Prolux 3834 DC 1-3s Li-Po MicroProcessor Charger Mini-Review

[PhiBeR]

Prolux 1-3 Cell Lithium Polymer Charger.



-Quick Specs-
Microchip operational analysis can control the Off point precisely & efficiently.
Using Voltage booster it can charge upto a 3 cell lithium pack (12.6v)
Selectable 1-2-3 cell & wrong select warning.
LED Light & beeper to indicate charging status.
5 Position charge rate : 250ma, 500ma, 1000ma, 1500ma & 2000ma.
Start/Stop Push Button.
Output & input has short circuit protection circuitry

-Review-

Cost: $55
Where: Neighbourhood "Friendly" Champion Hobby
Material: Green Metal Casing, Black plastic edges.
Contents: Charger, JST-banana plugs, Croc clips converter for banana plugs,
nice detailed instruction sheet in good English.
Size: 12 X 6 x 2 cm
Made in Taiwan by www.prolux.com

The charger comes nicely packed in the box, with all the wires provided.
The size of the charger is quite small and handy..
Build quality is quite good, very sturdy, think will be able to withstand
knocks and drops but i'm not trying!!

Connecting the charger to a 12v DC source will turn it on.
A loud beep will be heard to show it's working.
Connecting the 2s batt pack will cause another beep to indicated
batt pack connected and the led will be flashing to show ready.
If 3s is selected and charging button is pressed, quick beeps
will sound to indicated wrong cells selected.
If 1s is selected, the charger will stop charging when button is pressed.

Used a 12v SLA to do my first time charging, have to bath first..
Tested my 2s 1200mah Etecs to be at 8.16V..
Left it to charge at 1A, Came back abt 20mins later..
The charger has stopped charging as the led is flashing..
Batt Pack measures 8.33V..
Went to fly my Feda..

Used a 12v SLA to do my second time charging. More details now..
Tested my 2s 1200mah Etecs to be at 7.33V, after flying for 12mins.. :P
Charge rate is set to 1A to charge at almost 1C (0.9C??)
When the start button is pressed, a quick beep is heard and the LED goes
steadily on to indicate charging..
After about 1hr 7mins, i heard louds beeps coming from the charger
and the led is flashing.
The 2s Batt Packs now measure 8.33V.. charger works!!

The charger will detect wrong cells selection of 1s too,
and also re-peaking function when a batt is fully charged..
When pack is charged, pressing button will repeak the pack..
2s pack is repeaked to 8.34V..

-Verdict-

Cheap and good 1-3s charger with loud beeper!
Similar 3s chargers will cost more and don't even have a beeper!
I'm a sucker for beepers! heehee..
Also has very good charge rates selection from 250ma to 2000ma..

Overall, it's a good no-fuss charger for beginners..
Can last till u get tired of 3S Li-po CP Helis!

[PhiBeR]

Opened up the charger..
Only back panel though, front panel seems stuck probably
due to the banana sockets infront block it..

Seems to be also using a standard Lm317 voltage/charge controller?
It is touching the green metal casing via a piece of heat transfer
tape
probably a good way to dissipate heat and explains the metal casing!

[Super-Hornet]

Hi PhiBeR

Can you confirm whether it uses LM317 or not? How many of them? Suspect got at least 2 pieces is it? Why because standard LM317 is 1Amp max.

BTW... Is there any other like LM317 but with 5 legs? What about the input voltage if u want to charge 3Cells? Is it still 12V?

Super-Hornet

[PhiBeR]

Hmmm.. Sorry...
I thought the 317 is the higher amp one, probably it's the 320..
Can't remember the numbers..
and can't be sure.. coz only can see the back and looks like a LMxxx chip..

That's the only chip at the back..
The rest are at the front which i can't access easily..

Charging of 3s (12.6v) is still done using a 12v DC..
It has built in voltage booster according to the specs..
But not tested though..

[Super-Hornet]

Hi PhiBeR

The PCB can easily reveal by desolder the 2 connector joins.

The 3 Pins LM7805 lookalike Transistor is not LM317.

It is some sort of set up voltage regulator.

Inside, u will see that it has a huge Diode to protect from wrong polarity i/p supply connection. One Torroid Inductor for noise suppression (I think)

It has a microprocessor/microcontroller similar to those GWS ESC Mixer uP/uCtrl.

It uses IC for battery charger (Similar to Maxim or LM series).

It look like it has a Resetable Fuse at the o/p voltage.

I notice that when it goes full charge (10 Beeps), it is not charging at max voltage. If 3Cells using, at full charge, it is only 12.3V

To make it register as full charge at higher than 12.3V, u have to adjust the variable resistor in counter-clockwise direction.

Super-Hornet