Every LiPo Charger Needs To Add This Feature (Hobbymate/HOTA "continuous work" function)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ส.ค. 2024
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00:00:00 - Finally! Continuous Work Feature is available!
00:00:47 - Why Continuous Work is so great
00:02:14 - How to get this firmware
Download firmware at - www.hota-exp.com/index.php/ser...
00:04:01 - How to enable Continuous Work in the settings
00:04:11 - A potential safety implication of this feature
00:06:48 - Massive power. So compact! HOTA S6 lipo charger
HOTA S6 review - • Massive power. So comp...
00:06:52 - How to keep LiPos from burning down your house (safe lipo charging)
• How to keep LiPos from...
I have tested this on the S6 and the D6 Pro. I think it doesn't work on the D6 Plus. And I don't know about other chargers.
I did this on my D6+ and the feature is there.
@@cubesjdd same
@@cubesjdd I have the same charger, please what kind of version number?
@@Wappar87 Sorry I don't see a version # just d6+
Hey Josh I am the one who had a fire in my garage as you saw I posted on reddit. I really am taking a different approach now to the seriousness of safety regarding charging. I had no idea and frankly took it for granted I am a master electrician and so I didn't think it was a big deal. Mine were not charging however. Idk what happened the fire investigator never told me what they thought it was. I can't believe those things are so violent like that. Makes me wonder how many fires we will see as the automotive industry makes the shift. And are their not any FPV Lipos with BMS on them in a hard case? I think I want to add a bms to my charger cable inline with charger atleast if it cannot be permanently fixed to a pack. Thanks for the videos yours are the easier ones to watch you make a good delivery on information!
One feature that I still wish chargers would do is allow you to create presets - for example, I have some 6s 1100s I want to charge at 1.1A, but also some smaller 4s 850s I want to charge at 0.8, and so on. If I were able to create charging presets for each type of battery I have (for me only 2, but I imagine many people have way more) and just open a menu and select a preset, that would be almost as easy as the continuous mode
My toolkit RC M8 does this
I guess that's another reason to buy ToolkitRC chargers. Even their cheaper chargers like M6 have presets and continuous charging.
Toolkit RC all the way
ToolKitRC has crap QC and won't support their customers if issues arise. Not just me, but dozens of guys that bought the M4Q. Also, Cyclone took 10 brand new out of the box, and every single one had a major issue.
I'm not cheaping out on something as important in regards to safety as a lipo charger.
Is this not a functionality right now? My 2000s Robbe infinity 3 already had 12 presets one could make
You've no idea what a blessing you are for me. going through some rough time in my life. FPV helps me calm down. So thank you very much for not putting your content behind paywall I really really appreciate it. your DIY KIT video thought me everything I need to know about building FPVs. Again thank you very much.
Lovely! Updated already before finishing the D6 Pro. Great stuff Bardwell!
Man I was so excited when they finally released this update. Such a time saver!!!
Thanks, Joshua! Just updated my D6 Pro which I've had for only a couple months and this is one thing I thought was missing too.
I'm convinced that if Toolkit RC sorted out their reliability issues they would hands down be the best chargers on the market.
Really usefull. Will update my hota's as soon as possible
I put this on my Hota F6 and it has saved me so much time and button pressing absolute gamechanger! Awesome video 🤟
Yuuuuuusssss! And apparently that firmware update also seems to have made my scrollwheel work in the right direction every time now? I can die happy now.
Fantastic! Thanks a bunch, Joshua! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Thanks Mr. Bardwell
Nice update ist done 😀
That is slick! I like and needed that function.
I didnt know my toolkit rc charger did this. Thanks!
awesome! THANK YOU
I'm also a big fan of the feature saves a lot of time while charging an bunch of lipo's!
That's really cool features
Thanks for making me realize a problem I never knew I had 😂
I've been using a ToolkitRC M6 for years and I've been super happy with it. When I was shopping for it I couldn't find anything that even came close for the price it was.
So glad for this video. Yes, the new feature is cool, but I've tried to get my Hobby Mate into usb update mode and frankly gave up. Nice to know the proper sequence now.
Thats neat! Hyped about my charger getting an update.
I'm def getting old..😅
Hota D6 Pro - TIPS for noobs like me.....
I couldn't get it into "update mode" at first. Finally I figured out it was because the USB was not a data cable but charge only. It obviously won't boot up correctly unless the PROPER USB cable is already plugged in. Didn't matter that I was holding "CH" button until I had the proper USB plugged in. That's tip #1.
Tip #2 is, You may have to click the UPDATE button a few or even several times before it will actually start. Mine said failed about 3-5 times before finally starting the process. But it finally did take the update after an hours worth of wrestling with it. LOL.
Tip #3 - The feature JB was talking about is actually ON by DEFAULT! I thought that was kinda odd (and dumb) so just be advised, it is ON by default once you update the firmware. Everything else stayed the way I had it I think though. So if you're like me & don't need that feature, you might want to turn it off so you don't forget it's there.
Cheers!
Thanks JB! I thought it works only with Storege charging, but no! It works with balance charging as well!
Also if someone is updating his F6, remember to update it twice - left and right micro usb, it seems so F6 is just two duo chargers 🙃
I’m glad I went with ultra power , all I have to do is hit start and I can live with that . I have one channel for storage and one for charging. It has never let me down yet .
I wouldn't thought, that there will be a day in my life, when I'll say that "I've just updated my charger!". Damn... Thank you Bardwell, as always the good stuff!
Yeah - my favorite feature !!!!
Danke!
Haha, this feature looks great, but I haven't put it on yet, because I only have maximum four of any one size of battery. I'm constantly switching between lipo, lihv, and different amperages.
Hota ftw! 💪🏻
The only thing I miss from my older Hyperion chargers is profiles. I charge a bunch of different types of batteries so it is convenient to just pick a profile and start charging instead of remembering what parameters I used. Hyperion allowed you to name them too. I have the Hota F6+ and it's 500watt on AC is really nice.
The only other thing HOTA needs to work on is their interface is very laggy. Press the button a few times to switch ports and wait for it to catch up. Other chargers like Toolkitrc don't have that issue and seem to use a faster processor. I can deal with it for 500 watts on AC but if toolkitrc and hota had a 4 port charger with same specs, I would choose toolkitrc just because of the interface lag... and toolkitrc seems to have profiles too.
I forgot that Hyperion has some anti-spark circuitry in it too so that you don't get a spark when plugging in a 6s. I was surprised that newer chargers like HOTA don't have that.
I have been using the HOTA P6 for almost 2 year, pretty good charger, almost perfect except the EXTREMLY NOISY FANS......... just replaced the fans in both the charger and the power brick, now it is what I call a "perfect RC charger"😚
Hota is the only charger brand that I got that took fire as brand new just putting a couple of batteries in storage ( hota f6) but hey I guess it’s in the statistics … one safety issue that come in my mind is what if you charge HV batteries in continuos mode and plug a no HV 6s battery , seems more dangerous than charge a 450mah battery at 1800mah for example
JB thanks for letting us know about the feature.
I want to say something about your websites charger recommendations. The ISDT Q6 nano is recommended as cheapest worth having and I agree at first. Now my 2 friend having issues with their q6 nano resulting first cell of their batteries are getting discharged after the charge is complete. We ve looked at this online also found that some other people having the same issue as well (oscar liangs page at comments) . I think you should consider recommending this charger as we ended up losing 3 batteries before understand wth is going on. Thanks
I have 2 Hota D6 Pros, just did the update a couple weeks ago .. I use the "Continuous" feature all the time now.
@LuMaxQFPV
Does yours go into "update mode" like JB did when you hold CH on boot? Mine doesnt, so I'm trying to figure out what's wrong.
@@Loco_Lui I have the same problem
What chargers really need are presets. Every time I change from storage to full charging I need to go through all the menus usually I need to change amperage etc etc
There could be simple presets menu
Even better there could be programable buttons for selecting presets even faster but that would require new hardware
I use Hota D6 Pro. 1 button and 2 clickable scroll wheel might be a clean solution but it takes a lot of key presses to start charging batteries and it could be optimized
Plenty of chargers have presets mate. Don't let your dreams be dreams. It's here today
Just get a toolkitrc
Yea... I have had presets with my Hyperion chargers that I bought 10 years ago. I am surprised that more chargers don't have that by now. The other things I miss from my Hyperion... Anti spark circuitry so that you don't get a spark when first plugging in a 6s pack, variable speed fan, quick menus (HOTA seems to lag when switching ports). And the biggest... 80 watt built-in discharge on my Hyperion chargers. It seems like all newer chargers have very weak discharge wattage built in so are lacking in that respect and require external dischargers or another pack to put it back into (regeneration charge) for higher discharge. Just put some bigger resistors and heat sinks in there to handle more discharge current. I will be keeping my Hyperions at home for discharge purposes.
i mean the old way, at least with the s6, includes the same step of plugging in battery plus you have to hit the channel button once or twice then click the wheel twice. its easy and adds maybe 3 seconds.
I've been wondering what that setting does for about 3 months now. Thanks :)
For some reason I'm nervous to update the FW on my charger... lol. It's the center of my whole FPV workflow 😱
Yeap great video
tyty
Hota F6 is the best field charger on the market, hota just made it better. Get the 4 way F6 or the 2 way D6Pro from FlyHighFPV com, even save some money when you pair the F6 with a PSU or a field charging battery pack!
Hey Joshua, can you be percise with which toolkitrc chargers you dislike or didnt hold up?
Personally I have the M6D and M9 and both have worked well so far. The M9 is awesome for my 8S lipos. Very affordable too.
I love HOTA chargers. I have already three and have bought some for my colleagues of the field. I´m just wondering how to charge my smaller 1S and 2S lipos that I charge with balance port on the small usb chargers with 0,1-0,5A I think you had a tipp to :D
Here is my setup: I have 2 active flight packs (4S, 1,55 Ah), 2 field packs (4S LiFe, 18 Ah) and 2 ISDT Q8 chargers. From cold, I charge my flight packs at 4 Amps from storage (about 2,6 C, each cell shows between 7 and 10 mOhms on the charger). Each consequent "hot" charge is directly off the quad at 13 Amps (about 8,4 C, each cell shows between 1,5 and 3 mOhms on the charger). This way, I can fly for 16 - 18 packs back to back.
Today I blew up my M6D! 💥💨💨
Constantly discharge(recycle) a 4s, when done put a 6s in without interrupting the process and magic smoke will come out.
I mailed ToolkitRC hoping to get a replacement for this tip.
They should detect that scenario and prevent it.
@@JoshuaBardwell When charging they do, when discharging it dies faster than he can adjust the resistance imao
My ToolKitRC M4Q does that.
Another thing that I don't get with HOTA chargers is that when you plug in a 6s, you get that spark. Hyperion solved that problem long ago so I was surprised that buying a newer charger didn't have that feature. Is that not a normal feature for newer chargers nowadays (some kind of anti-spark circuitry)? I have been using my Hyperion EOS 1420i Net3 chargers for many many years so I only have experience with newer chargers like the HOTA F6+ that is what I just bought.
if you have an ExpressLRS transmitter and receiver you have many miles of range, but how do you get many miles of video transmission. Or is the video transmission through the ExpressLRS system? thank you for your nice work, have a good day 👍👍👍
Really wished they added continuous charging to the F6. Guess we'll have to wait some more for it to arrive.
Another feature that I'm missing is being able to charge all the batteries at once, in the same way that you can stop charging them all by pressing a button.
In the Hota F6 that charges 4 batteries at the same time, this feature would be essential
Hey, I ask the Hota team for this feature and they made a firmware with this update for me.
They are so good
Hi Joshua love the videos so hope u can help just bought an other hota d6 pro as live these chargers but unboxed the charger went to use it for the fist charge using ac and once I start the second battery to charge the fan goes louder than the charger switches of and back on any ideas or have u come across this issue
Seeing so many chargers on your desk, I assume you don't bother parallel charging unless you are in the field? The continuous work is nice, but it means I have to get up and futz with it every battery and my wife complains about all the beeping when the charger keeps finishing. Not having to carefully sort all the batteries into 0.1V 'buckets' is sure a nice thing though.
With my isdt charger I have the same thing only thing is when I plug in a new battery to it I just have to hit start but basically the same feature
Esta funcion estara en el d6 pro
Thanks! Is it waiting for balance and xt60 both to be connected first? And then it procceds by itself
Should you calibrate the charger after you update the firmware?
Just updated all my Hotas the other night...
I was trying to do the plug in USB after plugging in power while holding CH..
USB wasn't plugged into PC, but my charging block...
just leave the usb plugged in... hold button and power.
did you make a video about toolkitrc chargers blowing up, that i missed?
I'm using this feature for more than a year on a toolkit M6DAC. :))) I know you dont like this brand but it worked fantastic for me, using it for almost two years.
Hey burdwel, can a lipo bat charge with a lithium ion charger ( bms ) ?
A cool video, but I don’t see the time savings in this feature. I have an ISDT charger and it’s 2 clicks no scrolling to start a cycle if I’m repeatedly using the same setting (like charging all my 1300 4s packs to storage, or full, etc). Maybe it’s easier on this charger than others, but the HOTA looks to have a very similar OSD to the ISDT’s, so maybe I’m not understanding something here
I bought my charger like 5 months ago, and it seems like it was already on there? Version 1.0.2 and everything lol
My F6 was saying update success but not showing the continuous functionality => until i updated using USB1 instead of usb2.
Will this be on the ISDT chargers too?? I have the ISDT D2 Mark 2
Isdt and hota arent the same company, so youxll want to ask isdt to get with the times
Hello, I went through this process two times on my Hota X6 Pro. Update went well but, the feature does not show in the menu. What am I missing? Great work as always! Thanks Ben Herr
Maybe the x6 pro firmware doesn't support it
Thank you for responding !
I went back and looked at the video again. Turns out ,I missed the step to long hold the Menu button and add the option. Shame on me for wasting your time. Clicked the Option , Al is well in the FPV World.
I would like to support you, however I do not do recuring monthly payments. Might there be an option for a one time payment? Let me know if possible. I have learned a lot from your work since 2015 ! Ben Herr
I tried the new firmware on d6+. Continous mode working well, BUT... the fans are very noisy. The small one keeps pulsating, on and off, and the big one it never started. Back to .11 firmware
If you were really lazy, You could also just daisy chain two HGLRC together per channel. This would then give you 22 6S ports to run the storage cycle on in one go :P
Curious how it will work if you have a parallel charge board on one of the ports if it will let you continously charge multiple battries and then swap out when you need to change battries
Wouldn't trust it even if it said it does it on the box.
Unless you meant you disconnect the entire board? But then that's exactly what's shown here.
I'm worried about charging a single battery on 7-8s...
A good quality parallel charging board is all you need to do them all at once with any charger.
Do they also balance between individual cells?
@@Truth12345 Bardwell suggests manually checking each cell to ensure they are within +- 0.1V of each other.
I don't do that. I just plug in all the XT-60 leads first, wait a minute for the overall packs to equalize, then I connect the balance plugs. I've never had an issue doing it this way.
I use ISDT Q8 charger, so charging and balancing is quick for me using the parallel charging board to do all my batteries at once (unattended).
@@Truth12345 yes once connected to a balance board, and charger, balancing between cells is smartly achieved.
@@MatthewTaylor3if the cell voltages differ too much, you'll get currents higher than is safe or good for the batteries..
@@lievenvv your poi t is noted. I'm happy I haven't experienced any I'll effects as yet. My batteries last around 1.5 years. I fly 3 out of 4 weekends per month.
Explain inav 6.1 flight modes and beta flight 4.4 flight modes
available for ISDT?
Cool function, but why not use a parallel board when needing to charge/discharge multiple batteries?
I would imagine storage charge is the best use case. A bunch of batteries coming back from flying at different voltages, so you can’t necessarily throw them all on the parallel board together. So you just do one at a time to storage instead
Does isdt chargers have this kind of features?
My drone is showing 0.00 voltage after I crashed into the pool. However the first time I flew after the water everything was normal and operational. But after a few days it just shows 0 in osd. Does that mean I have to change my fc???
6:24 Passive Aggression, JB Edition.
anyone know what toolkitrc chargers jb had issues with? i have had several and had problems with certain models, but my m4ac and m6d have been amazing, i'm just wondering if he had issues with these, then i will get something else
I asked too. My m6d and m9 run great for some time now
one additional danger is if one of your cells is totally dead so you may be trying to charge a 4s battery using 3s (which it has determined via the balance port plug)?
Hello my master and esteemed colleagues. I have a rescue question for you. I'm looking for arms for the Eachine Tyro 109 frame. I can't find them anywhere. Do you know where else they are available? I really like this model but I can't get parts for it anymore. If anyone knows please let me know. Luke.
Pretty sure my ISDT K4 keeps the last setting and continue to use the same settings till you change it.
I only have ever owned the UP 8 and it does that , but you have to hit start every charge, it’s not a big deal to hit start.
Maybe I’m confused do your settings not stay set ? Every time you charge batteries ??
mine do.... just plug another one in, and press start. I thought the same thing. Would only save 1x or 2x clicks honestly, at least on the D6 Pro.
My HOTA F6 burned when discharging 6S LiPo. Balance plug was a bit charred, Lipo survived and whole damage was inside the charger. Melted plastic etc. I'm afraid now.
Did you contact Hota for support?
@@Fly_High_FPV Bought it locally and got refund from the shop.
Or... you just discharge in parallel much faster with a dedicated discharger from SkyRc, ISDT, or regenerative discharge into a source battery if your specific charger function allows it.
that’s what I do. I’ve got four of the smaller ISDT dis chargers, each with an XT60/XT30 parallel board attached. End of the day if any batteries remain unflown I group them by cell count and capacity, plug them in and discharge at the max 6A rate. Only button pushing is setting the cell count.
I don’t like using my chargers for discharging duty. The only ones I’ve ever had die were being used to discharge batteries (ISDT Q6 and an SC600.) The only reason i’ll use the storage function is for batteries which have been over-discharged. Chargers for charging duty only!
@@visioneeroneYou don't group them by cell voltage? On parallel boards? 😮
@@lievenvv ? I don't get your meaning.
As I stated I group by cell count and capacity. The battery sets I've been taking to the field recently have consisted of 6S 5000, 6S 4000, 6S 1300, 4S 1500 and 6S 850, 2-4 of each. Come discharge time I'll plug in all the (full) 6S 850 packs into one of the parallel boards and discharge them all at 6A. Repeat for the other groups of packs.
The only way to screw this up would be to attempt to parallel discharge a mixture of full and empty packs. I've got a foolproof battery management method which allows me to differentiate between the two at a glance, but to minimize the risk I also plug each battery into a cell checker to verify that the pack is full before discharging.
(BTW - my super-secret battery management tool is... a 75 cent bag of rubber bands. Charged batteries have their main leads strapped down, batteries which have been flown don't. This is foolproof as you have to unstrap the leads in order to use the battery!)
anyone use a spectrum smart charger?
Nice feature👍 a few weeks ago I tried to use a sc100 cable from toolkit, together with my hota d6 pro power supply option as a pd charger for my power hungry device’s, but no matter what voltage and current I’ve chosen it gives me only 0,5A. Any idea how to achieve this? This could be another great feature on this already amazing little charger
my 10 yr old hobbyking charger does that
Does it work with the F6 chargers?
I'm not sure. Download the latest and see.
Is this possible with hota d6pro?
Yes.
@@JoshuaBardwell any advice on how to get it in "update mode". I hold "CH" button & power on d6pro, it just boots normally.... Im confused
(UPDATE)
switched usb cord, then it booted in update mode as intended, so it auto senses the connection at boot. unfortunately the update still failed... hehe
FOR MAC USERS:
Unfortunately it's not possible to run the loader on MacOS. I just updated my D6Pro on my M1 MacMini using a FREE virtual machine running a FREE ARM version of windows (no pirate!)
I'm not a computer geek and just followed along this video: th-cam.com/video/KGZMV8IuUtA/w-d-xo.html
Make sure you don't try to run the update file from the shared folder mentioned in the video, didn't work for me. I drag and dropped it to the desktop and run it!
It may seem like a lot of work for just an update, but I think it's def worth having a working VM for this kind of occasions. I run into this Mac/Windows stuff on a regular basis.
Unfortunately hardly any chargers will implement that.
It's all corporate that can't be bothered to improve functions of already finalised product, even if it's just 30 minutes of programming.
I bought recently ISDT Q6 Nano and it doesn't seem like it has acceleration for number settings, the charger is out in the market for like 5 years, last FW update been 2-3 years ago, I already had the newest FW, they didnt add acceleration.
sneaky snake, i bought the Ultra Power UP6 because you recomended it, i see you removed it
I am pretty sure I have never recommended that charger, although it's a fine charger.
@@JoshuaBardwell 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 after further investigation, you might be right. do you know if this charger has this function too?
Why oh why can't that beeping window be endless - or at least waaaay longer. Makes flashing in a sandboxed environment way harder then it should be :(
Doesn't work on the D6+ unfortunately.
works on my D6+ but the fan cycling is distracting.
@cubesjdd didn't work on mine or Doc's and you are right it changed the fan and the cycling seems concerning.
I bet the racks behind him are filled with props and lipos
Aaah. Great. .. clicking link… windows only… 😢
Toolkitrc is just awesome on so many levels.
Presets are a must today imho, continuous mode, can use it as adjustable voltage source, customize start screen, great power, great price, reliable.
all I need is Ultra Power UP9 with 4 channel charging and never plug in one of those stupid balance boards again to risk my life and property
I gotchback JB$
Why not just parallel charge and make your life so much easier. Just use quality parallel charging board nothing to worry about
Hey JB, this continuous work feature seems too scary for me. I have a lot 0f 6S batteries of various capacities (mah). I'm sure I would accidentally set my house on fire. It is weird that I have no concerns about parallel charging and I have been doing it for years. For a person who parallel charges, this feature is less useful. I can parallel charge 6 batteries in one go either to full charge or storage charge.
obviously been buying the wrong ones then