Low Voltage Alarm Question(s)!

[BanditJacksRC]

I just purchased THIS low voltage alarm from hobbyking and have a question I know somebody can answer!

Pic:


I didn't really think about it too much when ordering, but just came to realize this bad boy doesn't alarm me until a cell reaches < 3.3 volts.

I don't generally like to fly my lipo to that low of a voltage. I always thought you shouldn't go below 20-30%, which my little digital cell reader labels as around 3.8v. While < 3.3 is like 3-4%.

My first question is:
Am I crazy to be this cautious? Or would I be okay to fly to that low of a voltage on a more regular basis?

My second question is:
Would I be able to wire this up to my Naze32 and program it to alarm me at specific voltage?
also I'm thinking I would probably have to take the buzzer off then run it to the naze, right?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[notreallyme]

i have These and you can change the voltage that they alarm. BTW i have a lot of them if you want 1. I'll bring 1 next time we go fly.

 

[BanditJacksRC]

oh man! I was kinda in a hurry when I placed my order and should have gotten that one!
That would be awesome if you had a spare. I wouldn't mind bringing you 5 buck for it AT ALL.

*SideBar* I purchased the HK 4 button charger (no turnigy accucel in USwest warehouse at the time) and the batteries the were overcharging are all good now.
Although I am down to only 5 batteries, so get this... I placed an order for 6 more (nanotech 1300's) and received my package on friday and realized they were all TWO CELL!!!! haha. Man I must have been high or something that day!
Now I have to ship 'em back (on my $) then wait for the credit, then re-order, then wait for them to come to me!
Oh man, what a headache.

 

[jipp]

i have the same as the plastic one.. it works well.. the buttons you just push and you can raise or lower.. i think the default is 3.3?
iv left my stock and after i used it once.. and now i set my timer on the TX to 5 mins.

they work good tho.. i personally like being able to see what the voltage is of all three sells and over all.. and the buzzer is quite loud.

so maybe i should raise mine to 3.4v to go off?

do they make a 3s balance male/female extension by any chance? id like to move the meeter to a better spot so i could read it in the air.

right now i have it zip tied to my camera mount.
chris.

 

[jipp]

oh man! I was kinda in a hurry when I placed my order and should have gotten that one!
That would be awesome if you had a spare. I wouldn't mind bringing you 5 buck for it AT ALL.

*SideBar* I purchased the HK 4 button charger (no turnigy accucel in USwest warehouse at the time) and the batteries the were overcharging are all good now.
Although I am down to only 5 batteries, so get this... I placed an order for 6 more (nanotech 1300's) and received my package on friday and realized they were all TWO CELL!!!! haha. Man I must have been high or something that day!
Now I have to ship 'em back (on my $) then wait for the credit, then re-order, then wait for them to come to me!
Oh man, what a headache.

wow man. you did something i normally would do.. hah. typical i swear.. i always end up buying the wrong thing.

did they have the higher C rating battery's in yet? i keep looking and they say sold out for the west, and in transit for the east. iv read way to many negative things about international shipping to even try it.. im quite happy with the shipping time from the west/east coat.

also did you notice if your battery's were open? mine were i can only assume they tested it before shipping out? still look new in the bubble wrap.. just look like the were tested real quick before being sent..
after reading sometimes you can get a dead battery made me wonder if that was the case.
as mine were perfectly balanced and after 20 mins n charger ready to go.. even tho i am waiting for the wind to die down.
chris.

p.s
this summer depending on my health and your guys schedule the three of us will have to try to get gutter and go flying.. you can watch me crash trying to hover.

 

[notreallyme]

i have seen those extensions on amazon but it was a big pack of them still it was only like $10 or something i think

 

[jipp]

ok, ill keep a eye out.. i do not need a 100 of them tho. lol.

i hope to have my new frame here this coming week. so i can start a new build. figure it will give me something to build over the summer.
i can learn what i did wrong from my first kit ( well not wrong parse, but a better way of doing.. and hopefully much cleaner looking with parachute chord etc.. ).. and hopefully build a bullet proof tank even the desert can not kill.. or that is the goal.

chris.

 

[jipp]

i have seen those extensions on amazon but it was a big pack of them still it was only like $10 or something i think

by the way the trick with the timer with teh dx6i is you have to flick the switch real quick. if you even hesitate for a second it wont start.. took me forever to get the right timing down for the timer.. so thank you for the help.. i need to learn how to do up the rates/expos i guess next.. then i will have the basic of this dx6i understood. well good enough for the multi rotor anyhow.. even tho i do wish the dx6i had a 3 way toggle so i could get altitude/rattitude/rate modes.. i would like to see what rattitude is like ( i guess i can just change that over from altitude to rattitude in teh software next time i have it plugged in.. doh, hind sight always 30/30 ).

apparently after a certain amount of stick movement it becomes rate.. so would be handy for windy days i d think. but atlas i have been keeping it on rate like recommended by everyone on the forum so i can get better one day at this flying stuff.
i plan on getting a taranis come christmas i think.
chrs.

 

[notreallyme]

these need to be soldered but not bad. i found these also but they are only 2 cell and much more expensive. i would gladly solder to save that much money. looks like they come from china though because it is saying about a month for shipping.

 

[Trinitron79]

I ordered a few of these from RotoGeeks. They're super tiny, LOUD and hook right up to the Naze32. I've also configured my lights to start to blink when Alarm is hit so I have visual and sound to let me know it's time to land.

 

[jipp]

these need to be soldered but not bad. i found these also but they are only 2 cell and much more expensive. i would gladly solder to save that much money. looks like they come from china though because it is saying about a month for shipping.

for the price.. heck yeah, i can get some much needed soldering practice with my new fancy soldering station i picked up last month. thanks for the link. ill order a bundle in the morning. along with a few other items im gonna need for my next build. its gonna feel like christmas for the new few weeks as parts slowly come in over the next two month for my next build.. im in no rush.. my health has gotten worse doc put me on meds for infection.. and one of the side effects i am suppose to try and stay out of the sun while i on them for the next 2 weeks. LOL

well now i know what to look for i found a few that i think will work.

something like this yeah?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-JST-X...336?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5afca491f0

i just did not know the ends were refer to as JST.XH


chris.

 

[BanditJacksRC]

Do they sell any balance Y extensions? this way I could hook up the buzzer and fpv gear lol.

seeing that buzzer from rotor geeks makes me think i should be able to un solder mine and hook it up to the naze. then just to figure out where to program the alarm when a certain voltage hits.

sorry to hear about your med issues man. i've been playing around a lot with my PIDs and have been hovering/tuning in the garage the past couple days!.. keeps the sun of my neck!

 

[jipp]

Do they sell any balance Y extensions? this way I could hook up the buzzer and fpv gear lol.

seeing that buzzer from rotor geeks makes me think i should be able to un solder mine and hook it up to the naze. then just to figure out where to program the alarm when a certain voltage hits.

sorry to hear about your med issues man. i've been playing around a lot with my PIDs and have been hovering/tuning in the garage the past couple days!.. keeps the sun of my neck!

yeah, im just gonna have to use the fact i do not sleep well to my benefit i think.. and also the nano qx is gonna get some air time..

i could not find any Y connectors.. so i guess its probably not the best idea? or im sure china would of had one for .99 on ebay. LOL

i think on my next build i may try clean flight so i can learn about this pid stuff. i feel so lazy all i had to do was tell OP what my frame was motors and it flys good. shrugs.. something has to be wrong i know

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...S0&_nkw=+JST-XH+balance+Y+extensions&_sacat=0
chris.

 

[notreallyme]

My osd gives me the batt voltage when flying fpv so i don't have a y connector, but i could have sworn i saw 1. and NP i can bring 1 next time we get together. BTW Bandit your pm inbox is full.

 

[BanditJacksRC]

crap I always forget about that.. deleting now
What OSD setup did you go with?

 

[notreallyme]

i got the skylark tiny osd from getfpv.

 

[notreallyme]

BTW i just found this y connector

Edit: this one too

Both seem to only have full voltage instead of all cell voltage.

I would probably use 1 of these or these and make your Y harness from that.

 

[ZoomNBoom]

Voltage drops under load. So if the alarm goes off when you are flying (especially at a high throttle position), your battery isnt quite as depleted as you might think, when you land and let the battery cool/rest you may find it still holds a decent charge. Just how much the voltage sags under load depends to a large degree on your battery C rating and the power you draw from it, but typically if I land right after the 3.3V alarm sounded, I would find my battery still holds ~3.6-3.7V, which is quite acceptable.

 

[jipp]

Voltage drops under load. So if the alarm goes off when you are flying (especially at a high throttle position), your battery isnt quite as depleted as you might think, when you land and let the battery cool/rest you may find it still holds a decent charge. Just how much the voltage sags under load depends to a large degree on your battery C rating and the power you draw from it, but typically if I land right after the 3.3V alarm sounded, I would find my battery still holds ~3.6-3.7V, which is quite acceptable.

thank you for that bit of info.. its good knowing we have a little leeway between the buzzer, and landing..

chris.

 

[jipp]

crap I always forget about that.. deleting now
What OSD setup did you go with?

heck, i forget to look up to see if i have any messages. on my guitar forum.. when you log on if someone messages you a screen pops up and you have to deal with messages before you go any further i personally like that feature of that forum for PM..

chris.