Dual Battery Mod

[KyleMaxxUAV]

I have some great news to report!

Yesterday was lousy.. (not the news, btw...) I put my test P3, DJI, smart battery together without the embedded battery. If you remember, I was working toward separating the smart battery technology from the battery to allow more flexibility in extended flight configurations. I went to test the setup and found that it would not remain on. It would start OK and looked healthy otherwise, but I could not get the **** thing to stay on.

I didn't want to report anything cause there were too many variables including pilot error. So I did check all of my connections and found no problems. The other possibility I felt highly likely was that the board from my experimental battery was subject to too much abuse from myself, and I, to rule out this possibility, pulled another battery, known to work. And to my amazement, that was it.

So, would you believe this concept actually works? I have just done a few basic tests to satisfy myself that the battery is doing what it is supposed to be doing. I will try to do something a little more convincing for those more skeptical such as put a bird through a flight , or something. As I can digest what I have right now, compared to the master/slave concept we have been using, this would be superior since there is less to go wrong, and there are more available battery configurations. Configurations like: one big battery, 2 bigger side board batteries, etc...

Of course, this is raw, maybe thee is a gotcha... Here are some pics.. The configuration I am working towards for my next extended flight vessel was described by Canada the other day. My little twist is that it will have two side board 4s's w/everything in parallel. Battery & cells. If the bird lost an entire battery, it would probably still be ably to get home. This is the type of redundancy that makes sense for aircraft.

View attachment 44850 View attachment 44851 View attachment 44852 View attachment 44853

And hey, the controller had no hesitation accepting another battery to control. This was my original concern. I was afraid there would be big pauses, etc. Nothing so far....

NICE WORK!! Hey let me ask if I read correctly, you are going to leave the battery bay empty and run the two parallel 4s batteries on the sides ?


It's nice to see some pictures !!! Looks like some clean work!!


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Ajginger]

I have some great news to report!

Yesterday was lousy.. (not the news, btw...) I put my test P3, DJI, smart battery together without the embedded battery. If you remember, I was working toward separating the smart battery technology from the battery to allow more flexibility in extended flight configurations. I went to test the setup and found that it would not remain on. It would start OK and looked healthy otherwise, but I could not get the **** thing to stay on.

I didn't want to report anything cause there were too many variables including pilot error. So I did check all of my connections and found no problems. The other possibility I felt highly likely was that the board from my experimental battery was subject to too much abuse from myself, and I, to rule out this possibility, pulled another battery, known to work. And to my amazement, that was it.

So, would you believe this concept actually works? I have just done a few basic tests to satisfy myself that the battery is doing what it is supposed to be doing. I will try to do something a little more convincing for those more skeptical such as put a bird through a flight , or something. As I can digest what I have right now, compared to the master/slave concept we have been using, this would be superior since there is less to go wrong, and there are more available battery configurations. Configurations like: one big battery, 2 bigger side board batteries, etc...

Of course, this is raw, maybe thee is a gotcha... Here are some pics.. The configuration I am working towards for my next extended flight vessel was described by Canada the other day. My little twist is that it will have two side board 4s's w/everything in parallel. Battery & cells. If the bird lost an entire battery, it would probably still be ably to get home. This is the type of redundancy that makes sense for aircraft.

View attachment 44850 View attachment 44851 View attachment 44852 View attachment 44853

And hey, the controller had no hesitation accepting another battery to control. This was my original concern. I was afraid there would be big pauses, etc. Nothing so far....

This is a great breakthrough if it works. Just think, we could do this with our old batteries.

 

[KyleMaxxUAV]

Also, what is the weight of those 5200 mah batteries ??

When you connect them in parallel, how do you connect the balance leads ? Would you mind posting one of the parallel setup all plugged in ? Or even pm them to me if you don't feel it's relevant ?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[dirtybum]

This post is called dual battery mod of course it's relevant everybody wants to see it ! don't PM, don't PM

 

[KyleMaxxUAV]

Perfect !!! No pm just post !! Lol


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Ed209]

I have some great news to report!

Yesterday was lousy.. (not the news, btw...) I put my test P3, DJI, smart battery together without the embedded battery. If you remember, I was working toward separating the smart battery technology from the battery to allow more flexibility in extended flight configurations. I went to test the setup and found that it would not remain on. It would start OK and looked healthy otherwise, but I could not get the **** thing to stay on.

I didn't want to report anything cause there were too many variables including pilot error. So I did check all of my connections and found no problems. The other possibility I felt highly likely was that the board from my experimental battery was subject to too much abuse from myself, and I, to rule out this possibility, pulled another battery, known to work. And to my amazement, that was it.

So, would you believe this concept actually works? I have just done a few basic tests to satisfy myself that the battery is doing what it is supposed to be doing. I will try to do something a little more convincing for those more skeptical such as put a bird through a flight , or something. As I can digest what I have right now, compared to the master/slave concept we have been using, this would be superior since there is less to go wrong, and there are more available battery configurations. Configurations like: one big battery, 2 bigger side board batteries, etc...

Of course, this is raw, maybe thee is a gotcha... Here are some pics.. The configuration I am working towards for my next extended flight vessel was described by Canada the other day. My little twist is that it will have two side board 4s's w/everything in parallel. Battery & cells. If the bird lost an entire battery, it would probably still be ably to get home. This is the type of redundancy that makes sense for aircraft.

View attachment 44850 View attachment 44851 View attachment 44852 View attachment 44853

And hey, the controller had no hesitation accepting another battery to control. This was my original concern. I was afraid there would be big pauses, etc. Nothing so far....

Nice work. I'll be standing by for more info. One question: any issues keeping the DJI connector in place? Specifically the pads that are connected to the yellow and red wires. That's the data link for battery info. I'd imagine that could separate from the connection under flight/vibration.

 

[MVodhanel]

This post is called dual battery mod of course it's relevant everybody wants to see it ! don't PM, don't PM

My mod has no problem staying on topic because it can fake needing dual batteries when needed ....

 

[MVodhanel]

NICE WORK!! Hey let me ask if I read correctly, you are going to leave the battery bay empty and run the two parallel 4s batteries on the sides ?


It's nice to see some pictures !!! Looks like some clean work!!


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

Yes, my first prototype left the battery cage empty and used it for the wires only. It looked almost like a normal smart battery, but with a power and balance connection on each side, but was real light.

 

[dirtybum]

Is this the same concept of jailbreak p2 batteries( which i've never used but have read about) can you make it w/ the smartcap still on so u can lock it into the well

 

[MVodhanel]

Yes, my first prototype left the battery cage empty and used it for the wires only. It looked almost like a normal smart battery, but with a power and balance connection on each side, but was real light.

This mod can be really good for those that like to think out-of-the-box. I know you asked for the weight of that Hyperion HV. It is 502 g. That battery will fit down the middle of the P3, but it is too long.

However, with this mod you don't have to close the cap on the button end - you can simply plug it in and make sure it is secure. Depending on how you configure your copter, you may opt to swing the board wide open and leave the opening clear on that end. The other side, above the camera may be possible to make an opening. I'm not sure yet. If so, that may be the hot setup for extended flight....

 

[KyleMaxxUAV]

Hmm .. DJI's battery is roughly 13.3mah/g.... Your setup will give us 10.3mah/g (prob a little less because I didn't take the wiring / smart cap into consideration. I know that's not a lot, but I wonder if there is a battery that has a higher mah/g ratio than DJI at a reasonable cost ??


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[walker]

Is pilot app indicating additional capacity?
Have you recalibrated the cap with new battery?

 

[MVodhanel]

Is pilot app indicating additional capacity?
Have you recalibrated the cap with new battery?

I'm working my way to that point, and this I promise. I am carefully stepping through all the things a good P3 bird must be able to do to be talked about on this forum and be an acceptable mod. Then I will probably do a short YouTube demoing it if it succeeds. I did plug it into a copter and the thing sprang to life. So far, so good. I'll get to the capacity readout shortly. I just figure the standard equation, but we do need to verify that the battery data is being accepeted. Of course, then there is take off...

 

[MVodhanel]

Is pilot app indicating additional capacity?
Have you recalibrated the cap with new battery?

Just did a little double take on your capacity ques... I never worried much about this because the real-time system is watching voltage - right? It may do some projections based on estimated capacity, but where your current voltage is rules, doesn't it?

 

[MVodhanel]

Hmm .. DJI's battery is roughly 13.3mah/g.... Your setup will give us 10.3mah/g (prob a little less because I didn't take the wiring / smart cap into consideration. I know that's not a lot, but I wonder if there is a battery that has a higher mah/g ratio than DJI at a reasonable cost ??


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

Those DJ batteries are pretty **** good, I know. I have a feling I might end up striping the covers off of all my smart batteries. I can then use a much better charger on them, as well. The other thing about the single battery configuration, which has probably gone pretty much unexplored with the P3 when it comes to extended flight, is the aerodynamic advantage. Having the duals on the side can't be a benefit to the sleek P3's effort to maintain thrust. I doubt that Hyperian is it, but there is probably a better chance of finding the super battery for that bird, as an ultra light weight single. Anyway, I'm teaching that Hyperian Yoga, we will see...

 

[dirtybum]

I'm not getting excited yet! You can plug a lipo into the mainboard and have it "spring to life" if you havent got past the "not dji battery" in the app and havent spun motors then you havent gotten anywhere. I'm following and admire your passion and pioneership

 

[MVodhanel]

I'm not getting excited yet! You can plug a lipo into the mainboard and have it "spring to life" if you havent got past the "not dji battery" in the app and havent spun motors then you havent gotten anywhere. I'm following and admire your passion and pioneership

You are absolutely right. In fact I have energized a P3 directly. Everything goes, but little gets authorized. Your "show me the money" attitude really mirrors what I expected to find, which was the 'gotcha' explaining why everyone is supplementing battery power the way they are doing it right now. I should have the answer fairly soon, regardless. I am optimistic because I can see that the signaling system between battery and bird is functioning. It would be very clear if it weren't. The rest is pretty low-level. I'm just switching the power source with something that really doesn't present much of a challenge because it is identical. You can't embed much info, if any in a battery. The battery manager cant tell much difference between a DJ, 4s HV battery or a Hyperian with the same specs.

Anyway, that is the basis for my optimism at this point knowing the smart battery manager appears to be functioning.

I get your comment and could see myself saying the same thing in the same context, while hoping it would work at the same time. Such is reality. I hope be posting something interesting soon.

Btw, I didn't know the P3's tried verify battery authenticity.... I think that would mean you would want the battery manager from a genuine DJ battery.

 

[walker]

Capacity is probably being calculated from amps going in whilst charging, and amps going out whilst flying. P2 users have been trying the mod like you are and incorrect capacity, and battery% was displayed. Somtimes % would remain same for minutes. Flying was not the issue more so how long you could still fly with a reliable indicator of how long you still had juice for. I can only imagine issue will be same here unless you figure a way to calibrate the caps with new battery.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Flying long and straight w/ full throttle or hovering in your livingroom?

Full speed, on various 12 mile circuits, rather than a straight line out and back. I'm interested in exploring and recording 4K video of everything within a 5 mile radius of my roof deck helipad, rather than setting distance records. It's become a nightly sunset ritual.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I actually got the power Mod v 3 from horizon it's a split P 3 battery 4480 2s lipos are made from it. It's very light think the whole thing weighs 307 grams I just glanced at these post so I think that's what you're talking about. I unfortunately did not get a chance to test it my drones were stolen out of my car Friday. William from horizon showed me a hover test with this setup at 34:38. I'm going to buy another P 3 to try it I can tell you if you guys end up buying it it will only fit on his brackets. The leads are too short to be mounted safely on standard brackets. I plan on buying another p3 so when I do I'll be sure to post my actual flight time with this new battery mod.

Sorry to hear about your loss! So Horizon in the U.S. is now doing the Horizon UK power Mod V3 by splitting open a P3 battery and connecting it to a stock battery if you supply them two P3 batteries? It's not listed on their website with that description of what is being done. It shows the old battery mod with 1600 externals. I also can't find their brackets on the website. Do you have to call them to purchase this setup? I definitely want one!