The making of the BLF UC4 charger: the start of a new venture, INTEREST LIST, UPDATE 7 (Well, ramping stopped :/ )

It was pretty clear that a new mold would be too big a risk from the beginning, but what do you mean when you say it will be aluminum? Are you thinking a single milled chunk, or a bent case like the steel cases commonly seen on other electronics? A solid piece would be fantastic just for the heft, but I’m a bit concerned it would impact costs quite a bit - and what measures will be taken to prevent bare cells or internal components from shorting against the conductive body? Surely a thin layer of anodizing or paint isn’t sufficient?
This seems like an interesting project for sure, but I’m concerned the specific requirements you have for a charger may be to niche compared to others, and the budget may make it impossible to create a quality product that meets the requirements safely.
Have you considered working with the Cheali Charger software It’s open source, and seems to do just about everything you want when paired with an Imax B6. A custom case with all the bits and pieces you want could be a lot easier to create, and basing it off an existing product could improve reliability. Or is there a reason you don’t want to go this route?

I’m in for 1.

Interested in 1

I’m in on anything BLF!

I currently have the Xtar Dragon VP4 Plus. Does this offer anything over the VP4 Plus and MC3000 chargers?

@bmengineer, I’m not worried about that. Who do you think built the aluminium ISDT chargers? :slight_smile:

A thick layer of black anodizing(50um+) should be sufficient.

Anyway, that, I don’t know yet what method will be used. I’ll have to ask later.

About the 49$US budget, they said that even with the nickel plated brass holders, it’s actually a rather reasonable price as a 4 cell charger for the BLF GB, even including the necessary safety measures and testing that I asked for.

Any larger than that, and new tooling would make it much more expensive, since it’s built out of aluminium. Still way less than a plastic mold though.

That’s the problem…

It would actually be more expensive to make this compatible with 75mm+ 21700s.

I wasn’t aware ISDT had aluminum slot chargers. And what are your thoughts on Cheali? Even if you’re set on using entirely different software, supporting the readily available open source software seems like an obvious path to take, no?

Cheali would be great, yes. I’ve read on it multiple times before on the other forum. A bit overkill, but this is what BLF is about.

I’ll give the suggestion to the manufacturer.

Glad the name cheali was brought up.
I recently modded my iMax B6 clone and couldn’t be happier, the firmware is incredible.

The developer for cheali himself (Paweł Stawicki) is no longer actively working on the firmware. I think he perfected it and couldn’t find anything else to improve.

I also subscribed to the thread, great idea.

@SKV89

1. Higher total current(12A at 4,4V max)

2. Many more current options.

3. Charging voltage control.

4. More thorough very low current low voltage recovery.

Interested in 1

I am definitely in!

What's the point with SecondLifeStorage?

You can count with me in bulking up unconditionally, I do not back up even if am not straight interested right now due to economic reasons.

And even if I am a money-efficient :-) fellow I have to admit I personally would extend the price target a little bit, at least to guarantee room for the new aluminium chassis idea and/or other power user requirements/features. Aluminium can also be nickel plated for the rails.

Now that we're here BlueSwordM, you may want to start ordering nickel plated beryllium copper springs for the rails. :-D

Unnecessary granularity in the higher end while insufficient at the lower, button wise.

For less clicks, as default range something like 35 - 50 - 70 - 100 - 140 - 200 - 300 - 400 - 600 - 800 - 1200 - 1600 - 2400 - 3200 would fit best, imho. Progressive granularity in any case.

When you keep pressed a key on a computer keyboard it auto-repeats. This can also be of help but please make it quick enough (low repeat delay, high repeat rate).

I like how does this sounds.

In for one

Their page disagrees with you:

And without sliding bays it’s not really the same thing.

@Barkuti, if we are going with nickel plated aluminium rails, you are going to be paying for the difference in price vs nickel plated brass. :smiley:

Plating aluminium is rather tricky and expensive, so a brass alloy with good tensile strength and yield strength would be adequate.

I dd not know about the ISDT C4 charger. Like the UI options and the option to connect it to a PC.
But lets wait what the BLF charger will offer when the specs are finalized.
I am in for one BLF Charger!

Definitely in for 1. Possibly more later as it progresses with more solid details. Thank you! This is a great project and appreciate your commitment, time and energy into i!

I’m in BlueSwordM, thx for your work.

I have an OPUS 3100 and SkyRC MC3000 and both have great features. A combination of these two would be a fantastic charger!

One thing I would DEFINITELY need is reinforced springs and mounting hardware. My OPUS is currently down to 3 slots due to post the springs hook around broke off. My SkyRC charger had the same problem (the plastic post snapped off) so I had to hook the springs around something else inside the charger. It seems like the springs, and the posts they attach to are the weakest parts in the entire charger, and both manufacturers make them out of plastic :person_facepalming:

I’m in for 1 with the stipulation that those spring posts are made of metal (or somehow reinforced).