Description

An indispensable item in a soldier’s backpack. An electronic unit that turns a 6S battery into a power bank — and, unlike the regular Zariadzhaika, takes care of the battery itself. Connect the battery to the XT60 and the balance connector and you get four power ports: two USB Type-A and two Type-C with Power Delivery, up to 100 W in total. The battery can also be charged through Type-C.

Why a balancer. A 6S battery is six cells connected in series. New cells have the same voltage, but over time they drift apart: one ages faster, another self-discharges a little more. The difference grows with every cycle — that is imbalance.

Why imbalance hurts. A battery works only as far as its weakest cell allows. During discharge that cell reaches its minimum first, and the protection shuts the whole battery down although the other cells still hold charge; during charging it is the first to reach the maximum. Capacity is lost, and the weak cell, over-discharged again and again, degrades even faster — imbalance feeds itself.

How the active balancer works. The board constantly compares the voltage of all six cells through the balance connector and moves charge from higher-voltage cells to lower-voltage ones. The energy is not burned off but goes where it is lacking: strong cells pull the weak ones up, and after a few cycles the voltages even out.

Why active beats passive. A passive balancer only bleeds the excess from the most charged cells into heat on resistors, and works only at the end of charging, with a small current — balancing drags on for days and part of the energy is simply wasted. An active balancer moves charge without losses, works all the time — while charging, discharging and in storage — and evens the cells out much faster. The battery delivers more usable capacity, and the board stays cool.

Why it matters in the field. Fields are littered with half-discharged drone batteries. When supplies run out, they are exactly what can charge a phone, a radio or a flashlight. Such batteries are almost always unbalanced — and this little box is made for them.

Two ways to use it. The first is without the balancer: connect a found battery via XT60 and simply power your gadgets from it, like from a power bank. The second is with the balancer: if the battery seems fine, plug in the balance connector as well — the unit evens out the cells, and you can keep that battery. From then on you charge it through the main board via Type-C with fast charging — the board supports 100 W, so the battery charges quickly, and one little box replaces both a power bank and its charger.

A box for the battery. To make the battery and the unit one piece, you can always buy a battery compartment of the right size for the Zariadzhaika — for 6S2P and 6S3P packs. Larger batteries — by special order. This way the Zariadzhaika becomes a full-fledged power bank — perhaps not the smallest one, but with a free battery.

Tip: keep the balance connector plugged in both while charging and in storage — that gives the balancer time to even out the cells.