Nice job guys ... I guess your putting the range issue to bed. :)
Just doing my part. Plan on doing some more flights tomorrow. Hoping to break 20k in the morning. The P4, as far as I can tell, is a great bird. I feel really bad for those people that, for whatever reason, are not able to get the performance that I and others have seen.
 
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Just doing my part. Plan on doing some more flights tomorrow. Hoping to break 20k in the morning. The P4, as far as I can tell, is a great bird. I feel really bad for those people that, for whatever reason, are not able to get the performance that I and others have seen.
Hey Stew...are you getting that distance with stock P4 no mods at all? Any suggestions on settings to maximize battery life?

I flew 26,700 round trip...landed with 12% battery. Don't know how much I can push it without me having to go chase it.

Thanks!
 
Hey Stew...are you getting that distance with stock P4 no mods at all? Any suggestions on settings to maximize battery life?

I flew 26,700 round trip...landed with 12% battery. Don't know how much I can push it without me having to go chase it.

Thanks!

I flew with a windsurfer attached, which are easy to make yourself or you can buy them online. I bought mine on Amazon, here. It's 20 bucks, and actually works quite well I've found. No crazy modding needed on your controller or bird, just slip them over your stock antennas. You may get better results using a higher end antenna, but for me personally these are all I need.

The P4 will definitely fly it's advertised range though with absolutely no modifications, even windsurfers, it's just a matter of finding an ideal environment to fly.

As for suggestions to maximize battery life, I have two that I use. If other people have more, please add them!
  • Turn off collision avoidance. Unless you're flying in-between trees, buildings, or other objects, it's not needed and drains your battery when turned on. It's not much use to you when you're hundreds of feet up in the air.
  • Don't fly at full speed, it drains your battery much faster. I feel it drains the battery at a rate that offsets the additional speed. I usually fly at around 75% throttle when I'm headed somewhere and I basically never ever push the stick the whole way forward. You'll still be moving plenty fast enough with CA turned off. It'll go 30+mph easily.
 
something is wrong with your phantom 4, take it back man. I get 54% battery remaining at 10 minutes, thats with atti/gps and sports mode
Shipped back to DJI Friday! Going to pick up another one elsewhere, with a more liberal return policy!:cool:
 
So this thread shows that it most certainly can get the range it says and this thread shows battery power is teue, so why are there 99 threads of people so happy about not buying a P4 because believe me, the P4 feels cooler and it flies smoother faster and better.
 
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So this thread shows that it most certainly can get the range it says and this thread shows battery power is teue, so why are there 99 threads of people so happy about not buying a P4 because believe me, the P4 feels cooler and it flies smoother faster and better.
Where has anyone in this thread achieved a 28 minute flight time?:rolleyes:
 
P4 Battery Life myth (and my educated thoughts on range)

I'll post a 28 minute flight tomorrow with a more broken in battery and hover for the last 8% and I think I'll break the 28 minute mark. 22 mins with 27% is 28 mins min.
I think you will find that the consumption is not linear. Hovering isn't exactly what I had in mind, either. Flying should be the only method of measuring battery life. I also am not convinced that there is any breaking in period. The batteries start to decline from the very first flight. Brand new batteries are always best. That was true with all P3 batteries. Mine started out at 17 minutes and later averaged 15 minutes. My P4 started at 16 minutes, then 15 minutes, then 12 minutes! Please report back, though!
 
I think you will find that the consumption is not linear. Hovering isn't exactly what I had in mind, either. Flying should be the only method of measuring battery life. I also am not convinced that there is any breaking in period. The batteries start to decline from the very first flight. Brand new batteries are always best. That was true with all P3 batteries. Mine started out at 17 minutes and later averaged 15 minutes. My P4 started at 16 minutes, then 15 minutes, then 12 minutes! Please report back, though!
Did you look at my link? I was flying non stop and mostly in sports mode and a) the older battery (by about 7 flights did a little better) and the new battery want first flight.

One was 22 mins and plenty of speed and distance and I'm in very thin air over a mountain putting me at about 8500 feet immediately ASL, so what other metric should I use? I'm certainly not going to get those last 10% over 8500 feet, I'm gonna stay near the landing area.

To me the telemetry I uploaded says enough. 22 minutes in non-ideal situation, returned with 26% which is about 5.5 minutes to that and you're at almost exactly 28 so seems legit to me.

By the way. I've been told the most important thing about lipo care is to store them at 50%. All the other stuff is cheap (sans the monthly or so complete discharge). Worst is to store a loaded bat as it will inflate it and shorten it's half life.

So tomorrow I will do the same test, maybe go a little farther and then I will run the battery down to 10 or so and see if I can clock 38. (Assuming I didn't break anything flying with the gimbal lock on for a 21 minute night flight).
 
Did you look at my link? I was flying non stop and mostly in sports mode and a) the older battery (by about 7 flights did a little better) and the new battery want first flight.

One was 22 mins and plenty of speed and distance and I'm in very thin air over a mountain putting me at about 8500 feet immediately ASL, so what other metric should I use? I'm certainly not going to get those last 10% over 8500 feet, I'm gonna stay near the landing area.

To me the telemetry I uploaded says enough. 22 minutes in non-ideal situation, returned with 26% which is about 5.5 minutes to that and you're at almost exactly 28 so seems legit to me.

By the way. I've been told the most important thing about lipo care is to store them at 50%. All the other stuff is cheap (sans the monthly or so complete discharge). Worst is to store a loaded bat as it will inflate it and shorten it's half life.

So tomorrow I will do the same test, maybe go a little farther and then I will run the battery down to 10 or so and see if I can clock 38. (Assuming I didn't break anything flying with the gimbal lock on for a 21 minute night flight).
I'll stand by my prior statements. I was talking about your projections, based upon your current results. Show us 28 minutes. Not going to happen.

Tom's TechTime also only got 22 minutes out of his P4 battery, completely in hover mode, until Autoland.
He also lost control at 1.3 miles.
It's not just me, or just my P4.
My findings have been confirmed on multiple P4`s.
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10,252 feet (no mods, no antenna deflectors, stock and stock)
I never knew that the battery would get that hot on such a flight. What were the three warnings that you received?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Hi everyone, just did my first long range test on P4. Total one way was 13,426 ft. Take Off @ 98% battery. Stock antennas no mods.

Wind SE@10-12mph. 10+ miles visibility. 4/8 cloud coverage.

Full flight at 26,743 ft. At 358' altitude. Landed with 12% battery with OAS on. And full video filming. Full flight time 17min 59 sec. 1st leg in GPS P mode and 2nd leg in GPS Sport mode.

1st leg was 13,426 ft (2.54) @ 359' feet altitude. 9min. 12 sec. Downwind. GPS P Mode
2nd leg 13,317 ft @ 359' altitude. 8 min. 7 sec. Upwind GPS Sport Mode



View attachment 48586View attachment 48587SkyPixel
Nice job!
 
I'll stand by my prior statements. I was talking about your projections, based upon your current results. Show us 28 minutes. Not going to happen.

Tom's TechTime also only got 22 minutes out of his P4 battery, completely in hover mode, until Autoland.
He also lost control at 1.3 miles.
It's not just me, or just my P4.
My findings have been confirmed on multiple P4`s.
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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
Who cares what TTT got? I just uploaded logs where I was doing a lot more than hovering and returned with 26% left and 22 mins and Tom, I have found to be a click grabber.

Today I'll finish it up.

Here, on these logs, I was all over the place, did not hover and had 19 and 26% left on the very slightly more used bat at 22 mins with 26%. You only need to do the very easy math that if I hovered, I would have exceeded 28 mins plus unlike people here, I take no faith in the word of Tom.

(You only need to see the distance to know I did more than hover, see the path to the other side of the valley and the fact that I returned and didn't hover and I had the camera running virtually the whole time. In fact, I'll even do a hover test. This isn't even the right one but I have better results than that. Mostly flown here in p and sports mode from take off to landing with power to spare, why would I care about what he discovered over my direct contradictory evidence???

image_zpsundq9ifv.png
 
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I'll stand by my prior statements. I was talking about your projections, based upon your current results. Show us 28 minutes. Not going to happen.

Tom's TechTime also only got 22 minutes out of his P4 battery, completely in hover mode, until Autoland.
He also lost control at 1.3 miles.
It's not just me, or just my P4.
My findings have been confirmed on multiple P4`s.
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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

The p3p did not go 3.1 miles either.
 
the above were launched from a mountain in Sport mode about 8000 feet as soon as I was over the valley from launch and since I have found Toms Tech to be very non-techy, I'll trust my own findings. If I hovered and killed those batteries down, those last to would have got at a minimum 28, probably more. I'm hoping to get another flight before we leave and I'll do just that.

I was going to last night but I like an idiot sent the bird out into pitch black darkness with the gimbal lock on. It looks like it's working fine, but who knows?

Here is the telemetry from the 22 min flight returned with 26% and I should have snapped the pic on the valley sport mode straight away. Was at about 1.6 miles or something, I am completely stock and I had not one video hiccup or wanting from the bird.

This is the wrong pic.*** gimme a min

image_zpsv2ixjm92.png
 
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The p3p did not go 3.1 miles either.
Actually, all my P3P's did, and still do! All this illustrates is that individual aircraft may differ greatly, from one another, within the same model number. Those getting what they deem great results shouldn't be dismissing those that aren't. Both are true. When anyone puts the P4 aircraft into hover mode 10 feet off the ground and videos the aircraft until it autolands, the resulting time recorded is not made up. The link I originally provided above to Tom's video recording of P3P hovering next to a P4 was deleted by a moderator, but you can easily find it on YouTube.
 
Who cares what TTT got? I just uploaded logs where I was doing a lot more than hovering and returned with 26% left and 22 mins and Tom, I have found to be a click grabber.

Today I'll finish it up.

Here, on these logs, I was all over the place, did not hover and had 19 and 26% left on the very slightly more used bat at 22 mins with 26%. You only need to do the very easy math that if I hovered, I would have exceeded 28 mins plus unlike people here, I take no faith in the word of Tom.

(You only need to see the distance to know I did more than hover, see the path to the other side of the valley and the fact that I returned and didn't hover and I had the camera running virtually the whole time. In fact, I'll even do a hover test. This isn't even the right one but I have better results than that. Mostly flown here in p and sports mode from take off to landing with power to spare, why would I care about what he discovered over my direct contradictory evidence???

image_zpsundq9ifv.png
Show me the money!
Or, in this case, any 28 minute flight log with your P4! :rolleyes:
 
Show me the money!
Or, in this case, any 28 minute flight log with your P4! :rolleyes:
Here is 24 minutes under very not good conditions.

image_zpsaxmtmmco.png


Here is the telemetry screen grab from that video going at about 50mph (I was booking all over and even though it says 371 feet, I was actually about 10,000 feet above the valley so thin cold air).

Now look at the time ti see it's the same flight.


image_zpspiprol5u.png


Of just read. Come one people, this is not difficult to understand here. I did some flight tests to show I EASILY got to a mile, and was booking at 45mph and still managed 24 mins with bat to spare. Every time I try to spread some truth around here or just do anything at all to promote and figure out things with the hobby, I just get a bunch of crappy posts of people that didn't even read the OP or complain that it's too long. It's honestly getting frustrating. There was once a day you know when people wanted to learn things, or study things, or control scientific testing, they would read books upon books. I once read a 735 page book on quantum physics just because I was curious about what happens to regular physics at the subatomic level because it interested me and for no other reason. You guys will read and write threads to the cows come home complaining but I produce on my own time (while I'm on vacation) some read data to be reviewed and so far it's just questions about things I've already said if you can read the OP. If yo don't want to take the time to figure things out with me, than don't post and certainly don't insult me (not to you on this poster) but the dude talking about arbitrary numbers and not understanding how to read my logs when I SPELLED IT OUT then just don't post. I appreciate very much that you did a hover test.

Based on the info I've read, I've come to the conclusion that hovering might actually more of a battery hog than just flying. Makes some sense as it has to constantly send and receive info and change the props as it tries to stay on the dime in the sky. I don't know that but based on your low result and TTT's results compared to mine, it might be a possibility. EITHER WAY, THERE IS PROOF POSITIVE OF A 24 MINUTE FLIGHT ALL OVER THE PLACE AND AT ONE POINT 50MPH. So what is it you guys are looking for!?!!?!?!?!?!?!

I mean in the thread below, I literally extrapolate the amount of time that would be left if I ran it down to zero (even on the 24 minute video) by using all the info I have and he called it arbitrary (definition - based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.) which there is nothing at all arbitrary about me extrapolating the results of several flights to the last several percent of a battery I didn't use. And again, ONE WAS VERIFIABLY 24 MINUTES in windy extremely high cold air zipping along.

"Think of it this way, think of all the stupid people you meet in a day, half of them are even more stupid than that" - George Carlin


This is the thread with my shot at trying to show that the battery life being short is a myth, at least from my bird. Who knows, maybe I got lucky? Not usually the case. I will post the videos soon. KEEP IN MIND, the videos were literally just on so I could say that during my testing I was running the camera. Once I ran out, I made sure I was still in follow rather than FPV mode so whatever movement the 3WG takes electrically is still happening.

P4 Battery Life myth (24 mins with xtra time, 45mph, no hovers here but the end
 
Actually, all my P3P's did, and still do! All this illustrates is that individual aircraft may differ greatly, from one another, within the same model number. Those getting what they deem great results shouldn't be dismissing those that aren't. Both are true. When anyone puts the P4 aircraft into hover mode 10 feet off the ground and videos the aircraft until it autolands, the resulting time recorded is not made up. The link I originally provided above to Tom's video recording of P3P hovering next to a P4 was deleted by a moderator, but you can easily find it on YouTube.

Do we know if he conditioned the p4 battery correctly? Did he condition the p3p battery? Too many unknowns.
 
Do we know if he conditioned the p4 battery correctly? Did he condition the p3p battery? Too many unknowns.
There is no such thing as properly conditioning a DJI battery before use. This is a myth, that still persists to this day, by those familiar with old lipo's early on....
 
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