Choice of cable(s) to flash HobbyKing Eco six battery charger. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Jim0000
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2023, 10:26:31 am
content: This is a duplicate of a thread I posted onwww.rcgroups.coma couple of days ago. No reply received there, so I am here.I hope posting here does not contravene any EEV forum policy.My old HK multi chemistry smart charger is becoming gradually problematic. When charging a LiPo, for example, it begins to reduce the charge rate when the battery is only partly charged. This can be confirmed if I then swap the battery over to another fully functional charger; it will then continue to charge as normal to 4.2 volts per cell.This site gives some technical advice on the procedure for flashing new firmware, but much of it is beyond my level of knowledge around this subject.https://transistor-man.com/echo-6.htmlIt suggests that this cable is required: FTDI-> RS232 to USB cableI have found these on offer on ebay:https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/314114636090And this alternative:https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/144129614938Question:Which one of the two will do the job?If the first one is suitable, how do I go about identifying the pinout to suit?If I can identify the pins, and this cable will suit, I will order one and give it a shot. Otherwise, if the second one will suit and in some way better, I will order one of them.The file for flashing is on GitHub here:https://github.com/stawel/cheali-chargerJim.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 15, 2023, 10:30:24 am
content: Last 3 of your links are broken. There are 3 dots in the middle for some reason.

author: darkspr1te
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2023, 12:37:14 pm
content: Quote from: Jim0000 on February 15, 2023, 10:26:31 amAny usb-serial converter should work, FTDI is a popular one but many fakes out there CH340 is another.I have the same battery charger and found the caps were so cheap that they dried up and failed within a year so it's worth replacing the two.One thing to note that I think the author skipped, if you view this photohttps://transistor-man.com/PhotoSet/echo-6/P1150937.JPGyou will see three pins on the right hand side that are ment for temp control OR serial output (controlled in settings menu) and is used for logging data,using the photos i was able to trace the TX/RX pins from that header to the unpopulated 28 QFN chip which also has a usb connector on the reverse of the board.The topology of resistors matches the usual lay out so I would say that you can tap TX/RX of the MCU from those 3 pins sticking out near the psu socket.Also see the menu option found under "User Set Program ->" for USB(tx really) or temp sensorI have also noted that most of the open firmware is for specific clones (not using the 8051 core mcu ) so i advise you confirm your is identical at the board level and not just the casing.darkspr1te

author: Jim0000
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2023, 07:12:10 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on February 15, 2023, 10:30:24 amMy apologies for that, I have edited my first post with (hopefully) functional links. But I don't know what went wrong.Jim.

author: Jim0000
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2023, 07:32:59 pm
content: Quote from: darkspr1te on February 15, 2023, 12:37:14 pmThanks for the reply. I will order the one from China that has the full plug assembly to avoid, or minimise, the chance of wrong connection.QuoteGood tip, thanks for tat.QuoteI see those three pins ok, I did wonder what they were.If I have understood correctly, those three pins are all I need to use to connect a FTDI cable (to computer) to flash the firmware. Correct?QuoteI will look for that.QuoteI guess I will have to search out the GitHub page to find more details on the file and my board etc.Thanks again,Jim.