Checking in....Having Mavic Eyes....bushfire survival plan. What are the chances?

[Fifth Wing]

Long time Mavic pilot, first time post...

…I thrash the heck out of my Mavic Pro having developed several uses beyond just taking images. I check station infrastructure like dams , tanks and perimeter fence while on the high ground in sports mode, exercise horses, guide the roos to more acceptable pastures and fang around with Galahs at Sunset.

I’m in a fortunate position to run my drone on 1200+ acres in uncontrolled airspace in country South Australia. As a result, I fly the original Mavic with all the safeties off and regularly ascend to 1000ft+, deploying atmospheric devices as part of my profession and research. The deployment system is of my own design and build, weighs in at 27grams, one moving part using a ‘physics switch’ for on command release and deployment, independent of the aircraft’s operating system. Max contained payload @ 250 grams with minimum loss of performance. I've performed over 200 deployments of 200 to 250 gram payload with no issues to date...up until now.

Heres the rub… Lately, I've been getting overspeed and battery warnings so I backed off on the throttle 10% when ascending, which returns all the battery conditions back to nominal. I’m still running the original set of three batteries @ 200 cycles each. If this is considered extreme usage, thinking that might be a hint that these might be on the way out….even a fire hazard.

Battery life and usage....is it directly related to unpredictable volatility? Should I be concerned as the Mavic is the best part of my bushfire survival plan....

 

[Skywatcher2001]

Welcome to the forum Fifth Wing . . . happy to have you. If you could post the flight log of one of the 'overspeed and battery warning' flights then @sar104 and @BudWalker can assist you further.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Welcome to the forum 5th.
I have also got overspeed warnings on my M1P, pretty much only in Sports mode, and in fairly brisk winds.
I guess it's just the 2 extremes working against normal flight parameters.

My MP1 original 3 flymore kit batteries are all performing like new (EDIT - 3 years old), so too the 4th I purchased some month or so later.
No swelling etc.
Can still get a good 25 mins out of them, I'm using 8331 MPP props.

I typically fly them down to 20 - 30% if possible (sometimes 40 - 50%) and leave them like that to charge again just before next flight . . . sometimes this can be a month if away working interstate and I take the Spark with me for ease of travel (weight and space).

If there are any fully charged batts after flight outings, I usually leave them to self discharge, set to 5 days.
That way if I decide to go out again a week later, I just open up the bag and press the battery power button for a battery level check and it resets them for another 5 days.

I recently bought 2 new batteries from Teds Cameras, found them on special for $99.50 each, about 33% off the normal $149.
Couldn't resist having the extra 2 new ones for back ups, or big trips where charging might be an issue.

Not sure if they are still available, I had the feeling they might be discontinuing carrying the M1P, not much on their site apart from later model Mavics (and the MPP, but no mention of batteries, even for that).
If interested in new ones, give them an email to ask if they can check on stock of the PT25/PT26 in their store network for you.

Maybe post your flight logs for such a flight, and the analysts here can take a look and see how the warning match up with what's being asked of it.

If you have flight logs for various batteries, some sites exist for drone analysis that can get the battery health check, cell deviations etc.

 

[Thomas B]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

 

[old man mavic]

welcome to the forum

 

[Mossiback]

You mentioned that it is happening lately. Does it happen more on hot days? Hot air is less dense so your Mavic has to work harder on hot days than on cooler days.