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Cell Log 8 Breakout Module

10K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  rwaudio 
#1 · (Edited)
I designed this board for my personal use in my Porsche 944 conversion, but I had extra boards made so I am making them available to others. This is a 32 cell Lithium Battery MONITORING System, everything is isolated so any number of boards can be used to monitor most cell counts (there are some cell count combinations that won't allow all of the alarm relays to function properly, basically a minimum of 4 cells need to be connected to the "top" Cell Log 8 for the alarm output to function, all other Cell Logs should have all 8 cells connected)

Board dimensions are 3.4" x 7.62" (the RJ45 connector sticks out slightly past the board making a total dimension of ~7.875).

The boards are fully assembled including all connectors and relays. The Cell Log 8's are not included. The alarm connector (pigtail) that comes with the Cell Log 8 is required for alarm use and plugs into the connectors on the bottom of the PCB. (if desired the alarm wires could be soldered to the connector pads on the top of the PCB).

The Cell Log 8's require some extra securing method to ensure they stay in place during use, IE double sided tape, "velcro" etc.

There are multiple methods of interfacing with the Cell Log alarms and some of them are described further on my blog:
http://electricporsche.rwaudio.com/2012/02/a-quick-demo-of-the-cell-log-8-breakout-module/

I will have a wiring diagram shortly for the RJ45 connector, but it is also described on the blog and is very simple to wire up.

I have also checked with Dimitri of Clean Power Auto LLC and he is okay with selling his Head End Board individually (from his MiniBMS system). His head end board will work exactly the same connected to the NC loop on the Cell Log 8 Breakout Module as it would with his regular MiniBMS system.

I didn't design this board to get into the "BMS" market, I designed it because I needed one (3-4 actually) it was a small PCB run of a fairly large board so the cost per board was a bit high, there are also 17 three pin connectors, 4 slim spring connectors, an RJ45 connector and 6 high quality hermetically sealed relays along with the 4 connectors that the cell logs plug into along with my time to assemble the board and the time to design/layout/order/test this PCB. This leads to the pricing:

1-4 boards $80.00 US each
5-9 boards $75.00 US each
10+ boards $70.00 US each

As of today I have 50 raw pcb's on hand and parts to assemble 17 complete boards, the first 17 will be sold on a first come first serve basis, I will then order the parts to populate the remaining PCB's.

***Shipping cost for a single board in a bubble envelope within Canada is $3, to the lower 48 States $4
Shipping for any number of boards is $20.00US to the lower 48 US states
Shipping in Canada varies quite a bit so for the best rate send me your postal code ($15-22 for the variety of the postal codes I tried)
I will ship virtually worldwide just give me your address and I will get a quote.



If ordering the Cell Log 8's from Hobbyking.com I would recommend that you also purchase this screwdriver it's cheap, it's good quality (for the price) and it works perfectly for the 51 screw terminals on the board! (unless you already have a decent 3mm flat head screwdriver)
 

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#4 ·
Since this is a DIY forum I thought I would add an option to assemble it yourself.
You can buy the RAW PCB, or a kit including all of the parts. I'll post the BOM for the parts that I use, feel free to substitute parts but you are on your own to figure out if they will work or not.

PCB: $30 Shipping in a bubble envelope should be about $5, I will find a suitable envelope and confirm the price.

Kit: $70 Shipping could be done in a bubble envelope or box (the box being safer) Shipping in a foam padded box is $20, the same as a completed board. I will find out if it is worthwhile ship the kit in a bubble envelope.
 

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#7 ·
(Digikey part numbers below)
Relay PB1096-ND x6
3 Pin Con ED2903-ND x17
9 Pin Con WM3007-ND x4
PCB electricporsche.ca x1
2 pin Con 277-2079-1-ND x4 (you can probably skip this and simply solder the alarm wires to the board if you are already soldering a board)
RJ45 AE10380-ND x1

The relay appears to be out of stock at Digikey, my alternate is 653-G6J-2P-Y-DC12 from Mouser. (I have relays on hand if you wanted to save the mouser order I could sell a PCB + relays) Or you could probably find equivalent parts from Mouser.
Also you only need to populate as much as you are going to use on the board. IE if you were to only monitor 16 cells you could leave off the top five 3 pin connectors, as well as half the relays (Relay_1, R_Alarm3 and R_Alarm4) the two 3 pin connectors below R-Alarm3 and R_Alarm4, and the connectors for the top two Cell Logs.

I won't be selling half populated boards, I am ordering the parts to populate x amount of complete boards. The only exception is to provide a part that is backordered to a kit.

I haven't been able to get the store to calculate shipping properly so I don't have it up yet. I can send you a paypal invoice if you prefer.
 
#8 ·
Thanks, I got the parts ordered from Digikey and sent Paypal payment to rwaudio for a bare PCB.

I can't wait to put this together. I have a 48v Headway pack driving a Amped bike hub motor through an ebikes.ca controller. I like the flexibility of controlling and observing my LVC and HVC at the cell level.

I am dreaming about someday doing a NEV build.
 
#10 ·
Thanks Rick, I've got your board packed up and addressed, but I need to stop by the post office tomorrow after work to mail it.

I got my boards, RW. They look very nice.
I'm glad you like the boards, the only thing I have to say after using mine for a few weeks, is it doesn't hurt to stabilize the connector as you plug in the cell log 8's (put your finger/fingernail or some other non conductive object behind the white connector as you insert the cell log 8's). The white part of the connector will move slightly even though the pins are firmly attached to the board, that's just how that connector is designed. If you have any questions when you go to hook it up just let me know.

I'm trying to find the program I use to use for schematics, I can't find it, I might try it in Eagle to see if I can make something useful, otherwise it will just be something ugly in a paint type program.
 
#13 ·
I got my bare board a few weeks ago. Initially I was going to using on one of the two bicycle conversions I did, but subsequently I acquired a 1973 VW donor car and it will really work well on that build. I will now order some more cell logs and more parts to populate an entire board. The board was nice quality.
 
#17 ·
I ordered all the parts to populate the remaining boards, I'm almost finished soldering them so only assembled boards are available now.
This is the final batch for now, next time I design a PCB I may get more of these made but it will be awhile (read 6 months to a year).
3 of the boards are for my 944, along with one spare, the remaining 21 are up for grabs.

Price remains the same $80/pc, price break for 5+ and 10+

Shipping in Canada for a single board in a bubble envelope is $5, 2 or more send me your postal code and let me get you an accurate price.
Shipping to the USA is $6 for a single in an envelope and $7.50-10 for 2-3 in a box depending on location, send me your zip code and I can get an accurate price.
Faster options available upon request, I'll ship to almost anywhere in the world.
 
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