qustions about turnigy 9x power plug/jack

[menachg]

i have just purchased a turnigy tgy 9x and waiting for it to arrive but i have noticed that it have an input charge plug on the side so my first question is do anybody know what size is it exactly? so i can prepare with a matching charger before hand my other question is if the tx can work and run with no battery in it while its connected? because i plan to use a lipo battery to power it and i don't want to use it as my way to charge the lipo and throw the cells off balance but when i use it on the simulator it wold be nice not to use the battery did anybody experimented with that and know how does it work?

 

[joshuabardwell]

5mm x 2.1mm, which is a pretty standard size.

 

[menachg]

thanks did you ever try to connect it with no battery in it to check if it will work?

 

[joshuabardwell]

thanks did you ever try to connect it with no battery in it to check if it will work?

Nope, sorry.

 

[earthsciteach]

Never have used mine. I am using a Lithium iron battery in mine. It lasts for months before needing a recharge!

 

[evan]

Question on that teach: is it ok to just charge up LiFe batteries and just leave them in there for months? Not worried about the same discharge issues that might be there with LiPo's?

 

[earthsciteach]

Not the same worries. Yep, charge 'em and leave 'em. I'm using a Zippy 1800 mah, 3s in mine.

 

[brettp2004]

Parakeet, I'm not 100% sure but I wouldn't try charging a lipo or life battery with that charge port. Does anyone know if you can charge a NiMh with that port? I just ordered a taranis and my plan is to take the NiMh battery out of the taranis and put it in the 9x, since I have a LiFe battery for the taranis. Will that port charge it?

 

[joshuabardwell]

You can only charge a NiMh through that port. No lithium-based batteries at all. Lithium batteries must be charged with a purpose-built charger, and ideally a balance plug will be used.

 

[KenJ]

I would really like to find a plug and play Lipo battery to replace the 8 cell AA battery holder. While I can buy 36 batteries at a time from Costco, it really is surprising how quickly they get used up. Something that lasted a little more than a couple of sessions would be great.

 

[joshuabardwell]

This is what you want:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...g_1500mah_life_3s_9_9v_transmitter_pack_.html

It's LiFe, not LiPo, so make sure you set your charger appropriately.

 

[KenJ]

This is what you want:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...g_1500mah_life_3s_9_9v_transmitter_pack_.html

It's LiFe, not LiPo, so make sure you set your charger appropriately.

Thank you - I just have to come up with enough other things to make an order. Otherwise shipping doubles the price.

 

[brettp2004]

I don't think that battery will quite be plug and play. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the connector on the Turnigy is a 2s balance plug. You will need to solder one onto this battery to make it work. Once you add that it will be a great battery. Just make sure you don't take off one of the connectors that you need to use to charge it!

 

[RichB]

I don't think that battery will quite be plug and play. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the connector on the Turnigy is a 2s balance plug. You will need to solder one onto this battery to make it work. Once you add that it will be a great battery. Just make sure you don't take off one of the connectors that you need to use to charge it!

It is the same port as a 2s balance port, but not wired the same at all. The power is in the center and the ground is on the one side. If you plug a balance lead off a 2-cell pack into there, the smoke will be let out.

Actually I think both sides might be ground, which would make sense from a safety perspective. The pin spacing is the same as a servo connector, so the black connector in the photo should work.

On mine I wired up a pigtail that adapts to a 3-cell balance port and am using this pack, which should plug in directly, but I like having the 3-cell adapter in case I get in a pinch.

 

[evan]

brettp2004 is exactly right, the Turnigy uses a 2s balance plug, but it's not even wired like a standard balance or battery connector, so trying to plug a 2s LiPo/LiFe has the potential to fry your 9x. I think that happened to someone else on here recently.

You will have to solder up a connector, and space becomes an issue. I was overzealous and replaced the JST discharge connector with an XT60, which is totally unnecessary in a transmitter battery, and one I put together a connector, I had to cut some of the plastic out of the battery cavity so the connector will fit. Go with something smaller on the battery end, and it should be fine, or even leave what's on there. To complete the connector, you can either scavenge the connector off the 8-AA battery holder it comes with, or if you want to keep that together like I did, these connectors will plug into the 9x and I'm sure HobbyKing has the equivalent.

From there, just make sure red hooks up to red, black to black, and you're golden.

 

[joshuabardwell]

For a main discharge lead, it's fine to use a servo plug. Just make sure to put positive in the center so that you don't accidentally fry something if you plug it into something.

 

[brettp2004]

Is that true for the Taranis too? Will the servo plug fit it? It should because I think it's a 2s balance plug.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Is that true for the Taranis too? Will the servo plug fit it? It should because I think it's a 2s balance plug.

The servo plug might fit, but since it is not polarized, it could be plugged in backwards, and I wouldn't recommend using it. Use a 2S balance plug for connecting to the radio, and a 3S balance plug and servo lead for charging. That's what I'd recommend.

Also, be aware that the Taranis and the 9x have different pinouts, so don't assume they're the same or you will have a bad time.

 

[brettp2004]

Yeah. I'm definitely going to check that. I also have to check the NiMh that comes with the taranis since I plan on putting that in the 9x.

 

[brettp2004]

I took the NiMh out of the taranis. The pins DO NOT match up with the 9x. So I changed them around and it works. The only issue is that the NiMh pack is 7.4v and the low battery alarm chirps constantly. Also, are NiMhs suppose to get border line hot when being charged? I plugged a 12v 2a wall wart into the charge port on the 9x. Both the battery and the wall wart got pretty warm. What are NiMh full voltage? And does anyone know if the 9x has a auto cut off when the battery is full?