Recommended charger for mini 4 pro and all the accessories?

JohnDS · Dec 22, 2024

Hey guys. I bought the
- Mini 4 Pro
- RC2 controller,
- DJI goggles 3
- RC Motion 3
- DJI 3 battery hub
- 3 extra batteries(plus)
- 1 standard battery that comes with the drone.

Since this is a gift and I didn't realize no charger came with it and I can't get a DJI charger in time, what would you guys recommend to charge all these items properly that I can get from Amazon or something? Thanks.

downeym · Dec 23, 2024

I have always like Anker chargers... This will allow you to charge everything at once.

Amazon.com

Mark_Y · Dec 23, 2024

I use these 30Watt chargers for all my Mini 3 pro, Avata 1&2, googles and NEO. I do have a multi output 100w charger along with several of these, I find these to be my go-to chargers must of the time. The Avata batterys can be charged at a faster rate than these can supply but I personally prefer a slower change rate for the batteries.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBZF6D5S?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

I also use multicolored charger cables to make it easier to see which device is plugged into what changer. They are lots of choices on Amazon for cables.

djwak59 · Dec 23, 2024

downeym said:
I have always like Anker chargers... This will allow you to charge everything at once.

Amazon.com

I also use Anker. The 65 is the one I use.

JohnDS · Dec 24, 2024

downeym said:
I have always like Anker chargers... This will allow you to charge everything at once.

Amazon.com

Thanks guys. As to the higher wattage chargers with 3 outputs:

1) Is that bad if you have only one device charging? Will it be too high?

Also:
2) DJI recommends a PD supportive 30w charger. I see that some of the 30w chargers list this, but the higher wattage chargers do not. Should I be concerned about this? Not even sure what PD is.

3) What if you are under powered? Lets say two 30w devices on a 30w plug?

Mrktn · Dec 24, 2024

If you have an iPhone and have an Apple white charger plug, that would be fine for a mini series battery / batteries

Droning on and on... · Dec 24, 2024

JohnDS said:
Thanks guys. As to the higher wattage chargers with 3 outputs:

1) Is that bad if you have only one device charging? Will it be too high?

Also:
2) DJI recommends a PD supportive 30w charger. I see that some of the 30w chargers list this, but the higher wattage chargers do not. Should I be concerned about this? Not even sure what PD is.

3) What if you are under powered? Lets say two 30w devices on a 30w plug?

Wattage on chargers is a capacity, not a spec of what comes out of it regardless of the load. Even older "dumb" chargers only deliver as much power to a load as it will draw on it's own.

Newer DJI products use a protocol called Power Delivery, where the charger and the load are both "smart", communicate with each other and negotiate a power profile. So the load knows what the charger can do, and asks for no more.

When selecting a PD charger the important spec is overall power capacity, maximum power per port, and power per port When multiple ports are in use.

That said, my advice to people is to bite the bullet and invest $80-100 bucks in a good 200W multiport that can do 100W simultaneously on two ports. It will be all you need for many devices for a long time. You can charge drone batteries, goggles, and RCs all at once.

I have this one, U$69 at Amazon. The display is a nice feature...

Has a very flexible multiport power distribution:

0972b8e5-fa41-4f4b-a0c8-ac518e330a4d.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg

Bad Santa · Dec 24, 2024

I like it when people get worried about the amperage rating being too high.
As a former auto mechanic, it's especially humorous.
You have a car with a 800 CCA (cold cranking AMP) battery. And a dome light that uses less than 1/10 amp. And it doesn't burn out the bulb.

THINK ABOUT THAT!

They're both 12 volts.

But if you apply 24 volts to that same light bulb it might just explode.

Worry about volts being too high, not amps.

JohnDS · Dec 28, 2024

I appreciate all the input guys. I wound up going with this one. Do you think this would be ok?

Anker Prime Charger, 200W 6-Port GaN Charging Station, USB-C PD Fast Charging Desktop Charger, Compatible with iPhone, Samsung, MacBook, Dell and More Amazon.com

Calson · Dec 29, 2024

I use an Acer 100W USB C fast charger that provides up to 100W at first port and 65W at second port and 30W at the third port (USB-A connection). In the DJI quick start guide it is recommended to use a 30W or better charger for the battery in the drone. I would expect this to apply to the controller as well.

One can use a lesser output charger but it will greatly increase the time required to fully recharge the controller and the batteries.

The accessory or cigarette lighter port in a car can handle 10 amps at 12VDC or 100 Watts and so a fast charger is not going to be a problem.

Bad Santa · Dec 29, 2024

To maximize charging efficiency, one would want to have 3 battery chargers rather than a single 3 bank.
The three bank is internally regulated to only provide enough amperage to charge the battery at maximum efficiency to maintain battery life. And it only does that to each battery at a time. It doesn't charge all three at once regardless of how awesome a power supply is.
And charging the controller separately is a bonus with the power bank since it will charge from the battery bank only after each battery is charged.
So, single bank chargers will charge faster overall.

Calson · Dec 29, 2024

Not true. I have 40W chargers and they are designed to provide only 20W max for each of the two USB-C ports. A single 30W adapter will charge the DJI devices faster than the double 20W adapter.

But I also have a 100W charger and it provides 100W, 65W, and 30W with its three ports. Important to check the documentation and not make assumptions as to what you think is true.

The charger is simply a converter for 120VAC to 5VDC and the charging is regulated by the device itself. This is true for a DJI controller or a DJI battery or a smartphone or an electric vehicle.

Calson · Dec 29, 2024

I have had the best success with the Anker brand USB-C PD cables for charging. Many USB-C to USB-C cables are OK for data but not for charging.

Droning on and on... · Dec 30, 2024

JohnDS said:
I appreciate all the input guys. I wound up going with this one. Do you think this would be ok?

Anker Prime Charger, 200W 6-Port GaN Charging Station, USB-C PD Fast Charging Desktop Charger, Compatible with iPhone, Samsung, MacBook, Dell and More Amazon.com

Yeah, that's a good one.

Droning on and on... · Dec 30, 2024

Bad Santa said:
To maximize charging efficiency, one would want to have 3 battery chargers rather than a single 3 bank.
The three bank is internally regulated to only provide enough amperage to charge the battery at maximum efficiency to maintain battery life. And it only does that to each battery at a time. It doesn't charge all three at once regardless of how awesome a power supply is.
And charging the controller separately is a bonus with the power bank since it will charge from the battery bank only after each battery is charged.
So, single bank chargers will charge faster overall.

Charges 2 in parallel. Requires PD charger with 100W capacity. Amazon.

4-batt parallel chargers are available, but they come with a dedicated power supply, as current PD specs are limited to 100W/channel.

Droning on and on... · Dec 30, 2024

Calson said:
The charger is simply a converter for 120VAC to 5VDC and the charging is regulated by the device itself. This is true for a DJI controller or a DJI battery or a smartphone or an electric vehicle.

That was the USB old daze

Most modern devices, including late-model DJI drones use an active protocol called Power Delivery, which can deliver up to 100 watts to the load. However, to do this the power is delivered @20V/5A.

You don't want to send 100W through a USB cable @5V... this will take 20A, and no USB cable has a sufficient gauge to carry that. I²R losses will heat the cable a lot, maybe even enough to melt insulation.