Massive power. So compact! HOTA S6 lipo charger

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Buy the HOTA S6 charger at:

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00:00:00 - A massively powerful, feature-packed charger
00:01:08 - HOTA S6 vs. D6 Pro vs. M6DAC
00:03:18 - Charging Modes
00:07:18 - System Settings
00:10:18 - Is it calibrated right?

00:11:46 - USB charging and 45W USB-PD
00:13:12 - What's the point of this charger?
00:14:54 - Dollar for dollar comparison
00:17:51 - Why I recommend HOTA over ToolkitRC
00:20:35 - Do you really need a charger this big???

[jinlongliu]

The PD output feature can also be used as ‘discharger’, just charge your phone or laptop from flying batteries, without being wasted into heat😉

[RAYROTHSTEIN]

The built in power supply is great for foam cutter builders. Now you can fine tune the volt/amp setting to burn the perfect cut.

[agunther]

I LOVE the user interface of the Hota, the one I always reach for. Just so easy to live with.

[KrotowX]

Did a peek into specs:
- Balance Current: 1600mA * 2
- Discharge Current: 0.1~3A * 2
Wow, that's nice! You can stop just here. This would be my new LiPo charger if I would need a new one now.

[gillian]

I love my Hota S6 charger, I bought mine from banggood when they were on special offer for $150. Thank you Joshua for a fantastic indepth review on the S6.

[heroflying]

Couple other things to point out about the specs of the HOTA S6 vs the toolkitRC...

1. The HOTA S6 actually has a 478W PSU. When you use the USB or XT60 rear out, those do not count against the 400W for the main charging. Quick charge your phone, use your pinecil iron while you're charging, doesn't matter, there's still 400W for your LIPOs for charging. The toolkit RC's is 200W total no matter what ports you're using, so in the same scenario, you're sapping wattage from battery charging.
2. The ToolkitRC also has only 1000mA balance current. The S6 is 1600mA balance current. So the S6 will charge packs faster because it'll balance them faster.

HOTA S6 is the far superior charger IMHO.

[jakeh]

I wish they did this with the HOTA F6. The 4 channels are a god send. I don't para charge anymore, and my batteries seem to appreciate that.

[DrewJHarrison]

Great review! Since making this there is a new variant of this charger on the market that has a few additional features to boot. It's the Ultra Power UP8. Specifically the ability to add an external 200W discharger for quick discharging on channel 1, servo tester, motor tester & wireless charger on top. Would be great to see a review on this one as it appears to be just as powerful with a similar footprint and some additional features.

[LS-xbfh]

Given the beefy integrated power supply, I would have loved to see an additional more powerful DC output to power a second DC only charger (eg. isdt Q6). Then you could have three total channels in a very small form factor in the field. And 133W/channel is still plenty.

[BKD]

Joshua, I'm not sure that your explanation of the end current setting is correct. Usually when the charger goes into CV (constant voltage) mode toward the end of the charge cycle, it will stop the charge when the amperage drops down to 10% of your charge current (or whatever you set in the end current). So, let's say that we're charging at 5.0amps... when the charger goes into CV mode (usually 4.2V/cell) the amperage will drop as the battery becomes fully charged. When the charge current eventually drops to 10% (or whatever you select in the end current setting) of the selected charge rate (500 milliamps) the charger will terminate the charge cycle.

[tlanfer]

I keep seeing those huge resistors for discharching, and i'm just here with my cheap automotive halogen light, a few XT30/XT60 connectors and a big circuit breaker. simple and cheap method to discharge. you just need to keep your eyes on a lipo checker on the balancer plug, because it goes very quickly 😄

The charger looks interesting. I'm still using my laptop psu + isdt q6 pro if i only charge single or small lipos, or server psu + isdt q6 pro when i need to parallel charge a lot of lipos quickly. I keep them in a small briefcase, that i could theoretically grab and throw out the window if something goes wrong. Its not the most elegant solution, but it works.

[Sourdough_Humboldt]

Also external discharge aves 80-90% of the power by discharged, by putting it back into a battery. Very nice for cycle testing packs.

[SANDY-FPV]

Looks like a great charger! Especially the inbuild 400W PS. Have you ever seen the Hota F6? It has four channels!

[benupde]

I have a hobbymate speed h6. Very compact and is plenty of capability to charge my 2-4s packs. I parallel charge 6 4s packs at the maximum 200 watts and it typically only takes about 30 mins.

[Bannisterpost]

Literally just bought this charger today, picking it up later. Thanks for the video JB!

[jlarson]

Great review. I just got the Hota D6 Pro based on your review and continued support of it. Very happy with it. Happy flying everyone. 🤓

[flyinryanfpv]

Why is it so difficult to get a power button on these electronics in this hobby? Lol took forever to get one on our goggles...

[radfield]

Its also worth mentioning the D6 has a wireless phone charger on top where the thunderbolt is.

[laurentiupopescu]

Using an M6D with an empty external battery does the job of discharging to storage a lot faster than heat discharging. Most batteries are empty after a fly session. Using a port to charge and one to discharge, even with an almost full external battery, the ones charging will take out charge indirectly from the ones charged. Or, if some batteries are still full, yfli has an 1W automatic storage mode “plug and forget”. These are the best.

[IBHiNation]

Wow your timing. Just bought one on Sunday.
Told me it would take 2-4 weeks to arrive.
Showed up today.