4000 mah battery flight time result

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finally got my turnigy multistar battery yesterday, and the big question is does it fit. well the answer is with slight modification yes. 1st of all I had to remove 2-3 mm off the bottom of the door openind to enable an easier entry. I decided not to go the connection 1st option as I have an led head light to connect. so I opened up the phantom and routed the power cable out the side.then with the battery in I removed the side of the door to route the cables. then heated up the door catch and bent it up to enable a tighter door lock. but it is still very tight so I think ill order a bigger battery door just to be sure. ill try and post some flight times later. I was getting 12-13 mins on the standard battery so we shall see.
 
just got back from my 1st test flight with the turnigy 4000mah battery. my fc40 is totally standard other than a 1watt led headlight ( connected)
my protection settings are

1st 11.1 (no load) 0.60- loss, 10.5 loaded
2nd 10.9 (no load) 0.60- loss 10.3 loaded

I connected battery to fc40 and led,then did a compass cali.then flew pretty hard and fast to get worst case scenario.

I got 1st warning a 19m55secs
I then landed at 21m10 secs.

haven't got my multi meter to check voltage ,so connected to naza software after 25 mins and got a reading of 11.1

all in all well worth the purchase
 
I have posted this elsewhere but it is worth repeating.

4000 mAh Battery – Phantom FC40

The required modifications to the a/c were carried out by two qualified electrical and mechanical engineers.

We thought that the FC40 battery arrangement is a bad design for any battery. Considering the Phantom 2 battery modification by DJI we know that they have acknowledged this and rectified the problem.

To accommodate the 4000 mAh battery the door hatch nearest the hinge required the bottom lip to be level with the battery supports inside the a/c. This was done using a Dremmel cutting disc and then to finish off, a fine file. The battery fit is tight and care should be used in insertion. (No comment here)

Next, we examined the possibility of cable failure within the aircraft with placing the cables and battery inside. Various components were placed under strain and considering the MBR of the cable, (See http://uk.ask.com/wiki/Bend_radius?lang=en
For more explanation)
It will happen that the cables fail due to high resistance and / or fatigue after numerous battery insertions – the most vulnerable point being the rear of the XT60 socket and plug. Together with this there could be additional strain exerted on the cables themselves and the soldered joints on the PCB.

We consider it an important safety requirement to place the cables and connecters to the outside of the a/c.

See:- viewtopic.php?f=20&t=15368


An opening on the hand side of the hatch door is provided to allow the battery leads exit point.

We disassembled the body shell and cut a notch on the body near the base of the arm. It is advisable not to make the cables exit point a tight fit but to allow room for the cables to have some movement in and out with two winds of electricians tape where the cables exit the body to reduce cable fatigue. The cables are secured to the body inside with hot glue to reduce the strain on the soldered joints on the main board.

Fitting the battery connector to the outside of the a/c is more convenient and safer than the ‘designed’ way and we recommend that this modification is effected by all FC40 owners.

The following U-Tube clip describes the method above :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okVp4LW1BA0

However, some of you will prefer the following method which is more simple and quick :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGNIuN9oK80


Pete
 
this what ive done, didn't use hot glue just a cable tie around the wires to stop the pulling on the soldered joint on the inside of the body. then dremmel two small holes on the lower body to direct the cable downwards . ill try and get some pictures up
 
NO PAYLOAD (Camera removed)
Propeller guards removed – Phantom 2 Propellers fitted.

Battery start voltage 12.66v.
1st. Naza voltage level warning set at 10.36v.(82.5%)
2nd. Naza voltage level warning set at 10.30v. (81.5%)
1st. level warning at 22m. 47s.

24 seconds to ‘auto-land’.
Duration at ‘auto-land’ 23m. 11s.
15 min rest voltage 11.03v.
 
GOKU1972 said:
whats your payload


Ah - I was wondering when you would ask.

4000 mAh

NO PAYLOAD (Camera removed) - Phantom 2 props.
Initial Battery voltages measured with a meter.
Core UAC-50 charger.

Your figures are impressive. Got to work this out yet.

Just an afterthought. What version Naza assistant are you on please?

Have a look at

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=23071

for all my results.

Regards

Pete
 
gps modes yes, I flew again today quite hard. didn't let of any stick input really and got over 18 minutes of video
 
It must be the difference between Atti and GPS then. I cant fly GPS where I am due to trees playing havoc with the signal.

The weather is rain tomorrow but on Tuesday I will go to an open area and try GPS mode.

Thanks for your help,

Pete
 
GOKU1972 said:
I read somewhere that prop guards to affect flight time,then again I could be wrong

You are correct. I would bet at least 2 minutes less with prop guards compared to without.
 
dtviewer said:
GOKU1972 said:
I read somewhere that prop guards to affect flight time,then again I could be wrong

You are correct. I would bet at least 2 minutes less with prop guards compared to without.

REALLY ! I never knew it could be that long. Thanks for the advice.

My fourth flight will be without prop guards and I shall let you blokes know the results as and when.

Pete
 
I have to pass this on to you all.

Having had no data to the actual discharge allowable on a given 3S battery I have had more help from a more knowledgeable friend.

He has said :-

A full cell is 4.2v/cell and a discharged cell voltage under nominal load is 3.6 volts these still remain as the established and de-facto values to use. So for a 3S battery/system: -

1st level protection voltage (under load, not a recovered voltage) would be 3 x 3.60 = 10.80v.
2nd level protection voltage (under load, again not the voltage from recovery) would be a nominal 0.1volts less, so 3 x 3.5 = 10.5 volts, more usually 10.6v. to give a slightly increased margin.

This gives you a system that will not destroy your batteries and when you get into trouble, have sufficient power reserve to undertake an RTH or safe landing from altitude, noting how long it takes to undertake a controlled descent, which of course consumes power in doing so.

Reminder that battery voltage is a very rough estimate / measure of capacity. You could pick-up a used recovered battery and think it is at say 50% charge using the voltage method and find (the hard way=crash) that it has perhaps 5% charge left, many people have done this, myself included, this is why I now segregate used batteries from charged batteries so then can never be mixed and used again.

So, I have to advise you all that to consider battery longevity a base line of 85.5% (10.80 v.) for the first level warning, and approx. 83.52% (10.6v.) for second level warning.

This will, of course, give a slightly shorter duration than my final flight trial but will save the battery.

However, I am going to keep the settings as per my final trial flight and see just how long the batteries last - just out of curiosity. I may be sometime ...........

Pete
 

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