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The Hobbyking lipo to USB charging adapter is a very useful interface which allows you to power any standard 5V USB device with a 2S Lipo/LiFe/LiIon battery. It features an XT60 input power plug making it compatible with most Turnigy/Zippy 2S lipoly batteries. Simply plug in the 2S battery to the input, and this device will output 5V/1A DC power to your USB device.
This adapter is perfect for recharging your mobile phone or keychain camera at the field, powering a micro R/C USB battery charger, operating a small fan or any other standard USB device!
Features: Compact and lightweight design Low voltage cutoff circuitry to protect your battery Simple to use
I recently purchased one of these as it looked fairly interesting and well made in the photos. I also read the discussion on the product page and was annoyed by the general confusion and lack of evidence to back up some wild assertions.
For this reason I've performed a reasonably in depth analysis of it. By the way, my one didn't function when I received it. I did connect it up to a 3S battery, but as you'll see later I don't think this would have damaged it.
I began by disassembling the device. This took quite a while as it's actually constructed quite well. Inside the PCB is encapsulated in white plastic. This block is then covered in a separately moulded rubber casing.
Photos of the insides, with the plastic mostly removed, are available at:
https://****flickr****/photos/richardpbarlow/88 07030220/in/photostream/ (top)
https://****flickr****/photos/richardpbarlow/8 796448743/in/photostream/ (bottom)
Apologies for the messiness. It took a long time and a lot of effort to remove the white plastic from around the PCB and components. Unfortunately some components were damaged in the process.
As you can see from the photos. The device consists of a buck regulator, not a linear 7805 as speculated elsewhere. The SMPS IC is an FP6193 (***********kingpex****.tw/attachments/File/VIP099/k ingpex*2011_download_1/fp6193v061_g1.pdf) 3A 23V 340kHz synchronous buck (step-down) converter. The circuit very closely matches the Typical Application circuit on page 10 of the datasheet. Its maximum input voltage is 24V, hence why I doubt by 3S battery caused any damage.
One of features of this device is that it has a 'Low voltage cutoff circuit to protect your battery'. This is a lie. There are no active components inside this device other than the SMPS IC. This IC does have a UVLO (Under voltage lock-out) circuit, however this triggers at 4.1V. This is way too low, even for a 2S battery. Also it has a standby current of 1mA, which it will draw even when there's nothing plugged into its output. As other people have stated on here, do not leave this connected to batteries as it will damage them.
Various people on here have questioned whether it will charge Apple devices. Someone stated correctly that Apple chargers present voltages between 2V and 2.8V on the data lines to indicate the maximum current draw allowed from the charger. I can confirm that this device does contain a resistor network on the data lines to indicate it can provide up to 1A to Apple devices (based on info from ***********ladyada****/make/mintyboost/icharge.html) . In case anyone wants to do more research there's 15k resistors to 5V on both data lines, a 15k resistor to ground on the D- line and a 10k resistor to ground on the D line. Interestingly this doesn't appear to comply with the battery charging spec, as introduced into USB 2.0 by the USB-IF in 2007, which states that the data lines of a dumb charging device should be shorted with a 200 ohm resistor.
Finally, I noticed when I was disassembling this device that the soldering of some of the components wasn't brilliant. I admit that I was applying a lot of force and one of the capacitors getting crushed was definitely my fault. However another capacitor and the reverse polarity protection diode came away from the board far too easily. On closer inspection it seems they were never soldered on properly. The solder had not wetted the leads on these components. As other, smaller, components on the board appear to be soldered correctly I suspect the soak period during the soldering of these boards is not long enough. Meaning that the leads of the larger components do not get hot enough during the reflow stage. I strongly believe that the reason my board was non-functioning was due to this soldering defect. I will find out soon when I get around to fixing the bits I broke during disassembly.
Hopefully this should clear up any confusion once and for all.
This is wrongly advertised. I got mine, and even with 2000mAh, 2S does not work. You need a 3S battery for it to work correctly.
Repeat: 3S not 2S. Battery size irrelevant - I used 460mAh to 4,000 - it always needed 3S.
I checked using a GoPro 2, an iphone, an old samsung, a LED light etc. All did nothing on 2S. It needed 3S.
Hello,
I'm actually wondering if I could use this to charge my GoPro HD2 (which has a Li-ion 1100mAh limited to a maximum 1A charging current) faster than with the usb on PC ?
I can't see why not as i'm about to get one soon for my Go-pro Hero3 black edition,if you look at the specs for this adapter it says it can be used for Lipo/LiFe/LiIon so we should be fine.
As far as I know, Apple uses some special chip inside their chargers. If you try to use another charger that was NOT originally designed for an Apple product you should not be able to charge your device.
I heard that Apple does not use chips inside their charging ports, but they use resistors between the data-wires to indicate the maximum current, that the device can supply. Look on the Internet for more accurate information, as you could put a resistor between wires yourself.
They put resistors between the 5 volt lines (two outer wires)and the data wires (two inner wires)in their chargers. I have actually made a charger myself which works successfully with all apple products. The trick that Apple does is they put 2 volts in both data wires (inner two wires), which acts like a sense telling, "Yes it is a official apple charger, charging will proceed," but without the 2 volt sense it says, "Not an Apple charger, do not charge." The resistors that will work if you are going to do this project or modify HobbyKing's charger are 33K Ohm 1/2W and 22K Ohm 1/4W.
I had to transport it, so I imagined it would be safer to keep the key attached to avoid accidental short circuits. I cannot imagine how a voltage cut-off circuit can drain a 2s 2200mah battery in one day just to cut-off the voltage. Thanks for replying, but I think this is not logical, it's absurd.
I would suggest, first, changing all your battery leads to connectors that cannot cause an accidental short circuit, and second, always have a li-po alarm connected to the balance lead. DO NOT depend on the electronics to have low voltage protection.
Well apparently in this case they are not working quite well. In any case, I would never leave the battery connected to this adapter when I am not using it...
dont leave lipos plugged into ANYTHING for long periods of time, its logical, common sense.
would you leave a batt plugged into your esc for a long time??? answer should be no, doesnt matter if it has cut-off or not.
I kept this thing attached to my 2s 2200mah, without external load. The lipo was to 6.6V yesterday, today it is 3.3V!!! Now I have to throw away a brand new Lipo, where is the voltage cutoff? THIS PRODUCT IS DANGEROUS!
Well, reason should dictate that you SHOULD disconnect it from the battery when not using it. I would be logical that it would draining the battery slowly. When you measured the battery yesterday and it was saying 6.6v, WHY did you leave it there and did not disconnect and recharge it???
Dont think if theres a low volt cutoff then you can always connect the battery. When i charge my cellphone, i disconnect it when its full charged. This an electronic, remember if human can do mistakes, either do electronics. Its an "Adapter", it keeps converting your input power even when you're not using the output power. :)
Low voltage protecton mens it stops charging when the source reaches certain voltage. But the device itself is cosuming some current itself even after it stopped producing output.
It is common sence indeed not to leave any consumers connented to Your Lipo when You are not using it if You don't want it turn pumpkin.
There's no reason at all to think it wouldn't. A slightly less voltage in will still give 5 volts out. Go for it. It certainly won't cause any damage. However it won't charge the latest IPhones without modifications.
I have been using my 3000mah 6 cell nimh speed pack with this and it works but it seems to only use about 1000mah before it becomes useless and the charge rate starts droping fast after about 30 min of charging my iphone. Maybe get 60% charge with that 3000mah batt.
sorry i used this on an old nimh. just got a new 3300mah nimh and yes i can used all 3300mah to charge my phone ie: my iphone 4s has a 1700mah batt inside and i was able to get almost 2 full charges with my new 3300mah 6 cell 7.2v nimh.. yes it works great!!!
It's almost certainly a 7805 wired up. I made one myself and it took maybe 20 minutes, a 7805 costs about 50c to 1$. It does get warm as this apparently does as well, works up to 35V, but will get warmer at higher voltage.
I looked up 7805, it appears to be a linear regulator. So using anything above 2S is going to be terrible for efficiency. And cannot work at all with 1S. Of course the advantage is simplicity. I just soldered a USB charger together using the HKU5 BEC, seems to be working ok. It claims to support 2S to 5S. www.link
I hadn't even thought of just using switching regulators. But I don't think it has the logic invlolved in stepping up the voltage from a 1S pack. This is packocrayons, I forget what account I'm on if it says Boaterguy.
7805s are a versatile little package. They will tolerate up to 30 volts safely but the higher the input the bigger the heatsink required. That's why this is only rated at 1 amp 5 volts with 7.4 volts in. It's possible to run it with a 5s but it would mean a much larger heatsink would have to be fitted. Thus making the unit somewhat bulky and obviously there isn't room inside the box for such a heatsink. A great project would be to use a 7805, 7809 and 7812 attached to a large heatsink with a sma
Does not appear to have low voltage cut off as took my 2 cell 2200mAh Lipos to UNDER 5 volts.
Device gets warm as others have noted, (& perhaps because of the total draw) actually gives a short use time on my iPod which I find rather strange when the iPod is backed up by a 2200mAh battery while in use.
hobbyking, please give a correct answer.. they said NO it does not work with iphone, then why some review says it worked? like this one...
Overall Rating 6/29/2012
roguebytes
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Fantastic product. Works with my iPhone and iPad, camera and anything else that can be charged over USB. Can now use my LIPO batteries on camping trips to keep my gadgets charged. Received 3 of these, and will be ordering more. Highly recommended.
chik* .. you ordered three and will be getting more for your camping trips? I thought camping trips were suppose to be get aways from the hustle of city life ? Just kidding - got those too ...
*majik01 i just copy-pasted another comment on the review page because im confused at this product,. didnt order it yet cause i want to know if this product is compatible for iphone 4s.. can u help me?
Chik*.. opps sorry - I thought you had "them" already for camping trips. Anyway, I have this USB unit but no iphones to test (I have a bunch of keychain cameras and whatnots). For $6, is it worth the risk of invalidating the warranty of a sensitive piece of equipment worth $$$ - stick to the recommended charger exclusively. You can still use this for your USB charged gadgets - which is a very good thing ....
Some versions of the iphone works and others dont. There is another fact of some poeple may be using different voltage for input to the device, which may cause some iphone devices to work/not work.
It WILL work with charging iPhone, iphone need 0.5a to charge, this supplies 1.0a
I have even managed to shorten the wires, the unit got hot, but still works fine!
Wow guys, I never thought I'd see so much discussion activity over such a simple device.
It's going to work fine with my Android phone.
Too bad, Apple fanboys.
Mine got HOT!** 60c & flattened a 2s 1000mah lipo pack
In 40mins giving a 70% charge to my I phone.
Needs a voltage cut off to avoid draining your
lipo completly!!
just got mine. use it to charge my iphone & ipad, the adapter gets hot in 3 mins, quickly pull out lipo(2 s 3000mah). anyone encounter that? safe to cHARGE for long hours? thx
For starters most Turnigy/Zippy 2S 7.4V (Lipo/LiFe/LiIon) batteries. Use 1000 mah batteries for portability but will not charge as many as say a 2000 mAh battery. If you plan on heavy field charging then go for the largest 2S with the HXT plug you can get your hands on.
Assuming you wish to charge more than a one cell battery, Do Not use your USB output to charge any lipo. The USB outlet gives 5 Volts At .5 amp this will NOT charge a lipo. Use a proper charger and power it from your car battery. Kiss your computer goodbye if you attempt to plug your battery into it.
well...if you are at the park and you are running out of battery in your cellphone or in your keychain camera or your pic camera..oh super cool pic with your favorite bird...try to turn on your camera and wtf no battery..what you do..connect one of you 2S in to your photo camera and voyla camera again..i think it is pretty cool divice
Danger* you are right and I have one of those emergency chargers too what run on NIMH cells. This is much smaller and more convenient to power with 2S lipos that I have so many of.
How many guys take their girlfriend to the park with a camera, lipo and charger in their pocket? The camera, OK but a lipo and charger? ... Is that a Lipo in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
You can make em yourself, get a TIP 7805, a female USB connector, and wire it up, search for a TIP 7805 datasheet and you'll learn how to wire it up, the 7805 is 35V (8S) capable.
Boaterguy: A TIP7805 is not as efficient as a simple BEC (which this device likely use). There's also no protection for low voltage on the lipo. I was using a 5Volt BEC before (the one with audible alarm for low level) but that thing is rather sweet.
Dont forget that a LBEC is more or less the same as an 7805 in efficiency. Dont forget to calc the power. If you put 35V to the device with an output voltage of 5V and take 1A out of this, the calc is this one: (35-5) x1A = 30W. So you heat the device with 30W (power loss, **> you need a cooler *-)), while you are using (5v x 1A) 5W. So, use a SBEC and dont waste your battery power...
This can charge a iPhone! And why 3s when a phone battery is a 1s LiPo, that is a waste of energy (converting from 12v to 5v would use a 7ohm of resistance at 1A, which is a lot at these voltages)
Look I even looked at the webpage u posted and I still don't believe it. Why?, you ask. because I have charge both my Ipad 1gen (before i hated it and gave it away) and my mothers 2gen (ios5.0 if you want to know) off of 4 AA and a diode! Don't tell me a ipad different from a iphone, its like 3s can only handle 3v/cell but 2s is 4v/cell because they are smaller!
Thats an iPhone 2g, the "smart"chargers are needed for the 3g and higher models. As for your iPad I have no clue, they must have only implemented the requirement on iPhones only, who knows.
enough just get this, if it doesn't work get a proper phone, one running android or windows phone 7.5, the Samsung Omnia 7 is a good one (also has a 4.2 inch screen)
Obviously there are a number of 7805 type units on the market. Assuming the component used in this unit is of the TO-220 type it would be a 5 minute job to exchange the existing one for an MC7805CT-BP It handles 30 volts input with 5 volts output at 1amp. It has internal thermal overload protection and internal short-circuit current limiting. Temperature wise it will happily operate up to around 120'C . Feeding it with pure DC no other components are required apart from hardware.
A great little fix so you can run it from your 3s, 4s, 5s Higher voltages are usable but in a different package which may cause siting problems. As for the Iphone problem, perhaps there's a conflict with the 1 amp input. Check your phone charger and see what output it has. The Iphone could be sensing a different input than it allows. Apart from that I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work unless it's something physical incorporating the input plug. I wouldn't be surprised with the tactics Apple use to make you stick to it's brand of accessories. I have a few variations of the 7805 so I'll play around when I get one of these USB gadgets.
I use for camping, if left overnight and the 2cell is totally drained. My charger will not charge as voltage is too low. Had to slowly bring it up using setting for 1c. Any case, mine did not have a low voltage cut off when using 2cell Lith batteries, and almost stuffed them.
Aaron, you're wrong mate. You can get a warning beeper for a 2 cell lipo it's a
Hobby King Battery Monitor 2S
Just connect the plug which comes with it and plug it in. Peace of mind and no more flattened lipos. It's not wise to continue allowing your batteries to run low. It will end up damaging them in some way.
Not sure I understand what I am wrong about? That my battery went dead flat, (2 different batteries) I go camping, my charger would not charge? or that I did not have a low cut off warning buzzer?
My point here was to watch out for this for potential buyers, it can stuff your batteries if not careful as you point out. I agree a warning buzzer is a great idea I just did not have one with me. I'm no pro in the hobby space, just trying to do my bit to experience share.
Is your point that it does have a low voltage cut off, if so how do you turn this on, because the next morning my lipo was dead flat, and also my phone battery dead left on the thing all night. Bit odd, so did it the following night, with a different battery with same results. Dead lipo and dead phone battery,
Sorry mate, after a reread I got your point. I thought you were saying there was no warning about cutoff which was why I mentioned the warning buzzer to tell you your lipo was at it'd low voltage. If you're using a charged 2s battery and a phone which requires a 5 volt charge I can't think why it let you down. What is the requirements for the phone's battery. You should get an idea from the home wall charger for the phone. It should say something like "output 5 volts dc at so many Mah. As long as it's not a recent model Apple IPhone and it needs 5 volts it should be OK. It's possible you have a faulty unit but to drain everything dead flat I would have expected that nasty smell would warn you. Let me know what the home charger has printed on it. Or if the manual states what voltage and current is required to charge it. Oh! have you tried recharging the phone battery with it's proper charger?
Tekin, this matter has been mentioned elsewhere on this page. The more recent Apple equipment can't be charged with this unit. Normally phones etc. only need a positive and negative lead and it will charge. In Apple's case, because it doesn't like anyone using after market equipment which isn't theirs so what they did was put a small voltage on the other 2 pins. If the phone sensed these pins had the correct voltage on them it allowed charging. Because that voltage isn't there it won't allow it to charge. There is a company building an adapter to combat this problem but I'm not sure if it's been released as yet. Shortening cables does noting to help the problem. The link below will explain all about the 4 resistors required to feed that voltage to the pins ....... w w w . ladyada. net/make/mintyboost/icharge.html
Just remove the spaces in the w w w.
Have you even tried it on a iphone 4s? Mine is charging my phone right now as I type this. Maybe by adapter you mean the iphone charge cable that cpmes with the phone?
Perfect for topping off that keychain camera in the field.
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imaizumi
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cut off voltage 6.0V(2s total) anxious to li-po damaged. get margin 6.4V version is expected.
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Fantastic product. Works with my iPhone and iPad, camera and anything else that can be charged over USB. Can now use my LIPO batteries on camping trips to keep my gadgets charged. Received 3 of these, and will be ordering more. Highly recommended.
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