Mavic Pro Mobile Charging

[Eilon]

Hey everyone!

I'm thinking about taking my Mavic backpacking for several days, and I'm trying to find a way to charge my batteries while I'm there. I was thinking about using a portable solar panel on my backpack during the day, which will charge a power bank and then use this power bank to charge the batteries.

What I'm still trying to figure out is how to use a power bank (most of which only have USB ports for charging other devices) to charge the Mavic battery.

If anyone has any experience doing that I'll be glad to hear!

Thanks and Happy Holidays

 

[generaltso]

This would work, but is a little heavy for backpacking:

https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Zero-22...qid=1481573135&sr=8-6&keywords=goal+zero&th=1

 

[Eilon]

Thanks, I'm familiar with their products, but 12lbs is too much to carry, and their smaller banks do not have an electric outlet.

 

[chippie]

Unfortunately I doubt very much you will find a solar solution that will gather enough juice to be able to change the lipo's. You really need a mains source or decent 13.8v to charge the Mavics batteries. There are a few small portable solutions which have a mains socket but I have a feeling they are still in their infancy, like this one https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/...ct-portable-power-bank-smartphone-powerbank#/ . I think you would be better off buying as many batteries as possible to take with you.

 

[Eilon]

Unfortunately I doubt very much you will find a solar solution that will gather enough juice to be able to change the lipo's. You really need a mains source or decent 13.8v to charge the Mavics batteries. There are a few small portable solutions which have a mains socket but I have a feeling they are still in their infancy, like this one https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/...ct-portable-power-bank-smartphone-powerbank#/ . I think you would be better off buying as many batteries as possible to take with you.

Yeah, this is what I was looking for. Do you know other solutions that are already available?

 

[chippie]

Yeah, this is what I was looking for. Do you know other solutions that are already available?

Sorry Eilon, no. Funnily enough I did a search about a week ago as I remembered seeing the one I mentioned but that is the only thing that kept coming up. Not seen anything close to that size wise but others may know of something. See if you can contact them as they may be able to sort you one out quicker as it looks like their shipping schedule for the original backers was 5th December. Good Luck!

 

[halley]

Unfortunately I doubt very much you will find a solar solution that will gather enough juice to be able to change the lipo's.

I found a 30 W solar panel, but it's rigid and the kit weighs about 7 pounds before you add intermediate battery storage. Maybe okay for car camping. Given its output, on a great sunny day you might be able to fill one battery and part of another. The foldable ones typically work okay for 5VDC/USB output but won't directly produce higher voltages necessary for hobby batteries like the Mavic.

 

[chippie]

I found a 30 W solar panel, but it's rigid and the kit weighs about 7 pounds before you add intermediate battery storage. Maybe okay for car camping. Given its output, on a great sunny day you might be able to fill one battery and part of another. The foldable ones typically work okay for 5VDC/USB output but won't directly produce higher voltages necessary for hobby batteries like the Mavic.

But how would you connect it to the Mavic Battery charger, that is the biggest part of the issue. You would need some sort of inverter to use the mains charger and the car charger is very picky as to the voltages it will run off so again to power this away from the car you will need another brick which you will have to run off the mains. I very much doubt there is any real portable solution out there yet apart from the one I posted and even with that I have no idea how efficient it would be or how long it would last out in the field to charge the Mavics batteries. :-(

 

[F6Rider]

But how would you connect it to the Mavic Battery charger, that is the biggest part of the issue. You would need some sort of inverter to use the mains charger and the car charger is very picky as to the voltages it will run off so again to power this away from the car you will need another brick which you will have to run off the mains. I very much doubt there is any real portable solution out there yet apart from the one I posted and even with that I have no idea how efficient it would be or how long it would last out in the field to charge the Mavics batteries. :-(

I found a 30 W solar panel, but it's rigid and the kit weighs about 7 pounds before you add intermediate battery storage. Maybe okay for car camping. Given its output, on a great sunny day you might be able to fill one battery and part of another. The foldable ones typically work okay for 5VDC/USB output but won't directly produce higher voltages necessary for hobby batteries like the Mavic.

There are mobile options a plenty, but backpacking is another thing, roll up solar panels are making it to the market but are still very expensive. Solar inverters are to big or heavy, as are folding solar panels. Perhaps some friendly RV'er with a genset or inverter will help you out. I would have no problem charging up some pilots batteries for him, we dry camp, or boondock if you will, a lot. The issue is Li-Po's require a lot of charging power, more than a backpacker can carry in any case, just stock up on batteries, and take any opportunity to charge them.

 

[generaltso]

Maybe one of these would work?

https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Zero-11...5883&sr=8-1&keywords=goal+zero+sherpa+50&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LYONAT8?psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/RAVPower-Por...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MFEDRNJX1V6T5YNRF36J

https://www.amazon.com/100-PERCENT-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MFEDRNJX1V6T5YNRF36J

 

[Mako79]

Tricky without a car. I'm only brainfarting... but maybe try buying some cheap 6600mah lipos to charge the mavic lipo.. I think I need an RC guy to dial in..

 

[chippie]

Maybe one of these would work?

https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Zero-11004-Portable-Recharger/dp/B00A2F38U2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481595883&sr=8-1&keywords=goal+zero+sherpa+50&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LYONAT8?psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/RAVPower-Por...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MFEDRNJX1V6T5YNRF36J

https://www.amazon.com/100-PERCENT-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MFEDRNJX1V6T5YNRF36J

Some good finds there. I would not have found them as being in the UK I did not search for 110V AC

Saying that though and looking at the reviews on the RevPower, if people were only able to charge their S7 3 to 4 times I doubt you will be able to charge a single Mavic battery more than once out in the field, if that. But then another review quite happily charged their macbook....

The Goal Zero 42011 Sherpa 100 Solar Recharging Kit looks pretty good, well for $545.95 it had better be lol.
But again it will only power a laptop for 2 to 4 hours so not sure how many Mavic charges you will get out of it but it does come with a solar charger which they say will charge the brick fully in 5 to 10 hours (hhmm?)

In reality with the current efficiency levels we have there is really nothing out there that is effective enough to carry a decent charge for LiPo's out in the field. For $550 I would get 6 Mavic batteries and one of the below so you can charge 3 batteries at the same time when you do hit a power source.

https://www.amazon.com/SKYREAT-Batt...sr=8-1-spons&keywords=dji+mavic+battery&psc=1

 

[stangman]

Bonjour from Paris,
Having those kind of needs in RC plane, the first thing you have to look is to charge with the car charger I/O standard AC charger.
Because you loose power by converting dc battery to AC 110V then again to AC low voltage.
Lipo Chargers are often provided with 110 220 cable and 12V clamps to use you car battery for instance.
I would go with a small 12V motorcycle battery and see how many Mavic batt you can charge with it.

Edit : just looking at the car charger, it takes 13/26 v input (so you can use big lipo or 2 12V batteries)
and the output is 13V --> less loss of energy due to conversion

 

[chippie]

The Mavic chargers do not come with 12v leads Also the problem is that the Mavic Car charger will only work at 13.8v, you have to have the cars engine running or up the voltage inline which another bit to lug around. That is not to say you could not DIY some sort of portable solution but the OP is looking for something to go backpacking with and carrying a motorbike battery around is not overly convenient but as you say could be a starting point for others to test.

 

[stangman]

The Mavic chargers do not come with 12v leads Also the problem is that the Mavic Car charger will only work at 13.8v, you have to have the cars engine running or up the voltage inline which another bit to lug around. That is not to say you could not DIY some sort of portable solution but the OP is looking for something to go backpacking with and carrying a motorbike battery around is not overly convenient but as you say could be a starting point for others to test.

I got your point evenif I'm surprised that DJI made a car charger not being able to work in a standard car plug witch is regulated.
Will definitely test it (when my combo will be opened at Xmas - well I must confess I opened it already but I'll be a good boy and be patient...)

 

[chippie]

Haha! You are very good! Always nice to resist and wait for your treat!

 

[generaltso]

In reality with the current efficiency levels we have there is really nothing out there that is effective enough to carry a decent charge for LiPo's out in the field.

Yeah, I think physics are going to continue to be the problem. The Mavic LiPos are already pretty power-dense for their size. So finding something that can charge them more than once without being any bigger than one isn't going to happen any time soon. The best you can hope for is something like the Sherpa that could charge a battery once and then be recharged via solar during the day. But as you said, that solution is very expensive, and it would make more sense to just buy several more Mavic batteries.

 

[Aerial Gopher]

So this is similar to what I wanted to do, and the problem is that its near impossible to use solar unless you want to wait forever for the battery to charge by using a small solar panel, or a large solar panel that is heavy to carry.

I am looking to order this battery pack and use the 16Volts out to power the OEM mavic charger by building a cable to connect them.
External Battery Power Bank Portable Charger for Laptop Notebook Cell Phone | eBay

Now, I have a message into the seller just now, to verify that it actually indeed is a 45000mAh battery. the physical dimensions support the claim of it being that size. Be careful, MANY on ebay and amazon claim outrageous capacity but the physical size cannot contain that much battery.

I like this battery pack for a few reasons, LiPo - it is light compared to lead acid.
It has 14-20Volt DC input to charge ( will still need to verify if charging with car lighter plug will work, Have to order the battery to test)
It has 5v Micro USB to charge it as well, where 5volt Solar panels are plentiful. I have a 15 watt foldable - keep in mind 5 volt at 15 watt is 3 amps in super bright sun, and the input of this device is 2.4 amps at 5 volts. using 2 amps at 5 volts from the solar panel VA=Watts
Basically in 1 hour of sun you will get 10 watts ( theoretically about) 45Amp /3.6volts /cell ( making assumption its 3.6 volt cells) = 162 Watts / 10watts per hour input = 16 Hours of sun UGG Is this right... hmmm

This item below, will get you more power 60 watt and 18 volt - 18 volt will work to charge the battery pack with the DC port but the input is only 2 amp , so 2 amp x 18 volt = 36 watts max. The panel is too big, but in real world you will need bigger to get the power since you will have some clouds.
ALLPOWERS 60W 18V Foldable Sunpower Solar Panel Charger with iSolar™ Technology for Laptop, Tablet, ipad, ipod, Smartphone, iphone, Samsung, Blackberry, Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Toshiba, Lenovo Notebooks, Laptops and Many Other Digital Devices: Amazon.ca: Cell Phones & Accessories

I am making the assumption the battery capacity is 45000 mAh and if it is, it will charge a mavic battery 3 or 4 times?
3.6volt x 45 amps = 162 Watt
Mavic Battery is 11.4volt x 3.830Amp = 43.6 Watt
If you want to calculate the loss for conversion and heat, go ahead, but I think 3 charges on a mavic is more likely, and maybe a bit more.

If I do end up ordering this battery pack, I will test it out and see. $75.00cnd = 3 mavic battery's - good deal for on the run, and you can charge your cell phone and gps stuff when in the woods too.

Solar can be done, but you will need to keep walking away from the sun, or stop and set up the panels in stationary position to charge. Depends what your plans are while hiking.
To give you an idea my 15 watt foldable solar panel at 5 v usb charged a blackberry playbook from 1% to 56% in one day in the winter in Canada at 51deg North ( 4 hrs of sun lower than in summer and behind a window as well) BB playbook has a 5300mAh battery, Assume 56% is real representation it collected about half that, 2600 mah in 4 hrs...... 45000/2600=17.3 days Winter. better performance in the summer for sure, if you are stopped and not walking.

Just buy 3 of these big battery packs, that should be enough

If you use the 60 watt foldable panel and get 3 amps at 16-18 volt, which will probably be hard to maintain with sun... you could connect it direct to the mavic OEM charger and get enough power to charge the mavic battery in about a bit over an hour. This is probably the best way, but someone would need to buy the thing and test it out.

Another item to look at if you want to build something different is to use this step up transformer. It has a volt meter for input and output voltages. I already ordered this so I can put it inline with the mavic OEM car charger to boost the voltage high enough to make the OEM charger happy to run without the car running. And use the input voltage to monitor the volts not to kill the car battery.

Or if you trust Made In China.... you can try this car charger that can charge the mavic battery and the controller as well.... unlike that DJI put out with NO USB CHARGER?? wtf....... Oh they want you to charge the mavic battery, then put on the adaptor to the battery then plug in the usb cable to the remote... haha who thinks of these things. Here is the link, I ordered one of these too... Notice the input voltage... 12 - 16 Will work when car off.
Car Charger Adapter Battery Charging For DJI Mavic Pro Quadcopter RC Transmitter | eBay

 

[stangman]

I got your point evenif I'm surprised that DJI made a car charger not being able to work in a standard car plug witch is regulated.
Will definitely test it (when my combo will be opened at Xmas - well I must confess I opened it already but I'll be a good boy and be patient...)

Hello all,

As promised my Mavic has arrived and I have tested the Car charger. It's working perfectly, no matter if the engine is running or not.
To be 100% sure about that I even tried my Car booster (basically it's a 12v moto battery inside.
Like this one :
Amazon.com: Jump-N-Carry JNC770B 1700 Peak Amp Premium 12-Volt Jump Starter - Blue: Automotive

It's working perfectly an I have been able to charge the 3 batts from Fly more combo.

 

[mechrock]

I have a brand new Goal Zero Sherpa 50 I looking to sell I can test with my mavic car charger if you'd like. I can't read through this thread right now, but I've been looking to sell my kit. Used 26 watt panel, new sherpa 50 battery + some additional accessories. Let me know if you are interested.

Edit: read through and realized this was over a month ago. I will test the Sherpa Charger and see if it works with a Mavic Car Charger.

Edit: Doesn't work.