Batteries

Ed Hahn · Aug 4, 2017

MY batteries might be two years old now. When I give them a full charge they don't last long.
On the controller it says full when I take off. But as soon as I get up in the air it drops to 50%
If I go farther it drops fast. If I land it says 75% .?? Is it time for new ones or is something else
happen ?

Steve Carr · Aug 5, 2017

Ed Hahn said:
MY batteries might be two years old now. When I give them a full charge they don't last long.
On the controller it says full when I take off. But as soon as I get up in the air it drops to 50%
If I go farther it drops fast. If I land it says 75% .?? Is it time for new ones or is something else
happen ?

Sounds like they are toast. Yes, time for a couple of new ones.

Texas_Willie · Apr 8, 2018

Has anyone used Powerextra 11.1V 6300mAh 10C 3S LiPo Battery Pack for Yuneec Typhoon Q500?

Good/Bad? performance.

Blaster · Apr 18, 2018

Hi Texas Willie.........hope your having great flying weather!! Say, regarding your Q on those Powerextra Lipos. I also have
considered those but I usually try to "google" for any reviews of parts, or lipo batteries and have come to find out that those
are the "low end" lipos in that they may give you the fly time (18-19 minutes) but the battery itself will not last very long irregardless of
your usage frequency.

I for one have experienced excellent battery performance from the GIFI Lipo batteries you'll find on (e-bay). The longevity for this battery (based on my
frequency of use) have easily lasted for just over 15 months. I fly usually once to twice a week using same brand name batteries 3 of them.
Also, when I first purchased these batteries I charged them up and recorded that info on my Excel database just for "later review or comparison"
as this relates to "how each cell" within each battery is performing or maintaining. (I'm averaging around 18-19 minutes fly time with camera mounted)

I do not fly this UAV as though I was "racing" as you know it was never considered a racing drone. ALSO, I use a "Balance Charge" when charging
these. Buying the original Yuneec Lipos are spendy as you already know. To further determine or at least "monitor" cell strength of your batteries
you can check what is refereed to as IR or (battery resistance) of each cell by accessing the "screens" on your charger...make sure your balance
wire/plug is connected and once you've attached the charging plug.....can easily perform this bench test.

LOWER resistance numbers are usually best to see.....like 4 5 6. If you should see where one cell is showing something like 15 or greater,
then yes.......that particular "cell" is on it's way out......but in my estimation, I personally would continue to "use" that battery as long as possible.

On your ST10+ controller, (after you fully charged the lipo battery) IF on your telemetry screen it shows voltage drop (just as you have everything
turned on and ready to lift off OR just when you "lift-off" it drops to 10.7 or lower that battery is "truly" on it's way out. I'd either chose to stop flying OR
go ahead and fly the UAV (knowing that your only gonna get about 8 to 10 minutes fly-time) AND don't fly it very high (20 feet altitude).
Just "time your flight"....I use this "reasoning" for continuing to fly batteries in this condition, because I'm a bit of a "risk taker"...BUT would NEVER
use a battery in this condition for a "photo shoot" or fly it over a body of water (hee, hee) Just would use it for "general flying" to practice maneuvers.

Hope this helps.........safe flying.

Texas_Willie · May 6, 2018

Hi Blaster, I have had a few days recently to give these batteries a try and so far, I am VERY satisfied with the performance. Time will tell how well they hold up, but so far, so good! They seem to hold a charge well, juice on par with the Yuneec OEM and all in all, a great alternative!

Here's a short video I took the day before yesterday (5/4/18)

Slimto3 · May 12, 2018

Texas_Willie said:
Hi Blaster, I have had a few days recently to give these batteries a try and so far, I am VERY satisfied with the performance. Time will tell how well they hold up, but so far, so good! They seem to hold a charge well, juice on par with the Yuneec OEM and all in all, a great alternative!

Here's a short video I took the day before yesterday (5/4/18)

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Slimto3 · May 12, 2018

That video looks so clean. What details can you tell me about your upload process, camera resolution and settings, software used. Any thing you can share would be awesome.

Texas_Willie · May 12, 2018

Slimto3 said:
That video looks so clean. What details can you tell me about your upload process, camera resolution and settings, software used. Any thing you can share would be awesome.

Nothing special really..The video is a standard setting, Auto White Balance 1920x1080 60fps and "Gorgeous" (I think). When I get home, I remove the SD card from the Camera, slip it into the computer and drag the video I want from the card onto the Desktop, rename it (IE: Lennar Subdivision.mp4) and then I upload that file to YouTube and they take it from there, except for me naming it, putting in tags, etc.

Like I said, nothing special....HTH. Be sure you are using the card that is installed in the Camera on the Drone, not the one that is in the Controller...Controller Videos are low quality 720p