 2 by the end

[mkovalcson]

Originally Posted by Gregor99

I've been running this setup for several years and I love the power and flexibility. With new Dual Powerlab it just gets better. If you haven't done so already, be sure to try out the expansion channel mode.

OK, How does the expansion channel mode work to make life better ?


BTW I have two sets of EC5 connectors off my Meanwell power supply, but I still have one of my two PL8's using alligator clips. Why? Because my new airfield has a pair of deep cycle batteries on a solar charger and I can dump the power back into those batteries if I need to unload any of my batteries.

[Gregor99]

Originally Posted by RedOctobyr

Greg, that is a heck of a setup What kind of supplies are those? What output voltage range (high as well as low) can you get?

That's four Dell 550W units (model AA23300). There are two sets of them in series, 24v per set. One set of two supplies for each Powerlab. The Honda EU2000 cannot keep up. I like these supplies because they are small for their output. Also their loaded voltage is lower than the DSP-600pb and I was not having issues with the buck/boost transitions unless I ran the packs down to 20%. But the fans cannot easily be turned down and are louder than I would like.

[Gregor99]

Originally Posted by mkovalcson

OK, How does the expansion channel mode work to make life better ?

When expansion channel is enabled, the console of one charger controls both (or all) chargers connected together. So you see the current on one, start the charge and use one set of buttons to scroll through the screens. Both screens display stats for their own charger and pack. You can charge packs of different cell counts or size but the current will be same on both chargers. You can quickly enter or exit the mode by connecting/disconnecting the servo cable in the back of the charger. I used a little project box and added switches to make that easier. You can see the switches in the right in the photo above.

Howard from FMA made this video to show the expansion channel mode.