TURBO30 TURBOFLEX
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
WARNING
It is dangerous to work in
the vicinity of a lead-acid battery since they generate explosive gases during
normal battery operation. To prevent an
explosion when using a lead-acid battery, such as an automobile battery, you
must disconnect the 6 fool leads from the Turbothirty before putting on or
taking off the leads connecting to the lead-acid battery terminals. Operate the Turbothirty as far away from the lead-acid
battery as possible. This will keep any
sparks or arcing away from the lead-acid battery.
To reduce the risk of injury,
use only high-rate rechargeable nickel cadmium or nickel metal hydride
batteries with the Turbothirty. Any
other type of battery may burst and cause personal injury.
DO NOT leave the Turbothirty
unattended. The remote possibility of an
electronic failure could cause an extreme overcharge. This could cause the battery to burst and
cause a fire hazard.
The Turbothirty is designed
to provide data about high-rate rechargeable nickel cadmium batteries used in
R/C car racing. In order to simulate the
discharge rates obtained during racing, The Turbothirty is designed to
discharge at high currents. While the
methods used in the Turbothirty are common in selecting cells, excessive cell
heat generated during the process may cause damage to the cells or cause them
to vent battery acids. To reduce the
risk of injury, Always wear safety glasses when operating the Turbothirty.
Always made sure all the
batteries in the pack are in the same state of discharge before charging a
pack. Otherwise, the cells that are
partially charged before charging will get extremely hot and may be damaged or
vent battery acids.
Check your battery pack occasionally
for overheating. If the cells are too
hot to touch, there is something wrong and the pack must be disconnected from
the charger.
Competition Electronics, Inc.
shall not be liable for any property damage or personal injury which may result
from the failure to follow these instructions or other improper use of this
product.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Turbothirty is a
microprocessor based charger/discharger system for high-rate rechargeable
batteries for use in R/C. It is a linear
type and can fully charge 1 to 7 cells at a digitally
presettable amperage up to a maximum of 12.0 amps using the peak detection
method. It can automatically repeak up
to 2 more times with different charge amp rates and peak
detect drop-back volts for each peak.
After a charge, the charge time, peak charge volts and time since the
charge was done can be displayed.
Turboflex charging (reflex) may also be selected with intensity being
settable from 1 to 9 for every peak. The
Turbothirty can discharge 1,4,6 or 7 cell packs and
automatically turn off at a user settable cutoff voltage. The settable discharge amps can be between 5
to 30 amps for 1,4 and 6 cells and between 5 to 25
amps for 7 cells. After the discharge
cycle, the discharge time and the discharge average cell voltage can be
displayed. It can also automatically
charge, repeak and discharge 1,4,6,7 cells using the parameters set for the
charge and discharge functions. It can
automatically cycle cells up to 9 times with up to a
16 hour wait between cycles. Upon
completion of the last cycle, all the charge and discharge readings can be
displayed along with the relative cell resistance. Another mode available on the Turbothiry is
the buzz box mode. This mode is used to
obtain higher initial voltage from SCR cells.
The final mode available is the motor break-in mode. Here the motor voltage and run time may be
set. The run current is displayed. Another screen will display the source supply
voltage. All the settable values can be
saved in one of three available power-down memories. Upon power up, on of the three setups may be
selected and reloaded from memory.
SUPPLY VOTS
The Turbothirty will operate
from a 12 volt automobile battery (see above warning notes) or any DC supply
within the voltage range of 12 to 16 volts and 12 amp
or more capacity. It will operate with
less amperage, but the charge current will be limited to the maximum capacity
of the supply. Do not use a 12 volt car
battery charger. It is unfiltered DC and
will damage the Turbothirty.
CONNECTIONS
The long 5 foot supply lead
plugs into the connector on the left side of the Turbothirty (see warning notes
above). You must connect to the supply
first then the battery pack. Otherwise
the Turbothirty will not work. The
battery pack connector and the supply connector are the opposite type so they
cannot be plugged in backwards. The red alligator clip on the 5 foot lead
connects to the positive (+) on your DC supply.
The black lead connects to the negative (-). The leads supplied for the battery pack
hook-up are the alligator type. Be sure
you observe polarity when connecting to your battery pack, positive to red and
negative to black. Damage may result if
polarity is not observed. The connector
supplied may be hooked directly to your battery if it is compatible and the
polarity is the same. Other adapters are
available from various manufacturers.
The small leads from the Turbothirty are voltage sensing leads. They are used mainly for the discharge or
cycle modes to get an accurate voltage measurement. Connect them directly to the battery pack
while observing correct polarity. voltage sensing is also done thru the heavy current carrying
leads but will give slight voltage errors especially with heavy chare or
discharge current. The slight error,
however, doesn’t effect the charging of the battery.
OPTIONAL
To connect to the optional
battery box, simply plug the battery box into the battery pack connector from
the Turbothirty. Then connect the small
red alligator clip to the small red lead on the battery box and the small black
alligator clip to the small black lead.
The small voltage sensing leads must be connected to get accurate
discharge readings. Do not hook up any
extra wire to the battery box high current leads. This can cause the discharge current to taper
off at the end of the discharge.
Mount the end of the battery
box with the springs to a flat surface with the holes provided. The other end of the box is left free to
move. Do no tighten the screws all the
way, otherwise the battery box will not move freely.
The battery box may be forced
open by squeezing the spring end of the rods and the box between the thumb and
forefingers. This is useful for placing
the battery in the box. The positive
terminal of the battery goes to the red lead end of the battery box. Rotating the battery in the box will ensure
good connection between the contacts and the battery. To remove the battery, place your finge3r
underneath the battery and pus up.
The contacts used are tin
plated brass contacts. The contacts can
be cleaned using a model train track cleaner for brass tracks such as Rail
Zip. They should be cleaned twice a day.
GENERAL OPERATION
To select the mode of
operation, simply push the (CHG), (DISCHRG), (CYCLE) or (MOTR) button. To get to the rest of the modes, push the
(LEFT ARROW) button. At that mode, you
may be able to increment a settable value by pushing the (UP ARROW/OFF)
button. A cursor line will appear under
the digit of any settable values. After
setting the desired value, push the start (START) button to begin the selected
mode of operation. You can only start a
mode of operation from a screen that has the top line displayed. To stop the Turbothirty at any time, push the
(UP ARROW/OFF) button. The (RIGHT ARROW)
button will scroll thru the modes backwards.
The menu change button (MENU CHG) will toggle between the modes of
operation and the default values (settable) menu. To go directly to Turboflex set screen for
the first peak from any screen, push the (LEFT ARROW) button and hold it down,
then push the (START) button. Use the
same technique to go to the ‘save setup’ screen with the (LEFT ARROW)-(UP
ARROW/OFF) push buttons. For the ‘load
setup’ screen use the (LEFT ARROW)-(RIGHT ARROW) push buttons. Using the dual push buttons will enable you
to quickly get to the desired screens.
Continuously pushing the (LEFT ARROW) button will page from screen to
screen. The selectable screens are as
follows in order displayed.
MAIN MENU SCREENS
v
Charge mode
v
Display peak
charge volts
v
Display supply
volts
v
Discharge mode
v
Display discharge
average pack volts
v
Display Milliamp
hours
v
Display relative
internal cell resistance
v
Automatic cycle
mode
v
Motor run mode
v
Buzz box mode
v
Save setup values
mode
v
Load setup values
mode
DEFAULT VALUES MENU SCREENS
The screens are as follows in
order displayed.
v
Trickle charge
select (.3 amps)
v
Long lockout
select (10 minutes)
v
Peak detect
drop-back volts – number 1 peak
v
Turboflex for
peak 1 select mode
v
Delay time –
number 1 peak
v
Charge Amps –
number 2 peak
v
Peak detect
drop-back volts – number 2 peak
v
Turboflex for
peak 2 select mode
v
Delay time –
number 2 peak
v
Charge Amps –
number 3 peak
v
Peak detect
drop-back volts – number 3 peak
v
Turboflex for
peak 3 select mode
v
Number of cell
and cutoff volts for discharge
v
Cool down time
between cycles
v
Motor run time
CHARGE MODE
Push the (CHRG) button to get
to the charge screen directly. You may
also push the (LEFT ARROW) button until you see the message ‘CHARGE#PK1 3.0’. The cursor will be under the digit that is
settable. To set any other digit, simply
push the (LEFT ARROW) button or (RIGHT ARROW) button until the cursor is under
the digit. To increment the digit
setting, push the (UP ARROW/OFF) button until you reach the desired
setting. The value can be set up to a
maximum of 19.9 amps at this time, but the Turbothirty will only allow you to
run a maximum of 12.0 amps when you push the (START) button. You can also set the number of peaks by
setting the number next to the ‘#PK’ part of the screen. Using 1 peak will charge your battery
completely. Using peaks 2 and 3 will
repeak your battery. The charge amps for
peaks 2 and 3, delay between peaks, Turboflex intensity, Turboflex on/off and
peak detect drop back voltages are settable in the default values menu. (see DEFAULT VALUES MENU)
To run the charge mode, you
must have the message ‘CHARGE #PK1 3.0’ on the display. When you push the (START) button, the message
‘CHARGE 1 XX.XX’ will appear on the second line of the display. The ‘XX.XX’ is the actual supply voltage,
under load, at the Turbothirty. The ‘1’
after ‘CHARGING’ tells which peak the charge is on. During time delay, the upper left hand number
is the amount of delay time that has been completed. The top line of the display, from left to
right, will show the actual charge time in seconds, the pack volts, charge
current and will be updated constantly.
The actual charge current shown on the display will fluctuate slightly
and will be within 0.1 of an amp of the value selected.
After a completed charge, the
number in the upper left hand corner will be the time since the charge has been
completed. To get the actual charge
time, just push the (LEF ARROW) push button and the time will appear in the
upper left hand corner of the display.
It is normal and desirable for the batteries to be slightly warm at the
end of the charge cycle. If your battery
false peaked, the cells will be cold and the charge time will be short. For maximum performance, never repeak your
batteries more than twice.
The charge mode will only
allow a maximum of 3000mah charge before automatically shutting off. This is to assure that batteries that tend
not to peak will be shut off before they are overcharged excessively.
The charge mode has a peak
detect drop-back voltage warning built into it.
If the peak detect drop-back voltage exceeds
.03 volt for a dingle cell or .09 for a multiple cell pack, the warning message
‘PEAK DET TOO
The standard peak detect
lockout time is 60 seconds. This means
the charge will run 60 seconds even if the battery voltage is dropping. A long peak detect lockout of 10 minutes can
be selected in the default menu. The
long lockout will only last one charge and must be reselected if needs
again. It will also be cleared if the
(UP ARROW/OFF) button is pushed. The
long peak detect lockout is meant to be used with packs that have a bad
tendency to false peak.
PEAK CHARGE VOLTS DISPLAY
MODE
To display the peak charge
volts, push the (LEFT ARROW) button until you see the message ‘PEAK CHG V
XX.XX’. The ‘XX.XX’ digits show the supply volts. It is useful to detect a nearly dead
automobile battery or a supply that is past the maximum of 18 volts allowable
under the warranty. The supply volts are
also displayed while running main modes of operation. This is useful for detecting a weak supply
during charging.
DISCHARGE MODE
To run the discharge mode,
push the (DISCHRG) button. You may also
push the (LEFT ARROW) button until you see the message ‘DISCHG AMP XX XC’. The letters ‘DISCHG’ mean you are in the
discharge mode. The ‘XX’ digits show the
discharge rate selected in amps. Maximum
discharge rate for 1,4 and 6 cell is 30 amps or 25 amps for 7 cells. Minimum setting is 5 amps. The ‘XC’ indicates the number of cells to be
discharged. Set the amps and number of
cells by using the (LEFT ARROW) button and the (UP ARROW/OFF) button. The cutoff volts for 1, 4, 6 and 7 cell packs
can be set in the DEFAULT MENU. To get
there, just press the (MENU CHNG) push button.
Press the (MENU CHNG) push button again to get back.
To run the discharge mode,
you must have the ‘DISCHG AMP XX XC’ message on the display and the voltage ON
THE DISPLAY must be above the cutoff voltage and below a maximum of 1.5 volts
per cell. You may have to wait a few
seconds for the voltage to come up when connecting up a pack before you can
push the (START) button. When you push
the (START) button, the message ‘DISCHGING XX.XX’ will appear to indicate that
you are actually discharging.. The
‘XX.XX’ digits show the supply volts.
The actual discharge time in seconds, the pack volts and the discharge
current will be displayed on the top line of the display and are updated
constantly.
After your pack has reached
the drop-out voltage, the message ‘DISCHARGE DONE’ will be displayed. To get to the ‘DISCHG AMP XX XC’ display,
push either the (LEFT ARROW) or the set digit (UP ARROW/OFF) button. The discharge time for the pack is displayed
in the upper left hand corner. The
discharge time is useful to check the amount of time left tin your pack to
determine gear sizes. A 20 amp discharge
rate is useful to get approximate run time left for 1/0 scale cars.
DISCHARGE AVERAGE VOLTAGE
DISPLAY
After the discharge or cycle
mode has been run, the average voltage of the pack or cell during discharge can
be displayed. Just push the (LEFT ARROW)
button until the message ‘DISCHG AVE X.XX’ is displayed.
RELATIVE INTERNAL CELL
RESISTANCE DISPLAY
After the cycle mode has been
run, the relative internal resistance of the cell can be displayed. Just push the (LEFT ARROW) button until the
message ‘INTERNAL RES XX’ is displayed.
The lower the relative internal resistance the more punch the cell will
deliver. Another effect the oval racers
find is that the lower resistance SCRC packs have more speed at the end of the
run. The RED SCR’s and the BLACK SCRC’s
will have a range from 25 to 40 for a single cell. The PURPLE P-170’s will have a range from 35
to 75.
AUTOMATIC CYCLE MODE
To get to this mode, push the
(CYCLE) button. You may also push the
(LEFT ARROW) button until the message ‘CYCLE X CELLS X’ appears. The ‘CELLS X’ indicates the number of cycles
to be run. Set the number of cycles and
cells by using the (LEFT ARROW) button and the (UP ARROW/OFF) button. The cool down minutes between cycles for more
that one cycle can be set in the DEFAULT MENU.
To get there, just press the (MENU CHNG) push button then the (LEFT
ARROW) to get to the message ‘COOL DWN NIM XXX). Press the (MENU CHNG) push button again to
get back. The Turbothirty will use the
charge amps, delay times, no. of peaks and peak detect drop-back volts set up
in the charge mode. It will also use the
cutoff volts and discharge amps set up in the discharge mode.
To start this mode, push the
(START) button. The message ‘CYCLX CHG
XX.XX’ will appear. The ‘X’ in ‘CYCLX’
indicates the cycle number being run now.
‘CHGX’ tells that the Turbothirty is charging and that it is working on
the 1st, 2nd or 3rd peak. The ‘XX.XX’ is the supply volts. The first line on the display will show the
actual charge time in seconds, the cell voltage and the charge current.
The display ‘CYCLX DLYX
XX.XX’ indicates that it is in delay
number 1,2 or 3 as designated in ‘DLYX’ by the ‘X’ digit. The delays are set up in the charge
mode. There is a 15 second delay between
the last charge peak and discharge.
The display ‘CYCLX DSCG
XX.XX’ indicates that it is in the discharge mode.
The display ‘COOL DOWN
CYCLEX’ indicates that it is in the cool down period between cycles. The ‘X’ in ‘CYCLEX’ designates the next cycle
to be run. The number in the upper left
hand corner is the time that has past in minutes for the cool down period.
The cycle mode follows the
sequence below.
v
Charge battery –
using charge mode setup
v
Delay 15 seconds
between charge and discharge
v
Discharge battery
– using the discharge mode setup
v
Cool-down or
completed depending on number of cycles set
MOTOR RUN FEATURE
To get to this mode, push the
(MOTR) button. You may also push the
(LEFT ARROW) button until the message ‘MOTOR VOLTS X.XX’ appears. The ‘X.XX’ INDICATES THAE VOLTS YOU WISH TO
RUNT THE MOTOR AT. Set the volts desired
by using the (LEFT ARROW) button and the (UP ARROW/OFF) button. The motor run time in seconds can be set in
the DEFAULT MENU. To get there, just
press the (MENU CHNG) push button. Press
the (MENU CHNG) push button again to get back.
To start the motor run mode,
you must have the ‘MOTOR VOLTS X.XX’ message on the display. Push
the (START) button and the message ‘MOROR ON XX.XX’ will appear to
indicate that you are actually running. The
‘XX.XX’ digits show the supply volts.
The current run time in seconds, the motor volts and the motor run
current will be displayed on the top line of the display and are updated
constantly. It takes a few seconds for
the voltage reading to respond.
The Turbothirty checks to
make sure there is no voltage on the leads before it will start the motor. This will prevent you from starting this
function if there is a battery hooked up to the leads. If you start the motor and then turn it off
with the (UP ARROW/OFF) push button, a voltage will remain shown on the screen
for a few seconds. This will prevent you
from starting the motor again until the voltage reading goes close to zero.
The motor will take about 3
seconds to wind-up to speed. This is due
to the soft start mode used by the Turbothirty.
This keeps the power supply from going into current limiting caused by
the start-up current of the motor.
BUZZ BOX MODE
To get to this mode, push the
(LEFT ARROW) button until the message ‘BUZ BOX SEC XX’ appears. You may also push the (LEFT ARROW) button and
the (UP ARROW/OFF) button. The maximum
allowable seconds is 19.
To set the number of amps to
charge, push the (LEFT ARROW) button until the message ‘BUZ BOX AMPXX’
appears. The ‘XX’ indicates the number
of amps to be charged. Set the amps by
using the (LEFT ARROW) button and the (UP ARROW.OFF) button. The maximum amps allowable in this mode is 18
amps.
DO NOT use this mode more
than once per charge as it could cause the batteries to vent. Use of this bode at high charge amps can
degrade your batteries. DO NOT use on
PURPLE P-170 cells or BLACK SCRC cells as they will degrade quickly at high
charge amps. Use only on SCR cells.
SAVE SETUP SETTABLE VALUES
To get to this mode, push the
(LEFT ARROW) button until the message ‘SAVE SETUP X’ appears. You may also push the (LEFT ARROW) button and
hold it down while then pressing the (UP ARROW/OFF) button to get to there
directly. Pushing the (START) button
will store all the settable values in one of the three selectable power down
memories for use the next time you power up the Turbothirty.
LOAD SETUP SETTABLE VALUES
To get to this mode push the
(LEFT ARROW) button until the message ‘LOAD SETUP X’ appears. You may also push the (LEFT ARROW) button and
hold it down while then pressing the (MENU) button to get to there directly. Pushing the (START) button will load all the
settable values from one of the three selectable power down memories.
TURBOFLEX
The Turbothirty employs our
own version of reflex charging called TurboFlex. Turboflex charging can recondition cells by
lowering the internal resistance thru breaking up of the crystalline structure
formed by aging cells, it can also reduce heat buildup during charging by
reducing gas build up the cells. Before
charging you may select one of 9 intensities for each of the three peaks in the
default menu. Also TurboFlex may be
turned on or off for each of the three peaks.
Intensity 1 is the lowest and 9 is the highest. We recommend intensity 3 for RED SCR’s and 6
for BLACK SCRC’s or PURPLE P-170 cells.
You can jump directly to the Turboflex screen for the first peak by
pushing and holding down the (LEFT ARROW) button and then pushing the (START)
button.
DEFAULT MENU
The default menu can be
selected by pushing the (MENU CHNG) push button. Pushing the (LEFT ARROW) or (RIGHT ARROW)
will position the cursor under the desired value to change. A listing of the screens in this menu is
shown in the GENERAL OPERATION section.
The main menu can be returned to by pushing the (MENU CHNG) push button
again.
False peaks can be caused by
several things, Batteries that have been
full discharged can false peak for several minutes. Use the long lockout to alleviate this
problem. Another cause is using
alligator clips on solid leads. This can
produce a poor connection that can’t handle the charge current. It is best to clip onto braided wire or
multi-strand wire where more area is contacted by the alligator clips. Using connectors that are worn or dirty can
also produce false peaks because of poor connections. Turboflexing can also cause batteries that
haven’t been flex charged before to false peak.
Either continue to restart the Turbothirty until the batteries continue
to charge or use the long lockout so the batteries will charge 10 minutes
before the peak detecting occurs.
DISCHARGING FOR PERFORMANCE
To get maximum performance
from your batteries, discharge them first using the discharge function then
fully discharge them using a .1 ohm 10 watt or a 1 ohm 5 watt resistor across
each cell until the pack is cool. Any
longer than that is not necessary and may cause them to false peak at the
beginning of a charge. By putting a
resistor across each cell, all cells will be bully discharged.
FUSES
Sooner or later you will blow
a fuse by hooking up the supply backwards.
It is best to go out and buy extra 15 amp fuses in parallel. It is almost certain if one of these fuses
are blown, they both are blown. They
will fatigue after a while and finally blow.
How long they last will depend on the discharge current. The higher the normal discharge current used,
the shorter the life. They are the fuses
that are in series with the battery pack.
The single fuse in its own opening is for the power supply.
TEMPERATURE RANGE 32 TO 100
degrees Fahrenheit.
WHEN IT DOESN’T
Make sure that you have
connected the supply leads first and then the battery leads.
Check the fuses to make sure
that they are not blown. See section on
FUSES.
Please call us before you
send the unit back. We may be able to
tell you if the unit is malfunctioning or if there is some operating
consideration that needs further explanation.
Phone no. (815) 874-8001.
REPAIR POLICY
All repairs are completed
within 5 working days. Total charges
will include parts cost, labor and return shipping. Include your return address, a daytime phone
number and an explanation of the problem.
SUGGESTED
A 20 amp discharge rate is
recommended for matching Sanyo SCR’s, SCRC’s and PURPLE P-170’S. SCR discharge times can run between 230 to
300 seconds, SCRC’s and P-170’s run
between 300 and 360 seconds. SCRC
batteries are less stable and less rugged than SCR’s. We recommend a charge rate of 3 to 5 amps for
RED SCR’s, BLACK SCRC’s and PURPLE P-170.
Set the cutoff volts at 0.9 volts per cell. Ie: 6 cell at 5.4
volts. This is the default value from
the factory. Set the peak detect
drop-back volts at 0.03 for a single cell and 0.05 for packs. Set delay times at 120 seconds. Use a 2 peak charge (#PK2) set on the charge
screen.
The primary number used for
matching batteries is the discharge time.
Group cells in a pack as close as you can. The discharge average voltage is an important
number for matching RED SCR’s or BLACK SCRC’s for stock class. You want as high a discharge average voltage
as you can get. Use the discharge time
first as the primary number, then the discharge average voltage to grade
with. The higher the discharge average
voltage the more punch the motor will have.
Use the relative internal resistance also as a grading factor for
punch. The lower the resistance the
better the punch. This combination will
give you the most speed and punch. For
SCRC or P-170 packs with modified motors, the relative internal resistance
should be the second number to grade by.
The discharge average voltage is not as important because you can always
go to a lower wind motor to compensate for the voltage. To obtain the best possible matching, cycle
new batteries 3 or 4 times. This will
insure the maximum performance from each cell.
Competition Electronics