In-depth review of Mavic Pro extended capacity battery (Hobbitec 6830mAh) - Performance and raised questions

[Conservative Nihilist]

That happened to me on a pair of extended Mavic Pro Batts. One was fine. I lodge a complaint with AliExpress, not the company and did received a refund. The company wasnt happy as they said they would have too care of it. I did order 2 more for the M2P and they were good. Then another for the M2P and it was good. Took one apart and posted pics on a forum. I now ordered another for the M2P and a 12000mah for the Air2. See what happens.

It is amazing to learn that you were able to get a refund on the dud Mavic 1 Pro battery that you bought on Ali Express. I looked everywhere on that website but was unable to find any means to lodge a complaint, so I just took the loss. Now I wish I had looked for a means to contact the seller with more patient determination.

 

[ImtiazM60]

I just recently purchased a 12,000 mAh Mavic 1 pro, extended high capacity battery. Only recently i purchased my 2nd hand Mavic 1 pro, with 3 spare batteries. So i'm excited to see how far i can push this thing with the new extra large battery. On the ad they claim that it can hover up to 55 minutes, or fly 45 mins minimum. Some of the users claim to get 1 hour fly time before battery runs empty. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...o.order_list.order_list_main.5.610d1802MLVJdh

 

[GadgetGuy]

I just recently purchased a 12,000 mAh Mavic 1 pro, extended high capacity battery. Only recently i purchased my 2nd hand Mavic 1 pro, with 3 spare batteries. So i'm excited to see how far i can push this thing with the new extra large battery. On the ad they claim that it can hover up to 55 minutes, or fly 45 mins minimum. Some of the users claim to get 1 hour fly time before battery runs empty. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...o.order_list.order_list_main.5.610d1802MLVJdh

YMMV!
Depends upon the environment, the speed, and how low you are willing to go on the battery. DJI's stipulations on their advertised claims are 100% to 0% in a windless condition at sea level traveling at a constant speed of 15mph with OA off, and no recording or photography during the flight.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

I just recently purchased a 12,000 mAh Mavic 1 pro, extended high capacity battery. Only recently i purchased my 2nd hand Mavic 1 pro, with 3 spare batteries. So i'm excited to see how far i can push this thing with the new extra large battery. On the ad they claim that it can hover up to 55 minutes, or fly 45 mins minimum. Some of the users claim to get 1 hour fly time before battery runs empty. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...o.order_list.order_list_main.5.610d1802MLVJdh

Holy smokes that is an insanely huge capacity battery for the Mavic 1 Pro. Please do let us know how long it flies, and how many miles it covers with this behemoth battery. I am guessing you'll see well over TEWNTY miles round trip with a 12,000 mAh battery.

By the way, and just in case you aren't already aware, it is absolutely VITAL that you must zip tie ALL batteries for ALL flights with your Mavic 1 Pro because this model, and the Mavic 2 Pro, rolled off the assembly line with weak battery retention clips that are prone to spontaneously detach on longer flights, resulting in a crash.

I lost THREE of these models before I adopted the zip-tie idea, after which I lost no more, even on the longest flights that for me were more than 13 miles round trip, traveled under Litchi's waypoint mission control, which always brings the drone back home after journeys extending far beyond RC signal reach

 

[GadgetGuy]

By the way, and just in case you aren't already aware, it is absolutely VITAL that you must zip tie ALL batteries for ALL flights with your Mavic 1 Pro because this model, and the Mavic 2 Pro, rolled off the assembly line with weak battery retention clips that are prone to spontaneously detach on longer flights, resulting in a crash.

Why should the length of the flight have anything to do with spontaneous detachment of the battery retention clips, unless the weight of the aftermarket extended battery is putting excessive pressure on the clips?

With OEM batteries, it is only the additional swelling of the batteries from heat that creates the pressure on the clips that can cause detachment. Granted, longer flights have the potential to generate more heat in the battery, resulting in more swelling, but unless the ambient air temperature is already high, a normal, unswelled battery should not be detaching, regardless of the flight duration.

That being said, no harm in zip-tying the battery for an extra measure of safety.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Why should the length of the flight have anything to do with spontaneous detachment of the battery retention clips, unless the weight of the aftermarket extended battery is putting excessive pressure on the clips?

With OEM batteries, it is only the additional swelling of the batteries from heat that creates the pressure on the clips that can cause detachment. Granted, longer flights have the potential to generate more heat in the battery, resulting in more swelling, but unless the ambient air temperature is already high, a normal, unswelled battery should not be detaching, regardless of the flight duration.

That being said, no harm in zip-tying the battery for an extra measure of safety.

My layman's speculation is that the battery clips of the Mavic 1 Pro and Mavic 2 Pro were fabricated with a polymer that becomes pliable as the drone's battery heats up during the final miles of longer flights. The added weight of bulkier extra-range after-market batteries for the M1P and M2P places even greater strain on those dicey battery clips, and I only wish I'd stumbled on the zip-tie idea in this forum a tad earlier than I eventually did. Now I use zip ties to secure my M1P and M2P drone batteries for each flight, regardless of whether the battery is a stock-sized one or a "double-decker" monster battery.

As you mentioned, the risk of battery clip failure is a compelling reason to discontinue using batteries that have even a subtle swelling. Due to fire concerns, I typically deep-six any swollen batteries and order replacement non-DJI batteries, now that OEM ones are becoming a rarity for these older DJI quadcopters.

 

[GadgetGuy]

My layman's speculation is that the battery clips of the Mavic 1 Pro and Mavic 2 Pro were fabricated with a polymer that becomes pliable as the drone's battery heats up during the final miles of longer flights. The added weight of bulkier extra-range after-market batteries for the M1P and M2P places even greater strain on those dicey battery clips, and I only wish I'd stumbled on the zip-tie idea in this forum a tad earlier than I eventually did. Now I use zip ties to secure my M1P and M2P drone batteries for each flight, regardless of whether the battery is a stock-sized one or a "double-decker" monster battery.

As you mentioned, the risk of battery clip failure is a compelling reason to discontinue using batteries that have even a subtle swelling. Due to fire concerns, I typically deep-six any swollen batteries and order replacement non-DJI batteries, now that OEM ones are becoming a rarity for these older DJI quadcopters.

Makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.
Zip ties for all!

 

[diversions]

So I've got these batteries in my shopping cart. Still on the fence. After all this time, any new info on these batteries? Are they still a good option? And I've never really pushed my autonomous litchi missions past the RTH point... if I ignore the drone's requests to go home, will it just keep carrying on the mission?

What happens if it hits RTH point while disconnected / out of range?

Awesome reviews btw, even if I'm reading them a few years late.

*D

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Provided that you used Litchi's settings page to ensure that the waypoint mission continues after signal loss, and provided that the Litchi mission you designed does NOT show a flight time that is greater than the average flight time of your drone's battery, your Mavic Pro will return home even if signal connectivity is lost at any point between the drone and the RC controller.

Finally, to maximize the round-trip distance flown by your drone while it is flying waypoint missions, set the cruise speed to 27 mph. This will enable the drone to cover 6 miles round-trip on a stock Mavic 1 Pro battery, or TWELVE miles round-trip if you fit the drone with an extra range battery from Ali Express.

One anomaly I stumbled on when using the Litchi Mission Hub is that for all waypoint missions whose flight time duration is ABOVE 15 minutes, the drone will arrive home 5 minutes EARLIER than Litchi's quoted flight time would imply. That is to say, if you create a waypoint mission whose flight time is predicted by the Litchi Mission Hub to be 20 minutes, the drone will reach home after just 15 minutes. This means that for a Mavic 1 Pro with a stock battery, the MAXIMUM flight time you can allow for a Mission Hub waypoint flight would be 27 minutes, since that means the drone will return home at the (27 minus 5= 22 minute mark).

It can be unnerving when, during a waypoint mission, your Litchi screen shows the red alert banner that the drone is "disconnected" and "out of control", however, if you were careful to plan a mission whose actual flight time does not exceed 22 minutes for a stock battery, or 30 minutes for an Ali Express "super battery" your drone will arrive home at the precise moment indicated by the predicted flight time, bearing in mind the flight time anomaly I described in the paragraph above this one.

Calibration of the drone's compass, IMU, and anti-collision sensors is absolutely crucial so that the drone flies smoothly and without unexpected stops. Failure to calibrate the anti-collision sensors can potentially result in the drone stopping for no reason during a waypoint mission, and thus running out of battery power far from home. I lost a Mavic 1 Pro for this exact reason.

 

[ImtiazM60]

So I've got these batteries in my shopping cart. Still on the fence. After all this time, any new info on these batteries? Are they still a good option? And I've never really pushed my autonomous litchi missions past the RTH point... if I ignore the drone's requests to go home, will it just keep carrying on the mission?

What happens if it hits RTH point while disconnected / out of range?

Awesome reviews btw, even if I'm reading them a few years late.

*DView attachment 185328

Yes they very good batteries.

You should get the 7700 mAh instead.

I actually bought 3x of the 12,800 mAh batteries, and i am able to get almost exactly 60 mins fly time on non-sport mode.

With the generous battery and extended fly time, i also decided to upgrade my antenna so i can push the range a lot further! by upgrading the internal antenna of my RC remote, with SMA plugs, so i can retrofit 11 DBI antenna, with amplifiers, which i will test out tomorrow or in the next week or so.

This is the website link for the Aliexpress high capacity battery where i got mine from. And yes they are absolutely worth it and beneficial.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006694821699.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.59.77191802oTIRZs

 

[diversions]

Provided that you used Litchi's settings page to ensure that the waypoint mission continues after signal loss, and provided that the Litchi mission you designed does NOT show a flight time that is greater than the average flight time of your drone's battery, your Mavic Pro will return home even if signal connectivity is lost at any point between the drone and the RC controller.

Finally, to maximize the round-trip distance flown by your drone while it is flying waypoint missions, set the cruise speed to 27 mph. This will enable the drone to cover 6 miles round-trip on a stock Mavic 1 Pro battery, or TWELVE miles round-trip if you fit the drone with an extra range battery from Ali Express.

One anomaly I stumbled on when using the Litchi Mission Hub is that for all waypoint missions whose flight time duration is ABOVE 15 minutes, the drone will arrive home 5 minutes EARLIER than Litchi's quoted flight time would imply. That is to say, if you create a waypoint mission whose flight time is predicted by the Litchi Mission Hub to be 20 minutes, the drone will reach home after just 15 minutes. This means that for a Mavic 1 Pro with a stock battery, the MAXIMUM flight time you can allow for a Mission Hub waypoint flight would be 27 minutes, since that means the drone will return home at the (27 minus 5= 22 minute mark).

It can be unnerving when, during a waypoint mission, your Litchi screen shows the red alert banner that the drone is "disconnected" and "out of control", however, if you were careful to plan a mission whose actual flight time does not exceed 22 minutes for a stock battery, or 30 minutes for an Ali Express "super battery" your drone will arrive home at the precise moment indicated by the predicted flight time, bearing in mind the flight time anomaly I described in the paragraph above this one.

Calibration of the drone's compass, IMU, and anti-collision sensors is absolutely crucial so that the drone flies smoothly and without unexpected stops. Failure to calibrate the anti-collision sensors can potentially result in the drone stopping for no reason during a waypoint mission, and thus running out of battery power far from home. I lost a Mavic 1 Pro for this exact reason.

Your experience and guidelines are very much appreciated, sir.

To compare, my own guidelines are more conservative:

1. Flight times of 15 minutes or less.
2. Cruise speed of 40kph (24.85mph).
3. Starting WP at farthest position from home OR at known signal shadows where the drone is likely to be DC'd.
4. During flight to first WP, stay at 30m (98.4 feet) until greater altitude is needed for connectivity (minimizing time in wind; most of my mapping missions are at 200m / 656.1 feet) to 250m / 820.2 feet). At this point, climb to destination altitude to an interim WP and pause mission for focusing and final check of wind conditions at destination altitude. If everything is green, let the drone do its thing.
5. All waypoint missions with SENSORS OFF. This allows for cruising speeds faster than 36kph / 22.4mph.

To add context, my ranch is in moderately rolling / hilly terrain and windy days are the norm. With the exception of a few mission plans that are more extreme out of necessity, this results in missions in fair weather that return to home point with at least 40% battery remaining--enough conservatism to allow me to fly the same missions even on days with challenging wind conditions. In fair weather, it keeps the batteries in the happy zone, and it allows me to take manual control on the return leg and revisit points of interest that were noted during the actual mission. It also minimizes my stress of landing, which I do manually for each and every mission because of the terrain.

Your observation of the 5-minute discrepancy is very keen. I've never made that connection, but just offhand from memory, I think you're absolutely right.

I'm ordering the super-batteries now, but will likely limit their use on those few extreme missions that break my own guidelines. I doubt if anyone here has any experience with repacking these batteries on steroids, of if the cells are available locally. So we'll just reserve them for those missions.

I'm stoked. I'm going to rue the day when second-hand MP1s are no longer available on the second-hand market.

Cheers!

*D

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Yes they very good batteries.

You should get the 7700 mAh instead.

I actually bought 3x of the 12,800 mAh batteries, and i am able to get almost exactly 60 mins fly time on non-sport mode.

With the generous battery and extended fly time, i also decided to upgrade my antenna so i can push the range a lot further! by upgrading the internal antenna of my RC remote, with SMA plugs, so i can retrofit 11 DBI antenna, with amplifiers, which i will test out tomorrow or in the next week or so.

This is the website link for the Aliexpress high capacity battery where i got mine from. And yes they are absolutely worth it and beneficial.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006694821699.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.59.77191802oTIRZs

Holy Mackerel ! I had no idea that Ali Express now sells batteries capable of providing an HOUR of flight time. I gotta get one NOW haha

Please post details of your mast antenna, when it is ready. I bought all the components from coax cable to line amplifiers to band pass filters and whip antennae for 2.4Ghz and 5.8GHz, but I have lacked the know-how to hook it all up.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Your experience and guidelines are very much appreciated, sir.

To compare, my own guidelines are more conservative:

1. Flight times of 15 minutes or less.
2. Cruise speed of 40kph (24.85mph).
3. Starting WP at farthest position from home OR at known signal shadows where the drone is likely to be DC'd.
4. During flight to first WP, stay at 30m (98.4 feet) until greater altitude is needed for connectivity (minimizing time in wind; most of my mapping missions are at 200m / 656.1 feet) to 250m / 820.2 feet). At this point, climb to destination altitude to an interim WP and pause mission for focusing and final check of wind conditions at destination altitude. If everything is green, let the drone do its thing.
5. All waypoint missions with SENSORS OFF. This allows for cruising speeds faster than 36kph / 22.4mph.

To add context, my ranch is in moderately rolling / hilly terrain and windy days are the norm. With the exception of a few mission plans that are more extreme out of necessity, this results in missions in fair weather that return to home point with at least 40% battery remaining--enough conservatism to allow me to fly the same missions even on days with challenging wind conditions. In fair weather, it keeps the batteries in the happy zone, and it allows me to take manual control on the return leg and revisit points of interest that were noted during the actual mission. It also minimizes my stress of landing, which I do manually for each and every mission because of the terrain.

Your observation of the 5-minute discrepancy is very keen. I've never made that connection, but just offhand from memory, I think you're absolutely right.

I'm ordering the super-batteries now, but will likely limit their use on those few extreme missions that break my own guidelines. I doubt if anyone here has any experience with repacking these batteries on steroids, of if the cells are available locally. So we'll just reserve them for those missions.

I'm stoked. I'm going to rue the day when second-hand MP1s are no longer available on the second-hand market.

Cheers!

*D

Sensors off is the way to go for sure, lest the speed of the drone will wind up limited below the optimal 27mph. My initial neglect of sensor calibration was because I wrongly assumed that leaving the collision sensors off meant that I needn't bother carrying out the tedious procedure of calibrating them. Took me one lost Mavic 1 Pro and another near loss to realize that the collision sensors must be calibrated even if they are never used.

I agree with your sentiments about the Mavic 1 Pro being a real diamond in the rough. The only other drone that I would describe this way would be the Mavic 2 Pro, which has a slightly better camera and is also capable of flying Litchi waypoint missions far beyond RC signal reach, where such flights are permissible. Despite owning a pair of Mavic 1 Pros, two Mavic 2 Pros, and one Mavic 2 Zoom, among others in my hoard, I still plan on buying several more M1P and M2P/Zoom drones before they become a rarity on eBay.

 

[diversions]

Yes they very good batteries.

You should get the 7700 mAh instead.

I actually bought 3x of the 12,800 mAh batteries, and i am able to get almost exactly 60 mins fly time on non-sport mode.

With the generous battery and extended fly time, i also decided to upgrade my antenna so i can push the range a lot further! by upgrading the internal antenna of my RC remote, with SMA plugs, so i can retrofit 11 DBI antenna, with amplifiers, which i will test out tomorrow or in the next week or so.

This is the website link for the Aliexpress high capacity battery where i got mine from. And yes they are absolutely worth it and beneficial.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006694821699.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.59.77191802oTIRZs

An external antenna... I've been dreaming about that. I just happen to really suck with a soldering gun... but I've got enough spare MP1 controllers that perhaps it's time to pick it up again. I hope the components are easily found in my god-forsaken country.

Please do provide pictures and instructions. I can already dream of setting it up on my aerial (used for radio comms)... standing 100 feet off the ground the range would be amazing. Might even decide to set-up a command center with external monitors--my 51 year old eyes would cry tears of joy.

My wife is going to kill me, though. Sigh.

 

[webvan]

Yes they very good batteries.

You should get the 7700 mAh instead.

I actually bought 3x of the 12,800 mAh batteries, and i am able to get almost exactly 60 mins fly time on non-sport mode.

With the generous battery and extended fly time, i also decided to upgrade my antenna so i can push the range a lot further! by upgrading the internal antenna of my RC remote, with SMA plugs, so i can retrofit 11 DBI antenna, with amplifiers, which i will test out tomorrow or in the next week or so.

This is the website link for the Aliexpress high capacity battery where i got mine from. And yes they are absolutely worth it and beneficial.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006694821699.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.59.77191802oTIRZs

Wow these batteries are massive! They're out of the 7700 with a shell unfortunately.
How do you find the MP flies with them? I remember putting huge batteries on my late BeBop 1 and it got hairy as soon as there was wind!

 

[webvan]

Still on the fence whether to get the 7700 or 12800. Does the M1P behave very differently with either ? It must make a big difference compared to the stock batteries !

Did you secure them with the velcro and rubberbads as show on the AE listing ?

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Still on the fence whether to get the 7700 or 12800. Does the M1P behave very differently with either ? It must make a big difference compared to the stock batteries !

Did you secure them with the velcro and rubberbads as show on the AE listing ?

You have raised a very important point about securing the battery for each flight. I learned from others in this forum that all batteries used by the Mavic 1 Pro and Mavic 2 Pro MUST be secured with zip ties, and this rule applies to the stock batteries as well as the oversized ones sold by Ali Express.

I lost TWO Mavic 1 Pros due to in-flight battery detachment before I stumbled on this key piece of advice here in this forum, explaining that M1P and M2P drones were produced with weak battery retention clips that become malleable over time, and thus prone to letting go of the battery, particularly when the drone fuselage becomes hot during longer flights.

I haven't yet tried the monster-sized 12800 mAh batteries as yet, but with the 7700 and 8200 mAh batteries, my Mavics fly 12.5 miles round-trip waypoint missions when I set the cruise speed for 27 mph, which is double the flight time that is attainable with stock batteries for either drone. Once again, retaining all batteries for all flights with these two models of Mavic is an essential precaution.

 

[webvan]

Thanks for the tip, that's a good idea.
Where did you get your 7700mAh from, is it the "shelled" version ?
The shipping delays on AE are huge, 2 months ! I've found another site that carries the 6830mAh with a shell that promises 5/9 delivery but I'm not sure it can be trusted... https://www.lightmalls.com/drone-fl...ic-pro-specially-designed-for-the-mavic-drone

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Thanks for the tip, that's a good idea.
Where did you get your 7700mAh from, is it the "shelled" version ?
The shipping delays on AE are huge, 2 months ! I've found another site that carries the 6830mAh with a shell that promises 5/9 delivery but I'm not sure it can be trusted... https://www.lightmalls.com/drone-fl...ic-pro-specially-designed-for-the-mavic-drone

The website looks legit, and the delivery time is much better than Alli Express. Please let us know how this order goes. If the battery arrives when promised and lives up to the specs, I will be tempted to try this new alternative to Ali Express that you've discovered.

 

[webvan]

Will do, I'll send them an email to confirm availability and shipping delays and take it from there ;-)