iCharger 306B malfunctioning

[Bartman]

Hi all,

I just went to charge a few packs and my iCharger 306B has stopped working. The screen is a blank, flashing, dull green display. Both power supplies appear to be working but I'll have to check to make sure the charger is getting 24 volts. Has anyone seen this before?

Thanks,
Bart

 

[Bartman]

if not then the next question would be what have you guys bought lately in the way of 800 to 1000w chargers? i'm leaning towards a Hitec X2 400....

anyone?

 

[jfro]

if not then the next question would be what have you guys bought lately in the way of 800 to 1000w chargers? i'm leaning towards a Hitec X2 400....

anyone?

My 306b is still working, but won't balance charge. Tried resetting and still no work. I have been wanting something a little bigger, so after watching youtube video's and reading the forums, I went with an iCharger 406 duo 1400W 40A 6s Dual Port charger.

The display is worth it along. Now when charging, a status button press getts all 6 cells internal resistance. I can balance charge 2 - 6s batteries at a time and they both can take 24 amps or a 3c charge. I have never done a 4 or 5c charge, although my charging system is. Usually just go to 3c out in the field or when in a hurry.

Somewhere on your forums here there was a thread about 2-3 months ago with peeps talking about the Duo's. They got good reviews. Tie it in with a 24volt server power supply and it's a hell of a charging system. I was talking with a dealer who sells lots of chargers and he said that nothing is as solid as converted server power supply. They are built to run hard. They sell cheap and there are guys doing the converting and selling them for a reasonable price with proper grounding on e-bay. Worth taking a look at if $$ is an issue.
[h=2][/h]

 

[kloner]

the icharger is still the one, never seen any problems on mine is 3 years. the duo are where it's at. if you have to spend money to feel better, look at hyperion.... when i used to go to the big scale srh get togethers them things were everwhere.

 

[gtranquilla]

Sorry to hear about the icharger..... I hope it has a good long term warranty and/or can be easily fixed locally. If it has a usb port, you might try a firmware reflash or reload if nothing else works.

I own the S1200 Chargery unit which provides lots of amps and allows a wide range of input AC volts as well as adjustable DV volt output to accommodate any battery charger, and in my case I am using the 406B DUO.
http://www.chargery.com/

Hi all,

I just went to charge a few packs and my iCharger 306B has stopped working. The screen is a blank, flashing, dull green display. Both power supplies appear to be working but I'll have to check to make sure the charger is getting 24 volts. Has anyone seen this before?

Thanks,
Bart

 

[gtranquilla]

jfro,
I have owned and used several "surplus" server power supplies but have since moved on the the S1200 by Chargery.

And the reason I stepped away from the Dell PowerEdge and similar HP server Power Supplies is that 2 of the 5 I used blew their fuses......I tried to fix one but apparently there was other internal damage and the soldered in fuse is nearly impossible to replace. However I agree that they provide high quality DC power as long as they are working and the APFC is very close to 100%. But again the price was right for a use and toss item at only $50 each.

My 306b is still working, but won't balance charge. Tried resetting and still no work. I have been wanting something a little bigger, so after watching youtube video's and reading the forums, I went with an iCharger 406 duo 1400W 40A 6s Dual Port charger.

The display is worth it along. Now when charging, a status button press getts all 6 cells internal resistance. I can balance charge 2 - 6s batteries at a time and they both can take 24 amps or a 3c charge. I have never done a 4 or 5c charge, although my charging system is. Usually just go to 3c out in the field or when in a hurry.

Somewhere on your forums here there was a thread about 2-3 months ago with peeps talking about the Duo's. They got good reviews. Tie it in with a 24volt server power supply and it's a hell of a charging system. I was talking with a dealer who sells lots of chargers and he said that nothing is as solid as converted server power supply. They are built to run hard. They sell cheap and there are guys doing the converting and selling them for a reasonable price with proper grounding on e-bay. Worth taking a look at if $$ is an issue.
[h=2][/h]

 

[Bartman]

thanks for the replies guys. i'll look into reflashing the firmware to my charger and if i have to buy something i'll check out the 406 duo. it would definitely be nice to be able to run two different charging programs at the same time which is kinda sorta why the Hitec X2 400 appeals to me.

Bart

 

[Bartman]

Went through the old i306B last night and tried to do a firmware flash but as the charger is flashing it is also going in and out of contact with my laptop so an update wasn't possible. I used a 4S LiPo last night instead of my power supply and the problem was the same. If I had to guess (considering my non-existent expertise with electronics) I'd say the charger blew a capacitor. There are a few big ones in there and I think there is something in there that is passing electric and then not, and then yes and then not at about 120 cycles per minute.

I've reached out to Progressive RC about this and also went ahead and ordered a new i306B. For about $160 it's a lot of bang for the buck and I can buy another in order to have a second set of packs going. At $300 the i406 duo was attractive but I'd rather have two i306B's in case one fails I'll have the second one. If I bought one i406 duo and it blew then I'd be back to having no charger. The money is about the same for two 306's or one 406, and the 406 has some cool features, but with one having failed I'm going to go the route that will most likely keep me flying if I'm somewhere important and can't risk not being able to charge batteries.

Thanks again for the help.
Bart

 

[ghaynes]

Bart I've been impressed with the Powerlab 8 series.