Really.. Thanks,

It seemed to me that every time i tried to add battery to an order from China they mentioned they do not ship to USA...

Even Gearbest.. Unless they have changed recently. They do offer on eBay but they warned mid August as possibly delivery date. Which i took to mean they will ship thur US seller . I guess anyway..

On the 3 battery package only 30 bucks more then i paid... for 2 extra batteries.. sounded good to me..

Be Well All

Originally Posted by ashsys

any one with battery mods for 5w to take bugs3 battery with xt30 ?

That might be a problem ..because the battery on B3 is bigger and longer..

Also running extra wires soldered to board under pinned connector might snag on the ribbon mounted below and that is something.. me personally would avoid

Be Well All

Originally Posted by GatorsFly

Really.. Thanks,

It seemed to me that every time i tried to add battery to an order from China they mentioned they do not ship to USA...

Even Gearbest.. Unless they have changed recently. They do offer on eBay but they warned mid August as possibly delivery date. Which i took to mean they will ship thur US seller . I guess anyway..

On the 3 battery package only 30 bucks more then i paid... for 2 extra batteries.. sounded good to me..

30 Bucks is well worth it, the batteries alone are close to that much for just one battery.

I too have trouble buying batteries from China. Both Banggood & Gearbest usually don't send batteries to New Zealand. I did order the batteries from Geekbuying though and they say the batteries have been sent.

For my Bugs B2W I ordered from Banggood from their USA warehouse which offered international shipping, the batteries were sent and I received them. But if I check now, I can't get them shipped from the USA warehouse nor from the China warehouse. Lithium batteries are just such a pain when it comes to overseas shipping!

Great price though...

Just found this balance charger that came with the Eachine Pioneer quad (scary thing!!) that is able to charge lipos via their balance-plug only:



It's called the E302 and just sports balance ports for 2S and 3S batteries and as you can see it can handle LiPo, LiFe and NiMH ones.

So after my B5W flight last night I thought I give it a go and plugged the B5W battery in. Set it to LiPo and started charging. After about an hour I smelled something like overheated plastic and inmediately felt what was going on with the battery: no problem there. The charger on the other hand was piping HOT, so I disconnected right away. Afraid something might have been wrong with the battery, I put the battery in the B5W and had a look at the TX display, and what do you know: battery indication reported 'full'

This would be an awesome little charger capable of charging B5W batteries in about an hour instead of over 5 hrs with the provided one, except for it to get so darn HOT Not sure if I want to do that again

I've ordered 3 of these in two separate orders from TOMTOP ebay store.
They arrived quickly, with a proper storage charge, and so far operate exactly as the OEM battery. They look identical to the OEM and I feel they are.


https://www.ebay.com/i/292605844656?...r=591410888905

Thanks GR

I saw that. The 30 day shipping window put me off. I am "hoping" Amazon will have them by then.. Makes returning if there is a problem more feasible..Tomtop is very quick however..

PP

i have a mid-ish level charger in shipment. $30 bucks cheaper then Amazon.

I contacted a YT reviewer who is also a RCG member. I asked if that charger had a port for a battery temp sensor.

He said no but.. It has a charger monitoring temp sensor. He claims that charging at 1 amp not only makes the batteries last longer but has also never had a problem with battery overheating.

He said he likes it so well he bought a 2nd one. It also has dual charging ports and a USB charge port. Compatible with dual parallel charge boards..

USB port was important to me cause.. i have some birds that charge that way.. Nice to be able to monitor the charge rate.. . I am hoping anyway.

https://m.tomtop.com/p-rm2995us.html

https://m.tomtop.com/p-rm9288.html

Be Well All

GF
Both deliveries were 2 weeks. He ships ePacket with tracking and that is a typical time frame for that shipping service.
The 30 day time frame is insurance for the seller incase of any delays.

GR

that is better then regular TomTop.. Which comes in about 2 weeks but.. They only post on their site that the order is dispatched.. No email.. no tracking.. So going thru eBay sounds like a plus for sure..

TomTop also uses DHL and they rock especially compared to Geekbuying and Hobby Wow even paying extra shipping thru FedEx.. Plus the box arrives in perfect condition from DHL.

I tracked a FedEx package from China to Cleveland and it was only 3 days including customs.. 12 hours later in was in Orlando (45) miles from our home.

Then*** 4 days*** later it arrived by postal service..I am sorry but 11.5 miles per day for 45 miles after paying $35 extra for fast shipping is unbelievable..

FedEx carried my Spark from Atlanta to Orlando in 12 hours and 3 days later it arrived delivered by FedEx.. Go figure..

Sorry about the FedEx rant but I hate their service..

Be Well All

@GF

I do have a (small) hobby-charger (Accucell6) that I charge almost all my lipos with, but next to a balance-plug it needs the main plug to be inserted too. The adapter used for the B5W battery only provides a 2S connector, and one needs a charger that does charge that way.

This morning did an "apple to apple" comparison on flight times.

With the B5W modified with a XT connector to the rear, connect batteries,
mild flying for about 7 min, then hover overhead until the low voltage warning
to land. Battery read 7.58V for both cases- the low voltage level probably set at 7.6V.

(1) a B2W battery without case 1.8ah rated capacity 91g : 9min 50sec

(2) a GN3 2.7ah battery 15C modified with XT30 plug 135g : 12 min

Happy Flying

Originally Posted by Pixelpeter

@GF

I do have a (small) hobby-charger (Accucell6) that I charge almost all my lipos with, but next to a balance-plug it needs the main plug to be inserted too. The adapter used for the B5W battery only provides a 2S connector, and one needs a charger that does charge that way.

I wonder if one solders a heavy current wires with a say XT30 connector,
then we can charge it with a regular hobby charger for less than 1 hr
full charge.

Originally Posted by quadtinker

I wonder if one solders a heavy current wires with a say XT30 connector,
then we can charge it with a regular hobby charger for less than 1 hr
full charge.

YES, it can be done.

Three (3) tiny screws holding the back of the balance charge connector to the case,
exposing a small PCB, with clearly labelled + and - areas.

Solder a XT30 ( or any other battery connector pigtail to the PCB

Clip off a small area on the plastic housing opening for the large wires and re-assemble

On my B6 charger, set a 2A, it charges from 7.9 to 8.3V in 10 min.

Happy Flying

Now THAT's a mod I do like!

Originally Posted by Pixelpeter

Now THAT's a mod I do like!

Thanks,

I just followed your saying that all real chargers had
two heavy current leads.