Mavic Pro Battery Mod

[KyleMaxxUAV]

I'm getting itchy to try a "clean" mod like I did on my p4 ... maybe with some smaller connectors. Seems like DJI is getting closer and closer to the magic weight / flight time ratio

 

[FLJeff]

Edit edit: sidenote. When adding wires id go for not thicker than AWG16. I modded another and only had thicker awg12 around. This becomes serious pain to solder when little room to do so. Also a bit overkill (unless you plan to draw 30-40 c).
Oh and.. if you push in the Sugru or something else, do not force it in uncontrolled. Since the holes are pretty close to the button the goo could prevent it from correct functioning!

Thanks for showing this, it looks like a do-able mod and like you say if I screw it up it's just the battery pac not the mp. Forgive my ignorance but what battery would you recommend to plug in and Velcro down? thx

 

[MacIak]

Thanks for showing this, it looks like a do-able mod and like you say if I screw it up it's just the battery pac not the mp. Forgive my ignorance but what battery would you recommend to plug in and Velcro down? thx

You're welcome. No ignorance, why?
Battery depends on what kind of flights (bit longer time, extended range, extreme range etc.) flight style,1 or 2 batteries, where you want to mount them...maybe check the different experiences in this thread, also good tips on mount designs.
I put them on top of the main battery with dual lock on one of @cruzroy his designs cause it gives a flat surface so i won't need a strap. Others put 2× 4000mah batteries on each side with dual lock (dunno if they use strap).
Lightest set i used was 320g, 2x1800 lipo.
Heaviest 450g, 1x2200 lipo. Now im in the middle with single 5200 lihv.
I prefer batteries no longer than 11cm for acceptable CoG and mounting options.

 

[MacIak]

I'm getting itchy to try a "clean" mod like I did on my p4 ... maybe with some smaller connectors. Seems like DJI is getting closer and closer to the magic weight / flight time ratio

Start scratching then! But do let us know!

 

[cruzroy]

Did this.....

View attachment 15410 View attachment 15411
Before i realized i ran out of Sugru...

JUST FOR OTHERS < AND NEWBEES

 

[MacIak]

JUST FOR OTHERS < AND NEWBEES
View attachment 15562

NOTE: THIS MOD AS EXECUTED HERE DOES NOT WORK!! PLEASE CONTINUE READING THREAD FOR FURTHER INFO!!
Please be careful when drilling. Yesterday modded another and used my battery dremel this time. Pushed a tad too hard and drill plunged itself straight into the solder joint... luckily!

 

[MacIak]

Very high winds today. Did some flying and the batteries work fine. Easier then when the clip is used, also more confidence the connection is solid. Flew it to 50%, had to abort cause not comfy with this wind.
Bit worried cause flying it to 50% with the 5200 lihv gave me 10 mins?! Unable to give it another go cause of wind, it s here to stay the coming days.
Edit: main battery 50%, the lihv cells 4.04v.
Something wrong or normal with these winds?

Off topic, new development in the hood: Got threathened today cause i overflew 2 rows of houses trying to make my way to the farmland where i did the quick-test.
Guy (spoke him in the past, sometimes our young sons play together. Seemed a decent person before?!) came to my door. He represented also others he said. Did not like the fact that i overflew the houses because of privacy. I tried to explain i did this to test something and i never film here and that i either transit to the farmland or hover over my backyard, and that i normally go elsewhere. He told me he d shoot it down next time (this is the Netherlands!! Ok, probably the most retarded part but still..).
I told him this is not a wise thing to do, then he said that if i do it again he'll throw a brick through our window. I mean: This guy walks around in a suit to work, has young kids and lives in a decent house. HE SAID ALL THIS IN FRONT OF MY WIFE AND 3 KIDS!!!
My world has become a little less nice today. I reported it to the police cause it scared my wife..pity.

 

[ZALEXANDERK]

View attachment 15577
Please be careful when drilling. Yesterday modded another and used my battery dremel this time. Pushed a tad too hard and drill plunged itself straight into the solder joint... luckily!

Perfect sizes... What I worked it out as...spot on. Cheers again. Your the man..

 

[ZALEXANDERK]

Very high winds today. Did some flying and the batteries work fine. Easier then when the clip is used, also more confidence the connection is solid. Flew it to 50%, had to abort cause not comfy with this wind.
Bit worried cause flying it to 50% with the 5200 lihv gave me 10 mins?! Unable to give it another go cause of wind, it s here to stay the coming days.
Edit: main battery 50%, the lihv cells 4.04v.
Something wrong or normal with these winds?

Off topic, new development in the hood: Got threathened today cause i overflew 2 rows of houses trying to make my way to the farmland where i did the quick-test.
Guy (spoke him in the past, sometimes our young sons play together. Seemed a decent person before?!) came to my door. He represented also others he said. Did not like the fact that i overflew the houses because of privacy. I tried to explain i did this to test something and i never film here and that i either transit to the farmland or hover over my backyard, and that i normally go elsewhere. He told me he d shoot it down next time (this is the Netherlands!! Ok, probably the most retarded part but still..).
I told him this is not a wise thing to do, then he said that if i do it again he'll throw a brick through our window. I mean: This guy walks around in a suit to work, has young kids and lives in a decent house. HE SAID ALL THIS IN FRONT OF MY WIFE AND 3 KIDS!!!
My world has become a little less nice today. I reported it to the police cause it scared my wife..pity.

Sorry to hear this. Just keep safe as it's the person Inside You Never Know...

 

[CyberNate]

Very high winds today. Did some flying and the batteries work fine. Easier then when the clip is used, also more confidence the connection is solid. Flew it to 50%, had to abort cause not comfy with this wind.
Bit worried cause flying it to 50% with the 5200 lihv gave me 10 mins?! Unable to give it another go cause of wind, it s here to stay the coming days.
Edit: main battery 50%, the lihv cells 4.04v.
Something wrong or normal with these winds?

Definitely something wrong. I think you're not getting good contact with your solder points. DJI uses very high temperature solder and perhaps a protective layer. Try scratching some insulation away from the wires and solder there at the base of the wires. I saw another guy had the same issue as well. Must be the external battery connection when modding battery directly.

 

[MacIak]

Definitely something wrong. I think you're not getting good contact with your solder points. DJI uses very high temperature solder and perhaps a protective layer. Try scratching some insulation away from the wires and solder there at the base of the wires. I saw another guy had the same issue as well. Must be the external battery connection when modding battery directly.

Hmm. I did solder properly, very hot and well actually. It's rock solid!? Have to wait some days for another test. Stormy now.

 

[djhoodrich]

 

[MacIak]

Oh yeah! That looks badass!

 

[djhoodrich]

Oh yeah! That looks badass!

Ty 2-1500mah battery

 

[djhoodrich]

My record is 37 minutes hover

 

[sprtbkrydr]

My record is 37 minutes hover

That's better than excellent!

 

[MacIak]

Tried to open up one of the batteries...tried. I find the glue very rigid and when trying to break it the seams bend and deform.
@digdat0 : how hard was it to get it opened? Are you able to put it back together nicely?

 

[cruzroy]

Tried to open up one of the batteries...tried. I find the glue very rigid and when trying to break it the seams bend and deform.
@digdat0 : how hard was it to get it opened? Are you able to put it back together nicely?

YEAH DONT BELIEVE THE GUYS TAKING APART.........ive taking apart bad DJI lipos for fun, and the never go back together, thats why we are figuring the to best places to drill with the least effort to do the mod

 

[MacIak]

YEAH DONT BELIEVE THE GUYS TAKING APART.........ive taking apart bad DJI lipos for fun, and the never go back together, thats why we are figuring the to best places to drill with the least effort to do the mod

Oh. Ok, i will leave it for now then. Did not feel comfy to use more force trying to seperate.
Pff. Still not able to fly the coming days. I need to figure out what's wrong with the mod i did. Red to red, black to black...fool-proof..i solder/re-solder heavy battery wires for years, never had a single bad connection.
Maybe it's the wind (25-30mph) that drastically reduced the flighttime. I ll only be able to figure out when it calms down in some days.

 

[CyberNate]

Maybe it's the wind (25-30mph) that drastically reduced the flighttime. I ll only be able to figure out when it calms down in some days.

Certainly the wind cuts down the flight time drastically, but it's the voltage after the flight that tells me there's an issue. The voltage on the external should be relatively close to the Mavic battery voltage at the end of the flight. If you are seeing 50% on Mavic battery, well 4.04V per cell on the external is more like 78-80% remaining. That means you didn't get the proportional amount of energy out of the external batteries. This is usually a sign of resistance in the connection and in some cases also internal resistance of battery. I'm never had an issue with internal resistance with LiHV batteries from Multistar.