My eyes are tired of scanning posts to find the answer. Does anyone have a "how to" on wiring a SL100 with the Sparkfun 400 mAh Lipo? I am contemplating getting a 38mm sled from Landru13 but do not wish to use the switch. would rather twist and tape. I need to keep the connector on the battery for charging but am not sure I see a solution to the connection. What am I missing?
Question on how to wire using LiPo
- Thread starter BrAdam
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You should be able to buy matching connectors for LiPo batteries from a hobby shop. I'm not sure what connector is on the SparkFun pack, but the LiPo batteries I've used have 2-pin JST connectors, which are easy to find in hobby shops and online.
Rex R
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well you are going to need the appropriate jst connecter(most RC shops should carry them) and since the sled doesn't come with a switch you won't need to bypass it. wiring the stratologger is fairly straight forward and explained in the manual (last I looked they had a downloadable version) it comes with 4 sets of connectors (labeled). power/battery hooks on the narrow end, the other connectors are on the long side of the board. if the layout hasn't changed, starting from terminals nearest to the battery terminal are switch, main, and drogue. if you connect two wires to the switch terminals and twist the leads together the altimeter is on(assuming you have a battery connected 
).
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SammyD
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On a safety note, having a loose leads from/to a LiPo battery is risky as I found out the hard way a few years back switching out a battery for an RC copter. There's a substantial amount of "juice" that these batteries produce, and touching the leads together will result in a mini fireworks show whereever you happen to be doing the work... So, like others have said, get the JST connectors (some use a PICO connector - the really small connectors), and be VERY CAREFUL getting the leads connected and shrinkwrapped for use
Okay, so the connector is needed. Leads from that to the power input on the SL100 and then leads from the SL100 switch connector out the rocket? Any concern about the small battery connector coming loose during flight? Also it appears I need to create the power harness with the connector, there is not a pre-built one (leads attached)?
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Rex R
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I suppose that one were really worried about the connectors coming loose during flight that you could use mini deans plugs, however they are not the easiest plugs to solder. in the past I have used twisted pair wires that I stripped out of cat-5 cable.
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These connectors are designed for use in R/C aircraft and so have to handle a high vibration environment. I don't think there is anything in a rocket flight profile nearly as tough on a connector.
As far as I know, no one makes pre-wired harnesses since there are so many different arrangements used in electronics bays, but it's a good idea for a product, especially in conjunction with one of the pre-fab sleds.
You can tie the connectors together with thread. Simple and inexpensive.
bobkrech
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If https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10718 is the 400 mah Sparkfun LiPo then it comes terminated with a standard 2-pin JST-PH connector - 2mm spacing between pins. You can purchase a prewired mating connector from most RC shops and wire an on-off power switch in series with it.
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matthewdlaudato
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I took a slightly different approach. I cut the wire to the JST connector, and both on the battery end and on the connector end, crimped ferrules on. So I have two pieces: a battery with ferrules, and a connector with ferrules. When on the sled, the ferrules give the battery a solid connection to the altimeter/switch. When it is time to charge, I just connect the ferrules through a spare terminal block (battery on one side, connector on the other) and plug into the charger. Seems to work fine.
