Power from hot wires in the Phantom or off the balance port?

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I plan on making a switch to be a cut off to 3 devices under the phantom: charging the gopro, video TX, and gimbal.

So my question is, should I come straight off a balance port on one of my external parallel batteries, or just use the hot wires coming off the board inside the phantom?
 
Re: Power from hot wires in the Phantom or off the balance p

You can do it a couple of ways but my first question is why do you have parralel batteries? Most of us run those mentioned accessories (and more) off Phantom battery. Yes it's a minor compromise but losing a few secs vs alot of secs w/added weight.

If you are just adding a "cut off" switch, I'd solder hot & ground directly to battery connection at board.
 
Re: Power from hot wires in the Phantom or off the balance p

To answer your question, I needed more time in the air. I plan on using this drone for live shots for the news station where I am employed. Right now with two 3700mah batteries I am getting 25 min flight time which is enough to get it up in the air and do a couple of live hits off the drone before bringing it home.
 
Re: Power from hot wires in the Phantom or off the balance p

DiceOfSeven said:
To answer your question, I needed more time in the air. I plan on using this drone for live shots for the news station where I am employed. Right now with two 3700mah batteries I am getting 25 min flight time which is enough to get it up in the air and do a couple of live hits off the drone before bringing it home.

25 mins w/2 3700mah batteries and all that hardware under it? Hmm.. I'd like to see a pic of that set up.
 
Re: Power from hot wires in the Phantom or off the balance p

This is my setup:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0tfpe2lp8ixpmld/2014-07-08 13.35.48.jpg

I don't have a GoPro as of yet, so I'm still in the prep stages of getting all the gear I listed on the belly. It's why I wrote this post, to bounce ideas for the best way to go about it. Seems a lot of pilots like to isolate the video accessories at least for initial Phantom power up so there is no interference. Seems smart, so its why I'm taking that approach. Will most likely just let the switch stay in the hull since its empty anyways so I can just flip down the door and flip the switch to power everything on.

I can upload the 25 min clip from the camera if you need proof of how long it stays in the air. Haha, I use the camera as my timer so I just run it the entire flight. I know I will lose a bit of time with the other stuff under it, so will just have to do a battery test flight. Keep it close and fly it hard till the buzzer goes off at 3.6V. Still deciding weather I want to try dual 2700mah or 3300mah to try and get the weight/flight time at the max amount. Let me know what you think.
 
Re: Power from hot wires in the Phantom or off the balance p

No I was curious to see set up. btw pic didn't turn out...
 
Re: Power from hot wires in the Phantom or off the balance p

EMCSQUAR said:
No I was curious to see set up. btw pic didn't turn out...

Alright, try that, also edited the post a bit
 
Re: Power from hot wires in the Phantom or off the balance p

Gotcha, (wasn't aware it was FC40 w/little gimbal) To answer original question - tap into balance leads. BTW nice set up.
 
Re: Power from hot wires in the Phantom or off the balance p

If 25 minute+ flights with a gimbal go pro and full FPV are absolutely critical for you, you'll need another platform than the Phantom. The weight of those components give you very little headroom in terms of how much battery weight (and therefore capacity) the Phantom's natural limits will allow you to strap on.

Many here (including EMCSQUAR and myself) have chased that same dream through every practical method, and the general finding is that 20 min is about the best you can hope for on a loaded Phantom.
 

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