Higher capacity battery or just buy another?

maseman88 · Mar 29, 2016

Hello,

I am getting 20 minutes out of my packs. I love the bird and think it's awesome. I was wondering If I should wait for a higher capacity pack to come out or if I should buy another of the current model batteries? I currently have 2 and more is of course, always better.

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Ramphex · Mar 29, 2016

I personally have two and will probably buy another one. No idea if there will be a higher capacity pack available but it would be awesome if it did come out.

With The Birds · Mar 29, 2016

It will be a big ask to get higher capacity cells, more Ah means a larger pack and available space is the limiting factor. Unless we have an advance in Lipo energy density in the P4 product cycle I think your safe to buy now.

maseman88 · Mar 29, 2016

With The Birds said:
It will be a big ask to get higher capacity cells, more Ah means a larger pack and available space is the limiting factor. Unless we have an advance in Lipo energy density in the P4 product cycle I think your safe to buy now.

This is good input. I was looking for an answer like this... Thanks

Ramphex · Mar 29, 2016

Agreed. The battery is pretty packed as is. Any more increase in size and weight would probably just contribute to balancing out to the same flight time.

Jussaguy · Mar 29, 2016

Ramphex said:
Agreed. The battery is pretty packed as is. Any more increase in size and weight would probably just contribute to balancing out to the same flight time.

Agreed. I'm surprised more people aren't talking about the incredible design of the battery and fuselage. It's revolutionary. Those vented bats? Who ever saw emptiness in a battery like that? Brilliant. I absolutely love the P4.

GadgetGuy · Mar 29, 2016

Ramphex said:
Agreed. The battery is pretty packed as is. Any more increase in size and weight would probably just contribute to balancing out to the same flight time.

Lots of people might have said the same thing about the P3P, too.
However, the stock P3P battery time of 15 minutes flying full throttle on the old motors was increased to 26 minutes by adding two external 2800 mAh Lipo batteries weighing in at 247g each.

I plan to do the same with my P4. The externals can be mounted between the front and back struts, with one on each side. Gaffers tape should work to attach them for testing purposes. Assuming an equivalent flight time gain on the P4, 25 minutes in Sport Mode should then be truly attainable, instead of just being just a figment of some marketing guy's ardent imagination!

frands1 · Mar 29, 2016

GadgetGuy said:
Lots of people might have said the same thing about the P3P, too.
However, the stock P3P battery time of 15 minutes flying full throttle on the old motors was increased to 26 minutes by adding two external 2800 mAh Lipo batteries weighing in at 247g each.

I plan to do the same with my P4. The externals can be mounted between the front and back struts, with one on each side. Gaffers tape should work to attach them for testing purposes. Assuming an equivalent flight time gain on the P4, 25 minutes in Sport Mode should then be truly attainable, instead of just being just a figment of some marketing guy's ardent imagination!

I understand people trying gain more and more flight time... but those ugly modifications are not for me... I love the way P4 looks. Hanging 2 batteries at the sides is pretty much destroying the art behind this bird. It's like holding an iPhone 6 with 6xAA batteries duck-taped to the back... I might be wrong...

tcope · Mar 29, 2016

I've never seen DJI release a higher capacity battery. Other manufactures do, eventually... but we've also seen DJI block the use of those batteries on the newer drones.

GadgetGuy · Mar 29, 2016

frands1 said:
I understand people trying gain more and more flight time... but those ugly modifications are not for me... I love the way P4 looks. Hanging 2 batteries at the sides is pretty much destroying the art behind this bird. It's like holding an iPhone 6 with 6xAA batteries duck-taped to the back... I might be wrong...

I fully agree, which was why I had high hopes for the "28 plus minute flight times..." Alas...

Ramphex · Mar 29, 2016

I would never use an aftermarket battery in my aircraft. God forbid it has a bad cell and falls out of the sky for what? 10-20 dollar savings?

Tobrouk · Mar 30, 2016

I bought 4 more batteries from Apple! Got them yesterday! Firmware update wasn't needed!! I love this new quad!!

dewster · Mar 30, 2016

It looks like DJI accounted for the heat generated inside of P4 when designing their battery.. I can see a manufacturer designing a higher capacity battery for P4 by eliminating the spacing between cells. All I can say is be prepared for your craft to shut down using 3rd party high capacity batteries.

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GadgetGuy · Mar 30, 2016

dewster said:
It looks like DJI accounted for the heat generated inside of P4 when designing their battery.. I can see a manufacturer designing a higher capacity battery for P4 by eliminating the spacing between cells. All I can say is be prepared for your craft to shut down using 3rd party high capacity batteries.

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A battery mod like on the P3P will fix the battery life. It will lose some of the sexy lines, but it will get the job done!

Just add two external LiPo's in parallel with the internal battery, mounted between the struts, one on each side. Already in the works! Then, use a modded FPVLR or DBS transmitter to get the range you deserve, now supported by the extra battery life. QED.

Justgregg · Mar 30, 2016

Now wait a minute, the inspire has 2 different mah batteries and physical size is the same!!!

frands1 · Mar 30, 2016

Justgregg said:
Now wait a minute, the inspire has 2 different mah batteries and physical size is the same!!!

So there are hopes for one like that in P4

Tron_X · Mar 30, 2016

GadgetGuy said:
A battery mod like on the P3P will fix the battery life. It will lose some of the sexy lines, but it will get the job done! Just add two external LiPo's in parallel with the internal battery, mounted between the struts, one on each side. Already in the works! Then, use a modded FPVLR or DBS transmitter to get the range you deserve, now supported by the extra battery life. QED.

Looking forward to seeing that mod, will be interesting to see how well it holds up to the rigors of sport mode.