I have found plenty of repeat information on the DJI Phantom 2 battery and its care but I would like to hear of methods other phantom pilots discharge their batteries to the 8% level every 20 charge cycles as stated in the manual. Do you have a separate piece of equipment to discharge the battery or do you just run the motors while it sits on the ground or ...? Let me know your ways! Thanks y'all.
Methods of Discharging Battery
- Thread starter jrharrison45
- Start date
the advanced nuances of electricity flow and those little battery chargers/dischargers is still a bit of a mystery to me... so for anyone in about the same place as me I would say just turn the Phantom on.
You don't even have to run the motors, just sitting with it powered on it'll drain the battery at a fairly decent rate... from 100% you can kill a battery in a few hours. Also you can plug in the USB and use the Phantom Assistant software to monitor the battery's status live
You don't even have to run the motors, just sitting with it powered on it'll drain the battery at a fairly decent rate... from 100% you can kill a battery in a few hours. Also you can plug in the USB and use the Phantom Assistant software to monitor the battery's status live
OK. I have the Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal attached so I guess that would help drain it quicker. The USB port to the Phantom doesn't have any charging capabilities does it? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't. I just ask because I would hate to be counter-productive: discharging it while having it hooked up via USB to monitor battery levels (but unknowingly having it charge).
Keep in mind when running to drain the battery with engines off that if you have a Vtx (video transmitter) it may get very warm and harm it as most are designed for airflow cooling the ALV85 being the exception.
Tom
Tom
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
Put something heavy across the skids (non-metallic) to clamp it down as a safety measure. I use a wooden dowel and put books on the ends. Throw the props on and let it idle. Airflow problem solved and your battery will run down faster.
tom3holer said:
Good point. I am just about to mount the ImmersionRC 600mw transmitter to my phantom and I don't want that getting too hot as I run my batteries down. Has anyone found any good threads on best places to mount the ImmersionRC to keep it cool and still have good reception?
The mounting is basically at the back as seen in many pics posted here. There is no overheating issues with airflow.
To run the batteries down occasionally you could simply remove the power plug from the Immersion so a to not power it for the duration of the battery drain.
Tom
To run the batteries down occasionally you could simply remove the power plug from the Immersion so a to not power it for the duration of the battery drain.
Tom
jrharrison45 said:
there's really only 1 location for your transmitter, and that's on the underside of the main body behind the gimbal... a lot of us use outdoor double sided tape to secure the transmitter to the body. Don't mount the transmitter in the exact middle pointing straight back because then the antenna plug will get in the way of you being able to remove the battery.
If you want your Tx pointing straight back, at least shift it off to one side. Alternately you can mount it at a slight angle but make sure you keep the transmitter's antenna AWAY from the compass on the leg.
see this thread for a picture of that compass
jrharrison45 said:
the immersion gets warm but it does not need airflow over it to keep it from over heating.( that being said it cant be packed in a tight box either it will over heat.) it can stay on with antenna and on phantom on the ground for hours if needed. its heat sink will keep it fine. have had on with tthe P2 battery sitting at idle for and hour and a half, and its just fine.Didnt mean to just at end of small flight i didnt turn off p2 and it sat there till i noticed, it still works great and its happened a few times.
QYV said:
I mounted the video tx on the side of the phantom with the antenna pointing vertically, sticking out above the phantom. This way the Phantom never blocks the signal. I noticed when placing the vtx underneath the phantom, sticking out to the back or side, I got the occasional blocking of signal when you fly out and then turn the phantom to fly back. This was the video has always been rock-solid
I just drained 2 of my batteries last night. The first battery was pretty low and I let it sit for 10 minutes with the motors spinning at idle. For the second battery I decided I would keep the motors off and it took a very long time to go from 25% to 0%. By the time it hit 0% my ImmersionRC 600mw transmitter was extremely hot and my gimbal and GoPro were even warm. It is summer here and very warm in California so that probably contributed. My TX is mounted in the normal position under he battery. No damage but I will not be draining down the batteries like that next time i hit 20 charges.
I would not run a Immersion 600mw VTX without any airflow. Immersions own literature says:•Requires airflow for cooling.
Tom
Tom
sanderx said:
I didn't mean to insinuate that my way was the "only" or "right" way I guess I meant the most logical and common place was what I described.
I'm curious about your setup though... you have the antenna pointing ABOVE the Phantom? considering the Phantom spends most of it's time above me I feel like if the antenna were pointing up it would be blocked from the ground. Would you mind posting a pic?
Redwood said:
Everything I read says to discharge down to 8%. I've read that taking a LIPO below certain levels can cause a large amount of problems, thus preventing it from being able to charge back up again.
Hints and Tips
Discharging methods:：
1)Slow
Place battery in Phantom and turn on. Leave on until there is less than 8% of power left or until the battery can no longer be turned on. See DJI VISION App for battery levels. Motors do not need to be turned on, reducing wear.
2)Quick
Fly the Phantom outdoors until there is less than 8% of power left or until the battery can no longer be turned on.
In addition, the warranty for battery is 3 months :
Battery 3 MONTHS
We recommend you to purchase a new one.
Thanks
Best regards,
DJI Sales Dept.
Discharging methods:：
1)Slow
Place battery in Phantom and turn on. Leave on until there is less than 8% of power left or until the battery can no longer be turned on. See DJI VISION App for battery levels. Motors do not need to be turned on, reducing wear.
2)Quick
Fly the Phantom outdoors until there is less than 8% of power left or until the battery can no longer be turned on.
In addition, the warranty for battery is 3 months :
Battery 3 MONTHS
We recommend you to purchase a new one.
Thanks
Best regards,
DJI Sales Dept.
Similar threads
