ER9X Low voltage shut off?

[flashbang]

Hi all,
It may have been brought up before but I did not find anything about it. Is it possible to impliment a low voltage automatic shut off of the Turnigy 9X through the ER9X firmware? I am running lipos and this would be usefull. Say around 9V for the 3cell lipo.
TIA

[Kilrah]

The 9x doesn't have a way to control power electronically. Only the good old hardware switch on the faceplate.

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[MikeB]

Besides which do you want to save, your battery or your model? I would think you would NOT want your transmitter switching itself off while flying!

Mike.

[Romolo]

Indeed a good point Mike.

[jhsa]

This has been discussed so many times in so many threads and forums

[minbari]

Besides which do you want to save, your battery or your model? I would think you would NOT want your transmitter switching itself off while flying!

Mike.

indeed! save a $10 battery from a slight amount of posible damage and crash a $200+ model as the trade off, no thanks!

[ShowMaster]

Setting a lipo tx alarm of 9.3 volts 3.1v/cell would still allow plenty of time to land and never get below 3v/cell.
If the issue is leaving the tx on by accident and killing the lipo pack then yes you've got throw it away!
There are very loud obnoxious after market alarms (HK) that plug into the balance port that will warn you of a single cell low discharge failure or total pack being low, that may be a better option then your tx shutting off. Any auto shutoff device/circuit as discussed many times is always capable of misreading the voltages and turning the tx in mid flight.

The option that's worked almost 100% for leaving your tx on for a night, week, month, a year, is using nicads or now Nimh batteries. They have capacities up to 2700 Ma, the newer NiMh 's have a very low self discharge rate now as well.
These batteries can take a lot of abuse and bounce back to almost 100% of their original capacity.
The down side let's face it is, more cost per pack, may require more frequent charging, and may weigh more.
One has to decide what their plane is worth if the battery system fails and go with the battery cost from there.
I think as others, losing a $10 pack if that's your choice, is much better than losing a $200 plane due to auto shut off, or trying to give a recover a damaged $10 lipo pack.
Maybe another option when you go flying is to set an alarm on your smart phone for a later time to remind you to check you tx at the end of the flying day?
I do that to remind me to take one last walk around at the field to gather up my charger, batteries, and plane stuff that are in different areas. I hate it when I get home and have to rush back for stuff left behind.
SM



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[minbari]

I dont know if they all do this, but I know the TH9x has an idle alarm as well. if no button is pushed and no stick is moved in 10 minutes mine starts beeping.

[flashbang]

I get it, but this would be a option for the end user and his/hers choice. One could set it up to shut down after 1,2,3,4, etc. hours after no stick/button movement. typically one does a pre-flight check that would reset the timer and when flying a movement would be at least once within a hour.

[ShowMaster]

I get it, but this would be a option for the end user and his/hers choice. One could set it up to shut down after 1,2,3,4, etc. hours after no stick/button movement. typically one does a pre-flight check that would reset the timer and when flying a movement would be at least once within a hour.

Maybe there's a code mod option that could toggle a pin not used if there is one on the m64 to change state after x time of inactivity? This would allow those determined to have this option the ability to build their own power control circuit?
The circuit would be needed for the 9x board in any case.
The other option for these same people would be to design a separate circuit that monitors let's say the ppm out and I'd the data train dies not change for x time turn off. It could require an arm button being held at power up to arm or a toggle switch?
Personally I don't like the idea of turning power control over the the m64 that's also processing all the other trim and control/alarm/telemetry/voice functions going on at the same time.
A 555 timer set for several hours on time could be made to arm every time the power is cycled on and just turn off until repowered again right now.
No code mods required. Ok for a beta test of the concept. Maybe a flashing led or show it's armed and working.
Even better a micropic or other dedicated device.
Just thinking....
SM
SM


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[FlyByTheGrace]

Hello Flashbang, I just joined up after checking out a number of links to the topic posed of Google, "Low Voltage cut-off". Now I am running a standard 9X that hasn't been gifted with ER9x or other open source. It wouldn't help me yet as I am relatively new to RC. I have spent alot of time at the bench though. Into the electronics and FW upgrades to FCs and ESCs as such. But I am just terrible for remebering to turn off my Tx. This is the fourth time I have gone to turn my 9X on and found that the switch was already in the up position. I am really absent minded these days as my schedual and midlife inventor/hacker crisis rears its ugly head. So I am hoping I can upload my response to your query. It is a 2s-4s low voltage alarm that is designed for LiPo, I am using a 1500mAh LiFe Battery from Hobby King as is the is the alarm. I just got tired of killing batteries, but to tell you truth this is the fourth time I have had to kick start the battery in NiCad mode and finish the charge in Life mode. This battery shouldn't be working at all. Should be deadsville!
I had the alarm sitting around and decided I would use it even though the LiFe has a lower combined voltage when fully charged. But the point is that this alarm is very loud and it won't simply shut the Tx off in the middle of anything important apart from a nap. I cant insert an image but all you do is bring the balance leads out of the batt compartment and conect to the alarm velcro'd to the back out the way of your finger grips. The link for the item is: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... duct=18987
Another interesting offering is from
http://www.espritmodel.com/lipo-shield- ... utoff.aspx, now this is very neat, check the Installation .PDF to get an idea as to how you could hack it. OK?
This is my first post to the Open RC forum , Hope I have been of service
Regards
Chris

[Bill]

Even if you could shut off the microprocessor the voltage regulators would still draw current.
You would have to put the cut-off outside all the TX circuitry.
It's a mod not worth making with added hazards already pointed out, just something extra to fail with potentially disastrous results!
You can already set the alarm for no activity and low battery so those are your best options.

[kaos]

ONe of my T9x is fitted like this, pretty hard to 'forget' if the power is on unless you are blind. No side effect.
http://openrcforums.com/forum/viewtopic ... ght#p42344

[ShowMaster]

Nice led! BTW Kaos I saw the gray cap. I've been using them for Turnigy 9x conversions (FlySky comes with a black cap installed) for a while but the gray bothered some.
I decided to try black paint for plastic and vinyl. The paint stuck great but came out shinny. I then hit it with some Krylon flat black. That stuck to the shinny paint and the results I think are really nice. The cap fades into the test of the tx color.
I didn't try the flat black by itself some I have a can of both.
I'll post a pix next time I paint one.