Charging in the field...

[whazup]

Just buy an extra battery or two and be done with this none sense !

 

[With The Birds]

Why take the risk? At 100 bucks a pop per battery id personally rather spend a little bit more for cleaner power just to be on the safe side. Square wave = more distortion = less efficiency = shorter life. Plus if you're going to buy an inverter, might as well buy one you can use for many purposes. Buy once cry once.

To each his own I guess

Exactly- if you have the budget and plan to power a range of devices (esp synchronous motors, flouro lights with ballasts or other electromagnetics, medical equipment etc) yes pure sine wave is the best option. I agree 100%. Anything that rectifies the input to DC at the input won't care if it's a modified or pure sine wave (DJI supply included). And modified sine wave inverters often operate at higher efficiency than pure sine wave, esp when driving a resistive load.

 

[Savo05]

I'd get extra batterys because if you fly with 1 charged then use it up till what ever your low battery indicates to come back home you pop another battery in away u go again as if you want to charge you have to wait for the charge cycle to finish you only have 23 mins approximately fly time but battery charge is 80mins so be waiting for it to be done [emoji849] so I'd go for extra batterys I got 3 so 1 & 1/2 hrs approximately fly time that's enough for me then go home charge batteries all together with multi charger of amazon anbee charger it works great [emoji106] hope you get it sorted , from uk [emoji636]

 

[EyeSkyDrone]

My car charger only works with the car running; not sure what thats about.
What about :
NOCO Genius Boost HD GB70 2000 Amp 12V UltraSafe Lithium Jump Starter

 

[aeronautic1]

I get paying for convenience, but man . . . $300 for that is just short of bat$hit crazy!

Listed on Amazon for $169

 

[davidgarth]

There needs to be some clarification here. Inverters are not the way to go.

Using a typical inexpensive inverter to charge from a 12 volt source is very inefficient. The inverter first converts the 12 volts DC to 110 volts AC. Inexpensive inverters lose about 30 percent of the power in the conversion, and they don't produce the perfect sine-wave power like the power company delivers, but a modified square-wave. (Sine-wave inverters are available, but they're much more expensive,) That's important, because the DJI battery charger, like most battery chargers, don't behave well with square wave power and will lose another 15-30 percent converting the power back to DC. Overall power lose could be as high as 50 percent.

If you must charge in the field, use a DC car charger instead. They aren't perfectly efficient, but lose only about 5-10 percent of the power.

Because the DJI LiPo batteries have such a high energy density, it would take a big, heavy lead acid battery to charge them even once. (A car battery sized deep cycle battery is usually less than 100 amp hours and should never be discharged more than 50 percent, netting less than 50 amp hours.)

 

[Dagon]

I will be spending some time doing remote desert surveys while camping and I'll be using a Honda 1000W generator for recharge.

 

[BriG]

Well from my own personal experience the cheap as chips inverter that plugs in to the cigarette port in my car charges my Phantom 3 Advanced batteries in the same amount of time it takes for them to charge plugged directly in to the wall socket.

I've no idea if it has a square sine-wave, nor do I care. All I know is that while I'm having a warm after an hours worth of flying I can charge another battery.

I also charge while traveling between locations too.

Also great for weekends camping!

You get the idea...

 

[robca]

Given that a good quality car charger is

Well from my own personal experience the cheap as chips inverter that plugs in to the cigarette port in my car charges my Phantom 3 Advanced batteries in the same amount of time it takes for them to charge plugged directly in to the wall socket.

I've no idea if it has a square sine-wave, nor do I care. All I know is that while I'm having a warm after an hours worth of flying I can charge another battery.

I also charge while traveling between locations too.

Also great for weekends camping!

You get the idea...

If you are charging from a car, efficiency is not that critical. The P3 batteries are 5Ah and 15.2V, any car battery (much more than 200Ah at 12V) is big enough for many charges even at 50% efficiency. If on the other hand you want to charge from another portable battery, wasting 50% capacity using an inefficient inverter+power supply combination is a bad idea. Going DC-DC is much better than going DC-AC-DC with losses at each stage

But if you are charging from a car, something like this is a much better choice: Amazon.com: Travelocity Car Charger, Car Battery Charger for DJI Phantom 3,One USB for Other Devices(87W,Black): Cell Phones & Accessories. It's only $15, charges your battery and P3S remote at the same time (or your tablets), it's efficient, and doesn't require to carry the brick power supply with you. You can leave it in the car all the time and use it as a USB charger

Lastly, modified sine wave inverters can really damage switching power supplies: Could a modified sine wave inverter destroy/damage the AC adapter for a laptop?. The DJI charger costs $40-60 (depending on the wattage), so spending money on a inverter and risking to fry the power supply seems a much worse idea than to spend the same or less money on a better DC-DC converter and ensuring long life to your expensive DJI AC charger

Just because your AC charger is still working, it doesn't mean it's not being damaged: the modified sine wave is stressing every component inside that power supply well above design specs, and sooner or later something bad might happen when other conditions are just right (say, a very hot day)

 

[bryan0026]

Or you can get one of these bad boys, this thing is awesome. Charges 3 batts in around an hour via 110v in your car.

 

[BriG]

Thanks for the info robca. The item you link to is £28.50 for me in the UK. However, as I'm am not needing a USB port would this be a better compromise in comparison to my little plugin inverter?

Anbee[emoji768] Car Charger & Adapter for DJI Phantom 3 Quadcopter (Professional & Advanced) Anbee® Car Charger & Adapter for DJI Phantom 3 Quadcopter (Professional & Advanced): Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games

 

[robca]

Thanks for the info robca. The item you link to is £28.50 for me in the UK. However, as I'm am not needing a USB port would this be a better compromise in comparison to my little plugin inverter?

Anbee[emoji768] Car Charger & Adapter for DJI Phantom 3 Quadcopter (Professional & Advanced) Anbee® Car Charger & Adapter for DJI Phantom 3 Quadcopter (Professional & Advanced): Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games

There are quite a few P3A and P3P chargers like the one you link both on eBay and Amazon UK. The one with the USB port (for P3S) are harder to find for some reason (and that was the one that works best for me, I have a P3S).

Yes, that one would work much better than a cheap plugin inverter, and the feedback looks good. Those chargers all look the same, but I'm always afraid that the cheap ones on eBay have low quality components inside. The one you link seems to be a good one, and the price seems good, so well worth a try (if there's a problem, Amazon will take care of it). I recommend checking the voltage with a multimeter, and making sure it's 17.5V before connecting your battery, though.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Before reading other responses, I'll quickly mention what I use:

Primary: Goal Zero Yeti 400
GOALZERO

I also have a Yeti 150 and looking at the power delivered in the specs, you might well consider it 'good enough'. But the DJI quick charger trips the breaker. You to look at the specs for continuous AC delivered by the inverter, which is 300W for the Yeti 400, but only 80W for the Yeti 150. The DJI quick charger tried to draw 100W, which trips the 150's breakers. You can solve this by using an additional inverter (cost: $25-30US) that plugs into the 150's 12V output. But you're still left with a smaller battery / less DJI battery charges.

To those asking things like "yeah, but how fast does it charge, how long does the battery last". The answer is "same as plugging into AC mains at home".

Chris

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Read the very 1st comment .. Guzziknight is looking for a practical, lightweight solution to more power out in the field without spending a bundle of money on the purchase of an additional battery.

Actually, while the OP did say "out of the car", he said nothing about budget concerns. If he had, I wouldn't have posted a > $400 solution.

The other reply for a $300 "Omni 20" was an appropriate reply as well, give the original question.

As for "batshit crazy", I suppose you could think of it that way if all you would use these solutions for is charging up your drone batteries.

I use it for camera, laptop, and other batteries as well. These are great for when you're off-road for more than a day, or just camping without power connections.

I also spent money on solar panels to charge the battery (the thing doesn't last forever), so you have power solutions for a long time in remote locations.

If all you're looking for is something to recharge a battery or two for a single afternoon, use the < $50 inverter solution, which means being able to come back to your car for a recharge.

Yeah, having more DJI batteries helps too. I have six.

Chris

 

[Primevil]

I'm looking for a way to charge my batteries while out flying. I'm not talking about a car charger, but a portable power bank. I saw one by Energen, called the Dronemax P40, but I can't find it for sale or even a price for it.

Does anyone have something they use to charge while out of the car?

Thanks.

I use a GOAL ZERO YETI 400 Solar GENERATOR I charge it a home for 5 hours and I can charge 3 Phantom 4 batteries to full charge out in the field in about 1 hour 20 mins. I carry three charged batteries when I leave the house. As a battery dies I put it to charge when I swap to a fresh battery. I bought the generator for both interior camping and for field charging drone batteries, iPad, cell phone, and laptop. Cost of the generator is around $600 CDN. The generator can be charged in the field from the sun with solar panels, its slow charging it from sunlight but it works. 24 hours to full charge in direct sun. More panels you add the faster it charges.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

I use a GOAL ZERO YETI 400 Solar GENERATOR

ME TOO!

But please don't use the term 'generator'. Goal Zero doesn't.

Question to Goal Zero users: I have 2 Boulder 30 panels and a Boulder 15, so 75W total in perfect conditions. But these are pricey and I see some really large panels in some places (in my area at Fry's Electronics) for a lot less money. Is there a way for me to wire one of those generic large panels into the system?

Chris

 

[jason]

I'm looking for a way to charge my batteries while out flying. I'm not talking about a car charger, but a portable power bank. I saw one by Energen, called the Dronemax P40, but I can't find it for sale or even a price for it.

Does anyone have something they use to charge while out of the car?

Thanks.

The only way to find out what the Dronemax P40 cost is to call them (energen 1- 626-581-2200).

 

[wa5tef]

Might check the DJI battery charging specs carefully. Some power inverter produce a square wave output vs a sine wave. If you just use an inverter from a 12 volt (13.7v) source to power the DJI charger, the DJI unit might not like the square wave. I have no idea if it would or not, I'd just find out more about using an inverter inline before charging those expensive batteries. Has anyone used a simple 12 volt, like Amazon sells, to recharge a DJI battery? I bought one but am kinda concerned about using it after reading on how finiky the batteries are with their charging requirements and long life.
Jim
WA5TEF

 

[robca]

Might check the DJI battery charging specs carefully. Some power inverter produce a square wave output vs a sine wave. If you just use an inverter from a 12 volt (13.7v) source to power the DJI charger, the DJI unit might not like the square wave. I have no idea if it would or not, I'd just find out more about using an inverter inline before charging those expensive batteries. Has anyone used a simple 12 volt, like Amazon sells, to recharge a DJI battery? I bought one but am kinda concerned about using it after reading on how finiky the batteries are with their charging requirements and long life.
Jim
WA5TEF

Please see the link I posted earlier today in this post: Charging in the field... . Cheap modified sine wave inverters can damage switching power supplies like the one DJI uses. Will it damage it if used once or twice? Probably not. Will it damage it over the long term? Probably (almost surely) yes

 

[kirk2579]

I realize this doesn't apply to the original post but I this is an issue I'm interested in too. I have been using an inverter but have had a series of problems, first from an inverter that just stopped working and then with one that doesn't seem compatible with the smart batteries; they seem to turn on and off every 30 seconds or so without actually charging. I finally bought one of these: Amazon.com: Anbee Car Charger Adapter for DJI Phantom 4 Pro Quadcopter Battery & Remote Controller: Toys & Games
and on first test it seems to work fine. I don't see any reason to add the intermediate step of an inverter.

For field charging, how about this deep cycle 12 V Duracell at 9 lbs and $50? WKDC12-14NB - Duracell Ultra Deep Cycle AGM SLA Battery 12V 14AH - Nut & Bolt Terminal at Batteries Plus Bulbs

if you have a harbor freight near you they have a 12v 35ah deep discharge solar universal battery at 70 bucks.
I just used the %20 off on 2 of them for a small 50 watt PV solar setup I am building for portable/temp backup power.
$54 dollars each after discount.

just bought 2 -50w solar kits at Home depot for 83 each kit--special buy this month!
add this battery and you have decent off grid setup that can grow.

sorry for detour on thread...