NEW 2800mAh

[funtimegrandpa]

I have been testing many different batteries and modifying my Phantoms to get the longest flight times. Everyone that has a Phantom looks for those extra minutes. Some have held up to their promise and many have fallen short. Recently I expanded my search to those companies that have been in the RC racing world knowing they have already found solutions and have had many more years working with batteries. The one company that kept coming up on top was SMC Racing. I placed a call to Danny, one of the owners asking him about his batteries and why his was always coming getting the best reviews and winning challenges. He gave me about an hour answer! But it was worth it. Hearing how he determines what is high quality and what he demands from his suppliers made me understand that there is much more to this science. And unlike a car, boat or truck that is on the ground, we depend even more on having something that has been highly tested so that it will not fail while we are in the air.

Today I received a letter from SMC telling me they now will be selling a 2800mAh battery with an XT60 connector on 12AWG wire. And the most exciting part for me is the Price at $29.95 http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?rou ... uct_id=235

I cannot wait for my order to arrive so I can run it through the paces. I will be able to test it with a Phantom 1 loaded with Gimbal, and FPV and one with only the FPV. If it performs like all the others I have tried from FMC, I think every Phantom owner will be stocking up. He truly puts them through extreme testing and holds his manufacture to the highest standards.

I wanted to get this out ahead of my order so others can look at the SMC Company and this battery. I sure hope this helps everyone, and when I have more time to run my tests I will report back with a Video Review.

Grandpa Jake http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHIzeebGCoRULa8sSY2QyUA

 

[Ozzyguy]

Thanks for the heads up. His website sure shows an attention to detail and level of disclosure ive not seen on others stores like showing the internal resistance and other charging specs.

 

[funtimegrandpa]

You are welcome, that is what impressed me. He explains about how others rate their batteries but when it comes down to the true testing many are far from what is shown. I started searching when I bought an Iris from 3drobotics and was promised around 15 minutes of flight time, 5 minutes less with gimbal and longer legs. Well that time turned out to be 5 and 9 !!! so SMC sent me a 4300 mAh and I got nearly 11 minutes with all the equipment on. So then he sent me a 2300 mAh for the phantom and it added about 3 extra minutes over the stock battery. Then after he started explaining about the resistance and much more I knew he would find a solution. I think they will start focusing much more on the Multi-Rotors as it is going to become one of the hottest hobbies over the next few years.

 

[ElGuano]

Looking forward to your report!

 

[OI Photography]

Looking forward to your report!

Ditto. And maybe we can talk him into making a 5600mAh 3S2P version

 

[jaysan]

So far what is the best battery you have found so far ? I have stock phantom batteries and I want to upgrade but I know bigger battery = more weight leads to less flight time .

 

[funtimegrandpa]

I ran some test earlier today, but waiting for the wind to settle so I can finish. I will post my findings later tonight. So far the SMC 2800 is doing very well. But lets wait till everything is finished so I can be as fair as possible. The batteries I am testing are the Stock 2200, the Blackmagic 2700 and the SMC 2800. I will be testing them on a standard phantom 1 with small FPV camera, 600mw transmitter and prop guards. I then will be turning off the FPV and running the tests that way so you can see the difference between FPV on and FPV off. I will also post a photo of the Phantom so you can see exactly what was used.

 

[funtimegrandpa]

I decided to do this a little different. To be fair on all tests I took my other phantom, removed the gimbal and FPV completely, Now what I have is the basic phantom 1. The only changes on this are the props. I am using phantom 2 props because of the weight I had with the gimbal and did not want to go through the trouble of changing them, and the other item is a wider and higher set of landing legs. But I had weighed them sometime back and they are basically the exact weight.

I will report the testing at each point. we have a bad storm here in SC right now so I was only able to get the Stock battery tested. This is how I did my testing. I plugged in the battery and waited for a GPS home lock. Once I had that I pressed start on my stopwatch and started the motors. Immediately lifted off to about 100 ft. All I did then was traveled a few hundred feet back and forth at a very relaxed pace. At the first flash of Red I landed and then checked the time. You could squeak out a bit more , but I will do the exact things with each pack. Flight times will change for everyone depending on how they fly, but at least you will have accurate comparisons between packs. So for now here is the first test

Brand New fully charged Stock Phantom 2200mAh Time to first red 14:40

 

[funtimegrandpa]

Well the rain stopped and I was able to get out and run the test for the SMC. When you are watching the time and just going back and forth it sure seems like a long time !!! lol.... anyhow with the same type of relaxed flying my time was 18:07 and the nice part of all this was when I took the battery out is was hardly warm. I am very impressed with the results. The other point I want to mention because someone had asked me if it would fit with the stock door and still be able to shut. Well I have mine modified so I can connect outside the door. I like doing that as I don't have to worry about any pressure pushing against the door. Anyhow I put the battery pack inside and then connected it to the phantom. I pushed the connecter back inside and then tucked the wires and the door shut without any trouble. I still like doing it the other way, but for those that don't the good news is you can shut the door! I hope this helps everyone and keep in mind it was an equal test with very relaxed back and forth flying. But a an extra 3:27 is not too shabby

Take care
Grandpa Jake

 

[GearLoose]

Looking forward to your report!

El Guano... you're probably heating up your soldering iron right now but I have to ask: given the specs on these 2800's, are they candidates for joining together into a single pack?

 

[funtimegrandpa]

I was not sure exactly what you were asking? did you mean making a 5600mah out of them? where were you thinking of mounting them, on the sides or enlarging the battery compartment?

 

[funtimegrandpa]

Someone had asked me what my phantom weighed and I had told them. I did not weight the phantom but it is exactly as it came from the factory. The only change is that it has the Phantom 2 blades installed. I had to take off my gimbal, FPV Transmitter so I could give everyone a Barebones test. The battery does fit inside without any modifications, you just need to tuck it inside a little near the upper left and then fold the wires. The battery door closed securely. My suggestions for anyone that is trying to stretch flight time is to either go with the larger battery door, or drill (dremel) 2 elongated openings either in the front or side and connect the battery on the outside. I measured the battery to get exact measurements and it Measured:

4 1/8 inches 104.775mm L
1 5/16 33.33mm W
1 1/16 26.98mm H
This is for the SMC 2800mAh http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?...product_id=235

I am very happy with the results of the SMC 2800mAh as it seems to be doing a great job and the company SMC has always provided top quality batteries for the RC racing world so I hope he gets fully involved with this hobby. I know he takes things serious.

 

[OI Photography]

I was not sure exactly what you were asking? did you mean making a 5600mah out of them? where were you thinking of mounting them, on the sides or enlarging the battery compartment?

Yep, exactly. ElGuano has an enlarged opening and bay in his 1.1.1, and GearLoose and I have migrated our P1 guts to a P2 shell and are interested in options that will fit in that larger space. Right now 5400mAh (or dual 2700's) are all that we've been able to find that will fit. From what you describe, these 2800's might be excellent candidates for this.

 

[funtimegrandpa]

That is what I did to my other Phantom. I could not go quite as large as I wanted because I have a gimbal hooked up in a different way, but I will measure mine. What I did do was relocate my Indicator light off to the left and opened up the entire back. I use a stopper to stop the battery from falling out, but I can center the battery so it takes off nice and level. I get 12 minutes with my FPV, Gimbal and Gopro which is great! how hard was it to put everything over to the Phantom 2 case? what did that cost you? I might give that a try one day soon. But two of these 2800 would be great, why don't you leave a message for Danny at SMC and tell him the max size that you can fit and see what he has. All his batteries are true rated and he really tries to put out the best quality.

 

[OI Photography]

how hard was it to put everything over to the Phantom 2 case? what did that cost you? I might give that a try one day soon.

Here's the instructions and project log from several of us who have done it: viewtopic.php?f=29&t=7017

I honestly have no idea what my total cost was on the conversion, but it doesn't need to be anywhere near what I spent on it. Here's what you need to be prepared to buy at a minimum:

-Phantom 1 Upgrade board (if you don't have it already)
-P2 shell
-P2 legs w/canbus connector (if you want that, and the foam pads on the P2 legs)
-NAZA LED (unless you want to repurpose the one from your P1)
-Battery door

I may ping Danny at SMC about that, but it may be better if ElGuano was the one to talk shop with him. I'll check the measurements at least to see what the max I can fit in for a standard batt would be.

 

[funtimegrandpa]

Thanks, I am going to look into this later today. I have the 1.1.1 phantom. do you know if that has the upgrade board? also do you have any photos of the finished phantom?

 

[ElGuano]

If you didn't install an upgrade board yourself, you probably don't have it. Post a pic of your mainboard and we can tell you for sure.

 

[OI Photography]

Thanks, I am going to look into this later today. I have the 1.1.1 phantom. do you know if that has the upgrade board? also do you have any photos of the finished phantom?

Of the inside or the outside?

 

[kydan]

Okay so I just got three of these 2800mAh SMC's in. I was surprised to see that they have a discharge rating of 65C!

Now, I don't think it will happen--but... Will this make a difference with the Phantom? I'm balance charging and won't be able to fly for a day or so to test it out.

You would think it would have more thrust and what not with the higher 65C, but maybe it won't.

Also, I have Maddog 2700 mah lips and these SMC 2800mah are smaller (not by much) than the mad dog. I can't tell you the weight as I don't have a precision scale.

 

[OI Photography]

Okay so I just got three of these 2800mAh SMC's in. I was surprised to see that they have a discharge rating of 65C!

Now, I don't think it will happen--but... Will this make a difference with the Phantom? I'm balance charging and won't be able to fly for a day or so to test it out.

You would think it would have more thrust and what not with the higher 65C, but maybe it won't.

Also, I have Maddog 2700 mah lips and these SMC 2800mah are smaller (not by much) than the mad dog. I can't tell you the weight as I don't have a precision scale.

Thanks for the feedback on those. Which side is smaller than the maddogs?