It’s true, they do. I didn’t read the instructions first. I looked at the charger and thought to myself, “Two plugs? I can figure this out!” Clearly I’m not as smart as I think I am.
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I received mine on Tuesday and was flying by Wednesday. The video was VERY timely as I was scratching my head putting things together then got an email notification with the video link. The ONLY thing with my unit was one of the goose neck arms was welded off center by just a hair so the bolt wouldn’t pass through. I probably could have forced it by turning a ratchet through but decided to throw it on the drill press real quick instead. It was so minimal it was no problem. Besides I’ve had experience drilling these goose neck arms in the past when I sheared off a bolt on my air conception frame and had to drill it out and retap it. All good.
My first flight was amazing. Bravo to Paul and team for the work they’ve done. Delays are everywhere due to Covid. Let’s remember these guys are flying enthusiasts just like us and I’m excited to be on the cutting edge and learning this new tech. Safe flying!
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I’ve wondered a lot about this. I’ve seen the charger instructions say that too. When I decided to try it as recommended, the charger arced really bad with my wall outlet. I figured since the battery connector has the precharge resistor, I’d plug in the charger first then the battery so I don’t destroy my outlet. I’ve been doing it that way for over a year now and everything seems ok. Actually I’ve replaced my battery connector twice now. The first time was from a bad solder joint that melted the connector. The second time was damaged contacts from arcing. That precharge resistor was still good though so I’m not sure why there was so much arcing.
IMO that makes sense if you are making the battery connection while it’s “on load”. Think about it - the charger will probably be 20V higher voltage than the empty pack, and at least 15A, plus a surge from the output caps? The pre-charge resistor in the connector can’t equalise the voltage because there’s a constant current behind it. So you will always get a fat spark when you plug in, that will erode the contacts after a few dozen times…
I get a pretty serious arc at the outlet when I plug mine in, too. I wonder if a cord with a switch would alleviate the problem? Something like this:
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The battery charges at 10A max on a 120v outlet.
The new BMS can also help because you can switch off charging and discharging from with Bluetooth app until you are plugged in.
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The long-awaited email has arrived, you know, the one with the tracking number for my SP140 shipment! Thanks fellers for your post-delivery posts, especially about the battery-to-charger connection.
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Me too!!! Well the label was created at least!
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Well, 2nd day of no tracking update from UPS, just “label created”. Hopefully it’s in route and just not getting updated.
Mine wouldn’t update either but just had my prop, cage, and battery arrive! 2 out of the 3 boxes! Ughhhh it’s a tease!! But I guess I can assemble what I can… still need the main boxxxxx. I reckon it was on the way the whole time even tho UPS wasn’t updating. So let’s hold tight!
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Taking a cue from you, I checked the shipment details, and two of three packages are due to delivery tomorrow. The real status of the third is anyone’s guess! I’m happy for you! A bit of satisfaction though being able to finally put your hands on part of a long awaited and expensive investment.
I have 2 of the 3 tracking and showing that they’ll be here any minute… I can see the van on the map! We’ll see if all 3 arrive…
EDIT:
Dang… Just 2 boxes…
Box 1: battery
Box 2: hoop, prop, swing arms, spars, hardware bag.
Box 2 had a hoop end poking out of the box by 4 inches. Luckily no damage. Battery in perfect shape despite UPS guy pitching it onto my stoop (video doorbells are nice.)
So still waiting on Box 3 with the rest of the frame, harness, power pack and charger.
EDIT 2: Aaaand just as I typed that the 3rd box got scanned with an updated delivery of the 16th. No flying for me this weekend ;-).
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Man that’s disappointing. But glad it has a delivery date now at least.
I just got 2 of 3, and the delivery status for the 3rd is also on the 16th. Poop!
UPS hammered box 2 but luckily the only real damage was to the bubble-mailer with all the small parts. What looks like happened was the mailer was free to bounce around inside the master box, and the weight of all the small parts simply tore through the adhesive flap. I need to do a parts count to see if I received everything I should have or if some of it is lying in a UPS truck somewhere!
I received:
- battery
- tri-prop
- spars- cage w/netting
- goose neck bars
- bag of misc hardware
I plan to share the photos with Paul & co and hopefully they will improve the packaging for those whose orders have not yet shipped.
Here’s a few pics just forr giggles (a lot a good the FRAGILE sticker did!):
My box was hammered as well with a cage pole sticking and the parts bag was nearly torn through. Not sure what they are doing with these boxes but I get a LOT of UPS deliveries and I very rarely see anything this beat up.
Ouch! My box had very little dunnage inside to isolate and protect stuff. Would someone please tell me if I got all the small parts I should have? I think I have it all but…? Here’s a picture:
All there… Except the plastic washers for the swing arm mounts.
Ok. Well I guess I’ll have pick up a couple because they aren’t in the bag or the box. Thx for the responses.
I couldn’t find any plastic washers with the correct dimensions. Paul is mailing a couple but I didn’t want to wait so I made two.
My third box arrive today, a day earlier than I was expecting! I’ve got it all assembled, except for the prop, and have done the first power up. It’s getting exciting!
There are a couple of spars that seem too short. I double checked that I had the right lengths in the correct locations. When I push the top two hoop connectors firmly down into their spars, two of the side connectors spring out. One of the spar-to-hoop connections looks to have not much engagement. Anybody else run into this? Here’s a photo:
The soft links each have a short bungee tie. Any idea what these are used for?
