M2P RC - Charging and flying with two separate cables?

[bombero]

Did a bit of searching but I'm still not 100% sure..

Q1. I'm wondering if I can hook up a small power bank to the micro usb-a (let's call this the 'side port') of the RC, and hook up my phone to the usb-a (lets call this the 'bottom port') of the RC. What I'm trying to achieve is:
1) Being able to keep my RC charged up via a power bank, and
2) Fly by having my phone connected to the bottom port.

I've read somewhere that both ports cannot be used simultaneously ie connecting to the side port deactivates the bottom port. Q2. Can anyone verify this?

From my searches, the issue may be that I must ensure that the cable for charging my RC is not a data cable, as this confuses the RC. Q3. Is this true?

I cannot disable the charging mode as I use an Android phone and it's only an iOS feature. I usually have a fully charged phone prior to flying but I don't like the idea that the RC uses some of its juice to charge the phone. Q4. What sort of flying time are users getting from their RCs?

Any help/advice will be much appreciated!

 

[Kilrah]

Yes you can.

 

[Mossiback]

The following answers are based on flying my MP. I do not know if they apply to the M2.
• A1 - Yes
• A2 - Apparently, leaving the short side cable plugged into the RC causes problems if also using the RC USB port.
• A3 - No. I have used a data cable to charge the RC while flying.
• A4 - Approx. 1hour. I use an Android tablet and can fly three batteries with plenty of juice left in the RC.

One time I forgot to charge my RC and it quit mid-flight. I was able to plug a mostly spent MP battery into the RC side port (using the FMC adapter and an extra data cable) and continue flying.

While having a spare power supply may come in handy, you probably will never need it unless you are flying more than five or six batteries (or are recharging one while flying another). Perhaps some M2 owners will chime in with the number of batteries they have been flying without RC battery problems.

 

[bombero]

Thanks!

New Q for A2. So if I leave the short side cable plugged in (for charging), how can I also use the bottom port for flying if it causes problems? I'd like to be able to charge my RC via the side port whilst using the bottom port to fly, at the same time..

It's possible that all this is irrelevant if, as you say, I'm going to get ample flying time (approximately 3 batteries) to one full RC charge

 

[Kilrah]

Becasue the short cable is an OTG cable, and that's what disables the bottom port. But you're not using the short OTG cable for charging, you're using a regular one, so the bottom port isn't disabled.

 

[Mossiback]

You will have plenty of RC battery to fly two M2 batteries. The FMC comes with three batteries and if the RC could not support that there would be quite an uproar. This is one thing you do not need to worry about.

 

[bombero]

Thanks guys, very helpful!