By
Peter Dennis
Flying Sites Editor
The
Super Nova 250S battery charger/discharger has for several years
been an excellent entry-level charger. Although not the cheapest
on the market, at around £75, it does have several features
not available on more expensive chargers.
The
Super Nova has been sold in several guises. In the USA it has a
silver casing and is sold under the FMA mark. Here in the UK the
Super Nova 250S comes under the Pro Peak banner and is sold through
Ripmax.
The
Super Nova has long been regarded as a great little charger. Being
able to charge up to 25 cells, Nicad, NiMh and lead acid cells,
its virtues have been extolled on numerous occasions; however, it
has also come in for criticism!
A
number of users have found it difficult to understand the programming
sequences and all the functions available, and especially setting
up 'Manual' charging. This is compounded by universal criticism
of the small instruction booklet that is provided with the charger.
We,
here at Flying Sites, have for some time provided a free
download schematic diagram guiding users through the different
set ups, but what has really been requires is a simple no nonsense
re-write of the instruction manual.
Well,
now help is at hand in the form of a new publication 'A User Friendly
Guide to the Super Nova' by Andrew Gibbs. The guide comes in a handy
A3 size and has 30 pages. On first inspection the guide is much
more than a well written re-write of the original manual. It also
contains lots of useful advice on safety, power supply to the charger,
wiring battery leads and a very useful 'Hints and Tips' section.
All this information will be of use to both newcomers to electric
flight as well as old hands. The booklet has also been illustrated
with several colour photographs.
The
main body of the booklet guides the user through all programming
functions (both automatic and manual) in a simple easy to understand
way.
At
the heart of Andrew's description is a Flow Chart. This chart is
colour coded and printed at the back of the booklet. But as you
will require the chart while reading about each function, Andrew
has thoughtful supplied the same flow chart on a loose piece of
paper. So now you can follow the instructions with out continually
turning to the back of the booklet.
Andrew
explains each feature and function in turn. He describes clearly
what each function does and how to get to it via the three programming
buttons. Again each section is illustrated with a colour graphic
of each screen that the Super Nova displays. And with regular reference
to the Flow Chart, you will soon find your way around.
Probably
the part of the Super Nova that most users find difficult is programming
their own personal charging set-ups. The booklet contains a table
with all the ten factory pre sets listed. Each of these can be modified
to your own settings, to suit your own batteries. Again Andrew explains
how to modify each of these setting, from battery type, number of
cells, capacity, charge and discharge current.
The
programming section concludes with a technical specification and
a comprehensive list of the Super Nova's features, many of which
I had no idea existed, as they didn't appear in the original instruction
manual.
Andrew's
'Hints and Tips' section includes very useful information on choosing
charging rates, reserving a memory for special use, and charging/discharging
transmitter batteries. Also included is a section on battery care,
how to look after a new battery, battery storage and assessing the
condition of older batteries. There is even a simple calculation
to assess how many flights you can safely make with each charge
of a receiver battery.
The
booklet closes with several charts for you to record your own battery
information and also a table to record each of your personal pre-sets
memories.
All
in all, this is the Super Nova Manual that model flyers have been
crying out for! It's well written and it guides you easily through
each function in an simple to understand way. But it also has the
added advantage of interesting and useful information about setting
up your charger and battery usage and care.
The
booklet is well worth the £6 (inc p+p) asking price. As it
says on the cover: At last! An easy to understand guide for Super
Nova owners.
Recommended!
'A
User-Friendly Guide to the Super Nova'
is available from:
Andrew Gibbs
33 Aldwick Gardens,
Bognor Regis,
West Sussex
PO21 3QR
United Kingdom
www.gibbsguides.com
Price
£6 (inc p+p) Cheques made payable to Andrew Gibbs.
Email:
mrandrewgibbs@yahoo.com
Please
mention 'Flying Sites'
when contacting Andrew
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