Now THIS is a real multi charger!

Correy · Jan 22, 2017

integlikewhoa said:
Well I ended up with the 5 in 1 off amazon. I connected the ground to the board and to the outer housing. Replaced the outlet cord with a 3 wire one. Also added my own shutoff switch.

Switch was 1.99 and 3 foot 3 wire cord was 3.95. Few inches of wire and solder I had already. Took atleast 1 hour of playing around with it.

I decided on no fuse but gave it a good look. Looking how the board slides into the chassis there is no reason for me to place plastic or anything else between the board and chassis.

So is there a 5 in 1 charger out that will meet safe specs that I don't have to do any aftermarket modifications to anyone knows about or maybe has one and works great that can send me a link so I can purchase one. I'm not too good aftermarket modifications would just like to order one and go

Correy Miller

CCDD · Jan 22, 2017

After owning 5 DJI quads and having tested some, not all, aftermarket chargers, I wouldn't recommend to anyone the use of anything but OEM, this also goes for batteries as well. Like I said before, just purchase enough batteries to last you for the longest you plan to fly, then add one or two more. Batteries are much less costly than having to run out and buy a new quad.

3goldens · Jan 22, 2017

MavicMo said:
Yeah, I just bought another charger... The way I approached it was I can save a few bucks by buying a multi-charger or spend a few bucks more and buy a second OEM charger which won't void my warranty or question any potential warranty claim.

Sure it means I'm only charging two batteries at a time, but for my needs thats good enough or fast enough...

I think your right another charger and 4 batteries is the way to go. I am not an electrical genius and would only take a new multi charger and ruin it trying to modify it. As time goes in someone will release a proper one but for the time being, 4 batteries is almost 2 hours of time and I can't imagine flying ina given day more than that.

skypros · Jan 22, 2017

I was against the aftermarket multi-chargers...... and then after reading from allot of folks, I was starting to rethink maybe getting a aftermarket charger. After reading your post CCDD, I am back to being against the aftermarket chargers (for now). I think when the time arises..... I will just get a DJI HUB, and just WAIT for it to do it's thing (3 batteries.... 3+ hours

)

CCDD said:
I've seen similar chargers for my Inspire, actually bought one and noticed flight times dropped significantly and apparent cell damage occurred with repeated use. Some may argue that it doesn't matter what one uses to charge their batteries, I completely disagree. I've carefully monitored those batteries charged solely with the DJI charger and those charged with an aftermarket one. There was significant degradation with those charged with the latter.

CCDD · Jan 22, 2017

skypros said:
I was against the aftermarket multi-chargers...... and then after reading from allot of folks, I was starting to rethink maybe getting a aftermarket charger. After reading your post CCDD, I am back to being against the aftermarket chargers (for now). I think when the time arises..... I will just get a DJI HUB, and just WAIT for it to do it's thing (3 batteries.... 3+ hours )

I'm up to 5 batteries and may even add a 6th. I haven't had a chance to fly my Mavic as much as I'd like due to winter weather. I have the OEM hub and can't see any reason I have to charge all at once however, I'm sure there are a few that need them all available in 1 hour.

Robbyg · Jan 22, 2017

DodgeP said:
No thanks. I'm not in this much of a rush.

Agree! These batteries are the most intelligent batteries I have seen on a piece of gear at this price point. I cannot even remember seeing batteries with upgradable firmware. Those two Pins on the ends of the rows seem to be Data Tx and Rx.
It would not surprise me that it knows when it has been charged by a non DJI charger. I will wait until someone who has used a third party charger returns the Mavic under warranty and lets the world know the outcome.

Robbyg · Jan 22, 2017

CCDD said:
Some may argue that it doesn't matter what one uses to charge their batteries, I completely disagree. I've carefully monitored those batteries charged solely with the DJI charger and those charged with an aftermarket one. There was significant degradation with those charged with the latter.

You are correct. If the 3rd party charger is not charging them on the same graph as the original charger they may damage the batteries. Also DJI might have encrypted the data on the batteries data pins, so a third party charger may be taking a guess at the each cells temperature and voltage.

BmrUpInTheSky · Jan 22, 2017

Okay. I feel we need to clear some things up in this thread. The 5 in 1 is not a charger and neither is the unit that comes from DJI. They are both DC power supplies. All DJI batteries and the Mavic transmitter have the chargers built into them. The only thing they require is a regulated DC power source that can provide enough current at the proper voltage. As long as you have a DC power supply whose output matches that of the OEM power supply you will have zero issues.

I'm not trying to nitpick about calling the power supplies chargers because that's something we've been doing wrong for ages. Anyone that's ever asked to borrow someone's cell phone "charger" has also been incorrect as its just a ~5v ~2amp dc power supply but I'm not about to correct anyone on that and I will continue to call them chargers myself since that is the accepted term. I just want to clear up how a proper DC power supply is all that is required to recharge your DJI gear.

Since I don't have my Mavic yet I had to search online to find the power supply specs. I found the one for the car. Its specs are DC Output: 13.05 V; 6 A; 78 W and says it will charge a battery in 54 min which is faster than the 50w wall charger (1hr 20mins). Build/Buy a DC PS with similar specs and it will perform the same. Triple the current and it can charge 3 batteries in the same time as one.

PropPilot · Jan 23, 2017

In the end folks, go with what you are most comfortable with. I am on the pro 3rd party charger as I am fully comfortable that these batteries have the charging control and algorithm built in and just need a clean regulated DC supply. I believe these are the first batteries that DJI has done this with this topology so the battery internally has the logic around charging and temperature control. There is no communication between the battery and the DJI OEM charger (mobile or plugged in). I will commit to honestly report any issues I see to the board. The charging 'curve' is not controlled by the DJI charger. It is no smarter than a notebook computer charger which is also just a DC power supply as I repurpose those for other purposes all the time.

Per other comments I am reading, the only 'mod' being made is that a couple of us added an ON/OFF switch to the 3rd party charger instead of leaving it powered up or pulling the power cord. It works perfectly out of the box.

Malikye · Jan 23, 2017

integlikewhoa said:
I picked mine up local, but the store is www.frys.com

I installed it by unsoldering the "load" in, right next to where i soldered in the ground wire thats missing. I put the switch inline with the incoming hot wire before it gets to the board.

On the ground wire I soldered it from the plug to the board and to an eye that goes around the bolt that holds the 120v plug to the case. So I have a ground on the case and the board.

I might open it back up for pics later as i didn't think to take any while i was busy working.

The top I drilled a hole and used a square file to open it up to fit my Switch which pushes down and snaps in place.

I thought about putting the switch on the ends instead of top but with the vents it wasn't gonna sit right or look right. So i just put it in the top corner where there was an empty spot on the board and it left me room.

The switch was just a standard two pin, 10 amp mini or micro switch. I didn't get the fancy one thst lights up when on. Lol

would it be possible for you to include pics with these instructions

Thanks!

flumpet · Jan 25, 2017

CCDD said:
I've seen similar chargers for my Inspire, actually bought one and noticed flight times dropped significantly and apparent cell damage occurred with repeated use. Some may argue that it doesn't matter what one uses to charge their batteries, I completely disagree. I've carefully monitored those batteries charged solely with the DJI charger and those charged with an aftermarket one. There was significant degradation with those charged with the latter. There's no reason to purchase such a charger, if you need "fast" turn around time either buy an additional DJI charger, or purchase extra batteries to ensure your day isn't interrupted with the down time needed to recharge. It's all has to do with proper planning and preparation before going out to fly.

That goes without saying of course. Most of us plan a flight well ahead of time and even without a DJi charging hub, we still have sufficient time to charge up before the day of the flight.
However, I live in singapore. Singapore is a small country, getting from one end to the next takes literally 40 minutes. As our drone community in singapore is huge and active(i am in the Singapore drone group whatsapp and see 500+ messages daily!), our members tend to plan inpromptu "flymeets".
Sometimes you wanna just charge 3 batteries at once to prepare for such impromptu meetups. Its easy to say that with proper planning you don't need this, but things rarely happen according to what we plan.

It is not a neccessity, but it is definitely good to have. Don't like it, then don't buy it lor....

* "Lor" is a colloquial Singaporean-English term meaning "then", but said in a lethargic and lacklustre way*

dsd317 · Jan 25, 2017

This is my first aftermarket multi-battery charger for drones.

For my P3P, I just purchased 2 extra DJI chargers (3 total including the one that came with P3P). I did that because the cost of P3 batteries at that time were about $160, so I didn't want to risk it with aftermarket chargers...even though many people have had great results from them.

Since there were many successful experiences with aftermarket mutli-battery chargers for P3's...AND Mavic batteries are almost half the cost of P3 batteries, I thought I give this a try. I'll keep you guys updated on battery performance as time goes on.

benji720 · Feb 2, 2017

Why don't you just wrap the charger in electrical tape? Or vinyl? As long as you keep the venting holes, this will *reduce* the risk...

Can someone also show some pics on how they grounded the case? What did you attach the ground to?

tcope · Feb 6, 2017

CCDD said:
After owning 5 DJI quads and having tested some, not all, aftermarket chargers, I wouldn't recommend to anyone the use of anything but OEM, this also goes for batteries as well. Like I said before, just purchase enough batteries to last you for the longest you plan to fly, then add one or two more. Batteries are much less costly than having to run out and buy a new quad.

Certainly having 6, 7 or 20 fully charged batteries and being able to have them around all of the time would be a good way to go. However, adding two batteries costs around $160. You then need to have a _lot_ of time to charge each battery.

I've used these chargers on a Phantom 3 and 2 Phantom 4s. Never any problems. DJI chargers simply put out volts and amps. The battery does everything else. Hundreds of people use these aftermarket charger without any issues.

Joyceluo · Feb 9, 2017

flumpet said:
My Mavic multicharger from lightake.com, time to ditch my DJI charging hub perhaps?

View attachment 3256

Love the sweet sight of the charger charging 3 batts and the RC at the same time!

Link here: Mavic Pro 5in1 Battery Charger USB Charger Battery Parallel Charger Smartphone Charger Smart Charging for DJI Mavic Pro

*I dont make any thing from posting the link, just purely sharing to the community*

I have one and but from Lightake, too. I also buy one Mavic Pro RC Drone Quadcopter Fast-fold Landing Pad, the price is very nice on Lightake, only $11.99 !!!

PropPilot · Feb 10, 2017

Malikye said:
would it be possible for you to include pics with these instructions Thanks!

I don't know how to link to another thread however search for this one as I posted the pics there

Anyone tried these 5in1 chargers ?

tcope · Feb 10, 2017

CCDD said:
After owning 5 DJI quads and having tested some, not all, aftermarket chargers, I wouldn't recommend to anyone the use of anything but OEM, this also goes for batteries as well. Like I said before, just purchase enough batteries to last you for the longest you plan to fly, then add one or two more. Batteries are much less costly than having to run out and buy a new quad.

Any charger used to charge a DJI battery (even OEM) simply put it a voltage at amps. Nothing else. The blue after market charger being discussed has been tested and puts out the same voltage and amps as the OEM charger. They have also been used by a ton of people and no problems reported. Yes, it would be hard to go wrong with an OEM charger but does not mean aftermarket chargers put batteries at risk.

Dw911 · Feb 10, 2017

benji720 said:
Why don't you just wrap the charger in electrical tape? Or vinyl? As long as you keep the venting holes, this will *reduce* the risk...

Not if it catches fire it won't ;-)
But seriously if someone is thinking of modding something electrical that's carryng mains voltage and has to resort to electrical tape as a quick fix for not really knowing how to mod it safely as others have done on here, then they are probably safer sticking with the genuine dji charger.
As waiting a bit longer for a battery to charge Is always preferable to an electric shock or possibly worse