yay, smullged 2 in the uk!!
soon we’re going to do that with bananas and toilet paper
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@SimosMCmuffin I haven’t been following that closely and couldn’t find in a qucik look, but does the newest firmware already has support to the VESC BMS data structure?
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It doesn’t at this time.
General news.
I’m currently in a bit of a workplace limbo. When was I giving my 2 weeks notice to my employer (back in January), I heard/found out that they had bled other HW-designers from other worksites from them and they didn’t have anyone that could pick the project up after me.
I then offered to stay a little bit longer to get the project to a state where they can order the first boards, as a sign of goodwill and not to burn bridges. Might be that I see myself as a bit of a “good guy”, so I didn’t want to leave my colleagues, who I like, in trouble by me leaving.
So now I’ve been once again doing electronics design with the WORST program, that I have disliked and grown to absolutely hate with passion and disgust over the years working here in comparison to KiCad that I use for my own projects. And I do mean I, hate the program with a non-sarcastic fiery passion, it saps all the fun, speed and creativity that I enjoy with KiCad doing design work, so much so that I don’t feel like doing any design work at home for my own projects, if I have to do schematic or layout work at the office, as it gives such a strong clear cut contrast of the happiness and misery…
Next week is my last week and then I’ll never have to do anything with this terrible torture software originating from the 80s
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I’m curious to know which one is the WORST? Care to share?
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I’m assuming the company has no interest in shifting to a better software…
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@SimosMCmuffin Hey man, Received my package the other day, got it all going, but charger goes green and pack stops charging at 4.135V. Have I done something wrong? I adjusted the calibration values as in the directions?
Cheers
Josh
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Try to compare with a multimeter what value your charger output measure
There are erros in the readings everywhere, in this case there is a big chance the charger isn’t going to the full voltage. They usually have a potentiometer inside that lets you adjust it
Adjust term cell voltage to 4215
Have you checked what the cell voltages are during charging before the charging terminates or only after and that’s where you’re seeing the 4.135V cell resting voltages?
Because it might be that the cell termination voltage (default 4,180V) is hit and if this happens during when there is still a good amount of charging current going, it’s pretty normal for the cells to then come to rest at a slightly lower voltage.
So, like @mackann recommended, I’d try upping the $9 (termCellVolt) to a little bit higher (4200) and seeing if the cells then come to rest at a higher voltage when the charging ends.
Other possibility like @Pedrodemio suggested is that the CV end voltage of the charger is lower than the specified one and the current drops low enough to trigger the lower current limit for the charging $2 (termCurr, default 300 mA)
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Have you checked the charger output with a volt meater
Most chargers go green dose not mean the charge is complete just the load has dropped below a threshold that varies depending on how the chines pension set it with there stringent quality control and attention to detail with all the time they are allocated for each unit they build.
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Yeah, this
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Try to remove the BMS and charge battery directly.
I was wondering: is it possible to implement a charge status led? Maybe RGB to spot the actual state of charge?
I honestly searched before asking but I was unable to find suitable material so I apologize if this has already been addressed.
There is a status led on the BMS, which gives some indication to what the state of the charging is. Although it’s just charging and finished charging.
You mean more gradual percentual state-of-charge, for example 0-30%, 30-60% and then 60-100%
What options do I have? Could you elaborate that to me? It’s a bit confusing. 
There is a picture of the different connector packs in the product images, but they are essentially the different needed connectors. They are there for easy addition to the order.
The packs contains both vertical and horizontal orientations, so you can then choose which one you want to solder on the BMS based on your setup. They also have the wire side housing and crimps/contacts, so you can make your wiring loom.
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Ok. Soldering should not be a problem. Is the JST-XH balance pre-crimped? (Or do you have pre-crimped supply? Just a suggestion, you need a FAQ section. 
)
Connectors are provided as are shown in the pictures. aka separate.
Update
So, I have now officially left my workplace and started my life/job as a full-time entrepreneur.
I look forward to working with you guys&gals.
There currently a number of things I need to get in order and here are some of them:
-
FlexiBMS Lite FW repo license.
I was contacted some time ago by who I suspect is a forum user and they informed me that there isn’t any license attached to the repo and what my plans were. They also mentioned that the ST’s USB-stack, which is currently used for the COM-port (CDC-class) connection to a PC, is not compatible with an open-source license, but that there are open-source options available, which could be ported over to replace the ST’s USB-stack, which they also offered to help with. They also commented that, as the project contained files from VESC’s repo, it would have to be placed under GPLv3, the same license as VESC.
I informed that I want and intend the FW to be open-source and I was very thankful about hearing about the licensing from someone who was more knowledgeable about them. I also informed that I wouldn’t have a problem placing my source files under the GPLv3 license, like the VESC FW files. I’m, looking towards working with him/her/you (in case you’re reading this) and offered them a discount on the Lite-unit, if they would be able to help with porting the open-source USB-stack. I think they have been planning to use for one of their own battery pack projects, checked the repo out and then informed me about the license issue, which I’m thankful for. We’ll go on from here. -
Shipping
I’m looking to add DHL as a shipping option and I’m currently looking into the workflow through them. Local post hasn’t been terrible, but there seems to be a problem with a shipment every now and then and quite frankly, if I pay someone to ship something, I expect that item to be delivered, as it otherwise causes me some headache when a customer messages me asking about where their package is. At this point, if I don’t get a reply from the post office about the shipment in a timely manner, I’ll send a new one. If both units arrive at some point, I can offer a discount on the second one, in case you want to pay for it, which I would appreciate. -
Paypal
Unfortunately paying with a credit/debit card via Paytrail doesn’t seem work for everybody, so to add another payment method, which is internationally used, should allow everyone to make their payments. They do have slightly higher fees than Paytrail, so there will be a +2% fee added when paying via Paypal.
Product developments
As I’m now full-time independent, I’m looking to widen my product portfolio and pick-up old projects that have been sitting on a shelf waiting for me to have time to pick them back up.
- Panelization test boards for the FlexiBMS Lite (for future batch runs)
- “FlexiBMS Lite 18S” (name likely final) prototype board (6S-18S Lite variant)
- USB PD negotiator/negotiation development board (learn/analyze the USB PD -protocol, future application for portable device charging)
- Lower cost BMS, with a simpler feature set meant for portable devices (bluetooth-speakers, powerbanks etc.)
- Class D audio amp board with configurable DSP chip on-board for portable speakers.
- Maybe some bluetooth test boards for audio use and to learn RF design
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