Anyone dissect the little black box. I can not find a schematic. $100.00+ is way to much for this simple device
12v Car charger
- Thread starter lignow
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i bought a 700w mains invertor, half the price & should have enough power to run all 3 of my dji chargers at once
msinger
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dirkclod
Premium Pilot
That's a good price !! Does your car need to be running and can you run 2 chargers at the same time ?msinger said:
Seems like it would pull your battery down .
dirkclod said:
I did some checking on this inverter a while back and it looks real good.
I don't think charging our little batteries will draw as much as the inverter itself.
How good is the battery in your truck Dirk?
dirkclod
Premium Pilot
I don't remember the amps but it's a good one but have never used an inverter before and was just not sure what the deal with them was . I do keep a jump box in the toolbox to help folks so I guess it wouldn't matter if it drained it or not .
Do they charge as fast as plugging them in at home ?
Do they charge as fast as plugging them in at home ?
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Hi,
I recently checked the amp rate of charge that DJI batteries need during charging. They start out at about 3.5 amps and then taper down as the battery charges. At the end of the charge they drop down to just a few Milli-amps. That is probably to allow the cells to get balanced. So I would think due the inefficiency of most inverters you would need to have the engine running or a very good condition hi capacity car battery to charge even one DJI battery with the inverter. They draw a lot of current just to run at no load.
I recently checked the amp rate of charge that DJI batteries need during charging. They start out at about 3.5 amps and then taper down as the battery charges. At the end of the charge they drop down to just a few Milli-amps. That is probably to allow the cells to get balanced. So I would think due the inefficiency of most inverters you would need to have the engine running or a very good condition hi capacity car battery to charge even one DJI battery with the inverter. They draw a lot of current just to run at no load.
dirkclod
Premium Pilot
With the inverters that plug into the cigarette lighter you don't want to go much over 150w with your loading.
It is often stated in the handbook or a sticker alongside so two chargers would be pushing it.
You can have a 300w inverter but don't load it fully.
The heavy duty ones have direct connection to the battery.
It is often stated in the handbook or a sticker alongside so two chargers would be pushing it.
You can have a 300w inverter but don't load it fully.
The heavy duty ones have direct connection to the battery.
I still don't know what the problem is with feeding 12V from the car battery directly to the Phantom battery. The internal balancing circuitry should charge the battery accordingly.
Or am I missing something here?
Or am I missing something here?
TuT said:
Have you tried it?
It may well be OK but bear in mind car electrics actually run at 13.8V
That's right 4wd. That's why I would like to have a look inside the little black box. To see if there is any zener diode or capacitor inside. You could build one for about $10.00 or less.
How many volts are in a fully charged Phantom battery, using a voltmeter?
I think if you hook it directly to a car battery, something's going to go wrong. :shock:
I think if you hook it directly to a car battery, something's going to go wrong. :shock:
I use a small inverter to charge the batteries, usually with no issues. Yesterday I decided to charge up two batteries while skiing. Then I took a series of photos and decided to put them back in the charger just in case I wanted more photos. Well charging 4 batteries without starting the motor is enough to drain your car battery in case you needed to know. I got a jump and all was good but a good lesson to start up the car for a bit after between charges.
I'm concerned about the fact that the low-end inverters like the Bestek produce a modified sine wave output instead of a pure sine wave output. I've read that the modified sine wave can damage battery chargers or decrease their lifespan. I'd be especially concerned if damage could be done to the Phantom 2 battery ($$$$).
I have the Tripp Lite PV375 375 Watt inverter which has two 120V modified sine wave outputs. I was disappointed to discover that it cannot charge two Phantom 2 batteries at the same time and can barely charge just one. And the inverter produces an extremely annoying high pitched whine while charging the Phantom battery.
I also have a Tripp Lite 150 Watt Inverter than shuts off as soon as I plug in the DJI charger and battery.
I have the Tripp Lite PV375 375 Watt inverter which has two 120V modified sine wave outputs. I was disappointed to discover that it cannot charge two Phantom 2 batteries at the same time and can barely charge just one. And the inverter produces an extremely annoying high pitched whine while charging the Phantom battery.
I also have a Tripp Lite 150 Watt Inverter than shuts off as soon as I plug in the DJI charger and battery.
Using an inverter is inefficient since the inverter wastes a lot of juice even with no load.
I am virtually certain that the "charger" is simply a switching power supply providing 12V DC. All of the charging smarts are in the battery.
I have a 12V storage battery and solar charger for charging devices when I go camping off the grid. I haven't tried yet but would love to be able to charge my phantom from that without wasting half the energy on the inverter converting DC to AC and back to DC again.
I am virtually certain that the "charger" is simply a switching power supply providing 12V DC. All of the charging smarts are in the battery.
I have a 12V storage battery and solar charger for charging devices when I go camping off the grid. I haven't tried yet but would love to be able to charge my phantom from that without wasting half the energy on the inverter converting DC to AC and back to DC again.
Has anyone tried any of the third party car chargers that cost around $20 to $40?
I'd love to save $70 over the DJI charger.
Here are a couple of them:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191534839956?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Car-Charger-For ... 418294a417
EDIT 1:
Okay, I thought I had searched the forums thoroughly before posting but apparently not. I'm still finding other threads on the subject.
Here is one: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=22570
But if anyone has anything to add on the topic please chime it.
I'd love to save $70 over the DJI charger.
Here are a couple of them:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191534839956?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Car-Charger-For ... 418294a417
EDIT 1:
Okay, I thought I had searched the forums thoroughly before posting but apparently not. I'm still finding other threads on the subject.
Here is one: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=22570
But if anyone has anything to add on the topic please chime it.
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