Firmware for nextGeneration chargers nextGen_neu-e.txt; date of issue 16 FEB 2011 First version is V1.02. Removed in V 1.03 - 22 AUG 2007: If both charger outputs are used with a charge program AND output 1 uses the "refresh" feature, then it is possible that after some minutes the charger switches off the charge current of both outputs, i.e. current = 0 mA. The charge time is stopped, the battery voltage is still displayed. The charger beeps continously without showing an error message. Removed in V 1.04 - 24 AUG 2007: If a 3 s LiPo battery pack is a) nearly fully charged and b) because of that the charge current has decreased (down to e.g. 250 mA) and c) a power supply (to which the nextGeneration is connected) has a voltage between 13 and 15 volts, then high curernt charge pulses can occur (duration about 1 second with current values of about 3 and 6 amps). Removed in V 1.05 - 28 AUG 2007: If a battery with a lower voltage than the input voltage was connected to output1 it could happen under certain circumstances that the internal voltage converter produces current spikes when the charge current starts to flow. These spikes caused the charger to switch of with the error message 161. This could also happend at discharge if the battery voltage was a little bit higher than the input voltage (error message 162). Removed/Expanded in V 1.06 - 07 SEP 2007: a) Under certain circumstances there were problems during discharging at a pure AC/DC mains power supply. Briefly after starting the discharge program the power supply detects "Overload" in error. b) If a balancer connector is in use the individual cell voltages of the battery pack and their difference to the cell with the highest voltage can be displayed (press the key 3 times). The display is updated one time in a second. c) The discharge voltage of Lithium cells can now be selected up to the following values: Li-Po cells up to 3800 mV Li-Io cells up to 3700 mV. Li-Fe cells up to 3000 mV. With that you can follow in a simple way such recommendations which mean that it is best to store batteries in a half-full state. At first it is necessary to charge them full and let them equalize. Then you can discharge them to the higher "empty" voltage. Improved in V 1.07 - 12 SEP 2007: a) At extremly differences between the single cells from a lithium battery it could happend that the balancer could not balance the cells fast enough. The charger switched off because of the overvoltage of a single cell. Now the reduction of the charge current is high enough so that the balancer has enough time to equalize the cells. b) If you connected first the balancer connector of a lithium battery with more cells than the number of existing balancers in the device and then you tried to charge the pack by connecting the charge leads then nextGeneration showed the message "BatAwa". Now it shows the message "No.Cells>NoBalancers" which is clear to understand. c) In the balancer mode it could sometimes happen that the nextGeneration detects "full" cells and also showed "full" even when the balancing was not total ready. The difference of the avarage cell voltages had been a little bit higher than the selected value. A short underrun of all the measured differences lead to the "full" message. Removed in V 1.08 - 17 SEP 2007: In the last improvement (depending the software version 1.07) an error appeared: If the balancer of the battery 1 output was in use and a Lithium battery was charged at the same time on the battery output 2 then the voltage regulation on output2 failed. The safety function of the charger protected the battery on charge output 2 from overcharging. Removed in V 1.09 - 18 SEP 2007: When a lithium battery shall be charged AND if the Schulze balancing cable system is used (BalCab10, BalCab20) AND when the value of the current setting resistor in the cable(s) forced the charger to set the charge current higher than the maximum current of the charger, the charger tried to charge with that current in error. It was possible that the charger terminated the charging because of over current. --> Before the charger starts charging the charger shows now the charge current which is set by the resistor. So you can see which value the charge current for that battery shall be. After you started the charging it charges with the maximum charge current and shows by a "*" just in front of the displayed current value on the LCD that it can not charge with more current. Removed in V 1.10 - 18 SEP 2007: If the following configuration was made then the current consumption from the power supply could exceed unwanted: The charger is connected to a power supply with a voltage of about 13.8 volts. A battery is discharging and currently has a voltage below the input voltage of the power supply (< 13.8 volts). Hint: Depending on the battery voltage and the value of the discharge current the consumption from the power supply is normally between 0 ... 3 amps. --> If now the voltage of the power supply is increased to a voltage of 15 volts or higher (while discharging) it could happend that the battery was charged(!) instead of discharged. Now the charger avoids this malfunction and sets the discharge current to zero in this case. Hint: To avoid an over-charging of a car battery the nextGeneration tries to limit the re-transferred voltage with the integrated electronic discharge load. To achive a maximum efficency of this integrated electronic discharge load you should set your adjustable power supply to 13.8 volts (max. voltage = 13.9 volt). If the charger detects a connecting voltage (momentary input voltage) of a power supply between 15 volts and 24 volts, the re-transfer of the voltage is limited to about 1 volt higher then the connecting voltage. Removed/Improved in V 1.11 - 20 OCT 2007: a) Current spikes removed which appeared at small charge currents (@ about 100 ... 150 mA) and a battery voltage less than the input voltage. Now the minimum charge current @ input voltages of 15 volts and more and also at battery voltages near the input voltage is now 200mA. b) At discharging of one single LiPo/LiIon cell the discharge current was reduced by a large amount when the battery voltage falls below 3.66 volts and increased again when this level was crossed upwards again so that no longer a continuous discharge current was used. (Only happend at the next7.36-8 and the next10.36-8). c) The configuration of the charge parameters of the BalCabXX cable are only read out a short time after connecting the BalCabXX cable to the charger. After one second any changes of e. g. variations of the current pot of the BalCabXX charge cable is ignored. After connecting a balancer cable and changing any of the charge/discharge parameters and accepting the changed value by pressing the old configuration will not restored after removing the battery and the balancing cable. d) The balancer power is now up to 3.2 watts depending on the selected pack capacity. To protect batteries with lower capacity the balancing power was set to 1.6 watts constant in the past software versions. Therefore you have to set the maximum charge capacity to a useful amount; this means about 10-30% higher than the nominal capacity of the battery. Removed/Improved in V 1.12 - 01 NOV 2007: a) If there were missing cells at the balancer connector, in the Balancer status line they are displayed as normal cells. Now the cell gaps are marked as "x". (if e.g. a 4s pack is connected to balancing output 1, 2, 4 and 5, then the gap is located at cell no. 3) b) If there were missing cells at the balancer connector the "ready" message did not disappear after connecting the charging leads. c) New error message: If a cell at the balancer connector has overvoltage, now the error message is "C.UMAX" instead of "UMAX". d) If there were missing cells at the balancer connector the charger made some mesurements of single cells when the balancing current was flowing, that caused wrong cell voltages on the display. e) next6.30-5 only: If more than 5 LiXX cells are connected to the balancer then the charger no longer refuses charging - but for safety reasons the charger displays the warning #19 (No.Cells>NoBalancers), because it is able to monitor 8 cells but it can only balance cell 1 - 5. f) Regulation of low discharge current improved if the battery voltage is slightly higher than the supply voltage of the charger. Added in V 1.13 - 08 DEZ 2007: PLEASE USE FOR THE UPGRADE ONLY AKKUSOFT VERSION V 2.0.4.23 or higher!!! First software version for nextGeneration chargers with 12 balancers plus minor improvements for 5 and 8 balancer types. Removed/Improved in V 1.14 - 14 DEZ 2007: a) At the changes in the Softwareversion for the nextGeneration chargers with 12 balancers appears an error in the detection of the cells count connected to the balancing connector. This error appears only at the next-6.30-5, it detected a number 6 cell with wrong polarity which was not existing. b) Now the configuration made by a connected BalCab changes also the discharge current and the pack capacity ("dCurr" = resistor * cRate / "quan>" = resistor * 1.25). Improved in V 1.15 - 26 JAN 2008: Some internal measured values are averaged. Improved in V 1.16 - 27 JAN 2008: The Lithium single cell voltages in the info screen are displayed averaged so that the displayed value is stable. Hint for precise control measurements of the Lithium single cell voltages: When the balancer socket is connected but the charger does NOT charge or discharge then the displayed voltage of cell No. 1 is not so precise. This is caused by the fact that the internal wrong polarity protection is NOT bypassed when the chager is in the "ready" state. For precise measurements the charging lead with neg. polarity has to be additionaly plugged in into the "-" charge output1 AND also to the neg. terminal of the car battery (or the used power supply). Do NOT connect the pos. lead of the charge cable. In this case the charger would start charging or discharging. Version-jump V1.16 -> V1.25 New and improved in V 1.25 - 28 MAR 2008: a) The firmware is expanded to operate the Melody-Module. If the module is not connected (i.e. not build-in) the menu is crossed out. If the melody number is unequal zero the full-/empty-beep (of the built-in buzzer) is automatically switched off. b) To detect pressed buttons more quickly and more reliable when the keys are pressed very# briefly we are using now a "shadow register" which is able to "memorize" the pressed key until the key is polled. c) When the charge start is set to "manual" (press <+>), then the charge or discharge process can be stopped by pressing <-> (or by disconnecting the battery). d) To read the menu with the 14 customer setups it is possible to switch directly to the menu via two "Hot Keys" - which are only active when the graphical screens (of battery one or two) are displayed. When you press <1> and <+> simultaneously you are leaded to the first of the 14 configurations. When you press <2> and <-> simultaneously you are leaded to the last of the 14 configurations. e) The parameter selection menus are now displayed more quickly (when the screens had changed). Additional the crossed (not active) menu lines are crossed instantly at the right position after a change of the menu screen. f) The car battery capacity consumption display is not zeroized any longer automatically when you disconnect the nextGen from the car battery but has to be zeroized via "ParameterSet 2 nextGen". g) In the name and password screen it is possible to select and store the character "ö" in a name. h) When the charger switches off by an "emergency shutdown" (over- or under-run of limits) then several analog values are transmitted on the serial port to be able to analyze the shutdown if these data had been filed on a PC. Removed in V 1.26 - 31 MAR 2008: The firmware version V1.25 does not show the active balancers in the display. Removed in V 1.27 - 03 APR 2008: If "manual" start was selected and a Nickel- battery type is selected and a battery is connected to one of the balancer connectors, then the loudness-selection menue of the melody module did not appear. New, improved, expanded in V 1.28 - 28 MAI 2008: a) When Lithium-batteries are deep discharged they have to be formatted with 1/10th if their capacity (we do it with 1/10th of the selected charge current)until they reach the "empty voltage". This empty voltage can be adjusted in the device parameter set 2 (e.g. uLiPo). Up to now the current in the charge current selection menu was reduced to 1/10th of the selected current which leads to confusion why the selected current does no longer appear in the menu. With this existing VERSION 1.28 the current itself is reduced as before to 1/10th of the selected current at deeply discharged batteries, but the selected current remains in the menu. Instead of the changed current value it appears a * on the graphical screen in front of the display of the real existing charge current. (this is similat to the * in front of the current when the current is reduced when it reaches the maximum converter power of the charger. Hint: Some clients can not imagine that the "Empty" voltage defines the deep discharge limit of a Lithium cell. b) The (internal existing) over voltage limit for Nickel cells was increased to more than 1.8 V / cell. c) Nickel battery "combination" programs work now also with single voltage recording. d) LiFePO4 balancing characteristics became optimized. e) Slanting disconnecting of a balancing socket could lead to an error message. In this case not all cell voltages are existing on all the pins on the socket at the same time. f) When at a Nickel battery the peak was disabled and instead of the temperature cut off was activated then the charge current was also disabled in error. g) In minor cases the error #161 was detected when 2 LiPo cells are charging with very low charging currents. h) It was not possible to set the max. charge quantity limit to OFF for the battery 2 output when the numerical(!) data input mode was selected (This problem did not exist in the tabular mode). i) When in one of the battery types the max. charge quantity limit was set to OFF and then the user changed the battery type and then changed back to the battery type which limit was set to OFF then the OFF selection was changed from OFF to 75 mA. j) Numerical values for the max. charge quantity and max. charge time are now stored with its max. resolution - until the numerical input mode was changed to the tabular mode. k) A missing semicolon was inserted between temperature- and single cell voltage output of the PCs/Laptop interface data stream. l) The regulation of the internal discharge load stage was optimized for discharging with low discharge currents/low discharge power in combination with an AC/DC power supply. m) When the charger is connected to the power supply all analog values are transmitted on the serial ports (as usual when an error occured). New, improved, expanded in V 1.50 - 11 DEC 2008: a) When no battery is connected and the cursor buttons (<+>, <->, , ) are pressed continously then the scroll function works with double speed from the second second (relating to the scroll speed of the last firmware version). b) Chapter 12.3 in the new operating instructions: Procedure for storing Lithium cells 12.3.1 How it works: The storage program for lithium packs is only available on the battery one output. The lithium battery will be discharged or charged (depending on their charge state) to a cell voltage which is calculated from the minimum and maximum voltages of the cells which are shown in the "ParameterSet2 nextGen" (e.g. uLiPo + ULiPo / 2 = *3000 + *4200 / 2 = 3600 mV). 12.3.1 Parameter selection: In the "ParameterSet battery1" you have to select first all fitting parameters for your battery pack and finally you have to change the parameter "stora"ge to "YES". Hint: When you change the battery type or unplug it then this parameter is setted back to „NO“. 12.3.2 Display: State display (Press one or two times ): 1st line as usual, but the calculated storage voltage is displayed in the middle of the second line. The full-/empty-message is: "STORAG". c) The screen for the single cell voltage display is shown - as far a balancing socket is connected - directly with the first press on . Up to now you had to press 3 times. d) The measurement to get the inner resistance of a L i t i u m-pack is now done not only when the pack is discharged but also in the charge program (after about one minute). e) The <+> or <-> button switches out not only the full-beep but also the full-light output. f) The "run-in" brushed motor run-in program can now be started manually when you set the "start release" function to "manually". g) Chapter 20 in the new operating instructions: "BalCabXX is wrong<+>" (Warning 16 - Error 116) When the Schulze BalCab connector of a Li-Po or Li-Io battery is configured incomplete (current/capacity resistor is missing) and is connected to one of the BalCab-connectors then the charger uses the manually configured charge/discharge current for max. 30 seconds - except when the error warning is consciously ignored(!) and confirmed by pressing the <+> button. WARNING: When the BalCab is configured to Li-Fe the charger is unable to detect that the resistor is missing. The nextGeneration is charging/discharging with the manually configured battery type(!) and current(!). h) The balancing power and strategy of the operation in automatic mode became optimized. So it could happen that - depending on the pack capacity and/or the deviation of the cell voltage to higher or lower tensions - the balancing times are visibly reduced in isolated cases. Changed in V 1.51 - 06 FEB 2009: The limit for the max. charge quantity for Ni-MH batteries was increased. Removed / expanded in V 1.52 - 23 APR 2009: a) The c-rate of Lithium cells can now be selected from 0.2C to 3C. b) Wrong current display in a comment line of the RS232 output at combi programs removed. c) New Errormessage "Vcar - Vbatt2 < Min" instead of "b2-voltage > Max" when the voltage of the battery which is connected to the battery 2 output is too close to the car battery voltage. d) Removed: The next-6.30-5 (5 Balancers!) showed no error message if a 10S LiPo was connected to the balancer connector. e) The charge and discharge current regulation and error display has been improved so that the error (#161 und #162) not appears if the input voltage is not so stable. But you have to make sure that the power supply is suited. This means that it is well regulated, has a very high output capacitance (>5000µF/16V), very low ripple voltage and is insensitive to the frequency of the charger´s internal switching voltage converter. Using any other source is likely to damage your charger or your batteries, and voids the warranty. If you will connect more than one charger to a power supply then you have to buffer the tension by an additional car battery which avoids reactions between the chargers. Changed in V 1.53 - 06 MAY 2009: When the current selection of the BalCabXX multiplied by the c-rate factor results a charge current value which exceeds the maximum rated charge current of the charger then the charge current was not setted to the max. current of the type of charger but to a standard value (3 A). Improved in V 1.54 - 27 MAY 2009: If the battery 2 was disconnected at a low charge current, some chargers needed a long time to recognise that the battery is disconnected. Changed in V 1.55 and V 1.56 - 09 NOV 2009: One electronic part was replaced by another type. There is no change in operation or handling. The new firmware adapts oneself to the new hardware. Improved in V 1.57 - 07 JAN 2010: Caused by a new charge of diodes - which are mounted in November 2009 - it can happen that the chargers will show an error message ("WPOL" wrong polatity) directly after they are connected to the car battery. The new firmware allowes the use of the charger with the new charge of diodes also with deep temperatures. The update of chargers with the elder charge OF DIODES is possible but does not show any effect. Changed in V 1.58 and V 1.59 - 15 JUL 2010: The display of the single cell voltages was changed. To change from cell 8 to higher cell numbers it is not necessary any longer to scroll cell by cell by pressing <+> (or <->). Now the screen jumps and displays a l l undisplayed cell numbers (like the nextGeneration-II series). Removed in V1.60 - 17 AUG 2010: The display of the single cell voltages change in V1.59 showed 4 cells more than exist with 0 mV. This happend only with the next-7.36-12 and the next-10.36-12 charger. Now we display spaces as before. Removed in V1.61 - 04 NOV 2010: When a lithium battery shall be charged AND if the Schulze balancing cable system is used (BalCab10, BalCab20) AND when the value of the current setting resistor in the cable(s) is higher than the maximum charge current the charger is able to deliver, the charger calculates a maximum charge time which is too low to charge batteries full. Now it is no longer calculated in dependency of the C-rate but by the charge current the charger can deliver. Improved in V 1.62- 15 FEB 2011: The speed to detect that a battery is just disconnected on the battery 2 output is now faster.