Has Anyone Tried A Portable Solar Power To Charge Batteries?

[remotepilot]

Anyone? What have you used to keep those batteries charged and keep flying?

There are a quite a number of places that I'd like to visit this summer and, of course, I'll be bringing the car adapter to charge when I can. Some of the places can be about a 6 - 10 mile hike.

Kind Regards,

remotepilot

 

[RayOZ]

Have you considered the output power from a solar charger and calculate the time to charge one of the batteries? For a portable charger it'd take more than a whole day in full sun. And check the output voltage as well. Most would be ~5V. Not enough to even charge the batteries.

 

[remotepilot]

More batteries = more weight to my backpack .

 

[brett8883]

Anyone? What have you used to keep those batteries charged and keep flying?

There are a quite a number of places that I'd like to visit this summer and, of course, I'll be bringing the car adapter to charge when I can. Some of the places can be about a 6 - 10 mile hike.

Kind Regards,

remotepilot

Yea not realistically. If you are an electrical engineer working for NASA I have no doubt. Otherwise, no.

 

[Thomas B]

Anyone? What have you used to keep those batteries charged and keep flying?

There are a quite a number of places that I'd like to visit this summer and, of course, I'll be bringing the car adapter to charge when I can. Some of the places can be about a 6 - 10 mile hike.

Kind Regards,

remotepilot

Is 30,000 mAH enough? It has USB port and will charge my iPhone XMax about 5-6 times.

Amazon.com: Solar Chargers 30,000mAh,Dualpow Portable Dual USB Solar Battery Charger External Battery Pack Phone Charger Power Bank with Flashlight for Smartphones Tablet Camera (Orange)

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[brett8883]

Is 30,000 mAH enough? It has USB port and will charge my iPhone XMax about 5-6 times.

Amazon.com: Solar Chargers 30,000mAh,Dualpow Portable Dual USB Solar Battery Charger External Battery Pack Phone Charger Power Bank with Flashlight for Smartphones Tablet Camera (Orange)

Buy Solar Chargers 30, 000mAh, Dualpow Portable Dual USB Solar Battery Charger External Battery Pack Phone Charger Power Bank with Flashlight for Smartphones Tablet Camera (Orange): Portable Power Banks - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

There is a absolutely no way to get that to charge a Mavic battery. You’d need 8 of those daisy chained together but even then, that’s a battery bank that has a way to charge via solar in case of emergency probably over days. It’s not actually a “solar charger.”

 

[Thomas B]

There is a absolutely no way to get that to charge a Mavic battery. You’d need 8 of those daisy chained together but even then, that’s a battery bank that has a way to charge via solar in case of emergency probably over days. It’s not actually a “solar charger.”

Thx, true enough, just wondering since it charges itself by solar power... now I know.

 

[brett8883]

Thx, true enough, just wondering since it charges itself by solar power... now I know.

It’s not just a matter of Mah it’s a matter of current and voltage. The Mavic batteries require a 13v charging voltage at least 3 amps. That battery bank supplies a 5v at 2.1 amp charge. To increase the voltage you’d need to string 3 of those banks in sequence +to-to+to-to+. And then to get the increase in amps you’d need a second set of three +to-to+to-to+ and connect those 2 blocks of 3 together in parallel +to+-to-. So you need 6 not 8 my bad.

 

[AMann]

It’s not just a matter of Mah it’s a matter of current and voltage. The Mavic batteries require a 13v charging voltage at least 3 amps. That battery bank supplies a 5v at 2.1 amp charge. To increase the voltage you’d need to string 3 of those banks in sequence +to-to+to-to+. And then to get the increase in amps you’d need a second set of three +to-to+to-to+ and connect those 2 blocks of 3 together in parallel +to+-to-. So you need 6 not 8 my bad.

Or... there’s always an electrofishing backpack- we used to use a gas powered one when I used to do fisheries biology work, its a small gasoline engine and alternator on a backpack - horrible things! Now they use lithium and gelcell packs. Lots of power to go.

I think OP may do best with extra flight batteries and a charging bank for his controller and phone.

 

[brett8883]

Or... there’s always an electrofishing backpack- we used to use a gas powered one when I used to do fisheries biology work, its a small gasoline engine and alternator on a backpack - horrible things! Now they use lithium and gelcell packs. Lots of power to go.

I think OP may do best with extra flight batteries and a charging bank for his controller and phone.

Like you’d shock the fish with it? lol that’s awesome and horrible at the same time!

 

[AMann]

Like you’d shock the fish with it? lol that’s awesome and horrible at the same time!

Its for stream sampling- stuns them and they come to in a bit. Also used it to catch and remove junk fish that didnt belong there to protect the native steelhead trout and salmon.

 

[brett8883]

Anyone? What have you used to keep those batteries charged and keep flying?

There are a quite a number of places that I'd like to visit this summer and, of course, I'll be bringing the car adapter to charge when I can. Some of the places can be about a 6 - 10 mile hike.

Kind Regards,

remotepilot

Just get one of these.

Smatree Mavic Pro Portable Charging Station Compatible for DJI Mavic Pro/DJI Mavic Platinum Drone Intelligent Flight Battery(Not for Mavic 2 pro/Mavic 2 Zoom) Amazon.com: Smatree Mavic Pro Portable Charging Station Compatible for DJI Mavic Pro/DJI Mavic Platinum Drone Intelligent Flight Battery(Not for Mavic 2 pro/Mavic 2 Zoom): Electronics

They have one for the Mavic 2 as well.

 

[AMann]

Just get one of these.

Smatree Mavic Pro Portable Charging Station Compatible for DJI Mavic Pro/DJI Mavic Platinum Drone Intelligent Flight Battery(Not for Mavic 2 pro/Mavic 2 Zoom) Amazon.com: Smatree Mavic Pro Portable Charging Station Compatible for DJI Mavic Pro/DJI Mavic Platinum Drone Intelligent Flight Battery(Not for Mavic 2 pro/Mavic 2 Zoom): Electronics

They have one for the Mavic 2 as well.

It takes over an hour to charge 2 batteries. I thought about one of these too, but the time to recharge is a limitation. So I just take extra charged flight batteries instead, and they can also be used to charge the remote.

 

[Deleted member 94047]

OP doesn't say what he is flying but for the MAVIC AIR the Smatree portable charging station charges three batteries simultaneously in under 45 minutes. I have used it, it works great.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

OP doesn't say what he is flying but for the MAVIC AIR the Smatree portable charging station charges three batteries simultaneously in under 45 minutes. I have used it, it works great.

But you can carry 13(.44) Mavic Air batteries for the weight of the Smatree . . . no good for hikes, he was worried about carrying extra batteries !!
I suggest having 4 to 6 batteries, and a decent vehicle charging setup (could be the Smatree in the car for that) for when you get back from your hike.

 

[Deleted member 94047]

But you can carry 13(.44) Mavic Air batteries for the weight of the Smatree . . . no good for hikes, he was worried about carrying extra batteries !!
I suggest having 4 to 6 batteries, and a decent vehicle charging setup (could be the Smatree in the car for that) for when you get back from your hike.

Actually 10 - MA batteries weigh 140g and the Smatree weights 1450g. But your point still stands although buying 10 batteries could be very expensive. It all depends on whatelse you are carrying ofcourse but 1.4kgs is not exactly heavy.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Actually 10 - MA batteries weigh 140g and the Smatree weights 1450g. But your point still stands although buying 10 batteries could be very expensive. It all depends on whatelse you are carrying ofcourse but 1.4kgs is not exactly heavy.

Ah yes, I read the item weight 1.882kg, that is also the shipping weight, so yes 10 batteries as a comparo weight . . . of course you don't NEED 10 batteries to give you enough flight time for stated 6 - 10 mile hike.
1.4kgs extra weight adds up, especially with some basic hiking gear and the extra drone stuff.

Probably 4 or 5 batteries would be more than ample, if using a safe flight time of say 15 mins, that gives a decent 1hr - 1 hr 15 mins flying.

When I travel 4WD'n, the 12v DJI charger is fine at drive charging volts / amps . . . but I use a step converter anyway.
It boosts 12.7v at rest vehicle battery to 13.8v, can charge MP batteries very fast, in fact a lot faster than the mains charger.
With 4 MP batteries, I can fly almost continuously whenever I like, considering we drive for 2 or 3 hours, stop, maybe fly a couple of batteries looking around a place, drive again.

When I bushwalk (hike) a Droneguard BP250 takes all the kit and 4 batteries to give me minimum 1.5hrs flight (plenty), controllers lasts pretty well for that, but I take a small powerbank in case needed.

 

[AMann]

Actually 10 - MA batteries weigh 140g and the Smatree weights 1450g. But your point still stands although buying 10 batteries could be very expensive. It all depends on whatelse you are carrying ofcourse but 1.4kgs is not exactly heavy.

For me its the time of daylight - (time hiking in + time charging) that determines what I use in the backcountry.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

For me its the time of daylight - (time hiking in + time charging) that determines what I use in the backcountry.

Shaded panels, sun orientation when walking trails, overhead canopy / partial sun, only small output panels are practical to carry on a pack, not even enough to keep a phone charged properly . . . simply not practical or worthwhile trying at this stage of solar development, but one day this might change.

When I do anything other than day walks, I simply take no technology with me, phone charged and off in bag, and a little P&S digital camera suffices for happy snaps.

 

[Photolounge]

Anyone? What have you used to keep those batteries charged and keep flying?

There are a quite a number of places that I'd like to visit this summer and, of course, I'll be bringing the car adapter to charge when I can. Some of the places can be about a 6 - 10 mile hike.

Kind Regards,

remotepilot

Have used this and is awesome, might be a bit large for hiking but for places with no recharging points ideal, PowaPacs ATOM - 60,000mAh Portable Drone Charging Station