Can this solar panel charge mavic 3 batteries?

[charliebicks]

Hello there. I am going on a jungle expedition in Suriname next week. Three of us are going to be totally isolated in the jungle for about 20 days. We will have to kayak about 200kms and cut our way 30kms through virgin jungle to reach the Julianatop, tallest peak of Suriname. Being able to use the drone at greater will be helpful to our expedition.

I bought this solar panel because the voltage seemed enough to be able to charge the intelligent flight battery.

The battery states that it’s nominal voltage is 15.4V and it’s max charge voltage is 17.6V.

Supposedly the solar panel can generate 80W and the voltage through the usb c is 20V, and through the DC port is 28V, though on the back of the solar panel it talks about the open circuit voltage being 24V and the maximum power voltage being 19V.

When I’ve tested the solar panel fully unfolded in direct sunlight via usb c, the panel has not been able to charge the drone battery either in the drone or using the charging which charges all three.

all my batteries otherwise work fine.

Can someone please enlighten me as to why the batteries might not charge?

Perhaps I can charge them using the dc port if I have some kind of transformer?

I am in Suriname already so getting a new solar panel won’t be possible.

Thanks very much.

Charlie

 

[Cafguy]

I am not familiar with solar charging a DJI Drone. Don't you need a MPPT? I am not sure.

 

[mavic3usa]

I know you said there isn't much you can do about it now but I would have brought along a couple good [Anker] power banks and recharge them using the solar panels. The power bank *will* recharge the Mavic 3 batteries. I don't know much about solar panels but they are notoriously over-rated (literally) and you have to use them just right, exactly, to get the max out of them.

 

[Kilrah]

This, an unbuffered solar panel is pretty much useless, either the load is low enough and it works but you're wasting energy you could get, or it's too big and it just cuts out all the time. Need one of those solar-chargeable power stations inbetween with MPPT input and a battery.

 

[BossBob]

What he said. Much better charging a power station when the sun shines with the solar panel and charge the drone battery from the power station whenever it needs charging, even when the sun isn’t shining.

 

[DARKSeifer]

The thing with the solar panels is usually to use them to charge a powerbank and then use the powerbank to charge other things, as it will be more consistent.

 

[Dale D]

Hello there. I am going on a jungle expedition in Suriname next week. Three of us are going to be totally isolated in the jungle for about 20 days. We will have to kayak about 200kms and cut our way 30kms through virgin jungle to reach the Julianatop, tallest peak of Suriname. Being able to use the drone at greater will be helpful to our expedition.

I bought this solar panel because the voltage seemed enough to be able to charge the intelligent flight battery.

The battery states that it’s nominal voltage is 15.4V and it’s max charge voltage is 17.6V.

Supposedly the solar panel can generate 80W and the voltage through the usb c is 20V, and through the DC port is 28V, though on the back of the solar panel it talks about the open circuit voltage being 24V and the maximum power voltage being 19V.

When I’ve tested the solar panel fully unfolded in direct sunlight via usb c, the panel has not been able to charge the drone battery either in the drone or using the charging which charges all three.

all my batteries otherwise work fine.

Can someone please enlighten me as to why the batteries might not charge?

Perhaps I can charge them using the dc port if I have some kind of transformer?

I am in Suriname already so getting a new solar panel won’t be possible.

Thanks very much.

Charlie

First of all I cannot help, but I am jealous of your trip. Can't wait to see your footage. Best of luck and have a great adventure.
Dale
Miami

 

[Capt KO]

Any electronic stores even Walmart will have a suitable powerbank in the $50/100 range that will suit your travels and only weight a few pounds. Your solar panel will be enough to keep it charged in daylight. The bank will be available to charge the batteries 24/7. Have fun and we'll be looking forward to those vids

 

[Dale D]

Any electronic stores even Walmart will have a suitable powerbank in the $50/100 range that will suit your travels and only weight a few pounds. Your solar panel will be enough to keep it charged in daylight. The bank will be available to charge the batteries 24/7. Have fun and we'll be looking forward to those vids

I looked into this one for my Mavic 3 used on Kyrgyszstan trip in July which put me in the middle of nowhere, days drive from anything. The small power banks are not really enough for a big drone battery. I called the power bank company to verify that. I was able to charge the M3 batteries from the car battery with the car adapter that I purchased from Amazon.

Dale
Miami

 

[Capt KO]

I looked into this one for my Mavic 3 used on Kyrgyszstan trip in July which put me in the middle of nowhere, days drive from anything. The small power banks are not really enough for a big drone battery. I called the power bank company to verify that. I was able to charge the M3 batteries from the car battery with the car adapter that I purchased from Amazon.

Dale
Miami
View attachment 181494

Agree he's going to need a lot bigger pack than a phone charger type. My go-to locally has always been my truck battery or my backup jumper with an AC/DC inverter. The jumper battery alone can keep my mavic batteries going for hours, great for beach drone fishing. Works on my Phantom batteries too but the truck battery does the big jobs. Hopefully OP can pull off this jungle trip, outta be interesting.

 

[tlyons]

Hello there. I am going on a jungle expedition in Suriname next week. Three of us are going to be totally isolated in the jungle for about 20 days. We will have to kayak about 200kms and cut our way 30kms through virgin jungle to reach the Julianatop, tallest peak of Suriname. Being able to use the drone at greater will be helpful to our expedition.

I bought this solar panel because the voltage seemed enough to be able to charge the intelligent flight battery.

The battery states that it’s nominal voltage is 15.4V and it’s max charge voltage is 17.6V.

Supposedly the solar panel can generate 80W and the voltage through the usb c is 20V, and through the DC port is 28V, though on the back of the solar panel it talks about the open circuit voltage being 24V and the maximum power voltage being 19V.

When I’ve tested the solar panel fully unfolded in direct sunlight via usb c, the panel has not been able to charge the drone battery either in the drone or using the charging which charges all three.

all my batteries otherwise work fine.

Can someone please enlighten me as to why the batteries might not charge?

Perhaps I can charge them using the dc port if I have some kind of transformer?

I am in Suriname already so getting a new solar panel won’t be possible.

Thanks very much.

Charlie

The only spec that matters is that the Mavic 3 uses PD/PPS. PD (what your solar panel appears to support) has specific voltage profiles and the Mavic 3 requires the 20V one. Watts and amps do not matter except that lower power will charge slower. Your panel claims to support the 20V profile so it should work. PPS is a variable profile that negotiates between charger and device to program a variable voltage; your panel does not do this.
Some ideas:
-do not allow any shade at all across the panel (even a little shade basically turns the panel off)
-angle the panel to point at the sun (flat on ground can gut the power by 1/2 or more.)
-only bother with the USB-C. This "buffers" the voltage to correct the unsteady voltage off the panel directly
-try different USB-C cables if you have them. some do not support PD. shorter is better. the included 7 in 1 looks like junk.
-only charge a single thing at a time until you see it work
-try charging in the drone and using the hub. the charging profiles are different

For next time, get one of these so you can measure what is really happening: https://www.amazon.com/SOOPII-Bi-Directional-Adapter-Voltage-Transparent/dp/B0DQXNWB62/

Good luck!

 

[stairtherefore]

Hello there. I am going on a jungle expedition in Suriname next week. Three of us are going to be totally isolated in the jungle for about 20 days. We will have to kayak about 200kms and cut our way 30kms through virgin jungle to reach the Julianatop, tallest peak of Suriname. Being able to use the drone at greater will be helpful to our expedition.

I bought this solar panel because the voltage seemed enough to be able to charge the intelligent flight battery.

The battery states that it’s nominal voltage is 15.4V and it’s max charge voltage is 17.6V.

Supposedly the solar panel can generate 80W and the voltage through the usb c is 20V, and through the DC port is 28V, though on the back of the solar panel it talks about the open circuit voltage being 24V and the maximum power voltage being 19V.

When I’ve tested the solar panel fully unfolded in direct sunlight via usb c, the panel has not been able to charge the drone battery either in the drone or using the charging which charges all three.

all my batteries otherwise work fine residential solar panels Willis, TX.

Can someone please enlighten me as to why the batteries might not charge?

Perhaps I can charge them using the dc port if I have some kind of transformer?

I am in Suriname already so getting a new solar panel won’t be possible.

Thanks very much.

Charlie

Hello. The problem is due to a voltage mismatch. Your solar panel's USB-C output is 20V, while your drone's battery requires a maximum of 17.6V, which could be preventing it from charging. Additionally, the DC port outputs 28V, which is too high for your battery. To charge the battery safely, you’ll need a DC-DC step-down converter to reduce the voltage from 28V to the required 16-17V. This will allow you to charge your drone battery without damaging it.