Phantom Angel - the must-have Phantom accessory

[Protocrash]

Hi guys,

First of all a quick intro: I've been flying RC for over a decade and have focused heavily of FPV the last 5 years (planes, quads, ground pounders, boats... you name it!).

Of course in that long list are a couple of Phantoms. Love the little beasts but I always had one gripe - the cost of its custom batteries. That’s when I spotted something that every Phantom owner needs and yet something that doesn’t seem to exist – an easy and safe way to discharge Phantom batteries for either calibration or storage. So I went ahead and created the first version of the Phantom Angel.

That was a while ago. The Angel is now in v3 and is already being used by professionals and amateurs alike to take all the hassle out of discharging their batts.

Just connect the battery, choose "cycle" or "store" and let the Angel do the rest.

Check it out and grab yourself one at http://phantomangel.rocks

And please do send me any questions, thoughts or feedback!

 

[tonylumps]

The phantom battery discharges it self to 50% when in storage So what are you selling

 

[Protocrash]

Hi Tony,

If you have the "new" batteries (at least firmware 2.6.0.0) then you can indeed wait for 10 days and they'll self-discharge. This averts total disaster but it still keeps your precious battery at full charge for 10 whole days - way more the maximum storage time allowed to avoid damage. All advice points to never leaving a LiPo at full charge for more than 24 hours.

All the best,
Proto

 

[RobBarron]

A lot more fun to just go and fly your drone till the battery is flat ) If you get into the habit of only charging it up when you know you're going to fly, you don't need to discharge it artificially.

 

[Protocrash]

Hey Rob - with you mate. But living in the UK you surely must have had at least a few occasions where you're all ready for that perfect flight, all charged up, all systems checked - and it starts raining.

It also takes a very lucky man to never have any technical issues. Anything from the occasional crash to an HDMI cable left at home (for you lightbridge people out there).

I for one have lost count of the number of times I've loaded the car drove an hours out of London only to turn back with a full set of batteries for one reason or the other. For all my other kit I use my Hyperion to discharge to storage level but Phantom batts, as we know, are a bit special

 

[Altanore]

You can set the length of time before it discharges. It is not permanently set to 10 days, you can change it to 1 day if you wanted.

 

[Protocrash]

Hi Altanore. That's a good shout. If you have the "new" batteries (at least firmware 2.6.0.0) then you can indeed set them to self-discharge. However, this takes an absolute minimum of 3 days (1 day of delay and then 2 day minimum for the actual discharge. The batteries only have those 5 small LEDs to discharge with and that's not a lot of consumption at all!). This helps your LiPo from puffing (and becoming dangerous) but it does little to prolong its life or keep its capacity

 

[ianwood]

Whatever it is you're selling, you can only sell it in the classifieds. This thread has been moved.

 

[mvigs]

You can discharge on any 4 button charger. Plus they are very accurate too and do more than discharge for $25

 

[Protocrash]

Hi guys,

@ianwood - Thanks for moving it to the right sub-forum
@mvigs - You may well be right. If you happen to have a good LiPo charger then its likely to be able to do the trick. I've found that only the more expensive ones come with a storage function. And that's actually why I built the Angel. There are many ways to just discharge but the trick is to stop at the right point. Otherwise you risk over-discharging (and an empty LiPo is a dead LiPo!)

On other news, by popular demand I've updated the paypal button thingy to now accept credit cards without needing a paypal account,

 

[Protocrash]

Hi guys,

Since launching the Phantom Angel a couple of months ago I've had loads of discussions with Phantom pilots about their batteries.
What I saw was that the majority of new pilots were not aware of standard LiPo practices and were surprised and grateful when I shared some of what I've learnt over the years.

So, with that in mind, I've created a concise, newbie-friendly guide to all things LiPo. If you don't know how to store your battiers, how to keep them from exploding or how to tell your watts from your amps, this guide's for you

Top tips for happy Phantom batteries

Hope you find it useful and please do send over any and all thoughts and comments.

Proto

 

[Kcso53]

How many discharges can you get from a halogen bulb? Also when will the P3 become available?

 

[Protocrash]

Hi Kcso52

Well, these bulbs have a life expectancy of 2000 hours so, at 25 minutes a discharge (to storage level) we're looking at... well, more discharges than you'll ever do And even if it burns out these bulbs cost around $1 to replace - that's actually why I chose this kind of load for the Angel, does the job perfectly and is very cost effective.

The boards for the P3 Angel are being produced in Germany as we speak and I expect to have them in the next 6-8 weeks.

All the best,
Alex

 

[Kcso53]

Thanks

 

[480sparky]

Obviously the guy doesn't know how to handle halogen bulbs. You NEVER touch the glass with bare skin.

 

[Stile2112]

Obviously the guy doesn't know how to handle halogen bulbs. You NEVER touch the glass with bare skin.

Ya, because the failure of a $1 halogen bulb prematurely would be catastrophic.......

 

[Protocrash]

Thanks Stile It is true... these bulbs are very very easy to replace.

But also thanks Sparky for pointing this out for everyone. Indeed, halogen bulbs should be handled with gloves or a tissue paper and if you do happen to touch them its best to clean them with alcohol to remove any skin oils.

For everyone's info:
"Do not touch the Halogen bulb surface or inside reflectors with your bare hands. Oils from skin can lead to breakage or shorten the life of the lamp. Use clean gloves or lint-free cloth for installation and removal.
Clean any dirt, oil, or lint away from the lamp with alcohol and a lint-free cloth or tissue. Any foreign particles or materials on the bulb surface can cause hot spots on the bulb and result in lamp failure."

I'll make sure I update the video accordingly.

Cheers

 

[phantom1972]

GREAT POST! I saw some of the light with a Blade Mini with a 125maH tiny little one cell battery. I got a short in the wire harness, plugged this little battery in, and the harness popped, burst into flames, smoked, and burned me. Obviously trivially, but I looked at the 125maH, then at a 4 cell, 4480maH hour, in a TOTALLY different light. LiPo batteries are even extra dangerous because disastrous failures are rare enough, so that YOU may never have witnessed one, so going to the store while your battery is charging won't seem to much of a risk.

But there are risks which happen real frequently, with little notice. And there are risks where the adverse event won't often happen, but when it does your house will burn down and people could die. The later case makes people act foolishly.

I flew by a thunderstorm in a light plane the other day. An isolated one in FL. It quickly became obvious why more people don't get killed flying through thunderstorms: They look SO SCARY AND DANGEROUS, that it keeps people far away. LiPo batteries will lure you closer. GREAT POST.

 

[480sparky]

Ya, because the failure of a $1 halogen bulb prematurely would be catastrophic.......

Yep. It would render the device 'pert much useless.

 

[Stile2112]

It's all good information Protocrash and this seems a

Yep. It would render the device 'pert much useless.

Must be end of world armageddon when a light goes out at your place...