DJI Smart Battery-Not!

[mcrazyhorse]

Yes, that option, for you, is to move along...
If you are unhappy, unchain the piano from your waist strap, and run... ;-)

I have no problems or complaints, and refuse to search for minor negatives...

Good luck, with your next choices of RC models... Ha
Seriously, you don't know how good you have it, or what you have, until it's gone. Be thankful.

RedHotPoker

I agree, it would be nice to start a PRO P3A/P3P forum.

 

[rene van der meer]

Ian, I agree with almost everything you said. I'm here to learn and share experiences and not to censor, which I believe I never did and hope will never do. But IMHO at the heart of the matter - not only about battery but almost every other P3 problem - lies a question of PERSPECTIVE.

Since I got here last yr I noticed a lot of frustration about this and that, batteries and cracks and calibrations. And at times it all make it seem that DJI is fooling customers in many deliberated ways. Well they're a big corp and all but that's a wrong idea IMHO. Also IMHO this perception should be actively countered, or balanced, and not for DJI's sake (put DJI or any other maker here and it's exactly the same) but for our own - as customers and pilots. Yes, bringing problems to attention is a positive, valid and productive action. Spreading the myth and just bash or insist on the negatives is not.

Pilots new to quads and RC hobby in general tend to have high expectations about the P3. They expect it to fly very high, for very long times, reach long distances, at high speeds, and do it repeatedly or forever without any hiccups. Well, I'm sorry to say that but it just won't. Not the P3, not any other RC AC. Not for the time being at least. And please do not fight the messenger. I admit that DJI's hype and marketing is responsible for setting the expectation that high. But DJI is DJI and we're hobbyists and pilots.

And as a forum participant I feel it's my duty to contribute positively and propose in a positive way that we should "calibrate" our expectations - just as we do with out P3's systems. I try to do that by sharing my view as long time hobbyist, as limited as it is. DJI's drones aren't the best out there. For almost any specific purpose (filming, payload, stunt, race, etc.) there are quite a few better options in the market. But the best filming/high payload quads cost well over $30K, and a good, 250 class ready-to-race rig will set you back about the price of a P3 or more. But as @IBeSnoopy said above, and I agree, the P3 is far from perfect but it's the closest to the "promise": a serious, reliable, capable, easy to fly, relatively safe and cheap drone with a camera. That means compromises, we must keep that in mind.

Of course I don't expect non-hobbyists P3 pilots to share a hobbyist's perspective on quads and the whole RC thing. A pilot need to walk that path to really grasp it. But I believe that putting the P3 issues in a wider context throughout these debates may help new (and not so much) pilots to better understand the hobby of flying ACs, what's involved and where the P3 and its characteristics fit. Maybe that also helps lower a bit the anxiety and better deal with frustrations.

Just my opinion, and thanks for keeping PP a nice place.

Good one, but the only way to improve the battery is to add complexity, weight and thus cost. I mean, to really increase the reliability factor of any LiPO is only possible through: 1) better quality cells (as I said IMHO the P3 is good enough); 2) strict procedures, which implies a learning curve and some serious equipment: a capable, complete computerized high-capacity charger with balancing and IR reading features; a reliable voltage reader, to be used right after every flight to measure voltage drop and all.

Question is, who wants to deal with all that and pay the price? Because I tell you, it's extremely time-and-money consuming. Deal with a couple dozen good LiPOs to play around with your toys cost a lot and has some hidden costs (learning process). And still we f*ck up every once in a while, at least I do.

And that brings us back to the point. DJI made quads popular EXACTLY by simplifying all that. Quality, weight, reliability, affordability: can't have it all, pick 2 or 3 and live with it. Flying a long range, high speed filming quad is no longer a hobbyist territory only thanks to the P2 and P3 and that's great. It sure brings compromise, and problems will happen. IMHO people should accept that and learn about limitations, embrace them and improve on it.

AlexSP I fully agree with you. The P3 may no be the best drone money can buy, but as far as I know gives the best price/quality ratio. It is a compact, robust and reliable piece of flying equipment. The same is true for the battery.
Its is always a compromise of money, safety, ease of use and functionality. I think DJI has done a hack of a job.

 

[dnthomas]

Here is my flight info when I hit 38.4. Looked at all my flights and routinely I'm over 36. I try not to fly when it's too windy but I get some strong gusts aloft

HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

 

[KyleMaxxUAV]

Here is my flight info when I hit 38.4. Looked at all my flights and routinely I'm over 36. I try not to fly when it's too windy but I get some strong gusts aloft

HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

Sorry I don't follow ? The flight time was just over 12 min


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[kirk2579]

I thought the second last recent firmware update, was to have then corrected the cold weather battery situation, that plagued some drones?

RedHotPoker

The issue with the battery problem has only been "patched" temporarily with the FW update.

it is not some drones that have this problem, it is many if not most batteries.
Just replaced a month old p3 battery with 2 charges and 5 flights with bad cell.
also had a very low use p2 battery that went fat at about 25 uses last year.

It did not fix anything.
It simply delt with the symptoms a bit.

we are all glad you have had no issues, most don't.


good luck and have fun flying!

 

[kirk2579]

Sorry I don't follow ? The flight time was just over 12 min


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

his max speed was over 38 mph
he was one of few actually responding to the OP's original comments regarding top speed and the FW.
that's why it was confusing...lol

 

[smyers63]

Ok so now "bulging" is the reason for all this.

I love to see sarcasm when someone can't factually refute what they refuse to believe. Of course, the next step is name-calling. Hopefully, he'll not go there. The folks who manufacture LiPo batteries know more about them than either of us and that's why I went to them for answers. I know when I need to rely on someone else's knowledge.

I also love the phrase "Heads will explode." It seems the OP's head is about to explode (or at least "bulge") due to unwanted facts cluttering his argument. It's a bit like overcharging a LiPo or not discharging it during more than a few days of disuse.

To each his own. I was giving information to others in this thread so they wouldn't be misinformed since I knew the OP would never change his already-made-up mind. All I'll do for him is send him a hoverboard to play with!!!

 

[flyNfrank]

I love to see sarcasm when someone can't factually refute what they refuse to believe. Of course, the next step is name-calling. Hopefully, he'll not go there. The folks who manufacture LiPo batteries know more about them than either of us and that's why I went to them for answers. I know when I need to rely on someone else's knowledge.

I also love the phrase "Heads will explode." It seems the OP's head is about to explode (or at least "bulge") due to unwanted facts cluttering his argument. It's a bit like overcharging a LiPo or not discharging it during more than a few days of disuse.

To each his own. I was giving information to others in this thread so they wouldn't be misinformed since I knew the OP would never change his already-made-up mind. All I'll do for him is send him a hoverboard to play with!!!

Are you the guy they were talking about that just spent two weeks locked up for failure to pay child support? Either way you didn't notice this thread died long ago and all moved on. Also you may want to stick to using one account.

 

[buford]

I think it is easy to say that the dji smart battery isn't so smart. As it is, it counts the number of days and can provide a drain after a set number of those days.

What is can't do, but should be able to do, is supply the P3 with enough power to perform as it should. We pay the crazy price of around $150 for a battery that is anything but smart. Anyone flying below 70f degrees will be faced with a near 41% reduction in speed. No...let's not set the battery up to supply the aircraft the power it ask for. And the reason for this is because the way they have had the batteries set up, it caused the temps to rise and be the blame for another jacked up part which is the body, as in motor mount area.

So we now have batteries that almost double the price we were paying just before the P3 was released. The smart batteries have their own firmware. For what? To have internal calendars to begin a drain cycle? Seriously...the smart battery is simply a ripoff. These batteries were a reason why we couldn't use the multiple batteries we already purchased for the P2V+'s. We had to be required to start over and reinvest to a different battery setup.

Surely, there is a better option that is less expensive, and not prone to dropping aircraft out of the sky?

Don't let these guys push you around. If you want to gripe go ahead. I agree with you on some of the points. I guess its the fact that when you buy one of these things, warranty or not, you're pretty much on your own from day one. Oh I know there are stories of guys crashing drones due to pilot error, sending it to dji and receiving a brand new unit in 2 weeks on dji's dime. But common sense says that didn't happen. So pitch up a *****, it don't bother me.

 

[buford]

Everything was working great, and I am obviously totally satisfied with my purchase. So when the autonomous parameters were released, I was actually beside myself. And still am. Both of us were pleased as Punch. You may want to Ask Judy. Hehe
For the youngsters amongst us, they were marionettes of the finest order.

RedHotPoker

Puppets. Marionettes have strings.