Field charging the P4P + charger

[romix]

At 412Wh for $500, that would get you about 4 charges when charging P4 batteries. The 50W solar panel for $250 would help, maybe extend that to 6 charges, but it's kinda big to be toting around, and it only works well on sunny days. Or you can buy a honda EU1000i and get 1000W for $800 and charge all day and all night long. Just add gas every 6hrs.

Yes, I did contemplate the Honda generator, but the weight is more than double that of the RIVER. RIVER is also silent, cheaper to buy and you can do the charging in a locked car, if you like. Also, if you have 3-4 batteries for the Phantom and you can recharge them 4 times during the day, that will probably be a full working day, in practice?

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Stuff is often difficult to find on the DJI site.
In the store, under Phantom 4 accessories, this page appears:
View attachment 82252

Like I said, since I have a P4P that is where I was looking. It never occurred to me that they would not list such a product there if it was compatible with the P4P.

So Google "Phantom 4 Pro" and select the DJI Store.

No presentation of the charger.

Select Buy, Select RC type, get a list of accessories.

No car charger.

 

[Mallettron]

its there on the page

Buy Phantom 4 Series | DJI Store

Buy Phantom | DJI Store

didnt look very hard did you ;-)

 

[AlanTheBeast]

its there on the page

Buy Phantom 4 Series | DJI Store

Buy Phantom | DJI Store

didnt look very hard did you ;-)

I did. It depends on how you land on the site.

 

[Mallettron]

I did. It depends on how you land on the site.

Did you use the land button on the screen or the rth button on the transmitter?

 

[Capo]

The DJI Phantom 4 chargers works perfectly with both types of batteries. Also, if you want, you can use an external booster pack that has the 12V accessory jack to charge them rather then running your vehicle. Works great. No wasteful inverter needed.

 

[AlanTheBeast]

The DJI Phantom 4 chargers works perfectly with both types of batteries. Also, if you want, you can use an external booster pack that has the 12V accessory jack to charge them rather then running your vehicle. Works great. No wasteful inverter needed.

Thanks - I'll probably order it along with a filter I need (DJI owe me some credits for recent purchases). I have the MP car charger (which does not charge the RC). Probably rig up a deep cycle 12 VDC motorcycle sized battery for the car. I have a small inverter if ever the MP RC needs a topping off.

 

[Snowwolf]

I could never get the dji in car charger to work properly, good inverter sounds the only way to go

 

[Capo]

Snowwolf, you must have a bad unit or there's something about your car. I've even used the 3 charger bay with mine without issue.

 

[Snowwolf]

Think my car may have an intelligent charging system and may have been causing the cig lighter to drop to 12v often, think it would have been better having a direct socket put on the battery, other people may have the same problems with modern cars.

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Think my car may have an intelligent charging system and may have been causing the cig lighter to drop to 12v often, think it would have been better having a direct socket put on the battery, other people may have the same problems with modern cars.

Was the engine running or stopped? Stopped the voltage falls quickly when there is draw on it.

 

[Capo]

I have a 2014 Toyota. My only limitation when I use the car charger is that the 12V socket shuts off when the key is off. This is why I use a booster battery that has a 12V socket to charge them when it is off.

 

[len750]

Buy Phantom 4 Series - Car Charger
View attachment 82233

Amazon.com : DJI Phantom 4 Portable Car Charger Kit, Black (CP.PT.000377) : Camera & Photo
$40.00.

 

[Lasoo]

Hi all. I was thinking that I had a faulty p4 charger as well. I have a 2015 model Toyota Hilux, I did some checks with my multimeter and as it turns out, the battery never stores more than 12.3V but it reaches 13.4 once running. The p4 charger has a minimum requirement of 13v to charge. If I turn off the vehicle, the charger will be lucky to stay charging for a minute or so. It really pumps in the current hence the quick voltage drop from the car battery. I have a second 160a/h deep cycle battery with a dc-dc charger, but even this at capacity is around 13v....so yeah, the p4 charger cuts out quick with this option too. I either need to keep the car running or I'll have to invest in some decent solar panels.

 

[PsychoBob]

I'm less and less opposed to an inverter as I think of all the things I may want to charge. Maybe I should just get a Honda 1000W generator instead....

I went the inverter method. I used heavy gauge speaker wire running it straight from the battery to the inverter so it always gets the best power possible. I put a big fuse on the line under the hood mounted on the fender well where it is easy to get to. I have a little Mazda truck with a homemade console between the seats. I mounted the 2000 watt inverter on the front of it. I ALWAYS plug in the charger to the inverter first. Then I turn on the inverter. Then I plug in the battery or controller and charge it. I usually charge the batteries when I am on my way to fly my drone. I am sure you could charge when the engine isn't running but that doesn't make much sense. I do not have any problems. I recommend this method of charging when out in the wild.

 

[Capo]

I would say there is no case that charging when the car is not on is a good idea. The charger charges using a lot of amps, around 8-10amps I think. This could run your battery low pretty quickly as it does on a booster pack. This is not like charging your phone. In fact it would be equivalent to charging many phones at once. Using and inverter introduces additional load, making matters worse.