Mavic Pro Battery Mod

[beanbubba]

Here's where I'm at with this. I'm waiting for the extension cable (if its the right one) and the lion batteries to come in to test. It added 20grams.

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If you do find a proper extension cable, please share the source.

 

[chazz]

That mod looks good Bean, what the plan for those four battery connectors? You are always taking things to the next level.[emoji106]

I just went the opposite direction on my Mavic number 5, instead of doing two connectors I did one with 12 gauge wire to reduce resistance. Seems to be quite a few large capacity LIHV 3S batteries out there I want test out requiring only one connector.

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Removed it from the hard case
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Weight is a little less then two Protek 3600

Dude! Nice find! that's a light battery! Its nakid warm weather flyer.

@dirtybum their 4s 8000 lihv is less weight then the Multistar lihv for the P3 if the description is accurate

8000mAh 15.2V, 4S HV 100C Hardcase

I'm buying one,, Maybe

I see the 3s SkyNinja is good but I don't know if i trust what their website says about the weights for their 4s. After looking at a few of them 8000 4s's the 120C shows is lighter then the 100C and the 14,8V is lighter then the 15.2's and that's usually not the case.

8000mAh 14.8V, 4S 120C Hardcase, Low IR

 

[SkyNinja]

I think skyninja's bird passes the flair test

Bling bling[emoji38]

I still have one plain non-flair Mavic for now.



Surprisingly the Autoplus MCZ props i got from a indiegogo campaign work great with just the stock battery, getting little over minute more flight time over the DJI low noise props doing a hover test in my garage. But unfortunately I got less flight time then the DJI low noise props when I added a exter 440g external battery weight to the Mavic[emoji30]

 

[SkyNinja]

Dude! Nice find! that's a light battery! Its nakid warm weather flyer.

@dirtybum their 4s 8000 lihv is less weight then the Multistar lihv for the P3 if the description is accurate

8000mAh 15.2V, 4S HV 100C Hardcase

I'm buying one,, Maybe

I see the 3s SkyNinja is good but I don't know if i trust what their website says about the weights for their 4s. After looking at a few of them 8000 4s's the 120C shows is lighter then the 100C and the 14,8V is lighter then the 15.2's and that's usually not the case.

8000mAh 14.8V, 4S 120C Hardcase, Low IR

I have not had an opportunity to put this hobbystarlabs battery to a real test yet, so I can’t vouch for its quality. On the one flight that I’ve used this battery I failed to change the flight speed parameters so my Max B was only 28 mph. Then after getting out a little over 44,000 feet the park ranger told me I was not allowed fly drone in the park. Which is a bunch of crap Maryland passed a law preventing any jurisdiction from passing rules preventing people from flying drones, but I was not going to tell the park ranger that since my drone was out way beyond LOS.



I can say the LRP ANTIX by LRP 4600 GRAPHENE 11.4V LiHV 45C have a lot of potential. Had opportunity to do a test flight with them about 5 or soweeks ago.

 

[chazz]

I have not had an opportunity to put this hobbystarlabs battery to a real test yet, so I can’t vouch for its quality. On the one flight that I’ve used this battery I failed to change the flight speed parameters so my Max B was only 28 mph. Then after getting out a little over 44,000 feet the park ranger told me I was not allowed fly drone in the park. Which is a bunch of crap Maryland passed a law preventing any jurisdiction from passing rules preventing people from flying drones, but I was not going to tell the park ranger that since my drone was out way beyond LOS.

View attachment 37345

I can say the LRP ANTIX by LRP 4600 GRAPHENE 11.4V LiHV 45C have a lot of potential. Had opportunity to do a test flight with them about 5 or soweeks ago.

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Nice man! I like that you're testing new batteries. I hate the fact that ( mod removed ) stopped you from flyin. I'm just waitin for that day but not by a ranger. Good flying spots are hard to come by. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to open up your back door and see for 20 miles over open land so you didn't have to worry about where to fly this thing for distance...

 

[Deadleg]

I have not had an opportunity to put this hobbystarlabs battery to a real test yet, so I can’t vouch for its quality. On the one flight that I’ve used this battery I failed to change the flight speed parameters so my Max B was only 28 mph. Then after getting out a little over 44,000 feet the park ranger told me I was not allowed fly drone in the park. Which is a bunch of crap Maryland passed a law preventing any jurisdiction from passing rules preventing people from flying drones, but I was not going to tell the park ranger that since my drone was out way beyond LOS.

View attachment 37345

I can say the LRP ANTIX by LRP 4600 GRAPHENE 11.4V LiHV 45C have a lot of potential. Had opportunity to do a test flight with them about 5 or soweeks ago.

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SkyNinja, looks like you're using a really heavy load there. You're showing an all-up weight of 1336g. How much time have you flown with this weight, and what sort of motor temperatures do you get to? The largest all-up weight I have tried is 1100g. After a 40 min flight the motors were too hot to touch. You must be getting even higher temperatures. I'm a bit worried about the life of the motors under this stress, and also the possibility of demagnetising the motors . . any thoughts?

 

[lolo780]

The first thing that will go is the plastic under the motor. Check your motor bolts for tightness. If they turn, it's likely that the plastic is deforming, not that the bolts actually loosened.

 

[SkyNinja]

SkyNinja, looks like you're using a really heavy load there. You're showing an all-up weight of 1336g. How much time have you flown with this weight, and what sort of motor temperatures do you get to? The largest all-up weight I have tried is 1100g. After a 40 min flight the motors were too hot to touch. You must be getting even higher temperatures. I'm a bit worried about the life of the motors under this stress, and also the possibility of demagnetising the motors . . any thoughts?

I don’t believe my set ups are unusually heavy. With that said I have not flown at 1330g with weather temperatures higher than 60° yet. But I have flown with 2 Proteks 1212g at 85°+ with no issues. Below I think are the most common battery mod set up’s flown by people I want the distance leaderboard. Add the Mavics weight and all the set ups will between 1200g- 1400g

Turnigy Multistar Lihv 4000mah = 265g/ x2 = 8000mah = 530g
ProTek RC 100c LiHV 3600mah = 221g / x2 = 7200mah = 442g
ProTek RC 100c LiHV 3600mah = 221g / x3 = 10800mah = 663g
ThunderPower LiHV 4500mah = 245g / x 2 = 9000mah = 489g

 

[Deadleg]

I don’t believe my set ups are unusually heavy. With that said I have not flown at 1330g with weather temperatures higher than 60° yet. But I have flown with 2 Proteks 1212g at 85°+ with no issues. Below I think are the most common battery mod set up’s flown by people I want the distance leaderboard. Add the Mavics weight and all the set ups will between 1200g- 1400g

Turnigy Multistar Lihv 4000mah = 265g/ x2 = 8000mah = 530g
ProTek RC 100c LiHV 3600mah = 221g / x2 = 7200mah = 442g
ProTek RC 100c LiHV 3600mah = 221g / x2 = 10800mah = 663g
ThunderPower LiHV 4500mah = 245g / x 2 = 9000mah = 489g

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Thanks SkyNinja and Lolo. It seems like many people have tried these heavy batteries, but I still wonder how long the motors will last under the stress. I've looked at the motor bolts and they seem to be ok. Maybe I'm not melting the plastic yet, but de-magnetism is another issue. I read somewhere that the high temperatures could permanently affect the motor magnets and reduce motor efficiency. If this happens there could be a runaway effect where the motors will continue to get hotter as the magnets degrade. Also I guess high temperature doesn't do the bearings much good.

In truth I have no idea how serious these effects are, so any info is much appreciated. Until now has anyone suffered a motor failure for any of these reasons?

I'm looking for a battery weight that I can use for reliable long-distance photography & video. I don't want to break any distance records, and I certainly don't want to break the Mavic.

 

[Lioncool]

hi guys i'm trying to battery mod my new drone i want flight longer i have 3s 18650 battery total 12v and small wire (thick .20mm) connect to 2or3 pin another wire to 5and6 pin after 20 mins flight 18650 battery still same volt not drop i dont see any improve
why this mavic battery + 3s 18650 not work

 

[dirtybum]

@dirtybum their 4s 8000 lihv is less weight then the Multistar lihv for the P3 if the description is accurate

8000mAh 15.2V, 4S HV 100C Hardcase
The

8000mAh 14.8V, 4S 120C Hardcase, Low IR

Yeah man, those are definitely worth a try. I was surprised how much that hard case took off in weight! I'm going to have to remove these Proteck hard cases. Just got the P3 out and zipped around a little bit yesterday to make sure everything is running good, weather is getting good here, got to pick up a couple new stock batteries for Mav and P3 then start running these
dust bunnies

 

[chazz]

Here's where I'm at with this. I'm waiting for the extension cable (if its the right one) and the lion batteries to come in to test. It added 20grams.

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My cables came in. Seems promising. With this setup i actually receive signal in my basement. Never did before. I don't know if its because I'm using a different compass or because of the way its connected away from the bird. With the lion battery underneath it doesnt affect the compass at all while its parked.
@beanbubba here's the cable that worked https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075XRFPJB/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[amstar]

In variance to the general scheme of things, I did a mod by soldering the power board of a beat up mavic to a new one. The idea being to use mavic batteries of which I have quite a few. I could put the extra board only out in the front but the cover doesn’t close properly. The craft powers up from both set of pins but the problems now are
1. How to seal the cover
2. How to connect the additional battery. The mavic battery pins are on top and the only way I can see is to use a cable
3. In this set up, does it matter the sequence in which you turn on the batteries or should you turn both on together?

 

[beanbubba]

I don’t believe my set ups are unusually heavy. With that said I have not flown at 1330g with weather temperatures higher than 60° yet. But I have flown with 2 Proteks 1212g at 85°+ with no issues. Below I think are the most common battery mod set up’s flown by people I want the distance leaderboard. Add the Mavics weight and all the set ups will between 1200g- 1400g

Turnigy Multistar Lihv 4000mah = 265g/ x2 = 8000mah = 530g
ProTek RC 100c LiHV 3600mah = 221g / x2 = 7200mah = 442g
ProTek RC 100c LiHV 3600mah = 221g / x3 = 10800mah = 663g
ThunderPower LiHV 4500mah = 245g / x 2 = 9000mah = 489g

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Excellent skyninja, thanks for putting that collage together!

In my experience, if you stay south of 1350g you should be fine year round. I have overheated a mavic at the peak of summer on an over weight bird.

This crash was with dual multistar 5.2's 30 minutes into a hover test:

EDIT: this bird weighed in at just under 1600 grams on a 95 degree day.

 

[efowler]

You did see the note that this is my 8th mavic? Are you sure you want to give up your baby to a stranger that goes through mavics like some folks go through shoes

Yes - I am ready to take that risk. I trust you but will not hold you responsible for a mistake. Let me know I definitely would like to get that done!

I was flying yesterday with two Protec 3500 batteries was up for 35 minutes got no compass errors but when it got back the motors were pretty hot - too hot to touch for more that test touch. I was surprised about that and am sure it is due to the extra weight. That must be detrimental in some way to the life of the motors. I know chazz flies with three of those batteries sometimes! Chazz if you see this post is there anything you do about your motors getting hot or do you just accept it as part of flying with the extra weight to obtain the longer distances? I have drilled holes in the bottom of the front motor covers (which didnt seem to make much difference as they felt the same as the back motors that had no holes) i can't figure out how to get the bottom of the rear motors off to drill holes in them. I do fly at 5000' ASL (not AGL) not sure how much difference that makes if any at all. Another interesting thing is I got max motor speed notifications while climbing not initially but later in the flight. I could not climb with full up without getting that notification - probable due to the motors being warm\hot. Just thought I would throw out those notes I am sure that is nothing new to you experienced long distance pilots.

 

[mnoutdoors]

Yes - I am ready to take that risk. I trust you but will not hold you responsible for a mistake. Let me know I definitely would like to get that done!

I was flying yesterday with two Protec 3500 batteries was up for 35 minutes got no compass errors but when it got back the motors were pretty hot - too hot to touch for more that test touch. I was surprised about that and am sure it is due to the extra weight. That must be detrimental in some way to the life of the motors. I know chazz flies with three of those batteries sometimes! Chazz if you see this post is there anything you do about your motors getting hot or do you just accept it as part of flying with the extra weight to obtain the longer distances? I have drilled holes in the bottom of the front motor covers (which didnt seem to make much difference as they felt the same as the back motors that had no holes) i can't figure out how to get the bottom of the rear motors off to drill holes in them. I do fly at 5000' ASL (not AGL) not sure how much difference that makes if any at all. Another interesting thing is I got max motor speed notifications while climbing not initially but later in the flight. I could not climb with full up without getting that notification - probable due to the motors being warm\hot. Just thought I would throw out those notes I am sure that is nothing new to you experienced long distance pilots.

Pop the rear covers off, they pop out pretty easy. What’s your ambient tempature outside ? I have flown with three protec 3600 rear covers off and holes in the front at 85F with no issues. Have also received the motor over current
Errors. Have flown many 50K out missions and back and yes the motors do get warm 135_145F checked with laser temp reader.

 

[beanbubba]

Yes - I am ready to take that risk. I trust you but will not hold you responsible for a mistake. Let me know I definitely would like to get that done!

I was flying yesterday with two Protec 3500 batteries was up for 35 minutes got no compass errors but when it got back the motors were pretty hot - too hot to touch for more that test touch. I was surprised about that and am sure it is due to the extra weight. That must be detrimental in some way to the life of the motors. I know chazz flies with three of those batteries sometimes! Chazz if you see this post is there anything you do about your motors getting hot or do you just accept it as part of flying with the extra weight to obtain the longer distances? I have drilled holes in the bottom of the front motor covers (which didnt seem to make much difference as they felt the same as the back motors that had no holes) i can't figure out how to get the bottom of the rear motors off to drill holes in them. I do fly at 5000' ASL (not AGL) not sure how much difference that makes if any at all. Another interesting thing is I got max motor speed notifications while climbing not initially but later in the flight. I could not climb with full up without getting that notification - probable due to the motors being warm\hot. Just thought I would throw out those notes I am sure that is nothing new to you experienced long distance pilots.

Alrighty then. PM me for shipping info. You are a brave man

 

[amstar]

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In variance to the general scheme of things, I did a mod by soldering the power board of a beat up mavic to a new one. The idea being to use mavic batteries of which I have quite a few. I could put the extra board only out in the front but the cover doesn’t close properly. The craft powers up from both set of pins but the problems now are
1. How to seal the cover
2. How to connect the additional battery. The mavic battery pins are on top and the only way I can see is to use a cable
3. In this set up, does it matter the sequence in which you turn on the batteries or should you turn both on together?

Ok, hover tested the mod with two mavic batteries stripped off their outer shell. 25 min hover with 30% battery left and that is after quite a bit of fiddling with the batteries on at the beginning. RPM was in the range of 640. No heat issues. Of note my longest stock run was 19 min with around 29000 feet.
I think I can easily fly 30 min with the two batteries.
Sorry pic upload is not working

 

[beanbubba]

Here's where I'm at with this. I'm waiting for the extension cable (if its the right one) and the lion batteries to come in to test. It added 20grams.

View attachment 37278 View attachment 37279

Hey chazz, this is very cool. Are you working on a version2 that is a little more sleek and aerodynamic? I would pay money for one.

 

[chazz]

Yes - I am ready to take that risk. I trust you but will not hold you responsible for a mistake. Let me know I definitely would like to get that done!

I was flying yesterday with two Protec 3500 batteries was up for 35 minutes got no compass errors but when it got back the motors were pretty hot - too hot to touch for more that test touch. I was surprised about that and am sure it is due to the extra weight. That must be detrimental in some way to the life of the motors. I know chazz flies with three of those batteries sometimes! Chazz if you see this post is there anything you do about your motors getting hot or do you just accept it as part of flying with the extra weight to obtain the longer distances? I have drilled holes in the bottom of the front motor covers (which didnt seem to make much difference as they felt the same as the back motors that had no holes) i can't figure out how to get the bottom of the rear motors off to drill holes in them. I do fly at 5000' ASL (not AGL) not sure how much difference that makes if any at all. Another interesting thing is I got max motor speed notifications while climbing not initially but later in the flight. I could not climb with full up without getting that notification - probable due to the motors being warm\hot. Just thought I would throw out those notes I am sure that is nothing new to you experienced long distance pilots.

Hey efowler, yeah when i was flying with the original motors I pretty much did what mnoutdoors did with the rear covers and kept it under 1350 like beanbubba says and try to keep the batteries centered as much as possible and just accepted the the fact the motors are going to get warm. IDK if 5000 ft makes a noticeable difference. i'm at around 1000 and i'm ignoring the same errors your getting ... good luck man....