Best 'out of the box' combo for skyecho2?

[danny_galaga]

I guess I have to supply my own charger? I have a box of USB chargers from other devices I've collected over time, just in case. Looks like my hoarding will pay off 😄

[kgwilson]

Many of your old chargers won't be any good as they will charge at 2.0 amps or less. At 5 volts nominal output this is only 10 watts. This is insufficient to charge a SE2. Uavionix specify 18 watts or more. The cable supplied is a QC3 cable so you will require a charger with 3.5amps or more. At x 5 volts of output that is 17.5 watts which is fine.  You cannot use the later PD (power delivery) USB cables which are capable of delivering up to 100 watts, they just won't work.

[Thruster88]

I use same Samsung charger/ cable that is used for my tablet and phone. SkyEcho2 can take about 5 hours to charge.  

[danny_galaga]

On 20/01/2023 at 3:54 PM, kgwilson said:

Many of your old chargers won't be any good as they will charge at 2.0 amps or less. At 5 volts nominal output this is only 10 watts. This is insufficient to charge a SE2. Uavionix specify 18 watts or more. The cable supplied is a QC3 cable so you will require a charger with 3.5amps or more. At x 5 volts of output that is 17.5 watts which is fine.  You cannot use the later PD (power delivery) USB cables which are capable of delivering up to 100 watts, they just won't work.

These are various from all over. I'm a postie so every time I see free stuff on the footpath I pick it up. One of my other hobbies is retro gaming, and it's handy to have various supplies. I will have a look later. (Edit: none of mine are over 2amps). If not, what do they expect you to use? A lot of the aftermarket things have have very dirty voltages, I wouldn't have thought the manufacturer would want that left up to chance...

Edited January 21, 2023 by danny_galaga

[kgwilson]

Uavionix say that a supply of less than 2.5amps will not adequately charge the SE2. A 2 amp supply will probably charge it to a certain level but it may not fully charge. They also say not to keep it plugged in to your aircraft USB supply as it will consume more than the power outlet can supply. That may be the case for factory built aircraft but if you build your own you could install a 3.5 amp USB outlet. Still that depends on how much power your alternator can supply.

 

New phones & tablets (except Apple) now use PD supply which as I said can deliver 100 watts but the SE2 is still one step back in charging technology using QC3 which new Apple devices also use. Apple has not caught up with the rest of the world in charging technology. A 3.5 amp charger costs very little ($10-15) & you can get car adaptors for about the same price. Make sure though that the charger end is USB A as a lot of new ones are USB C and USB C to USB C are more likely to be PD cables which won't work with the SE2.

[danny_galaga]

Very confusing. So my safest bet is to find a second hand apple iPad charger. Getting a new fake one is a great way to blow something up...

 

Apple chargers are usb-c. I would just buy that but you are saying they won't work? 

 

https://www.apple.com/au/shop/product/MHJ93X/A/20w-usb-c-power-adapter?fnode=a8e3ab270aef03663fb59dbf32653013403659cdd66669189250079a6561ea194af73b56b1ecc3e9cff4b36e1560713f4ae048248da85dddfe2b691808e9a02a281dd1b9efe22096986b7fa45905eeb017ebd3d8ae2cb78b3d802e83455b8fcbdbe1600fea923f03462cf3e61092be34

 

Edit: I just shot uavionix an email to see what they recommend I buy and from where.

Edited January 22, 2023 by danny_galaga

[kgwilson]

Apple chargers are Chinese like all the rest, they just charge 2-3 times more for them. Apple do not have PD (power delivery) chargers but I suspect that will change with the next model iPhones & iPads. Check Ebay, there are plenty of 3.5 amp and above chargers there as well as 3.5 amp car adaptors. Uavionix do not recommend USB C to USB C cables mainly because most of these are PD standard to allow for high speed charging. Many new models of Android phones can charge at 100 watts or even more so you can charge a 5-6000 mAh phone battery from empty to full in half an hour or so.

 

The USB cable that comes in the box with the SE2 is QC3 standard and is USB A at the charger end and USB C at the SE2 end. The QC3 standard has a maximum current of 4.6 amps so at 5 volts that provides 23 watts to the battery being charged.

 

There is a dual USB A wall charger on Ebay for $9.95 delivered that supplies 5 amps so will charge at 25 watts . This is locally supplied with an Australian plug. There are plenty of different suppliers and prices.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/374111703682?hash=item571acb9282:g:dXUAAOSwAUdimZjM&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4Hbw8VHuW1eNI9O%2F4P9uwRHss%2BfhWDxs4Fm2DsLbpYk4fZNF9vwMEtazqV4qisxaEv069I81R1Jl%2F7EMUCaGXg0yRv2rkhrYW49ibLwhLYZpRSyG94aUK4tPAaZqfcgEl5YPExowNZjePRw34LxB4apXYH8vLQlt15QR2Pt4sSgo16%2Fx8HVCtM46FFDLON8s9plBSoEiY8BgdKXU8qUkRAUwIJFUGiEqo5ktAGCzEy6vmMw2BKh70SS1lun8kV65gYAFay36Ef0qYEJRrmFYzkZufDHjORKJV8bks%2Bi6TxYi|tkp%3ABFBMsKfOgLth

[danny_galaga]

I'm taking everything you say on board, but you must differentiate between 'made in china ' and 'fake made in China'. I think I posted this write up somewhere else on this forum but it bears repeating. ALL of these chargers will be made in china:

 

http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-apple-is.html?m=1

 

Therefore I'm not going to buy any old thing off eBay. Just waiting on a reply from uavionix. I think it is remiss of them not to at least have a few recommendations.

[Kyle Communications]

The unit just requires a 5V source..be it from a phone charger or a power supply of some sort. You can use a 12V to 5V cig socket charger and plug in the SE2 to it while your flying.

 

[danny_galaga]

6 minutes ago, Kyle Communications said:

The unit just requires a 5V source..be it from a phone charger or a power supply of some sort. You can use a 12V to 5V cig socket charger and plug in the SE2 to it while your flying.

 

Well, apparently it has to be well over 2amps, which a lot of chargers aren't. Did you look at the link in my last post? It's a real eye opener and why I'm quite hesitant nowadays ..

[rgmwa]

29 minutes ago, danny_galaga said:

Therefore I'm not going to buy any old thing off eBay. Just waiting on a reply from uavionix. I think it is remiss of them not to at least have a few recommendations.

Seems remiss of them not to include a $20 charger with $1,000+ item if you ask me.

[Kyle Communications]

A lot of aircraft already have USB chargers in them...mine does. I fit them to all aircraft just beause everything now like phones and ipads and other stuff require them

 

[Kyle Communications]

That document is for AC chargers. I use apple chargers at home as I have so much apple stuff but in the aircraft I have 12v to 5 V usb chargers,,,I have several. The fixed in dash ones seem to work well but I do have a couple of the cig lighter style ones. The key is as you intimated in your post you need  good 2 amp one as a base not the smaller types

 

https://www.jaycar.com.au/dual-usb-4-8a-smart-ic-car-charger-with-lcd-voltage-display/p/MP3692

 

https://www.jaycar.com.au/5-4a-dual-usb-car-charger-with-qualcomm-quick-charge-3-0/p/MP3682?pos=2&queryId=e64884a2a95b4a150cedea337357ea34

 

https://www.jaycar.com.au/4-2a-2-port-usb-charger-with-dust-cap-power-indicator/p/PS2034?pos=2&queryId=7dc1ce235f31dcffb426c738f4e168fe

 

https://www.altronics.com.au/p/m8623c-5.5a-qc3.0-dual-usb-car-charger/

[danny_galaga]

Thing is, I'm going to have to charge it up at home more often than not.  I will double check the linear charger kit I bought to put in the plane. It might actually be 3 amps or so. You guys will know the linear power supply I mean, I think it's in a TO3 package. Thing is, even THOSE can be counterfeit 😃 but I'm hoping in this case the voltage will still be clean, just not capable of as high a current draw as advertised. When I bought it, I wasn't worried because I hadnt even thought about the skyecho2 

[Kyle Communications]

Linear is the best in my opion but the issue is the amount of heat you will generate..and also burn of course. If its 12v input then your dropping 7V across the regulator and at 3 amps thats 21watts being generated in heat

Swith mode of course you dont get that but the are inherantly dirty and need extra filtering ... but I am fussy

c

[kgwilson]

The SE2 contains 4 x LG INR18650 F1L Li ion batteries of 3350 mAh each. That is 4 times the average phone battery of a couple of years ago. Battery capacity and chargers have increased a lot in the last few years so the old 1-2 amp chargers you got with everything years ago won't cut it any more as the time to charge larger batteries is too long.

 

Uavionix states in the installation manual (you can download this from their web site) below.

 

8.2.1 Connection Notes

It is important to choose an appropriate power supply and cable to ensure proper charging of SkyEcho.
1. It is recommended for fastest charging that the chosen USB power supply should be compliant with the Quick Charge 3 (QC3) standard. Use one which provides at least 18W. SkyEcho will not adequately charge at less than 2.5 amps.
2. SkyEcho has a high-capacity battery that will permit up to 12 hours of use. It is recommended that, where practical, charging is conducted at least monthly on the power supply until full.
3. Regardless of adapter output, it is not recommended that the SkyEcho be used permanently in-aircraft using a 12V USB adapter as the SkyEcho will consume more power than can be provided by the adapter.
4. While SkyEcho is fitted with a USB-C charging socket, it is not USB PD compliant. USB PD chargers will not properly handshake with and charge the SkyEcho. Instead, use only chargers equipped with USB-A output ports, and utilize the supplied USB-A to USB-C cable.
5. Computer USB ports (Mac or PC) cannot deliver sufficient power to charge a SkyEcho.

 

Given that when fully charged to SE2 provides 12 hours of use, there is no real need to charge it from your aircraft power supply anyway.

[danny_galaga]

3 hours ago, Kyle Communications said:

Linear is the best in my opion but the issue is the amount of heat you will generate..and also burn of course. If its 12v input then your dropping 7V across the regulator and at 3 amps thats 21watts being generated in heat

Swith mode of course you dont get that but the are inherantly dirty and need extra filtering ... but I am fussy

c

Yes, my kit comes with a nice heat sink AND a small fan 🙂

[danny_galaga]

Just had a look. It's an LM338K. So 5amps. I'm hoping that even if it's a counterfeit, it can do 3 😃

[Old Koreelah]

5 hours ago, kgwilson said:

.Given that when fully charged to SE2 provides 12 hours of use, there is no real need to charge it from your aircraft power supply anyway.

On a long trip away from known charging outlets, I habitually connect my devices in flight, so they get some charge.

Anything wrong with that?

[kgwilson]

It depends on what your USB supply is capable of. As Uavionix say the SE2 may consume more power that the USB supply can deliver. It will slow the battery depletion though by whatever the output is. I think the maximum charging voltage is 5 volts so in theory if your USB could deliver 5amps that would more than keep up with the power useage.

 

I know with my 1-2 amp USB supply in the aircraft, my phone will keep functioning when connected for as long as the flight but there is no more power in the battery when I disconnect than when I started. I have thought about getting a bigger one but have not done so as I am unsure whether I'll get radio interference. The first cheap one I had was useless. The one I have now is Baseus & no interference. It seems to be a good brand. I have a 20,000 mAh 20W Baseus power bank & that is excellent so I take that with me to recharge things if I am nowhere near a power point. It is quite heavy.

[coljones]

6 hours ago, kgwilson said:

The SE2 contains 4 x LG INR18650 F1L Li ion batteries of 3350 mAh each. That is 4 times the average phone battery of a couple of years ago. Battery capacity and chargers have increased a lot in the last few years so the old 1-2 amp chargers you got with everything years ago won't cut it any more as the time to charge larger batteries is too long.

 

Uavionix states in the installation manual (you can download this from their web site) below.

 

8.2.1 Connection Notes

It is important to choose an appropriate power supply and cable to ensure proper charging of SkyEcho.
1. It is recommended for fastest charging that the chosen USB power supply should be compliant with the Quick Charge 3 (QC3) standard. Use one which provides at least 18W. SkyEcho will not adequately charge at less than 2.5 amps.
2. SkyEcho has a high-capacity battery that will permit up to 12 hours of use. It is recommended that, where practical, charging is conducted at least monthly on the power supply until full.
3. Regardless of adapter output, it is not recommended that the SkyEcho be used permanently in-aircraft using a 12V USB adapter as the SkyEcho will consume more power than can be provided by the adapter.
4. While SkyEcho is fitted with a USB-C charging socket, it is not USB PD compliant. USB PD chargers will not properly handshake with and charge the SkyEcho. Instead, use only chargers equipped with USB-A output ports, and utilize the supplied USB-A to USB-C cable.
5. Computer USB ports (Mac or PC) cannot deliver sufficient power to charge a SkyEcho.

 

Given that when fully charged to SE2 provides 12 hours of use, there is no real need to charge it from your aircraft power supply anyway.

Dunno.  If each of the 4 cells is 3.3Ah, giving an SE2 total of 13Ah and the SE2 lasts for 12 hours then the discharge rate is around 1Amp over the 12hrs. This would presume that an output rate from the charger of around 1Amp will float the SE2.  I don't see a problem - unless the SE2 battery was flattened and you wanted a quick re-charge in which case a 10A charger would be nice.

[danny_galaga]

Just heard back from uavionix:

 

Good Morning Danny,

The specifications given in the user manual are quite detailed but are mainly to prevent the use of inferior quality and often dangerous USB charging equipment.

We have found that common brand name USB chargers (mobile phone chargers) are sufficient, also charging via a computer USB hub. 

The key recommendation is to charge the unit at least once a month using a 240V source rather than relying on in aircraft charging for long periods of time.

 

The battery capacity and voltage can be monitored via WiFi connection to 192.168.4.1/stats.

[danny_galaga]

So a good quality 2amp charger is fine, or your PC. So it looks like I CAN pilfer my charger stash after all 😃

[Kyle Communications]

17 hours ago, danny_galaga said:

Just had a look. It's an LM338K. So 5amps. I'm hoping that even if it's a counterfeit, it can do 3 😃

If you look back quite a few years ago in my original savannah build blog you will see the multi outout one I made. it uses the LM338  its a great device so simple to use but heatsink is a big must. I first used tem some 20 years ago in glow plug drivers for RC aircraft. Set the voltage out and it would auto regulate the current for the glowplug...I made literally 50 for the guys in the model clubs. I keep LM338's always in the drawer at the workshopg

[kgwilson]

50 minutes ago, danny_galaga said:

Just heard back from uavionix:

 

Good Morning Danny,

The specifications given in the user manual are quite detailed but are mainly to prevent the use of inferior quality and often dangerous USB charging equipment.

We have found that common brand name USB chargers (mobile phone chargers) are sufficient, also charging via a computer USB hub. 

The key recommendation is to charge the unit at least once a month using a 240V source rather than relying on in aircraft charging for long periods of time.

 

The battery capacity and voltage can be monitored via WiFi connection to 192.168.4.1/stats.

Interesting. I connected mine & checked the stats. It shows the battery currently at 80% & voltage 3916 millivolts. The battery indicator displays green till the battery gets to 60% then it displays orange and red when it gets down to 30%. I used mine for a number of flights & on the ground to show aircraft overflying & in the circuit & didn't recharge it till the battery indicator changed to orange which I did at home.

 

A few months ago I replaced a double 3 pin socket outlet with one that included a charging circuit with 2 x USB A & 1 USB C sockets which will supply 3.5 amps max at 5 volts. It still took a few hours to charge the SE2 back to 100% with the supplied QC3 cable. I have a USB C PD cable capable of carrying 65 watts & it will charge my phone to 50% in about 1/2 an hour, then it slows down. The last 15% of charge takes about 40 minutes.