Hi guys, new to the forum but glad I found it! A wealth of knowledge and very experienced UAV people here which I hope to learn from and give back where I can =)
I was hoping someone could advise on which PSU to buy, I have read a lot of different ways with people using redundant server power supplies (or similar) but this is mainly in the US. In my noob like state I bought a Turnigy Reaktor balance charger thinking if be able to charge my batteries from this alone, should have done more research!
Hoping someone can recommend a good PSU to go with this Turnigy product. All help very much appreciated.
Itās a 250w 10a Turnigy and Iāll be charging 6s lipos, but just the 1 at the mo with a view to acquiring more in the bear future, which Iāve already purchased a parallel charging board, although must admit have read good and bad points about thoseā¦
I canāt find any info on the correct PSU for the life of me! Plus one UK company told me to use a normal plug socket with a USB going straight into the balance chargerā¦this really didnāt sound right to meā¦
Welcome mr Butty
I suspect you are northern like the majority of us on here based on your username.
You certainly came to the right place.
Very helpful set of internet loiters on this forum mate.
@SputnikTheAirDog , How dare you put Norfolk in the North !.
Lowestoft (28 miles away) is the most Easterly Point in the Country !!.
Seriously !, Welcome @JamButty to a very helpful place !.
We are Friendly, Helpful, and a āNot to bad a bunch to mingle withā, especially if you pull up a chair, kick the dog out in the yard !, pour a rather Nice Glass of Vino (if the whim takes you !), and get rid of the other half for a hour or so !
And join in, what no doubt will be a Lesson in āThe Higher Education of Dronesā
(Honouree Degree available soon !)
Iāve got a couple of turnigy chargers but not the Reaktor.
They are all pretty similar though and you just need to choose a PSU that exceeds the charger rating +10% for losses. Thatās only if you intend to use its full potential which Iām guessing you probably will at some point.
Iāll take a look on my night shift tonight and see what I can find for you.
You can power it through the DC Jack or the cables with banana connectors.
The DC Jack is limited to 7A and the cables 10A.
So in order to use charger to itās full potential you need a minimum of 13.5v 11A+ PSU.
You can use any voltage between 10 & 18VDC but it will only reach 200w output when you have minimum of 13.5v.
Donāt get confused with input voltage and nominal voltage of your lipos. The charger has a buck/boost converter and will regulate the voltage to whatever programme itās set on.
Turnigy make this Reaktor power supply
Itās more than powerfull enough for your charger and plugs straight in.
Itās an American plug but looks like it uses a standard kettle lead which Iām sure you have lying around.
Only thing is itās not in the UK but Iāve used hobby king a few times and they own Turnigy. No issues and usually comes in a decent time.
If you need one quicker youād be looking at a 200w laptop power supply but be limited to 7A through DC Jack.
Other than that some form of industrial PSU between 13.5 and 18V and around 12 Amps+. Thatās probably going to be the more expensive option though.
As far as using computer PSU, itās not ideal as only 12V so the charger will not reach the 200w itās capable of.
Let me know what you think. If you want something quicker Iāll dig some more and see what I can find.
The last one Iād only use at a push. Itās really designed to be used inside an enclosure and mains terminals are accessible which is bad if you have kids or pets around.
Would be fine on a work bench or something but would have to wire up your own mains cable and fit female 4mm banana plugs on output side.
I think Iāll start with the simple āplug&playā Turnigy from Hobbyking for now and maybe research alternative PSUās in the future if required. Pretty sure I got my balance charger through them and no problems whatsoever with shipping like you say.
Again, fantastic reply mate thanks for this, massive help.
@callum having some trouble ordering that Turnigy from Hobbyking, something about not being able to ship to the UK from the Hong Kong warehouse, weird. Just an FYI for anyone else perhaps looking to purchase it.
Well, so much for simple plug&play, guess Iāll have a look into the other options!
Not sure if its common knowledge but for anyone having an issue ordering from Hobbyking it was because I was trying to use PayPal, if you use a credit card it works.
Anyway, look forward to receiving and getting flying!
