IMAX B6 input

Hello.

I just got my IMAX B6 charger, amongst other parts and a plane, and I got a power supply some months ago that should fit with the charger. It doesn't. The only info I could find at the time was that the outer diameter should be 5,5mm, and the inner should be 2,1mm for the DC jack. I got a 5A power supply that has these dimensions and got the charger today. I felt a huge let-down that the plug did not fit the socket. The DC socket on the charger is 6 mm, and I can't seem to find ANY power supply that fits it! What the hell should I do? I won't be able to charge my batteries, so I can't fly my first real rc plane... Damn.

Please help me, I am eager to fly my plane.

Thanks,
Nikolai
 

pressalltheknobs

Posted a thousand or more times
That sucks! How frustrating.

Couple of ways to proceed.

Hopefully you got a "battery power supply cable" with a 6mm barrel and croc clips". If not then you should complain to whoever you bought the charger from and see if you can get them to send you one.

If you do have one then you can use that to fix the 6mm end (at least for now). Then you can use someone's car 12v battery to charge the battery. It can be in the car but if so keep a close eye on things. You don't want a lipo gone wrong spoiling the shiny paintwork. Maybe use some car jumper cables to get things away from the car.

If that is not an option, you need to decide if you are prepared to give up on the possibility of returning the power supply if it doesn't work or fails. If you are ok with that then with the power supply disconnected from any electricity, you can cut off the 5.5mm barrel from the power supply close to the barrel (leave 3 cm or so on the barrel in case you want to use it again), strip back the two output wires connected to the power supply and use the chargers croc clips to attach the power supply to the charger.

Make sure to get the voltage polarity correct since the charger may not have polarity protection and you will damage it if you get it wrong. Generally one of the two wires has a white line or some marking indicating it is the +ve. A volt meter helps. If you don't have one this might not be a good idea to do.

Before you plug the power supply in to the mains, remove the barrel from the charger. Then apply the mains power and check the polarity and voltage at the barrel with a voltmeter. The center pin should be +12v. I'm assuming the outer barrel is -ve and the pin is +ve but check before you connect anything the mains.

It is essential you don't let the two bare wire ends touch so use insulating tape to separately around each croc clip and wire end. If you don't have insulating tape, you could use regular clear tape or masking tape as a temporary measure. Its better than not taping at all and this is just 12v so not directly life threatening.

If you have a soldering iron you could cut off the croc clips too and solder the wires together for a permanent solution. best to use shrink tubing if you do that.

If you don't want to cut the cord(s) yet and/or you don't have a voltmeter, then you need to find a metal wire that will fit in the socket of the power adapter's 5.5mm barrel connector. Some solid copper wire would be best. A small iron nail would work. It needs to be a good fit and not touch the barrel. This will expose the center 12v and you can connect the -ve croc clip to the barrel and the +ve croc clip to the wire. Tape them up separately to prevent them from touching. I'm assuming the outer barrel is -ve and the center is +ve but check before you connect anything the mains.

This should get you going. Keep a close eye on everything while its plugged in to make sure it doesn't fall apart and short out. That could cause a fire.

Afterwards...
Go buy a cable with a 6mm barrel and appropriately sized wire (pre-made or parts), get a soldering iron, solder and some shrink wrap (or insulating tape - good to have anyway) and, at your leisure, make the temporary fix permanent.

..or buy a different charger with the correct barrel connector.
 
Last edited:

Paul-H

Senior Member
Are you sure about those dimensions

I have 3 imax B6 chargers two genuine SKYRC and one clone and all three take 5.5x2.5 plugs

Double check your measurements before you stark hacking your cables about.

Paul
 

pressalltheknobs

Posted a thousand or more times
Are you sure about those dimensions

I have 3 imax B6 chargers two genuine SKYRC and one clone and all three take 5.5x2.5 plugs

Double check your measurements before you stark hacking your cables about.

Paul

Doesn't really matter what it is if the power supply plug you have doesn't fit it. Measuring it is not going to make it fit any better ;)

But definitely measure it before buying a new one! If you have the croc clip power cable and it fits, measure that. The croc clip power cable is the one in the center...
SkyRCiMAXB6.png
 
Doesn't really matter what it is if the power supply plug you have doesn't fit it. Measuring it is not going to make it fit any better ;)

But definitely measure it before buying a new one! If you have the croc clip power cable and it fits, measure that. The croc clip power cable is the one in the center...
View attachment 57137

I can confirm that I do have the croc clip, and that it has different measurements than the 5,5mm power supply I got. My plan is to solder the dc Jack from the croc clip to the power supply.

Are you sure about those dimensions

I have 3 imax B6 chargers two genuine SKYRC and one clone and all three take 5.5x2.5 plugs

Double check your measurements before you stark hacking your cables about.

Paul

Maybe date and location has a role?

I bought this very recently (got it this Friday), and I also live in Denmark. I am not sure if it does play a role. As said to pressalltheknobs, the croc clips and the power supply connections are definitely different.
 

pressalltheknobs

Posted a thousand or more times
you should test it before cutting the croc clips in case it's DOA and you need to return the charger. I'm sure there is someone around you can ask to borrow some time on their car battery at least to test that it comes on and you can charge your battery. If not I would cut the power supply first and use the croc clips to attach the psu to run a test. You are probably past returning the power supply and it's the less expensive component.

I suspect the only reason is that is what they happen to have a supply of that day. Is it a genuine SKYRC with the hologram or some clone? Or maybe the power supply has the wrong connector?
 
you should test it before cutting the croc clips in case it's DOA and you need to return the charger. I'm sure there is someone around you can ask to borrow some time on their car battery at least to test that it comes on and you can charge your battery. If not I would cut the power supply first and use the croc clips to attach the psu to run a test. You are probably past returning the power supply and it's the less expensive component.

I suspect the only reason is that is what they happen to have a supply of that day. Is it a genuine SKYRC with the hologram or some clone? Or maybe the power supply has the wrong connector?

It's the genuine from Hobbyking, and it has the hologram.
So you mean that I could strip the wires on the power supply, attach the croc clips to it and take a test? Thanks, it's a nice precaution.
 

pressalltheknobs

Posted a thousand or more times
It's the genuine from Hobbyking, and it has the hologram.
So you mean that I could strip the wires on the power supply, attach the croc clips to it and take a test? Thanks, it's a nice precaution.

Yes if you can't "borrow" someones car, that's the next best option. Once you know it is not DOA then you can make it permanent at you leisure. You would be able to use it that way while you order the correct size barrel if you want to keep the croc cable intact. Was basically the idea I described above.
 

Paul-H

Senior Member
Maybe date and location has a role?

I bought this very recently (got it this Friday), and I also live in Denmark. I am not sure if it does play a role. As said to pressalltheknobs, the croc clips and the power supply connections are definitely different.[/QUOTE]

I am in the UK but all three came from Hobbyking the same as yours.

Odd that you have a different size plug/socket on yours, or do I have the different size from you ;)

Paul
 

StuartPB

Senior Member
I used the crocodile clips with the power plug on the other end to mod a xBox Slim PSU to use as the PSU for the iMax. It was the crocodile clip/power plug that came with the iMax. I bought my Imax from Hobbyking (the UK warehouse). Is it the original one you bought or the cheaper knock off? I noticed Hobbyking stock both when I bought mine. I opted for the original. Doubt it should make a difference though?
 
I used the crocodile clips with the power plug on the other end to mod a xBox Slim PSU to use as the PSU for the iMax. It was the crocodile clip/power plug that came with the iMax. I bought my Imax from Hobbyking (the UK warehouse). Is it the original one you bought or the cheaper knock off? I noticed Hobbyking stock both when I bought mine. I opted for the original. Doubt it should make a difference though?

I got the genuine version.
Hey, can you tell me if I'm doing this right? I have a LiFe that I wanna charge, yeah, but when I charge I see that the voltage is around 10.36 volts... Is that safe? A 3S LiFe shouldn't go over 9.9 volts, yeah?
 

pressalltheknobs

Posted a thousand or more times
Hey I found out that 9.9 V is the nominal voltage :)
Needs 10.8 V to be fully charged ;)

That is the case. LiFe's will fall off quite quickly to below 10 but will stay at around nominal after that. I assume this is for your TX?

Note that if you use a LiFe in a model the charge falls off very rapidly at the end, so a battery alarm may not catch it in time or you need to be extra conservative. Good idea to use a timer - which means you need to get a good idea of the runtime. - just something to stash away in case.
 

pressalltheknobs

Posted a thousand or more times
Talking of buying these from HobbyKing anyone noticed that with the genuine one they sell they use Photographs of the Clone one.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...scharger_1_6_Cells_GENUINE_UK_Warehouse_.html

I noticed that too but the picture of the AC/DC one shows a SkyRC iMAX. Just the usual HK lazy site curating. There is a link on their catalog pages to report errors and inaccuracies. Not sure if really has any effect but it's probably a good idea to point stuff out to them that way.
 
That is the case. LiFe's will fall off quite quickly to below 10 but will stay at around nominal after that. I assume this is for your TX?

Note that if you use a LiFe in a model the charge falls off very rapidly at the end, so a battery alarm may not catch it in time or you need to be extra conservative. Good idea to use a timer - which means you need to get a good idea of the runtime. - just something to stash away in case.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge! You are truly amazing! :)
And yeah, the LiFe is for my TX. I could charge the LiFe because it had the right plug. I forgot to buy a Deans->XT60 adapter for my LiPo and I was prdering a prop balancer anyways. Can't wait, I'm gonna fly this weekend!

Oh, and the picture is mine, took it yesterday. (And no, I'm not german) ;)

Thanks
 

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pressalltheknobs

Posted a thousand or more times
I guess the "genuine" SkyRC doesn't come with an XT60 and uses these ridiculous Deans adapters? Since HK are a proponent and vendor of XT60 you would think they would say....no XT60 adapter...but they don't.

I would get a straight banana to XT60 like this...

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__10266__Charge_Cable_w_Male_XT60_gt_4mm_Banana_plug.html or this

http://www.amazon.com/ProgressiveRC-AC-XTC-XT60-Charge-Cable/dp/B00CD9QN3Y

There is no reason to use a Deans adapter in the middle. 4mm banana plugs seem standard for the main charge lead outputs on these types of changers. Check yours before ordering though. Just in case.
 
I guess the "genuine" SkyRC doesn't come with an XT60 and uses these ridiculous Deans adapters? Since HK are a proponent and vendor of XT60 you would think they would say....no XT60 adapter...but they don't.

I would get a straight banana to XT60 like this...

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__10266__Charge_Cable_w_Male_XT60_gt_4mm_Banana_plug.html or this

http://www.amazon.com/ProgressiveRC-AC-XTC-XT60-Charge-Cable/dp/B00CD9QN3Y

There is no reason to use a Deans adapter in the middle. 4mm banana plugs seem standard for the main charge lead outputs on these types of changers. Check yours before ordering though. Just in case.

Too late, already ordered. Thanks for the suggestion, though.