P3 Firmware Battery Firmware Update

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Hi guys.Please can someone help me with a brand new battery issue I'm having with my P3 Advanced.I've updated to the latest and last firmware update for the P3 range(V 1.11.20)When I put in the two brand new batteries that came with my drone there was no firmware update needed according to the App.Subsequently after buying another brand new battery in the App.it now says the battery needs a firmware update? And yet when I put in my 2nd. new battery that came with my drone no update was asked for in the App???After updating the drones firmware for the very 1st. time no update was asked for in the App.for any of the 2 brand new batteries?.When I bought 5 used batteries and popped them in one by one I was NOT asked to update their firmware.Please advise on what to do.
 
Each battery has its own FW, if a new battery comes with older FW it will ask to be updated. Just go ahead and let it update.
Hi old chap.In what way does this new battery get it's new firmware?While it's in the drone?
 
Hi. Yes the AC stores that internally, once you tap update in the app the AC will update the battery. Completely normal.
Where in the App.does it say update?Mine says go and watch the video how to update your bird's firmware???
 
Where in the App.does it say update?Mine says go and watch the video how to update your bird's firmware???
Tap the top center (where it says safe to fly) scroll down to the battery level, if the battery needs updating there will be a button there to update. If you dont see an update option then that particular battery is updated, try the other batterries one by one. Also each battery remembers its own auto discharge setting and needs to be set for each battery. I would change them all to 2 days instead of the default 10 days.
 
Tap the top center (where it says safe to fly) scroll down to the battery level, if the battery needs updating there will be a button there to update. If you dont see an update option then that particular battery is updated, try the other batterries one by one. Also each battery remembers its own auto discharge setting and needs to be set for each battery. I would change them all to 2 days instead of the default 10 days.
Thanks very much.So now all the batteries I put in to change the number of discharge days will all have their discharge times set from then on and will begin discharging?I was looking at that DJI Video on batt. maintenance and they say to be aware of a battery that is discharging.How will you know this besides it feeling slightly warm?Does that mean once ascertained that you must charge it back to full?
 
Thanks very much.So now all the batteries I put in to change the number of discharge days will all have their discharge times set from then on and will begin discharging?I was looking at that DJI Video on batt. maintenance and they say to be aware of a battery that is discharging.How will you know this besides it feeling slightly warm?Does that mean once ascertained that you must charge it back to full?
Changing the setting in the app only changes that one battery, you must insert each battery and change it for each one. Once set just fully charge them all and leave them alone. Yes they get slightly warm when autodischarging and thats normal. Do not recharge them until you want to use one to fly and they will take care of themselves.
 
All my batteries are full except the brand new one in the drone which is at 60% storage.Do I leave it at 60% once setting the countdown days?Does the "discharge down to 8% and fully charge again practice every 20 charges" keep your batteries in tip top shape?To bring it down to 8% would you
Low hover ithem or discharge them normally in the drone?
 
All my batteries are full except the brand new one in the drone which is at 60% storage.Do I leave it at 60% once setting the countdown days?Does the "discharge down to 8% and fully charge again practice every 20 charges" keep your batteries in tip top shape?To bring it down to 8% would you
Low hover ithem or discharge them normally in the drone?
Any new battery should be fully charged before first use so if you havent done that do it now. And no you do not need to deep discharge batteries that low. If after a flight my battery is lower than 40% I let it cool for an hour then fully charge it and put it away, if its higher than 40% I do nothing and just leave it alone until I need it again and then fully charge before I fly. The auto discharge only brings them down to just under 65% which is where they are happiest at being stored. The every 20 charges cycling you mentioned does not need to be done in my opinion.
 
I would change them all to 2 days instead of the default 10 days.

I use three days but yes, 10 is not optimal certainly.

Does the "discharge down to 8% and fully charge again practice every 20 charges" keep your batteries in tip top shape?To bring it down to 8% would you Low hover ithem or discharge them normally in the drone?

The full discharge every X amount of charges is relevant to Nickel based batteries, NiMH and NiCad. You should never fully discharge a LiPo as it will damage the cells. I always try and have skids on the ground by 20%. Don't stress to death over it, the onboard controller will actually stop your cells from discharging below 3v but best to assume you are smarter than the onboard controller charger.

As 3rdof5 says, they are happiest in the 40-60% charge range during storage. If you come home with more change then that just pop the battery in and hover until you get down to two LEDs or less and then charge until 2 lights are on and the third just starts flashing and you're "close enough for country" as musicians say.

Try and do your full charge the day before you fly, if you are going "on the road" two or three days of full charge will not hurt but more than that try to avoid.

Regards
Ari
 
I use three days but yes, 10 is not optimal certainly.



The full discharge every X amount of charges is relevant to Nickel based batteries, NiMH and NiCad. You should never fully discharge a LiPo as it will damage the cells. I always try and have skids on the ground by 20%. Don't stress to death over it, the onboard controller will actually stop your cells from discharging below 3v but best to assume you are smarter than the onboard controller charger.

As 3rdof5 says, they are happiest in the 40-60% charge range during storage. If you come home with more change then that just pop the battery in and hover until you get down to two LEDs or less and then charge until 2 lights are on and the third just starts flashing and you're "close enough for country" as musicians say.

Try and do your full charge the day before you fly, if you are going "on the road" two or three days of full charge will not hurt but more than that try to avoid.

Regards
Ari
Hi Ari,
Is discharging your battery in the drone acceptable.When I'm on the simulator this happens so presume if you can't hover to 20% then that's O.K.
 
Is discharging your battery in the drone acceptable.When I'm on the simulator this happens so presume if you can't hover to 20% then that's O.K.

Hi

Discharging the battery through any normal means of operation will be fine. LiPo batteries are capable of discharging safely at quite a high "C" rate so it would be difficult to damage one but short the contacts would be dangerous and probably pointless as the onboard controller has short circuit protection. it also has overdraw protection so you should be well protected.

Some people discharge by putting a load across the terminals such as a light bulb. I discourage anything like this as it does have the potential to end up with "bangs and flashes" but more importantly I don't like sticking things into the battery connectors as should you inadvertently damage the contacts you may have a situation where your R.P.A. takes a plunge due to power loss.

The P4 DJI Charge dock has a "storage" function which will initiate discharge but I am pretyy sure the P3 one does not so hovering, sitting on the desk inside powered up (remove rotors to be safe) or on the simulator are all favoured methods in my eyes.

Regards
Ari
 
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Hi

Discharging the battery through any normal means of operation will be fine. LiPo batteries are capable of discharging safely at quite a high "C" rate so it would be difficult to damage one but short the contacts would be dangerous and probably pointless as the onboard controller has short circuit protection. it also has overdraw protection so you should be well protected.

Some people discharge by putting a load across the terminals such as a light bulb. I discourage anything like this as it does have the potential to end up with "bangs and flashes" but more importantly I don't like sticking things into the battery connectors as should you inadvertently damage the contacts you may have a situation where your R.P.A. takes a plunge due to power loss.

The P4 DJI Charge dock has a "storage" function which will initiate discharge but I am pretyy sure the P3 one does not so hovering, sitting on the desk inside powered up (remove rotors to be safe) or on the simulator are all favoured methods in my eyes.

Regards
Ari
Ah now thanks for that mine of infomation.What does a high "C"rate mean?I purchased A OCDAY battery dock from Amazon for my P3.Their claim was that it charged the lowest battery 1st.useing the "dump" effect till all were charged.Whether this happens or not is impossible to tell as all the batt.lights keep on charging even after they are all full.I would have imagined that each batt. that became full had its lights switched off.So I was not pleased and asked for a refund.The DJI charger on it's own switches the batt.off.Now it seems that I have a bigger mystery with a brand new battery.When I had put it into the drone at 60% someone here told me to fully charge it.But before doing that the App. said update the aircraft's firmware AND the batteries firmware????? Never knew there was a separate firmware update for each one?Any way I then charged the batt. till full Put it back and now the App.only want's a firmware update for the battery.Iwas then told here that all I had to do was to "slide"down to the battery settings and I would see a dot next to the batteries and I could set them there???
 
I also recommend having a small fan blowing on the gimbal anytime the AC is powered on with no props. Both the P3A and P3P are sensitive to overheating but the P3P is the worst. Save your gimble from overheating!!
 
Ah now thanks for that mine of infomation.What does a high "C"rate mean?

OK, keeping it simple. 1 "C" for any given battery (a battery being a group of cells) is equal to the current rating of that battery. So for a 5200mAh battery 1C = 5.2a. Not taking into account losses through heat etc of which of course in the real world there are some if you discharge a battery to flat in 20 minutes it will be discharging at 3C or 3 times the rated capacity per hour.

For "dumb" batteries without an onboard controller like those used in R/C models (some) are capable of discharging safely at up to 10C (they get very hot), so you could flatten a fully charged battery in 6 minutes. This is the main draw of Lithium based batteries particularly Lithium Ion and Lithium Polymer, the chemistry that makes this possible is also what makes them so volatile if treated incorrectly.

I'm not sure what the maximum rated safe discharge for DJI batteries is but they are not "dumb" batteries and the onboard controller circuit will (should) manage that for you. As far as charging goes, while once again they *can* be charged at greater than 1C, for maximum battery life you should limit charge to 1C. So that 5200mAh battery should be charged at no more than 5.2 amps. In a perfect world this would mean one hour to charge the battery, taking into account losses through heat and other variables it's usually about 70 to 90 minutes. Once again the onboard controller on the DJI batteries manages that for you. The charger I use for my dumb batteries cost me $600 but it charges on 4 channels simultaneously and manages cell balancing and all the other factors once pre programmed. DJI batteries are a blessing for those who don't want to go that far into it as they just use a "dumb" charger and let the batteries circuitry mange it all for you.

I purchased A OCDAY battery dock from Amazon for my P3.Their claim was that it charged the lowest battery 1st.useing the "dump" effect till all were charged.Whether this happens or not is impossible to tell as all the batt.lights keep on charging even after they are all full.

Yes you have that correct. The Genuine DJI P4 dock I have makes it very clear it is only charging one at a time when set to "Charge" although it manages all three batteries at once when set to "storage" as some may be discharging while others charge. You're not the only person I have heard report dis satisfaction with 3rd party charger docks. It's also why I have a preference for OEM batteries over after market, I know that it has the genuine charger circuitry onboard not just a cheap knock of that does nothing but make the LEDs flash. I have been told that there are some good after market batteries but as I am a commercial operator I am obliged to use OEM to keep my liability insurance sweet.

For people with older DJI birds, because let's face it there is going to come a day when genuine batteries are not available, I would be thinking of putting your old and tired batteries into cold storage for the future and having them repacked professionally by a local battery specialist as that way you will be keeping your genuine DJI controller circuitry.

The Spark Dock seems to do all three at once also but they are a much smaller rated battery so the charger pack can probably manage it.

When I had put it into the drone at 60% someone here told me to fully charge it.But before doing that the App. said update the aircraft's firmware AND the batteries firmware????? Never knew there was a separate firmware update for each one?Any way I then charged the batt. till full Put it back and now the App.only want's a firmware update for the battery.Iwas then told here that all I had to do was to "slide"down to the battery settings and I would see a dot next to the batteries and I could set them there???

Yes this is correct although the way it is worded can be confusing.

Because it is a smart battery it is constantly doing things behind the scenes and communicating with the R.P.A. in flight to check on discharge rates, report on remaining capacity so your DJI app can report it to you and many other variables.

When they update the firmware on your RPA or it's controller this may effect the required communications between the bird and the battery or the manufacturer may decide to change the maximum allowed discharge rate for some reason, for example when the P4P V2 got sinusoidal ESCs and motors over the old square wave of the version 1. So for this case they have made the smart controller circuitry in the battery able to be updated also.

What is claimed to be the case and indeed what has happened for me (although I don't own a P3) is that when a new firmware update becomes available the App informs me and I go through the update procedure which flashes the RPA, the controller and the battery in one go if needed (sometimes the battery does not get an update as the existing parameters are fine). If the battery IS updated that updated battery firmware is stored on the R.P.A. so all you need to do it shut down the RPA, swap batteres and turn it back on and you will get a message to the effect that you have mis matching firmware versions and you follow the prompts and it will flash the battery for you in a short period of time.

I hope that is of some help and was clear enough to follow.

Regards
Ari
 
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I also recommend having a small fan blowing on the gimbal anytime the AC is powered on with no props. Both the P3A and P3P are sensitive to overheating but the P3P is the worst. Save your gimble from overheating!!

In no way a bad suggestion! Although it varies from model to model some DJI birds can get quite warm just sitting on the desk doing a firmware update. The Spark is a noted offender there.

Regards
Ari
 
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I also recommend having a small fan blowing on the gimbal anytime the AC is powered on with no props. Both the P3A and P3P are sensitive to overheating but the P3P is the worst. Save your gimble from overheating!!
So no engines running being on the simulator means a fan is needed to cool down gimbal.Do they burn out otherwise?
 
So no engines running being on the simulator means a fan is needed to cool down gimbal.Do they burn out otherwise?

Pretty much all of the DJI RPA have an internal cooling fan and heat sink setup but I also think they rely on rotor downdraft and aircraft movement to assist with cooling so I don't think it's a bad idea to direct a fan onto it when operating on the desk for extended periods.

It only costs cents to be safe but many dollars to fix if you are unlucky.

Regards
Ari
 

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