Hobby King Super Glow Driver - USB Rechargable Glow Starter

[dave siegler]

I just got one as a gift.  does anyone use one? 

It looks well made and on bench it works well. 

Also would like to make a second set of driver leads with a clip style connector. 
It uses a USB style connector for the glow leads.

Anyone try that?


https://www.hobbyking.com/en_us/super-glow-driver-usb-rechargable-glow-starter.html

[howard shenton]

Dave
My flying buddy, Max Flowe, and I started using them after seeing Bobby Mears using one at Brodak.
He said that it was used during the F2D world championships strapped to his arm with a Velcro strap.
VERY reliable. Max has used his almost every day since then. Only charged his once before Phil Cartier's August contest.
We both used them at our October contest with no problems

[bill bischoff]

Don't worry about the USB connector for the leads. Cut the included lead in two, and use a Deans Connector on the leads. Make as many glow clips as you want with Deans connectors on them, and you only need one Deans to USB adapter to connect to the unit.

The only problem I have seen with this driver is that it automatically shuts off after a period of time. Less than ideal in racing (and possibly combat), but OK otherwise.

[Motorman]

Read the reviews.


MM

[Brett Buck]

Read the reviews.

   It seemed as if the common trait was that they had problems charging it. I have a few relatively high-power USB-powered devices and I think I can diagnose the problems. If you just plug it into a common USB port on a computer, the current is limited to some very low value - something like 100 mA. That's not nearly enough to charge something like this in a reasonable amount of time. My headphone amplifier took something like a day and a half to fully charge from my keyboard USB port.

    What you need to charge it is a powered USB charger. You can get these almost anywhere, and they typically charge at either 1.5A or 5 A. This is what an iPhone or iPad requires. You can get the type that plugs into the lighter outlet of your car at any 7-11 for a dollar or so,  or a plug-in type for about $8. Otherwise, it will either charge *very slowly* or not at all with a 100 mA computer USB power. Some of the reviews clearly indicate this - typically solid red charge light indicates discharge and almost depleted. It usually flash at a rate related to the charge rate. With my keyboard USB port my headphone amplifier will flash about once per 5 seconds. With a 1.5A charge adapter, it will go at about 2 times a second.

      I have no idea if the glow driver works or not, but I can pretty well predict that it won't work if it never charges properly.

       Brett

[john e. holliday]

Does this mean I could charge it on the USB port in my Suburban while driving to a contest?   Also does it reset when disconnected?  Well no worry the ad says they are out of stock.

[Brett Buck]

Does this mean I could charge it on the USB port in my Suburban while driving to a contest?   Also does it reset when disconnected?  Well no worry the ad says they are out of stock.

  Yes, you could charge it in the car, that's what the USB port is for. I don't know what you mean by "reset" when disconnected. It stops charging, but that is not surprising, is it?


     Brett

[john e. holliday]

The 300 second timing to shut down.   Does the timer restart when the clip is removed from the glow plug?

[Gary Mondry]

Can the foil contacts of a USB connector be expected to carry glow plug lighting current for long?  It's along way from a Deans connector...

[Brett Buck]

Can the foil contacts of a USB connector be expected to carry glow plug lighting current for long?  It's along way from a Deans connector...

  They are not "foil" in almost any case, they are pretty substantial, particular for devices expected to either supply or require substantial current. The highest current supported by the USB power specification is 5 amps, and no, foil will not handle that, but they aren't foil.

   You would be surprised, however, how little cross-section is required to carry substantial current. PWB (printer wiring boards, AKA PC boards) are used inside 5 amp USB boards.

     Brett

[RknRusty]

It looks like it's worth trying. 5200mah is well over an hour of lighting time, and 1.4v is nice too. The USB is convenient since I have plenty of the chargers from all the cell phones and tablets I've had.

Right now, I use the Dubro sub-C igniters, but toss the wimpy 1300mah(20 minutes or so) NiCd battery and replace them with a sub-C NiMH rated at 4000mah. That's over an hour of lighting too, but at 1.2v. I still use the proprietary charger, but you can top off the MiMH any time without reducing its capacity. Your NiCd will crap out if you keep topping it off.
Rusty

[Bill Mohrbacher]

I wonder if the auto full charge cutoff is built into the glow driver ?  Charging a 2 cell lipo at high current without shutoff is dicey

[dave siegler]

Can the foil contacts of a USB connector be expected to carry glow plug lighting current for long?  It's along way from a Deans connector...

The USB is non standard, 2 thick wires coming out of it.  Not a traditional USB cable.

[Bill Mohrbacher]

I'm  going  to  get  one.  I can modify it to safely charge it.  Looks like a great product.

[Steve Helmick]

Read the reviews and who wrote the reviews. Most were written by a guy named "David" who didn't think it should be required to charge the battery before first use....and then made multiple reviews about how horrible that was. Yes, very likely the instructions suck, but this is just common sense with any rechargeable system. Most the rest of the reviews were pretty good. But there isn't a chance in heII that I'd charge this thing inside my house.   Steve

Edit: The bad reviewer "David" was in the UK, to be clear.

[Pat Chewning]

As long as the battery circuit was not designed by the guy who did the Samsung Galaxy 7, it should probably be OK.

[Steve Helmick]

Yeah, true enough. But how do we know it wasn't the same nitwit?  Steve

[Dane Martin]

I was thinking of cutting and pasting a well known combat competitors review, but to sum up it was generally accepted that it works great. The charging function is a little questionable because of the lights. Hobby king did not know the light functions, but it does work.
He did mention for the price of shipping, look into perhaps buying two. $17 shipping for a $25 item. ...

[Steve Helmick]

Since they're out of stock at HK, I guess you're quoting shipping prices direct from PRC? I'd say that if they have them in stock in PRC, they need to ship some to HK. Isn't there a HK warehouse in LV, one in the PNW (usta be Tacoma, but I think it moved to So. King County), and at least one back East somewhere? I don't know why any business would stock anything here in WA, with our stupid inventory tax. How stupid can our politicians be? Yes, that stupid!  Steve

[Dane Martin]

Not in Las vegas. There is the distribution warehouse for the company who makes some of their batteries. Also,  thunder power batteries is here in Las Vegas.
Those shipping prices he stated were from when he ordered them, they were in stock in the "international" warehouse.
And I agree. WA seems to have lost some business because of political reasons. Ain't it great?

[Fredvon4]

I used to log to HK and see a place to select a warehouse....not so now..

I have spent too much time trying to figure it out,, so screw it...don't really need a new glow driver anyway

I have a Hobbico (12VDC 9Ah) Current controlled power panel, An LiPO based computer RCATS ( In my opinion the very best), and several home brew glow igniter/heaters...two based on the Cyclon 2VDC 5Ah Lead acid primary cells   VDC controlled by Lead length

Every single POCKET kept, RC style clip on rechargeable I used sucked

I am serious that I can charge the RCATS LiPo version and USE it ALL YEAR LONG before needing a recharge

Yes it is a bit pricy

BUT it was here that I was told...you can use the $9 Tachometer but the $100 Fromeco one is worth the bucks if you desire accuracy and reliability


Saving my $$$ for a good tach I don't really need