Flying without GoPro battery??

[Xanadu]

I tried searching but was not able to find anything about this topic so here goes:

Because the Phantom is going to attempt to charge the gopro whether or not we like it, I was wondering if anyone has given thought to flying with no battery in the gopro at all.

Seems like it would increase flight times due to the weight and there's battery to charge. I put it on the gimbal and powered it up to see if the weight difference cause the gimbal any issues and it seems fine.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Landon

 

[Ozzyguy]

Ok first let me point out that I don't in fact actually own a go pro so I'm by no means an expert. I think that it is designed as such that the power distribution runs through the battery. Hence the unit will not function plugged in and with no battery installed. You can buy an insert to get around this but it's bulky and may not fit in a gimbal. Plus you may not get any weight saving.
http://cam-do.com/GoProBatteryEliminator.html

 

[Xanadu]

The gopro actually functions while the phantom is powered on even without a battery in it.

 

[Ozzyguy]

Really? There you go. Problem solved.

 

[dcoski]

I've been looking at this and wondering if it might work for what you are talking about.

http://www.getfpv.com/gopro-video-board-straight-live-video-out-charge.html

 

[Jebus]

I was going to start a new thread, but I thought this might fit in here.

I'm thinking about wiring my GoPro up to 5V in my FPV setup (it's currently only wired to Video & GND) and was wondering what kind of loss would I be looking at for flight time if the GoPro was running off of the Phantom's battery?

 

[Uncle Meat]

Something you may want to think about... these gimbals, especially the ones made specifically for the GoPro Hero 3+ (H3-2D/H3-3D) have finely balanced and calibrated brushless servos and they expect the Gopro to weight a specific amount. By removing the battery you have changed not only the overall weight of the camera, but its balance too. This could cause issues for your gimbal. There's a reason why adding a small lightweight polarized filter to your Hero3+ lens will void the Zenmuse H3-2D warranty...

Just a thought.

U.M.

 

[Crazykaktus]

Hi

I run a Gorpro Hero 2 on my Phantom 2 - Here is the trick..... Ensure your Gopro Battery is fully charged before connecting to the gimbal. Then there is no current draw and the phantom does not charge the battery. You will get a tad longer flight time..... and the battery current draw is just a bit better

Small but makes a diifs

 

[Ozzyguy]

I personally don't see it as a problem. the gopro battery life is like 1 hour 10mins at worst ant 2 hours at best acording to the go pro site. Please don't get on and criticise me saying mine only runs 1 hour or even 55 mins. Thats still a lot of flight batteries to burn through if you have a gimbal.

 

[Crazykaktus]

Hi

Sorry didnt mean to hack you off.... I just found that when attaching the gopro charged it relieves the strain of drawing current from the main battery. On my Drone I have an iOSD mini, FPV transmitter Gimbal and Gopro... I know the voltages are small.... but to gether they add quite a current draw.. I have managed to keep my flight times at just on 20 min even with all the kit added...

Just saying

 

[Ozzyguy]

That wasn't aimed at you kaktus nor anyone in particular.

 

[Garysam]

Hi

Sorry didnt mean to hack you off.... I just found that when attaching the gopro charged it relieves the strain of drawing current from the main battery. On my Drone I have an iOSD mini, FPV transmitter Gimbal and Gopro... I know the voltages are small.... but to gether they add quite a current draw.. I have managed to keep my flight times at just on 20 min even with all the kit added...

Just saying

Wow 20 minutes that's great I can get between 15 and 16 with about 20% left on battery that's it (V2,3D,FPV) and that's with a full charge GoPro battery.