Battery warnings

[kai_bcn]

Does anyone know how many battery warnings the H will give? I just watched a video and they said that after first warning you had about 5 min of flight time left and after 2nd battery warning you had about 1-2 min left. I have the feeling I have gotten the first battery warning ( descend to 60m) more than once in the same flight?
I am not planning on flying until I hear another battery warning but I was so concentrated in filming the other day that the battery warning got me totally by surprise and I am thinking about using a countdown timer.
So many things to be aware about... So much to learn...

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

A countdown timer may help, but the battery warning is tied to current voltage levels not time,
so it will vary depending on how aggressively you are flying and what percentage of the time
that you are using the camera. Better to pay closer attention to the voltages shown on the
ST-16. 1st warning does not occur until 14.3V so you should maybe think about heading back
to land at 14.7V - 14.9V.

And yes it only gives 2 warnings... if not landed within a couple of minutes of the second warning
it will auto-land... wherever it is... and if for instance, over that beautiful lake shot you where
concentrating on... oh well... sh*t happens.

 

[R12NDS]

I always try and land before 14.4v and avoid the battery warnings.

If i get the first warning i will get back as soon as possible.

Remember, going under 14.4v will put a strain on the battery reducing its health / life and may cause an in flight fire if it starts working too hard, i.e. low voltage and windy conditions or aggressive flight.

At £100 each...for the sake of a couple of minutes get your flight done in 20 minutes and not 22.

 

[FlushVision]

Does anyone know how many battery warnings the H will give? I just watched a video and they said that after first warning you had about 5 min of flight time left and after 2nd battery warning you had about 1-2 min left. I have the feeling I have gotten the first battery warning ( descend to 60m) more than once in the same flight?
I am not planning on flying until I hear another battery warning but I was so concentrated in filming the other day that the battery warning got me totally by surprise and I am thinking about using a countdown timer.
So many things to be aware about... So much to learn...

In my experience I've noted at best only a couple of minutes between warnings but that experience is based on only once going to the second warning.

Using a timer, on the face of it, is a fairly good idea but should not be relied upon. What matters is what your voltage reading is, not the time in the air, since your flight times can vary greatly depending on the circumstances of your flight: Wind speeds, temperature, aggressiveness of your flight, condition of the battery, etc.

I know I can get 19 minutes in the air to first warning on what I would call a 'normal' flight with light winds and not cold. But not all of my flights are like that...not by a long chalk. I always aim to be landed before first warning and sometimes this means that I'm in the air for less than 14 minutes if it's cold or windy. So, If you are using a timer you will need to set it to count down from a fairly low point to avoid that 'oh bugger' moment.

A timer, in my opinion, should not be used to dictate when to land. Your voltage should dictate that.

 

[R12NDS]

FlushVision is spot on. People love the DJi app cos it shows remaining flight time rather than voltage - this is dangerous! Voltage fluctuates depending on the demand so it is important to monitor it and watch for the magic 14.4v!

 

[R12NDS]

If you use UAV Toolkit to view telemetry it shows the lowest voltage as well as the final voltage...the lowest is normally less than the final voltage - because as soon as you land, the battery relaxes as the demand drops off! ;-)

 

[kai_bcn]

You are all absolutely right, just need to train myself to always keep track of the voltage while in the air. Bigger and maybe even centered on top of display is on my wishlist

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

What would be perfect is a 50% opacity heads-up display to come up on the ST-16 display
top-centered in a larger font as you suggested, when the voltage reaches 14.9V or below...
you will be alerted, but can still continue to compose and run the camera... as opposed to
when the low voltage warning box comes up.

 

[PatR]

There's a battery bar graph on the 16 that can be used for the 50% mark. Not real accurate, the voltage reading is the best info source. My view is if you are getting any battery warnings at all you are flying a battery too long. It should be landed before any warnings occur since those are last ditch reminders to get it on the ground before trashing it. Not knowing where the battery voltage is at is a personal issue, not a system issue. Battery levels are presented for anyone that chooses to look at them.

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

I agree, and have only seen that first warning a couple of times when I was doing some battery testing...
other than those couple of exceptions, I always land by about 14.7V - 14.8V. I was thinking more of an
equivalent of the LOW GAS readout that appears usually right by the speedometer on a car.

But right now, I'm just happy they do not make the H interminably beep when it flies backwards...

 

[PatR]

Reminded me of the fat lady in line at the bank when her pager started beeping. Little kid in line behind her with a parent shouts out; "Look out, she's backing up!"

 

[Steve Carr]

If I've flown a long way out then I start my return around 15.2v. I always plan my final descent around 14.8v.
I have gotten a low voltage warning in as little as 5 min when climbing into a windy location. Even in hover the H is consuming much more power when fighting a wind. It's hard to tell the conditions as you climb. That flight only lasted 8 min. The next one was 15 staying close to the ground.

 

[Shadowolf]

The way I see it it will give you one warning. Because after the first you should land or gravity will land it for you.

 

[kai_bcn]

Just wondering, so if I am ascending for example and get a voltage warning (1st, 14,3V) and I stop ascending, the battery might recover some (14,4 say) and I decide to head back and use throttle I might get another 1st voltage warning? Is that correct?
Again, I am not planning on flying until I get anymore voltage warning, just trying to understand what has happened on my 2 incident flights and to understand telemetry.

 

[madatme]

I agree we this decision and I land when voltage is 14.5 14.6 not worth the risk, also there are reports of h crashes due to low voltage, again not worth the risk, if 1st low voltage appears land NOW, not later. Also if your recording use that record timer and watch voltage, works for me

 

[PatR]

Just wondering, so if I am ascending for example and get a voltage warning (1st, 14,3V) and I stop ascending, the battery might recover some (14,4 say) and I decide to head back and use throttle I might get another 1st voltage warning? Is that correct?
Again, I am not planning on flying until I get anymore voltage warning, just trying to understand what has happened on my 2 incident flights and to understand telemetry.

Nope, the next warning you get will be a critical voltage warning. Don't try to play games with remaining battery capacity by relaxing the throttle. This is something we used to do in the early days of electric RC to reset low voltage alert speed controls. We crashed a lot of models that way. When you get the first warning the battery is making a statement. It's not a statement open to question. That statement is telling you it is time to land, now. In a car you can play with the gas gauge to see how far you can go before you have to pull over and start walking because the tank ran dry. With an aircraft you can't pull over to the curb, but you can certainly run a battery down and start walking...to pick up the broken pieces, wherever they lie. Buy more batteries, don't try to extract the last drop of energy from the one you have.

 

[AH-1G]

Remember to cycle your batteries roughly every 20th use, this will help keep the cells level.

 

[PatR]

I just balance charge every time.

 

[AH-1G]

I just balance charge every time.

Breaking in Lipos are said to have the following benefits:

1. Increased overall pack life.
2. Volts per pack/cell are generally higher during the course of your flight.
3. Packs are less likely to puff due to abusing them as they're broken in properly before ever being flown.

 

[Steve Edwards]

I always try and land before 14.4v and avoid the battery warnings.

If i get the first warning i will get back as soon as possible.

Remember, going under 14.4v will put a strain on the battery reducing its health / life and may cause an in flight fire if it starts working too hard, i.e. low voltage and windy conditions or aggressive flight.

At £100 each...for the sake of a couple of minutes get your flight done in 20 minutes and not 22.

I also do the same thing as you.