Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy!)

[GearLoose]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

I happily accept those conditions -- and I just bought digital calipers so I can probably mock up any likely candidate and see if it fits inside my P2 shell. I'm less interested in homemade batteries (though if you can cobble together a cheap 15 minute battery, yes!) than off-the-shelf. If I can continue to get ten minutes in the air with a "cushion" of at least 60-120 seconds, for a more affordable price, I'll be very content.

What have you got?

I avoided the "other batteries" question because I don't have a P1.5, I have a P1 with the bottom shell carved out to take a battery nearly as big as can fit into the P2 shell. I'm just a squatter in this thread

But to the extent a P1.5 is just a cleaner, easier version of the P1 carve-out mod, I'm happy to answer any questions relating to running larger 3rd party and homemade batteries with the Phantom. I just can't speak personally to whether certain batteries FIT the P2 shell well or not...

 

[OI Photography]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

GearLoose, if you're willing to do a little carving in the battery bay in the P2 shell, I was able to prove this weekend that it is possible to fit 2 maddog 2700mAh batteries inside together. First flight test yielded about 20% less flight time than a single 5400mAh batt.

The only single batt I've tested is the 5400mAh from ThunderPower, but that'll run you $100 or more for each one.

 

[GearLoose]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

OI, I assume that carving the bay requires removing the main board? How does that affect also using the P2 battery, or are you sticking with after-market batteries?

Does the ThunderPower require carving?

P.S. Just found this ThunderPower for under $50. It is a "Surface" battery, however, so I assume that isn't compatible.
http://www.thunderpowerrc.com/Products/ ... 00-3SSRJXT

Their "Air" 5400 is $117, which is still a good savings over the P2 battery.

thanks!

GearLoose, if you're willing to do a little carving in the battery bay in the P2 shell, I was able to prove this weekend that it is possible to fit 2 maddog 2700mAh batteries inside together. First flight test yielded about 20% less flight time than a single 5400mAh batt.

The only single batt I've tested is the 5400mAh from ThunderPower, but that'll run you $100 or more for each one.

 

[OI Photography]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

OI, I assume that carving the bay requires removing the main board? How does that affect also using the P2 battery, or are you sticking with after-market batteries?

Does the ThunderPower require carving?

P.S. Just found this ThunderPower for under $50. It is a "Surface" battery, however, so I assume that isn't compatible.
http://www.thunderpowerrc.com/Products/ ... 00-3SSRJXT

Their "Air" 5400 is $117, which is still a good savings over the P2 battery.

thanks!

GearLoose, if you're willing to do a little carving in the battery bay in the P2 shell, I was able to prove this weekend that it is possible to fit 2 maddog 2700mAh batteries inside together. First flight test yielded about 20% less flight time than a single 5400mAh batt.

The only single batt I've tested is the 5400mAh from ThunderPower, but that'll run you $100 or more for each one.

That $50 TP batt might work (if it'll fit), but it's rather heavy for the capacity...better for 4WD vehicles than multirotors.

The 5400 TP batt I used (which I assume is the same $117 model you found) does take a little carving of the rails on one side of the battery bay, which will probably prevent you from being able to use P2 batts...but that's fine with me, I never even installed the P2 power connector in my 1.5. Stuffing 2 maddogs requires carving up the rails on the other side as well.

 

[GearLoose]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

For better or worse I'm already committed to the P2 battery as I have two of them, so I can't afford to modify the battery bay if that prevents me from using my existing batteries. Well, perhaps I'm better off waiting for some enterprising cloner to come up with an after-market P2 battery....

Thanks, OI; I appreciate your replies.

Tomorrow is the P1.5's maiden Ground Station flight. My pulse is already increasing.

GearLoose, if you're willing to do a little carving in the battery bay in the P2 shell, I was able to prove this weekend that it is possible to fit 2 maddog 2700mAh batteries inside together. First flight test yielded about 20% less flight time than a single 5400mAh batt.

The only single batt I've tested is the 5400mAh from ThunderPower, but that'll run you $100 or more for each one.

That $50 TP batt might work (if it'll fit), but it's rather heavy for the capacity...better for 4WD vehicles than multirotors.

The 5400 TP batt I used (which I assume is the same $117 model you found) does take a little carving of the rails on one side of the battery bay, which will probably prevent you from being able to use P2 batts...but that's fine with me, I never even installed the P2 power connector in my 1.5. Stuffing 2 maddogs requires carving up the rails on the other side as well.

 

[PJA]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

The 5400 TP batt I used (which I assume is the same $117 model you found) does take a little carving of the rails on one side of the battery bay, which will probably prevent you from being able to use P2 batts...but that's fine with me, I never even installed the P2 power connector in my 1.5. Stuffing 2 maddogs requires carving up the rails on the other side as well.

Oh The Pain! ... of having to hear about cutting up the rails... I think having the best of both worlds in battery choices (original P2 or other Lipo's) in a P1.5 is the way to go... (no offense OI... )

PS: I started the rebuild on my P1.5 yesterday...

 

[GearLoose]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

PJA, it sounds as if you may be using both P2 and other lipos in your P1.5? I'm digging back through this thread, trying to sort this out and came across your reference to a Glacier battery. Have you used it or anything similar? I'd really like to find a solution that allows me to use either the P2 or another lipo!

http://www.buddyrc.com/glacier-35c-5300mah-3s1p.html

The 5400 TP batt I used (which I assume is the same $117 model you found) does take a little carving of the rails on one side of the battery bay, which will probably prevent you from being able to use P2 batts...but that's fine with me, I never even installed the P2 power connector in my 1.5. Stuffing 2 maddogs requires carving up the rails on the other side as well.

Oh The Pain! ... of having to hear about cutting up the rails... I think having the best of both worlds in battery choices (original P2 or other Lipo's) in a P1.5 is the way to go... (no offense OI... )

PS: I started the rebuild on my P1.5 yesterday...

 

[ElGuano]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

So in a nutshell, until recently the only option for large capacity 3S batteries that fit the Phantom shell were DYI - run two 2200s in parallel or combine them into a single 3S2P pack. This is probably one of the more cautious soldering jobs to approach, but if you're careful and methodical, also the cheapest. A 320g 4400mah pack gets you about 15 minutes flight with a 1200g Phantom. A 397g 5400mah pack gets about 19-20 minutes. We're talking about $20 to $60 per battery.

Nowadays you have a few retail options. Thunderpower makes a ~$100 5400mah pack that seems excellent, I haven't tried it myself since it's still a bit expensive. Walkera has a 5200mah pack for the QX 350 Pro that works decently if you don't mind extreme voltage sag and adjusting your alarms down a few tenths of a volt. And now Banggood has even cheaper 5200mah packs that look like a "you get what you pay for" kind of deal. But if you're not into soldering, now you don't have to.

HK has a range of 4500-5000mah batteries that may fit the P2. What you really want to measure is length - a Phantom battery or 3S2P should be around 105mm. A lot of 5000mah cells are 115mm+, which is probably a bit too long for a standard size door to close. As with the P1, I'm sure you can find a P2 extended door, but on the P1.5 that probably means being mindful of where you're sticking the LED.

 

[pcpmonforte]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

Hello people.
I just finished my upgrade to Phantom 1.5.
I changed the led to the upper shell P2.
Best regards from Galicia, Spain

 

[ElGuano]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

Hello people.
I just finished my upgrade to Phantom 1.5.
I changed the led to the upper shell P2.
Best regards from Galicia, Spain

Nice job Pablo, I like how clean your LED retrofit is (but doesn't this make it more difficult to remove the top shell?).
I also notice you have one of the clone "Ttongr" batteries. Just wondering if you're aware of the recall on them (possibility of losing all power upon application of throttle)?

 

[pcpmonforte]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

Hello people.
I just finished my upgrade to Phantom 1.5.
I changed the led to the upper shell P2.
Best regards from Galicia, Spain

Nice job Pablo, I like how clean your LED retrofit is (but doesn't this make it more difficult to remove the top shell?).
I also notice you have one of the clone "Ttongr" batteries. Just wondering if you're aware of the recall on them (possibility of losing all power upon application of throttle)?

Thank you.
I was putting the LED to avoid having to put an extension cable to Naza.
It took some effort, because I had to make a hole where there is hardly beside the GPS.
I had to compress all pretty. What I found most difficult was the USB connector.
Thanks for the warning about these Ttrong batteries. After placing the order, so I canceled, but later got in my house.
My intention is to check only with caution. I have not yet tested in flight, only I have recharged with charger DJI P2.

 

[GearLoose]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

El Guano, this is an excellent summary of battery options for the P1.5! I've copied it to my battery advice file and will pass it on to others. Thank you!

I've also reviewed your blog post about battery mods but don't know if I'm ready to go that route or not. I'm thinking of buying one off-the-shelf battery as a test, see where it takes me.

Had a rough day doing a maiden Ground Station flight that turned into a pulse-pounding failsafe escapade. I'm still not sure what happened but it seemed that the Phantom didn't stop at the single waypoint and just kept going toward a line of tall trees. It wasn't a runaway but thanks to a series of piloting errors in trying to recover control it got ugly very fast.

I ended up doing a high-speed hand catch at the cost of two broken legs on the extended landing gear. Now I have to figure out why I can't maintain a steady connection between the GS and the iPad.

Ironically, this mess helped me solve the problem of the P2 battery not fitting all the way into the battery bay. Turned out I'd mounted my Tarot with over-long hex screws, which blocked the battery from seating completely.

Onward through the fog!

So in a nutshell, until recently the only option for large capacity 3S batteries that fit the Phantom shell were DYI - run two 2200s in parallel or combine them into a single 3S2P pack. This is probably one of the more cautious soldering jobs to approach, but if you're careful and methodical, also the cheapest. A 320g 4400mah pack gets you about 15 minutes flight with a 1200g Phantom. A 397g 5400mah pack gets about 19-20 minutes. We're talking about $20 to $60 per battery.

Nowadays you have a few retail options. Thunderpower makes a ~$100 5400mah pack that seems excellent, I haven't tried it myself since it's still a bit expensive. Walkera has a 5200mah pack for the QX 350 Pro that works decently if you don't mind extreme voltage sag and adjusting your alarms down a few tenths of a volt. And now Banggood has even cheaper 5200mah packs that look like a "you get what you pay for" kind of deal. But if you're not into soldering, now you don't have to.

HK has a range of 4500-5000mah batteries that may fit the P2. What you really want to measure is length - a Phantom battery or 3S2P should be around 105mm. A lot of 5000mah cells are 115mm+, which is probably a bit too long for a standard size door to close. As with the P1, I'm sure you can find a P2 extended door, but on the P1.5 that probably means being mindful of where you're sticking the LED.

 

[PJA]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

Looks like this thread has been abandoned... Let me see if I can revive interest in it...

This weekend I was tired of seeing my P1.5 just sitting on my bench in pieces; destroyed from it's last epic crash. In the last month I bought all the necessary pieces to put it back together. So, on Saturday at midnight, in 2 feverishly, possessed like hours, I completed the build until I was too tired to focus anymore. Not being able to sleep I worked on it for another hour at 7AM... Then I gave it the finishing touches late in the afternoon on Saturday, hooked it up to the NAZA Assistant on my computer, threw on unbalanced props... took it outside before dark and made a test flight...

Needless to say, I was very pleased with how it handled. I took 3 short flights. About 6 minutes with a P2 battery and two flights with my 2700 Mad Dogs (separate, of course)...

I got rid of the TALL & WIDE landing gear and put on my Carbon Fiber Clones... My Garmin GTU 10 was on board for the ride... I added my old GLB Gimbal and half broken GoPro (from the crash) for the on board camera... I'm adding the Zemuse Gimbal to my f550...

There is no more wobbling as it hovers (thanks to getting rid of those **** landing gears). Handling was smooth and clean (except for my imperfect piloting)... The only thing I did notice was a little shimmy in the GoPro footage, which I think was because I didn't balance the new props... They will be balanced for my next flight.

The damage added up this way:
I needed a new P2 Shell ($65.00), a green ESC (of which I had a few used spares), a new P2 Power Connector ($10.00), New set of 9443 Carbon Fiber Props ($18.00), and I did some rewiring... CanBus port is now internal (not in use right now), Flytrex Core 1 has been removed temporarily. I plan on getting the smaller version Core 2 and use my Core 1 for my f550...

Below is an image of my new build and the test flight video...

Video:

https://vimeo.com/96960047

Thanks to everyone for their support! I went the better route and rebuilt my P1.5... My Phantom Flying days are back!

 

[GearLoose]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

PJA, this is very good news. It sometimes requires working in a frenzy in order to overcome the feelings of doubt and discouragement after a serious crash. Believe me, I've been there!

I'm interested in your unflattering comment about the extended landing gear and your solution. I added the extended stock-style gear to my 1.5 and I've already broken and mended it twice. The gear is so weak that I snapped a leg doing a hand-catch.

What landing gear did you replace yours with?

I'll be out of touch for a couple of weeks but when I return I hope you've all finally found the perfect affordable lightweight after-market battery, the one that gives 25 minutes of aggressive flying time. Or at least 15 minutes.....

Welcome back!

 

[PJA]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

I'm interested in your unflattering comment about the extended landing gear and your solution. I added the extended stock-style gear to my 1.5 and I've already broken and mended it twice. The gear is so weak that I snapped a leg doing a hand-catch.

What landing gear did you replace yours with?

That TALL & WIDE landing gear is too weak and unbalanced, in my opinion... I didn't like it from the get-go...

Here is the link for my Carbon Fiber landing gear:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DJI-PHANTOM...Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item338dbbb19b

And here is a link for extensions that I use to bring the Gimbal further away from the ground:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DJI-Phantom...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item3a87019ab6

The extensions can be used with the original landing gear also, and work very well...

I hope this helps...

 

[Captc]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

Hi gang

I am rebuilding my P1.5 and moving the H3-2D from the F550 to the P1.5. I have the upgrade board and the canbus mod so I can use the IOSD Mini and the AVL58. I planned to use the FPV Hub but I am confused as to the connections. Do I need to connect the upgrade board to the FPV hub? The cables are very short what is the best place to mount the hub.

Thanks

Charlie


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[PJA]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

If I was to put 2 of these batteries side by side, would they fit comfortably in the P2 Shell?

http://www.maxamps.com/Lipo-2800-111-Phantom-Pack.htm

MaxAmps are: 106mm x 34mm x 25mm ---- Side by side = 106mm X 34mm by 50mm

My Maddogs 2700's won't fit side by side because of the size of their width when side by side: 103mm x 35mm x 28 mm.
And using them one at a time is only yielding me 5 to 5 1/2 minutes of flight time for some reason, where I was getting 10 minutes from one Maddog before...

Could I expect to get between 12 to 15 minutes of flight with a 1380gram Phantom 1.5 and two MaxAmps Batts?

My problem is trying to get more flight time without buying a battery that needs the inside compartment carved out (cringe ). My P2 battery, for some unknown reason, craps out at 5 minutes and still has 2 bars solid and one blinking... Second time in a row that's happened to me in flight. Good thing I didn't take my Phantom for a distant ride... However, this is the battery that I crashed with (see a few posts back) and I was 5 minutes out when it happened. So something is wrong with my P2 battery and I can't justify buying another and the same thing happens.

Even though the MaxAmps are also pricey, I know they are regular LIPO's without DJI's 'intelligent ****' attached to them. All I'm looking for are good lipos to get me out and about for up to 12 to 15 minutes flight time so I can do some decent distance and not worry about returning in a hurry...

Any suggestions from any P1.5 peeps who have found any other batteries we can use...

Please LMK...

Thanks...

EDIT: After reading what I just wrote, I realize all my batteries are crapping out at @ 5 minutes... Is it possible I have some sort of setting wrong in the Naza Assistant? I do get the red LED before I had to either land, or my Phantom auto-landed...

Any help from the P1.5 community would be greatly appreciated, as always...

 

[ElGuano]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

Could I expect to get between 12 to 15 minutes of flight with a 1380gram Phantom 1.5 and two MaxAmps Batts?

EDIT: After reading what I just wrote, I realize all my batteries are crapping out at @ 5 minutes... Is it possible I have some sort of setting wrong in the Naza Assistant? I do get the red LED before I had to either land, or my Phantom auto-landed...

12-15min is definitely doable with 1380g on 5200-5600mah, I'd say that's a good target to shoot for.

I think your measurements for the dual-maddogs are pretty much spot-on. If combined (getting rid of extra tape/heatshrink) they're 55mm wide, so 28mm each works.

If you were getting 10min before on a Maddog, you shouldn't be bottoming out at 5min now, it does seem like an incorrect settings somewhere. I assume your AUW is about 1220g with a single Maddog? What are your voltage settings in Assistant, and does it read an accurate 12.5-12.60v when you install a fully charged battery?

 

[OI Photography]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

PJ, I'll soon be testing some other 2700-2800mAh batt options to see if I can find some that are worth it and also fit in to the P1 bay when paired. I didn't have the maxamps model you linked on my list, but if I can spare the price when I get around to testing I'll try to include it.

 

[PJA]

Re: Video: Fitted my Phantom v1 into a Phantom 2 shell (easy

If you were getting 10min before on a Maddog, you shouldn't be bottoming out at 5min now, it does seem like an incorrect settings somewhere. I assume your AUW is about 1220g with a single Maddog? What are your voltage settings in Assistant, and does it read an accurate 12.5-12.60v when you install a fully charged battery?

I calibrated a fully charged P2 battery in the Naza Assistant...

My levels are as shown:

First Level Protection: NO LOAD: 11.30V - LOSS: 0.60V - LOADED: 10.70V

Second Level Protection: NO LOAD: 11.20V - LOSS: 0.60V - LOADED: 10.60V

I tried to look for advice you gave to others on these threads for Level Protection, and I found this advice you gave someone. This guy had the same values I have and was also getting only 5 minutes of flight time...

ELGuano wrote:
Your low voltage alarms are way too high. If you land at red flashes, you're probably using 30% of your available capacity. I'd recommend:

Low voltage level 1:
10.6v no load, 0 line loss, 10.6v loaded

Low voltage level 2:
10.5v no load, 0 line loss, 10.5v loaded.

Make sure you land very shortly once you see the low voltage level one flashing red. That'll give you a lot more flight time and use up your battery to the recommended 80% discharge.


Would these levels be OK for my P2 Battery and my 2700 single Maddogs in my P1.5 Conversion Phantom?

If that's the case, I have no idea how any of these values changed in the last month or two... I never touched the default settings...