I wish the charging connector was USB-C so that I could use existing AC and car charges. This will let me have one less proprietary charger to worry about.
My Orion was showing low battery. I was able to use my existing car charger to top off the Orion.
I think my plan will be to use to Orion for travel due to lighter weight and USB-B charging. I will use the Flite for home. PWM seems pretty cool.
I think
@mr_cfromcali mentioned that he has USB-C adapter for this but he didn’t have time to get it ready before Flite launch.
I hear you, @swieder711 ! I wanted to include a USB-C charging connection as well, but it was more than we could accomplish on this first release.
The Flite's BMS is wired for 12.6V output and 12.6V charging. In order to charge it, I need to give it 12.6V. USB-C (and all USB flavors) output 5V. To make this work with the Flite's BMS we need to "step up" this 5V to 12V.
This can be done with a small circuit, but the circuit needs some space, probably a few cm^2, as some of the components are bulky. The Flite has
no extra space for this at the moment. None. Zippo.
That means the step up part of this needs to be incorporated into the cable, making this yet another proprietary connecting cable.
I do have a Franken-cable I'm testing that's built from a pair of existing cables: the 12.6V charing adapter I use, and a 2.1A USB-A to 2.1mm x 5.5mm tip DC connector (
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SZSVF31/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_0T18FbMJJ13NM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1)
The current version of this Franken-cable looks like this:
It works, but it's kinda, well...it looks ugly.
I'm still testing it, and I am also still considering if I can do something better for a similar amount of effort, which is also important. I am still looking at parts and evaluating the best way to make this adapter, so it is still very much in progress.
TL;DR: I also want a USB charging colution for the Flite. I'd prefer USB-C, but will settle for any version of USB initially. Customer feedback will help me make the right decision here, so please let me know what you want, given the limitations of what I can likely make work. Thanks!