estation

Intro

This software was writin to allow me to catalog my LiPo batteries charging history.  Bantam has a PC interface kit, but like most companies, this works only with Windows.  Bantam was kind enough to work with me to write my own OS X version.

This software should work with any Bantam charger, but I've only tested it with the BC6, as that is all I have.  I hope to obtain other models to test with those too.

NOTE: the OS X driver for the USB-UART bridge is required.

Install

To install the software, simply double-click the eStation.pkg file.  This installs two items:

• /Applications/eStation.app
• /Library/Framewroks/Log4Cocoa.framework

Running

Simply double-click the app. 

Main window

The window that pops up is blank, and looks like this:

Now you need to add a battery. To do this, click the + in the lower-left of the screen.  Once you do this, you'll notice that the gray 'No Selection' place holders disappear from the fields on the right.  Fill in the three fields, and select a type from the drop down.

Name

Any name you care to give the battery, to uniquly identify it.  I write this name on the battery itself.

mAh

The rating of this battery.

Cells

The number of cells of the battery.  Used for information only.

Type

Select the battery type from the drop-down

That's it for filling in the info.  You can add as many batteries at once as you like, or add them as you charge them.

Once you have it filled out, it'll look similar to this:

Once you have many batteries, something like this:

Notice that in the lower right, the + button and the Record Session button are not available.  Currently, the software will only detect the charger if it is plugged in after the software is started.  If the charger is plugged in, unplug it and plug it back in.  If it wasn't plugged in, do so now.

Charging

To charge a battery, select that battery in the list on the left, and click the + button below the sessions list.  This will create a new session witht he current date and time.  Select the new session, and then click the Record Session button.  This opens up the charge window.  Now, start teh Bantam charger to charging.

The charge window looks like this:

This shows all the information available.  As I only have the BC6, I can not use the temperature probe and the USB cable at the same time, so the temp's show as 0.  The raw frames as sent b the charger are in the second tab.

Finishing Charging

When the charger is finsihed, this window remains open.  Simply close it. 

Other things

You can view any charging session by simply selecting it and clicking View Session from the main window. 

Be careful if you are charging several batteries at a time; if you have a session selected, and clcik the Record Session button, the new data will be recorded into the existing session