New Air2S $30 battery mod giving 35% extra battery life. Lightweight 1800mah 70c Battery Attached - 7-29-2021

StantonZ · Sep 13, 2021

cgmaxed said:
I just looked up the payload capacities of the MA2 and The Mav2Zoom, the sheet says they are both 500grams. That can't be right, because, when I fly a MA2 with the same payload as I place on a Mav2Zoom the flight time on the MA2 drops by 50%, while the Mav2Zoom drops by 20%. They may be able to lift the same weight on the data sheets, but the effect of the weight on their flight times is significantly different. Statistical data can be very misleading. The MA2 can lift 500 grams yes, but it has to use a lot more power to do it than the Mav2Zoom. Get it?

Very interesting.
I suspect they just flat out got the "payload capacity" wrong for the MA2; based on some of the firmware/release incompatabilities I've seen (probably due to lack of regression testing), it wouldn't be a complete surprise.

malinkigoosik · Sep 14, 2021

StantonZ said:
Good to know. Can you post the weight and dimensions of that battery?
I'm only seeing ~20% (and that might be generous) increase in battery life with my implementation (on the MA2), but you are using a significantly higher capacity (about 3x) battery...which means more weight.

Check out the pro-tek graphene lihv 11.4v 4500mah

StantonZ · Sep 14, 2021

malinkigoosik said:
Check out the pro-tek graphene lihv 11.4v 4500mah

Just did.
Looks like I can use my LiPo charger...although I won't get full capacity (but still more than I'm getting now). My only concerns are:

they are still heavy (>200g)
even the "shorty" is a bit longer than my current one (by >20mm)

I'll have to think about it, but thanks for mentioning.
Edit: gotta have that XT60 connector!

malinkigoosik · Sep 17, 2021

StantonZ said:
Just did.
Looks like I can use my LiPo charger...although I won't get full capacity (but still more than I'm getting now). My only concerns are:

they are still heavy (>200g)

even the "shorty" is a bit longer than my current one (by >20mm)

I'll have to think about it, but thanks for mentioning.
Edit: gotta have that XT60 connector!

I shortened the cable and added my own XT60, however, I think I may just solder it to the original battery and remove the xt60 adapter, or solder an xt60 female plug onto the battery

StantonZ · Sep 20, 2021

malinkigoosik said:
I shortened the cable and added my own XT60, however, I think I may just solder it to the original battery and remove the xt60 adapter, or solder an xt60 female plug onto the battery

I like the bolded (by me) part, but I don't see the value in eliminating connector: just makes it hard to add/remove. Either way, probably have to solder the connector on to the existing cable (or battery).

malinkigoosik · Sep 22, 2021

StantonZ said:
I like the bolded (by me) part, but I don't see the value in eliminating connector: just makes it hard to add/remove. Either way, probably have to solder the connector on to the existing cable (or battery).

Just trying to eliminate as much weight as possible. I managed to procure another intelligent flight battery for $89. I will disassemble it and wrap with electrical tape. The guy in this video disassembled the battery and I see a cable I’m assuming is the balance cable, and a (+) and (-) lead. Can anyone confirm that I can remove the bms and power button, and can just solder a male xt60 connector to those leads, and use the balance connector to charge with my lihv charger?

Jagerbomb52 · Sep 22, 2021

I have never played with the DJI batteries but played plenty with the Autel X-Star batteries. Anytime I have removed the bms from the equation the drone App would give a unknown battery error and not allow flight.

monteolsen1 · Oct 10, 2021

Interficiam Stercore said:
I agree. So, you're really gonna try this mod too? Great! We will have to share our results. It's like we are the only ones interested in doing this. I did have a Mav Air 2 but it fell into salt water. It was ruined. But compared to the Air2S it seemed to have more flight time than the 3 minute difference between the 2 drones. Flight time i'm just not willing to give up. My frustration got the best of me. So, I started looking into these battery mods. I'm amazed not more people are doing it. It's simple, inexpensive and has been shown to work without risk since 2018. One guy even got a Mini 1 to fly for 80 minutes in a hover. 80 minutes! It's on you tube. He kept adding different battery types and MAh ratings until he finally got 80 minutes. That's incredible.

I'm finding this interesting butam happy with the stock flight times, though might try it later. You guys are great. Thanks.

mavicmod · Nov 3, 2021

Any update on where to find the 7000mah extended battery mod?

StantonZ · Nov 3, 2021

malinkigoosik said:
The guy in this video disassembled the battery and I see a cable I’m assuming is the balance cable, and a (+) and (-) lead. Can anyone confirm that I can remove the bms and power button, and can just solder a male xt60 connector to those leads, and use the balance connector to charge with my lihv charger?

Sorry it took me so long to view/respond!
That does look like a "balance" cable/lead (has the correct number of pins for a 3S1P battery pack), and I believe you could solder an XT60 connector to those 2 leads...but I'm confused as to why there are 4 cells in that pack (and not 3)?!
There were some comments in the YouTube video about maintaining power to the controller, and may be some issues with the welding vs soldering...but I think you are on the right track.
I wish there was a (easy) way to integrate/build a bigger battery pack (which would require the ability to access/modify the controller), because simply adding capacity to the existing pack via an XT60 connector (like we have been doing) doesn't allow for proper monitoring/processing of the extra capacity.

Rxilher · Dec 27, 2021

StantonZ said:
Sorry it took me so long to view/respond!
That does look like a "balance" cable/lead (has the correct number of pins for a 3S1P battery pack), and I believe you could solder an XT60 connector to those 2 leads...but I'm confused as to why there are 4 cells in that pack (and not 3)?!
There were some comments in the YouTube video about maintaining power to the controller, and may be some issues with the welding vs soldering...but I think you are on the right track.
I wish there was a (easy) way to integrate/build a bigger battery pack (which would require the ability to access/modify the controller), because simply adding capacity to the existing pack via an XT60 connector (like we have been doing) doesn't allow for proper monitoring/processing of the extra capacity.

Hi there,

I read this whole thread and I am very intrigued. I have built custom drones using standard XT60 packs and I am looking at pulling the trigger on an Air2 or Mavic 3. I would love to use my parts/batteries.chargers I have to extend fly time of the Air 2 vs paying and extra 1k for the M3. Any thoughts? How has the extended battery mod been working?

StantonZ · Dec 28, 2021

Rxilher said:
Hi there,

I read this whole thread and I am very intrigued. I have built custom drones using standard XT60 packs and I am looking at pulling the trigger on an Air2 or Mavic 3. I would love to use my parts/batteries.chargers I have to extend fly time of the Air 2 vs paying and extra 1k for the M3. Any thoughts? How has the extended battery mod been working?

The truth is, I haven't used the "extended flight time" much because I haven't needed it. However, it does work (with the connector/adapter mentioned in this thread) with the caveat that flight times/data reported by the (base) battery are wholly incorrect. These 3S1P battery packs are useful for many things (powering laptops and even jump-starting cars--if it's an EV), so I continue to experiment with it from time to time.

oneeyedpilot · Aug 24, 2022

Hi, resurrecting a dead thread here I know, but does anyone know where I could get one of the startRC adapters (or equivalent) to do this mod? I got my hands on the batteries but the startRC site doesn’t list the adapter anymore and when I google it, it comes up on aliexpress but says “unavailable.”

I really want to add the extra batteries to my air 2S, as I had a very scary near-disaster tonight when a battery malfunctioned - went from 30% to “shutting down” suddenly - and I lost my drone for a harrowing half hour until finally finding it in the field next to my house. I’m thinking the extra 20-30% would have saved my bacon in this sort of unusual situation.

Or if you could point me in the direction of another write up on how to do this with another adapter, I’d appreciate it! Thank you!

Bobby Buttonwood · Aug 24, 2022

Can you put in the link so I can see exactly what you are asking for?

Jagerbomb52 · Aug 25, 2022

Never heard of this site but they do have it listed.

Battery Extended Adapter Easy Install Drone Accessory Portable Outdoor Reusable Camera Mini For DJI Mavic Air 2

can.grandado.com

Bobby Buttonwood · Aug 25, 2022

I purchased one of these but see they are unavailable now. Are you looking to buy?

Jagerbomb52 · Aug 25, 2022

I bought one also from aliexpress but have no idea where it is now. Never used it and probably at the bottom of my drone junk drawer lol

StantonZ · Aug 25, 2022

I bought mine off of eBay (last year), but I don't see any listed right now.
You can try contacting the seller (redmushroom-usland on eBay) and see if they can't get any.