Walkera 5200mah (Pro-Z-14) test on Phantom 1

I actually made a tutorial a while ago: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2082830

I'm slowly coming around to the Walkeras. They're not perfect, but the performance is similar on the Y6 as on the Phantom, and they last "kind of" long enough, especially if you don't mind pushing them to the brink. For $60 and no soldering required, I'm OK draining these to 10.5, and they'll still bounce back to 11.1...they may puff and die, so long as they don't fail during flight.
 
I wanted to test the Walkeras against their dimensional twins - my DJI 2200x2 3S2P 4400 batteries. We already know that the low-discharge 10C rating of the Walkeras result in some fairly wonky behavior, so to mitigate this I tested both sets in parallel: 5200x2 for 10400mah, versus 4400x2 for 8800mah. This is a burden on the Phantom, so these were run on the Y6 F450. AUW for each config is 1640g.

Here are the results, in chart and table format:

dZxJN31.png


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The 5200s do run longer than the 4400s, about 3.5 minutes more in dual config, That's roughly 20% more flight time, from a stated 18% increase in capacity. Not so bad I'd say. And while the Walkeras continue to hold more voltage at 10.6v down to 10.5v, the curve evens out a bit with the reduced load of a 2x battery config.
 
I have been using them exactly as you describe. Not like my 5400, but like 4400+. Ignore voltages, fly by timer, land by 10.5v knowing there's more juice on the table. I don't *like* the inconsistent behavior and sag, but it can be dealt with :)
 
The direct comparison now (summer 2014) would probably be the new Turnigy "Multistar" line. Seems like HK has wisened up to some of the benefits of low-C, high-cap batteries ;) I made a prediction several months back that we'd probably see production volumes for .18w/g batteries by this summer. Looks like we're pretty much there :)
 
Hey ElGuano, thx for your reply!

But isn't that bad? Lower C rating?
Maybe I didn't get your review correctly, but my impression was that with the lower C rating, there were some sags in the Voltage in the range it operates in the Phantom..

Also a friend of mine just got them in and let me know the TP LiPo's are bigger than stated on their website. Actually, about 3 mm wider, which means some serious cutting inside the Phantom 2 shell..
That's a major setback since I have very good experience with the TP 2700 ones I used in the Phantom 1.

Gonna check out the Multistar battery you mentioned.
 
It's all relative. Low-c is only bad if it's insufficient to flow the required current for your needs.

you're right that the walkera's 10c isn't ideal for the phantom, it sags and punchouts are slower when the battery is low. But the de facto standard is the p2 battery, which we think is probably 10c as well.

Also, c is relative to capacity, so a larger, lighter battery with a low c rating is different than a smaller battery with the same c rate.

Dr. Turbo has mentioned that a 6c 5000mah 10c battery should be more than enough for the e600 motors, assuming the c rating is honest. I think the challenge with low cost vendors like HK will be vetting the accuracy of the rating.

3cm is quite a difference, I think the error must be closer to 3mm right? Even that would present problems on some carved shells, the spacing is really, really right.
 
Gents, I have a question.

Is 12 minutes ok time with two x 2,200 stock p1 batteries normal?

We moved my phantom 1 guts to a phantom two shell.

Also installed the anti interference board (aka power filter band). Installed it the outside bottom side the phantom.

The larger phantom 2 shell also helped because i can now insert 2 batteries.



The flight, with the two batteries, lasted , ironically, 12 minutes.

I put on an h3-3d zenmuse gimbal.
And two batteries.

I weighed the above + the Gopro3+

Total weight: 1,330 grams


Thing is, I was getting 12 on my old setup (stock p1 without anything).

I thought with two batteries on my new setup (h3-3d & hero3+) I'd be getting 17-18 minutes.
 
12 min on 1330g is ballpark, and pretty darn good considering you typically get 6-7 mins with single battery gimbal + camera. When I was running 4400mah I was getting 15-16min @ 1190g.

You can get another min or 2 with lighter weight and more aggressive low voltage settings, but 18min on that weight and setup is unrealistic.
 
hedonist222 said:
Ok. I'm relieved now.

I'm going to try the walkera 5300 battery.
Thx

I've had excellent results with the Multistar 5200mAh in my P1.5, but I haven't compared it directly with the Walkera. What does the Walkera weigh?
 
^ Up for an answer to OI's question. I'm at the point where its time to get a battery and I dont know what to do.

For a 1.5 setup Currently just have 3 stock 2200 dji and 1 2700 Mad Dog. Maybe I just get 1 more Mad Dog or maybe I try the Multistar or Walkera.
 
I've only been able to do one flight test but I tried a pair of Pulse 2700 mah in my P1.5 and the results were good -- I'd double up the Mad Dog.
 
GearLoose said:
I've only been able to do one flight test but I tried a pair of Pulse 2700 mah in my P1.5 and the results were good -- I'd double up the Mad Dog.

Thanks for the input! I may have to go this route.
 
HoverMan said:
GearLoose said:
I've only been able to do one flight test but I tried a pair of Pulse 2700 mah in my P1.5 and the results were good -- I'd double up the Mad Dog.

Thanks for the input! I may have to go this route.

Just be careful in planning as the Maddog's are a good bit fatter than the Pulse and will require some carving up of the battery bay to double them up internally...enough so that you probably won't be able to use P2 batts anymore.

Hoverman, I do suggest the multistar 5200 is at least worth trying. If you get one and decide after a few flights that you don't like it, I'll give you what you paid for it and take it off your hands.
 
OI Photography said:
HoverMan said:
GearLoose said:
I've only been able to do one flight test but I tried a pair of Pulse 2700 mah in my P1.5 and the results were good -- I'd double up the Mad Dog.

Thanks for the input! I may have to go this route.

Just be careful in planning as the Maddog's are a good bit fatter than the Pulse and will require some carving up of the battery bay to double them up internally...enough so that you probably won't be able to use P2 batts anymore.

Hoverman, I do suggest the multistar 5200 is at least worth trying. If you get one and decide after a few flights that you don't like it, I'll give you what you paid for it and take it off your hands.


Thanks. While I hate to carve up the new shell, I don't plan on using p2 batteries in the future. Pretty sure I'd stick to 2 or 1 large 5200/5400 battery. If I could find a good large battery that didn't cost an arm and a leg I'd do that. So far Multistar has been the only reasonably priced one I found. I'm sure there's more out there I just don't know what fits.

Also, I'm trying to find a 4 pin cable to extend the led board. I know it doesn't have to be a 4 pin but does anybody know where I can find this cable? I'd prefer not to home-make it.

Edit: I looked up the Pulse. Think it + a Mad Dog together would be ok to run and would they fit? Hoping it may since you said it was thinner.
 

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