Mavic Pro Battery Mod

[chazz]

Any pictures of how you have them mounted, configuration, charging setup ?

I already started taking things apart waiting for the 4 batteries and the only pics i have are here Mavic Pro Battery Mod

 

[chazz]

I've been having pretty good luck with the 18650 4s3p battery i've been testing and I like the way it handles so i'm moving up to 4s4p to see what happens..Being out at 45000' at low volts and not having an accurate percent gauge is something that's hard to get used to...It'll be a little heavy at maybe 1390 grams total.

It ended up weighing 1375grams. I may make a few weight reductions. Any suggestions? I'd like to keep the fan for now.

 

[CyberNate]

It ended up weighing 1375grams. I may make a few weight reductions. Any suggestions? I'd like to keep the fan for now.

Take the caps off bottom of rear motors for cooling. Use Platinum props. You should be good. My weight was 1396.

 

[CyberNate]

It ended up weighing 1375grams. I may make a few weight reductions. Any suggestions? I'd like to keep the fan for now.

Very interested to hear your results! That is some huge capacity and power with 4s4p 18650GA. 201.6 watt-hr or 725,760 Watt-seconds. I used only 515,000 watt-seconds for my round-trip flight to the limit. You should have a lot left given that your setup is lighter than mine.

 

[Memphis3]

I can get cheep LiPo and have tons of wire.
Question
If the Mavic is seeing something is wrong with a external LiPo connected to the DJI LiPo. Then can you remove the DJI LiPo and piggy pack a external LiPo on the DJI battery case?

 

[chazz]

Very interested to hear your results! That is some huge capacity and power with 4s4p 18650GA. 201.6 watt-hr or 725,760 Watt-seconds. I used only 515,000 watt-seconds for my round-trip flight to the limit. You should have a lot left given that your setup is lighter than mine.

Yeah I Hope to get out soon but the weather around here yah know if it’s warm it’s raining or windy and when it’s not raining its freezing and when its warm and not windy I’m working. Cant win…

 

[MavicPilot_swe]

Hi Guys, What is the most optimal battery mod to date ???

Read most of all your tips and trix and i have to say im impressed and inspired of your mods.
But you have to help me out here. Not going to set any world records ;-) but want long flight time. What is the most optimal batt mod to date, Fly-time/"easy" installation"/weight ?
I have seen some mods with a "clip" you put on the pin's before you put in the original battery so you can connect the extra batteries, or is it better to soldering the cables to the board ?

So, What to buy?
Battery's : ?
Charger : ?
Connectors: ?
Other Stuff: ?
Need to change something in firmware: ?

I have a range mod on my control and have ordered some stuff to mod the bird like BeanBubba did with his (now dead ;-) bird. Other than that i have some firmware mods done as well.

 

[MacIak]

Hi Guys, What is the most optimal battery mod to date ???

Read most of all your tips and trix and i have to say im impressed and inspired of your mods.
But you have to help me out here. Not going to set any world records ;-) but want long flight time. What is the most optimal batt mod to date, Fly-time/"easy" installation"/weight ?
I have seen some mods with a "clip" you put on the pin's before you put in the original battery so you can connect the extra batteries, or is it better to soldering the cables to the board ?

So, What to buy?
Battery's : ?
Charger : ?
Connectors: ?
Other Stuff: ?
Need to change something in firmware: ?

I have a range mod on my control and have ordered some stuff to mod the bird like BeanBubba did with his (now dead ;-) bird. Other than that i have some firmware mods done as well.

Battery clip + dual proteks seems a good deal without too much hassle.

 

[chazz]

I've been having pretty good luck with the 18650 4s3p battery i've been testing and I like the way it handles so i'm moving up to 4s4p to see what happens..Being out at 45000' at low volts and not having an accurate percent gauge is something that's hard to get used to...It'll be a little heavy at maybe 1390 grams total.

I got a chance to test my 18650 4s4p today but I’m having the compass issue. So, I only flew for a few minutes because I suck pretty bad at trying to control this thing in the wind without positioning. It’s actually pretty comical to watch. But yeah, I think the issue may come more from actual battery then the motor wires running under the compass or maybe both. Before I added the 4 batteries I was able to re-position it forward a little to stop it from interfering with the compass but now the batteries pretty big and I really have nowhere to go with it. I should have thought of this and IDK what to do really. I wonder if I wrap it with copper tape? Is that dumb? I guess we’ll see because I just ordered some (Online ordering is way to easy). I thought this thing has two compasses shouldn’t at least one of them work?

 

[lolo780]

You may be having compass issues due to higher motor power. Try my front compass mod and post back here. The steel knocks out the rear compass and forces the flight control to use the front.

 

[CyberNate]

I got a chance to test my 18650 4s4p today but I’m having the compass issue. So, I only flew for a few minutes because I suck pretty bad at trying to control this thing in the wind without positioning. It’s actually pretty comical to watch. But yeah, I think the issue may come more from actual battery then the motor wires running under the compass or maybe both. Before I added the 4 batteries I was able to re-position it forward a little to stop it from interfering with the compass but now the batteries pretty big and I really have nowhere to go with it. I should have thought of this and IDK what to do really. I wonder if I wrap it with copper tape? Is that dumb? I guess we’ll see because I just ordered some (Online ordering is way to easy). I thought this thing has two compasses shouldn’t at least one of them work?

Use Lolo's trick to force front compass. Mavic flies perfectly once you force it to use front compass. The worst is when a compass is half way working. Mavic defaults to rear. It takes a lot of errors to force redundancy fail over.

 

[efowler]

Is there a link to the mod you have where the dual connectors are coming from the inside of the Mavic? What sequence do you start everything up? Do you turn on the Mavic with the stock battery and then plug in all the other batteries? Thanks

Hi CyberNate - I have been following this thread for a while - then sped up the the end. I know Lolo uses the Nanosync and an amp in the bird as well. On your long flights where you hit the 59K limit do you use any antenna mods on the MavicPro a\c? (I didn't see one in your recent picture of you setup). And what type of antenna mod do you use on your controller? I know there are the liner antennas like the Nanosync and the circular Antennas like the Titan Cyclone. just curious what your preference is. Thx!

 

[CyberNate]

Hi CyberNate - I have been following this thread for a while - then sped up the the end. I know Lolo uses the Nanosync and an amp in the bird as well. On your long flights where you hit the 59K limit do you use any antenna mods on the MavicPro a\c? (I didn't see one in your recent picture of you setup). And what type of antenna mod do you use on your controller? I know there are the liner antennas like the Nanosync and the circular Antennas like the Titan Cyclone. just curious what your preference is. Thx!

My best antenna is the 4 hawks XR (not SR) boosted with Sunhans 3w. Second best is the RexUAV with Sunhans amp. I also have FPVLR Yagi type and max evolution Nanosync.

 

[Deadleg]

I got a chance to test my 18650 4s4p today . . .

Hi Chaz . . I've been quietly following your progress with 18650's and with 4s setups. Glad you're pushing this along and having some success.

I am constructing a 4s2p setup, but with a slightly different design. I've cut down the battery board and arranged the batteries in a circle around the board, as per photo.

I'm wondering about the best way to connect the balance leads from a 4s battery to the Mavic battery board 3s balance pins. I presume the outer +ve and -ve balance leads have to connect directly to the outer pins (pins 1 & 4) on the balance board. That leaves a choice of 3 balance connections from the 4s battery going to the 2 internal balance connections on the board (pins 2 & 3). If I use pins 2 and 3 on the 4s I am guessing the Go 4 app will show (for 16v overall) Batt 1: 4v, Batt 2, 4v and Batt 3: 8v.

Does this sound right to you, and which balance wires did you use?

 

[efowler]

My best antenna is the 4 hawks XR (not SR) boosted with Sunhans 3w. Second best is the RexUAV with Sunhans amp. I also have FPVLR Yagi type and max evolution Nanosync.

Thanks CyberNate! - And what about the ac did you mod any antennas there?

 

[CyberNate]

Thanks CyberNate! - And what about the ac did you mod any antennas there?

Sometimes I switch the front antenna legs left and right and turn them 180 degrees so that the angle is better. That makes a huge difference in signal, but the xr antenna is so good I don't need to do that. That video I made of limit flight at 150 ft altitude was with stock aircraft antenna setup and amplified xr on controller. Amazing signal.

 

[efowler]

Hit the 59K limit again with the same setup. Very easy to do with 3 Protek packs. I even had a little wind today but still easy. Good setup for those wanting minimal modding.

I looked up those batteries on amain hobbies and see there are chargers (options) from $50 to $250

Do you have a recommendation?

 

[beanbubba]

You may be having compass issues due to higher motor power. Try my front compass mod and post back here. The steel knocks out the rear compass and forces the flight control to use the front.

I missed this mod, how/why does it work??

 

[Memphis3]

Gentlemen and Ladies

May I suggest a Graphene LiPo that I use on all my birds

Advantages Graphene over traditional LiPo batteries.

• Power density: 0.15-0.17kw/kg (5Ah-16Ah)
• Power density: 0.13-0.15kw/kg (1Ah-4.9Ah).
• Stable High pack voltage through duration of use.
• High discharge rate, giving more power under load.
• Internal impedance can reach as low as 1.2mO compared to that of 3mO of a standard Lipoly.
• Greater thermal control, packs stay much cooler under extreme conditions
• Higher capacity during heavy discharge.
• Maintains higher pack capacity even after hundreds of charge discharge cycles
• Fast charge capable, up to 15C on some batteries.
• Longer Cycle Life 600+

Bellow is an example but there are tons of sizes and 1s to 10s

Turnigy Graphene 1500mAh 6S 65C Lipo

 

[efowler]

Sometimes I switch the front antenna legs left and right and turn them 180 degrees so that the angle is better. That makes a huge difference in signal, but the xr antenna is so good I don't need to do that. That video I made of limit flight at 150 ft altitude was with stock aircraft antenna setup and amplified xr on controller. Amazing signal.

Very cool - Thanks! I am hoping to get the same out of my Titan Cyclone 9dbi anttena. Can't wait to see how it does with longer distances. Right now it is a huge improvement on stock and I cannot fly out of range of it with one battery. I also got the Titan whip antennas for $30 or so and - I cant flight out of their range either. Was only out 3.5 miles (windy conditions a 5000' above sea level). Anyway - Thanks again!!