How are the batteries charged?

[MavicKhan]

It seems there's no charger in the Fly More Combos.

There was none to be seen in DJI's unboxing video and, upon closer inspection, there's even a brief note appearing in the video stating that combos do not include the charger.

How are the batteries charged, then?

MK

 

[Droning on and on...]

Standard Power Delivery charger, getting pretty universal for devices from the last 2 years or so.

 

[mavic3usa]

I believe you can insert the battery into the drone's battery slot and when plug in the usb cable directly into the drone's usb type C slot and this will charge the battery one at a time. Plug the cable into a brick, your laptop, or a compatible wall charger.

 

[bkushner]

Without hub your charging in the drone. Another Hub ? Early reports were that the Hub will charge all 3 batteries simultaneously I see that is not the case?

 

[MavicKhan]

There is always a way to do something, to find a solution. I get it, sure.

...But the point is: Does DJI now thinks it is OK to deliver a drone that, once unboxed, makes the user unable to fly it because a charger is not included in the box, punishing him/her because they failed to note it is an accessory or being aware enough to notice it is not depicted in the lay out photo of the items included and also failing to notice that, fleeting, cheesy notice in the video?...Why don't they clearly state in the order page that the charger is not included?

EC regulatory authorities really should tackle this. It started with phones, now it's drones...What's next?...Desktop computers without the main cord because "surely you must have one around"...Cars without batteries?

MK

 

[Rilot]

It makes sense from a commercials perspective. They don't need different skus for different territories that use different plugs. Just one global sku.

 

[MavicKhan]

Everything that screws the consumer makes sense, from a commercial perspective.

MK

 

[MavicAir2Marc]

I saw a video this morning about a 3 bay charger that comes with the FMC.

 

[MavicKhan]

Yes...but you till have to feed the 3-bay charger.

My Air 2S also came with a 3-charger (...although in a different, ruler-style, format...) but it also came with an actual charger, to feed said flat bay.

In this case, it seems they're pushing us to buy the 100W USB-C Power Adapter, as an accessory.

MK

​

 

[KLRSKIR]

Yes...but you till have to feed the 3-bay charger.

My Air 2S also came with a 3-charger (...although in a different, ruler-style, format...) but it also came with an actual charger, to feed said flat bay.

In this case, it seems they're pushing us to buy the 100W USB-C Power Adapter, as an accessory.

MK

​

No need, grab a couple of these. They work great.

 

[Torque]

My 160 Watt charger arrived this morning. Always can use another. My 100 Watt stays busy charging laptop, Avata, Mavic 3, Mini 3P, phones, watch, etc., etc.

 

[Droning on and on...]

...But the point is: Does DJI now thinks it is OK to deliver a drone that, once unboxed, makes the user unable to fly it because a charger is not included in the box

Well yes, they do, and thank God. It's about time.

The world is standardizing on Power Delivery as a charging spec. Samsung is just as mean and uncaring these days too. They don't ship power supplies with their phones any more, guess you conclude they don't want their customers to make phone calls.

Most of us welcome this standardization. I'm delighted that I can charge my Avata and Mini3P batteries with the same charger I charge my Z fold 4, just grabbing the same cable and plugging it in. I can use one of several power banks in the field to charge.

Instead of a cabinet full of custom chargers, I'm down to one 200W GaN charger with 3 100W USB-C PD ports and 2 USB-A QC 4.0 ports that charge everything – except my older drones.

Parallel charging units are cheaper, not having a power supply section.

I could go (drone) on and on. This is a very good move by DJI that makes charging much easier, more flexible, and saves us money.

 

[MavicKhan]

There's a saying in Portuguese that goes "Não há mal que não venha para o bem", which roughly translates into "There's no evil that does not come for the good".

Thanks to DJI's new...errr..."approach", I started investigating and found this:

Amazon.es

Same total output as the DJI offer, at roughly half the price (...I paid 52,14 EUR for mine...) and...it features 4 outputs!

I can now charge everything at the same time - Tab + battery in the drone + controller + 3-battery hub.

Color me happy!

MK

 

[Droning on and on...]

Thanks to DJI's new...errr..."approach", I started investigating and found this:

To clarify, this is not DJI's doing, it's The World. DJI is simply getting on board.

I can't emphasize how awesome it is to not have another proprietary charger to have a hard time finding when I haven't flown the drone in months. Or that I don't have to pay for a charger I don't need (already have a bunch of PD chargers).

We're in transition – always some pain. 5 years from now no one will complain at all.

 

[KenG]

I always figured the manufacturer of the product knew the best charger to use. After reading these replies, I'm wondering how to determine what is best for charging our batteries as relates to battery health and longevity. Is there something published somewhere?

 

[Droning on and on...]

I always figured the manufacturer of the product knew the best charger to use. After reading these replies, I'm wondering how to determine what is best for charging our batteries as relates to battery health and longevity. Is there something published somewhere?

A lot has changed with the PD standard that makes issue like this moot.

In short, the batteries themselves are so isolated from the chargers by rather complex electronics on both the source (charger) and sink (drone or charging hub) that it's impossible for the charger to affect battery health and longevity.

The only thing you can do to affect the capacity and cycle-life with these batteries is:

• Try to land with no less than 15-20% as standard operating procedure
• Do not land with less than 15% except in an emergency. Running it down will not damage the battery, but done a lot it will reduce capacity and shorten the life of the cells
• Charge batteries right away, do not let them sit discharged
• The self-discharge mechanism in the DJI Intelligent Batteries is very good... it will discharge first to ~95% after a day, then to ~60% after 10 days (or 9, or 11, or... don't know what it is for the A3 batteries). So don't do anything about discharging yourself. It will make no measurable difference for you to discharge yourself to 60% earlier.

The first 3 are the most important.

 

[KenG]

A lot has changed with the PD standard that makes issue like this moot.

In short, the batteries themselves are so isolated from the chargers by rather complex electronics on both the source (charger) and sink (drone or charging hub) that it's impossible for the charger to affect battery health and longevity.

The only thing you can do to affect the capacity and cycle-life with these batteries is:

• Try to land with no less than 15-20% as standard operating procedure
• Do not land with less than 15% except in an emergency. Running it down will not damage the battery, but done a lot it will reduce capacity and shorten the life of the cells
• Charge batteries right away, do not let them sit discharged
• The self-discharge mechanism in the DJI Intelligent Batteries is very good... it will discharge first to ~95% after a day, then to ~60% after 10 days (or 9, or 11, or... don't know what it is for the A3 batteries). So don't do anything about discharging yourself. It will make no measurable difference for you to discharge yourself to 60% earlier.

The first 3 are the most important.

Thank you for that. Since I'm not likely to harm the batteries with the charger due to the PD standard, would it be safe to assume the higher wattage chargers will charge faster without incident? For example a 60 watt charger vs. a 150 watt charger.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Thank you for that. Since I'm not likely to harm the batteries with the charger due to the PD standard, would it be safe to assume the higher wattage chargers will charge faster without incident? For example a 60 watt charger vs. a 150 watt charger.

Yes!!!

That is the fundamental advantage of PD.

You no longer need to be concerned with voltages, physical connectors, etc. Plug any USB-C PD source into any USB-C PD sink, and it will charge it.

The sink queries the source to find out it's capabilities (voltages available and max current that can be drawn at each voltage).

Then, the sink decides what voltage to request, and controls the power draw to stay within the capability of the charger.

So, plug the A3 with battery inserted into a 24W PD charger and it will probably advertise 5V/2.5A 9V/2A and 12V/2A (fiction, but a typical power spec for a 24W source). The drone will send a message back selecting 12V, draw 2A, and charge at 24W. This charger will take 4-5 hours to charge one battery.

Contrast that with the DJI 65W charger, which has this profile:

5 V, 5 A
9 V, 5 A
12 V, 5 A
15 V, 4.3 A
20 V, 3.25 A
5-20 V, 3.25 A

With that charger, the drone will request 20V, and draw the full 3.25A, charging the battery in 80 minutes (for roughly the second half the drone is ramping down the current – and power – it draws due to the CCCV lithium-ion charge profile... google it).

If the 100W charger is used, the drone will draw 5A @20V for about 30min, then ramping down for the next 30m fully charging a depleted battery in about 60min.

With PD, chargers and devices are "smart", aware of power and voltage options, and negotiate to find the best electrical spec to use given device need and supply capability.

 

[KenG]

Yes!!!

That is the fundamental advantage of PD.

You no longer need to be concerned with voltages, physical connectors, etc. Plug any USB-C PD source into any USB-C PD sink, and it will charge it.

The sink queries the source to find out it's capabilities (voltages available and max current that can be drawn at each voltage).

Then, the sink decides what voltage to request, and controls the power draw to stay within the capability of the charger.

So, plug the A3 with battery inserted into a 24W PD charger and it will probably advertise 5V/2.5A 9V/2A and 12V/2A (fiction, but a typical power spec for a 24W source). The drone will send a message back selecting 12V, draw 2A, and charge at 24W. This charger will take 4-5 hours to charge one battery.

Contrast that with the DJI 65W charger, which has this profile:

5 V, 5 A
9 V, 5 A
12 V, 5 A
15 V, 4.3 A
20 V, 3.25 A
5-20 V, 3.25 A

With that charger, the drone will request 20V, and draw the full 3.25A, charging the battery in 80 minutes (for roughly the second half the drone is ramping down the current – and power – it draws due to the CCCV lithium-ion charge profile... google it).

If the 100W charger is used, the drone will draw 5A @20V for about 30min, then ramping down for the next 30m fully charging a depleted battery in about 60min.

With PD, chargers and devices are "smart", aware of power and voltage options, and negotiate to find the best electrical spec to use given device need and supply capability.

Thank you for the awesome detailed reply. I have definitely learned a few things. Thanks again.
Ken