The Universal Charger "General Manager" software usage is very easy but some point must be evidenced in order to get a very quick startup. Please refer also to the user manual of this software released in the files directory.




The first step is to choose the serial port for charger connection: the COM1 - COM16 ports are displayed on the right bar, with in evidence only the ports available and active on the computer. Select the port that is phisically connected to the charger clicking on the name. Once selected the serial port the user can go to the following steps.




The first page allows the user to backup and restore the complete configuration of the charger. The Backup function copy all the charger parameters on a file, the Restore function copy the parameters from a file to the charger.
The progress bar on the bottom of the page shows the operation progress. The user dialog box propose a “.universal” extension for this backup file but the user can specify an arbitrary name.

Important: the backup of the charger configuration save all the charger parameters and all the profiles parameters, allowing a complete solution to restart the system with a predefined state.

Important: the restore of the charger configuration overwrites the present charger configuration with no recovery possibility.




This page allows to read/modify the general charger parameters (the parameters common to all the profiles).

The “READ from CHARGER” button reads all the parameters on this page from the charger and display the data. The “WRITE to CHARGER” button writes the data displayed (eventually edited by the user) into the charger. The small progress bar below the buttons shows the progress of the commanded action.

Important: the write operation is composed by a write and a successive read in order to re-display (for check) the data entered by the user, giving a feedback of the charger status.

The following is the list of the general parameters that can be customized:

• Actual Profile: (0..11) This parameter is the selected profile into the charger. Changing this value has the same effect that a selection performed with the “Profile select” inside the charger. The “actual profile” parameter is used by the charger for charge, discharge or editing.
• MAX charge current (0..255) Maximum charge current in Ampere. A charge current greater than this parameter will be saturated at this maximum value.
• MAX discharge current (0..255) Maximum discharge current in Ampere. A discharge current greater than this parameter will be saturated at this maximum value.
• Buzzer frequency (50..10000) Buzzer frequency in Hertz. This frequency should be adapted the resonant frequency of the charger buzzer.
• R6 (0..65535) Partitor resistor in Ohm. See the figure on this page for more details.
• R5 (0..65535) Partitor resistor in Ohm. See the figure on this page for more details.
• Current pick-up sens. (0..65535) Current pick-up sensitivity in uV/A: LTS-25NP: typical 25000, ACS750-50: typical 40000.
• Suspended action (0..2) Writing a value different from 0 (idle) in this parameter force the charger to restart a selected action when powered up: 1: charge, 2:discharge
• First hello line (ASCII) First line of the “Hello message” displayed by the charger when powered up. This string has a length of 16 characters.
• Second hello line (ASCII) Second line of the “Hello message” displayed by the charger when powered up. This string has a length of 16 characters.

This page allows to read/modify the individual profile charger parameters (the parameters that can be changed profile by profile).

The “READ from CHARGER” button reads all the parameters on this page from the charger and display the data. The “WRITE to CHARGER” button writes the data displayed (eventually edited by the user) into the charger. The small progress bar below the buttons shows the progress of the commanded action.

Important: the write operation is composed by a write and a successive read in order to re-display (for check) the data entered by the user, giving a feedback of the charger status.

The following is the list of the profile parameters that can be customized:

• Cell chemistry (0..3) Type of cell chemistry for this profile: 0:NiCd, 1:NiMh, 2:LiPo, 3:SLA.
• Cell capacity (100..25500) Capacity of the cell pack, expressed in mAh. To be specified in multiples of 100mAh.
• Number of cells (1..19) Number of cells or series elements.
• Charge current (0.1 .. 25.5) Charge rate, specified as multiplier for the capacity. A rate of 1.0 cause a charge current equal to the capacity expressed in mA. Typical value 1.0: very few batteries allows a charge rate greater than this limit.
• Discharge current (0.1 .. 25.5) Discharge rate, specified as multiplier for the capacity. A rate of 4.0 cause a charge current equal to 4 times the capacity expressed in mA. Typical value 4.0-6.0 in order to discharge a full charged battery in 10-15 min.
• Charge peak inhibit. (0 .. 255) The charger inhibit the delta peak control for this specified number of minutes after the start of the charge. Typical value from 5 to 10 min, increase in case of batteries not used for very long time.
• Cutoff NiCd (0..2550) Minimum voltage for the discharge process expressed in mV/cell. The discharge will terminate when the battery pack voltage is under the (Cutoff*Number of cells). Typical value 700..900 mV.
• Cutoff NiMh (0..2550) Minimum voltage for the discharge process expressed in mV/cell. The discharge will terminate when the battery pack voltage is under the (Cutoff*Number of cells). Typical value 900..1100 mV.
• Cutoff LiPo (2500..3500) Minimum voltage for the discharge process expressed in mV/cell. The discharge will terminate when the battery pack voltage is under the (Cutoff*Number of cells). Typical value 3000mV.
• Cutoff SLA (1500..2500) Minimum voltage for the discharge process expressed in mV/cell. The discharge will terminate when the battery pack voltage is under the (Cutoff*Number of cells). Typical value 2000mV.
• Delta peak NiCd (0..255) Delta peak (mV/cell) used for the costant current charge finish. Typical value 5..10mV.
• Delta peak NiMh (0..255) Delta peak (mV/cell) used for the costant current charge finish. Typical value 3..7mV.
• Max. voltage LiPo (3500..4500) This voltage represent the maximum voltage(in mV) of the cell in the charge process. At this point the charger switches from constant current to constant voltage charge method. Typical value 4200mV.
• Max. voltage SLA (2000..3000) This voltage represent the maximum voltage(in mV) of the cell in the charge process. At this point the charger switches from constant current to constant voltage charge method. Typical value 2500mV.
• Final curr. LiPo (0..255) This parameters is expressed in % with respect to the initial charge current, and is used by the charger to stop the charge when in constant voltage mode. Typical value 3..20%.
• Final curr. SLA (0..255) This parameters is expressed in % with respect to the initial charge current, and is used by the charger to stop the charge when in constant voltage mode. Typical value 3..20%.
• Maximum charge (0..255) This parameters is expressed in % with respect to the pack capacity. The charge will stops when the charger has passed this capacity to the cells. Used as timeout (typ. value 120) or to shorten the charge time (with not full battery charge) (typ. 70-80 for 45 min. LiPo charge)