Maxx UAV - Secret Battery Mod!

[GadgetGuy]

Are you high?

Please explain...

 

[JakeMaxxUAV]

when will it be ready to buy?

Hoping within the next month!

 

[Phantomix]

do i need to mod my battery? if not, i would be willing to pay $200-300 if it gets 40-50mins of flight time
hell, thats 10-20 miles! imagine the litchi missions with it...

 

[JakeMaxxUAV]

do i need to mod my battery? if not, i would be willing to pay $200-300 if it gets 40-50mins of flight time
hell, thats 10-20 miles! imagine the litchi missions with it...

Nope, no modding the battery.

 

[Phantomix]

Nope, no modding the battery.

wow... thats incredible... how much do the batteries cost? and which ones would you recommend using with it?
by the way, this looks like a game changer. I would expect a TON of orders if you market it right for the right price
in my opinion, you should include the batteries if you can because most of the people who are ordering this sort of thing probably dont have the right batteries (the right number of cells, mah, etc.)
also, what kind of batteries would you recommend?

 

[ussvertigo]

Could you leave the mod in, and not attach extra batteries and still use the P4 battery? Or does the mod have to be removed to use without extra batts?

 

[GadgetGuy]

While I enthusiastically applaud this mod, the bare cost of the actual mod itself, without batteries and without the necessary charger, is significantly less than half the price of the total cost of the mod, plus charger, plus batteries, depending upon the mod cost, to actually use the battery mod!

A dual battery charger like the D100 will cost $120, and 2800 mAh MaxAmps are $85 each (you need two), and you will likely want more than one set of external batteries. So, for a decent setup, plan on an additional $300 to properly support it with a single set of batteries, or an additional $470 with two sets of batteries.

So, even at a mod cost of $100, you are looking at $400 total minimum.

I'm personally already all in, and have previously independently made the additional investments for my P3P battery mods, but if you don't already have the necessary charger and external batteries, get out your wallet! Sure, you can save by buying a single charger, and buying less powerful external batteries, but that diminishes the flight time gain, and the touted 30-50 minute flight times will fully depend upon the most powerful and expensive external batteries. I currently use two external 2800 mAh MaxAmps on my P4 with the aircraft battery mod, and my longest flight time has been 30 minutes, averaging closer to 25-27 minutes, from 98% to 15% battery. YMMV. Basically, the P4 battery mod recovers my P3P battery mod flight times, using the P4. Anything over 30 minutes is very speculative, and will require OA being turned on, for the full duration of the flight, limiting flight speeds to 15-22 mph. I normally fly at 25-35 mph with OA off in P mode to get 25-27 minute flight times, with my externals.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Critical question in comparing this battery mod to the aircraft battery mod:

How much will the mod cartridge itself actually weigh?

Every additional gram of payload like this cuts into flight times added by the external batteries. One advantage of the aircraft mod is that it adds no additional weight beyond the connectors and battery plates common to all the battery mods. The cartridge will have a metal connector inside plus the external plastic housing for the internal battery and the external battery connectors. That additional weight will impact flight times, and the weight of externals that can be used, reducing the flight times from this "secret" battery mod below those currently possible with the P4 birdside battery mods.

 

[TheLightSpeedz]

Critical question in comparing this battery mod to the aircraft battery mod:

How much will the mod cartridge itself actually weigh?

Every additional gram of payload like this cuts into flight times added by the external batteries. One advantage of the aircraft mod is that it adds no additional weight beyond the connectors and battery plates common to all the battery mods. The cartridge will have a metal connector inside plus the external plastic housing for the internal battery and the external battery connectors. That additional weight will impact flight times and the weight of externals that can be used.

Eternal optimist


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[ussvertigo]

It does look best with connectors facing down and there not sticking forward in prop wash, minor effect but it's there.

 

[TheLightSpeedz]

Exactly, sorry for the confusion! I should have one to test by the end of the week. I'll post more photos and a video then.

Jake you really think 50 minutes of flight time is possible with all the additional weight?


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[TheLightSpeedz]

While I enthusiastically applaud this mod, the bare cost of the actual mod itself, without batteries and without the necessary charger, is significantly less than half the price of the total cost of the mod, plus charger, plus batteries, depending upon the mod cost.

A dual battery charger like the D100 will cost $120, and 2400 mAh MaxAmps are $85 each (you need two), and you will likely want more than one set of external batteries. So, for a decent setup, plan on an additional $300 to properly support it with a single set of batteries, or an additional $470 with two sets of batteries.

So, even at a mod cost of $100, you are looking at $400 total minimum.

I'm personlly all in, and have already made the additional investments from my P3P battery mods, but if you don't already have the necessary charger and external batteries, get out your wallet! Sure, you can save by buying a single charger, and buying less powerful external batteries, but that diminishes the flight time gain, and the touted 30-50 minute flight times fully depend upon the most powerful and expensive external batteries. I currently use two external 2400 mAh MaxAmps on my P4 with the aircraft mod, and my longest flight time has been 30 minutes, averaging closer to 25-27 minutes, from 98% to 15% battery. YMMV. Basically, the battery mod recovers my P3P battery mod flight times using the P4. Anything over 30 minutes will require OA being turned on, limiting flight speeds to 15-22 mph. I fly at 25-35 mph with OA off in P mode.

Why do you have to have OA on after 30 minutes? How do you know?


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[GadgetGuy]

Jake you really think 50 minutes of flight time is possible with all the additional weight?


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I'm going to go out on a limb here and say never!
30 minutes max unless you fly for distance and really know what you are doing. Then it might be 35 minutes, if you are UnknownCaller!

 

[GadgetGuy]

Why do you have to have OA on after 30 minutes? How do you know?


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Because that is the only way I have ever been able to get longer flight times, with any setup on the P4, whether stock, or modified. That's also the only way any of the P4 users were able to get anywhere close to 25 minutes out of the stock battery, when DJI claims 28 minutes. I have never seen a 28 minute flight with the stock battery. Flying with OA off results in 15-22 minutes, depending upon how you fly with the stock battery. With two external 2800 mAh MaxAmps attached, I average 25-27 minutes on the P4.

 

[John Locke]

I'd be amazed to see more than 35 min flight times with dual externals, which would be about a 50% increase. I hope I'm wrong. I really like Jake's design on this, very clean looking.

 

[RémyHeli]

With multi rotors its important to make sure that your motors can produce around 50% more thrust than the total weight of your drone. Motors are selected accordingly whole aircraft characteristics.

Usual dilemna;
Adding batteries = more flight time
Adding weight = less flight time

How to choose the right motor for your multicopter drone


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[GadgetGuy]

I'd be amazed to see more than 35 min flight times with dual externals, which would be about a 50% increase. I hope I'm wrong. I really like Jake's design on this, very clean looking.

Agreed. At best, this "secret" design can replicate the results of the P4 birdside battery mod, which have already been clearly established. Because this design adds additional weight for the new supplemental sleeve that the original battery fits into, flight dynamics and physics dictate that the flight times must be shorter than the birdside battery mod, using identical external batteries. Even 30 minutes will be a stretch. Anyone promising 35-50 minutes is living in fantasyland!

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Please explain...

You're either not in the US or you've lived a sheltered life if you don't know what that means.

It means that $150US is a crazy price suggestion as the original reference stated. I'm not sure why the guy even threw that out there as the vendor had avoided talking price at all to that point (and still has AFAIK).

I don't understand why users start putting prices in vendor's heads. The vendors already have a price they're contemplating anyway, then somebody comes along and suggest something outrageous and all of a sudden a light goes off with the vendor like, "Wow. Maybe we're underpricing this thing!"

I'm just doing the opposite and putting the whole price thing back in check. It's a nice little piece of tech, but at the end of the day, there's nothing really innovative here. They are tapping existing electrical contacts and expanding them outside the body to add more batteries. It's a neat setup, but it's not exactly something any hobbyist couldn't have done given the right shop to work in. Hell, it's essentially already been done here on the forum. It simply hasn't been mass produced and made turn-key.

I'm not taking anything away from what they've done. Creativity, R&D, and marketing has its price, and I get that. That's essentially how I make a living too, but one cannot simply overlook the overall cost of doing this mod as has been discussed above extensively. The mod costs much more than the plastics and the rails and the wires/plugs, especially if you're not already a hobbyist and own chargers, batteries, etc.

Since everybody else has thrown their hats in the ring, this rig has got to stay below $100US IMPO if they plan to have any chance of recovering their investment. I suspect they already know that. Sure. There's a niche market (here) that will pay more, but selling 100 of these is hardly going to pay for R&D and even the ramp up for production costs. It's a piece of plastic with a metal rail, wires and a plug. It is what it is, and if they want to sell thousands of them, $50-75US is going to be both a great value and a very good seller, but $150US? That dog won't even come close to hunting.

 

[GadgetGuy]

You're either not in the US or you've lived a sheltered life if you don't know what that means.

It means that $150US is a crazy price suggestion as the original reference stated. I'm not sure why the guy even threw that out there as the vendor had avoided talking price at all to that point (and still has AFAIK).

I don't understand why users start putting prices in vendor's heads. The vendors already have a price they're contemplating anyway, then somebody comes along and suggest something outrageous and all of a sudden a light goes off with the vendor like, "Wow. Maybe we're underpricing this thing!"

I'm just doing the opposite and putting the whole price thing back in check.It's a nice little piece of tech, but at the end of the day, there's nothing really innovative here. They are tapping existing electrical contacts and expanding them outside the body to add more batteries. It's a neat setup, but it's not exactly something any hobbyist couldn't have done given the right shop to work in. Hell, it's essentially already been done here on the forum. It simply hasn't been mass produced and made turn-key.

I'm not taking anything away from what they've done. Creativity, R&D, and marketing has its price, and I get that. That's essentially how I make a living too, but one cannot simply overlook the overall cost of doing this mod as has been discussed above extensively. The mod costs much more than the plastics and the rails and the wires/plugs, especially if you're not already a hobbyist and own chargers, batteries, etc.

Since everybody else has thrown their hats in the ring, this rig has got to stay below $100US IMPO if they plan to have any chance of recovering their investment. I suspect they already know that. Sure. There's a niche market (here) that will pay more, but selling 100 of these is hardly going to pay for R&D and even the ramp up for production costs. It's a piece of plastic with a metal rail, wires and a plug. It is what it is, and if they want to sell thousands of them, $50-75US is going to be both a great value and a very good seller, but $150US? That dog won't even come close to hunting.

I know what the expression means. I was asking you to clarify how you meant it, in the context of your post, which you have now done quite more eloquently! I agree with you, especially since the mod itself at any price is still a fraction of the necessary investment to properly utilize it, as I have pointed out above, after the required charger and external batteries are also purchased. Claiming 35-50 minute flight times after purchasing the mod deserves the same response! "Are they high?"

 

[JakeMaxxUAV]

50 minute flight time is on the extreme side, I'll admit, but I wouldn't say it's out of the question. People are constantly finding ways to increase flight times. Someone got 50 minutes with a P3, and yes, I get it, it's a different bird. It all depends how far you're willing to go.

Also, as far as the price and the reason for this survey, it's not about "how much can we increase our profits". It's getting an idea how much people are willing to pay for the mod. That will determine our manufacturing process. If people really want it and are willing to pay a premium, it will be a premium product. If only a few want it, then we'll choose a cheaper manufacturing process. Right now, parts are 3D printed. Material and upfront costs are very cheap, but also a very slow process. We are looking into injection molding, but upfront and manufacturing costs are high, but also very fast. So please, don't get the wrong idea about this survey. Our goal has always been and will always be to offer the highest quality products and service at the cheapest price. We're always looking for ways to reduce prices and improve our products.