Greetings fellow pilots! As we all know, original factory batteries for the Q500 are rather expensive. Just purchased one and plan to purchase another. In order to maximize my investment, I'm considering purchasing this HiTec X2. It offers several different functions such as a charge for storage. These functions seem like a good way monitor and manage the batteries. Can anyone who has already been down this road advise me? Many thanks!
HiTec Multi Charger X2 AC Plus
- Thread starter SkySpy
- Start date
I have the same charger... get that and the corresponding charger cables and you're good to go. 
I have the same charger... get that and the corresponding charger cables and you're good to go.
Thanks for your help and advise! Will research the cables needed.
Thanks for your reply Jafo! I purchased a GIFI battery for my Breeze. My experience may have been the exception, but that battery would never completely charge no matter how long I left it in my factory charger. I decided after that experience to buy nothing but factory batteries.
I have the same charger... get that and the corresponding charger cables and you're good to go.
Are these charger cables available at general electronic parts dealers, or are they limited to hobby suppliers?
Q500 Battery Cables
To my knowledge these will work with any 3rd party charger, but of course confirm with Carolina Dronz
To my knowledge these will work with any 3rd party charger, but of course confirm with Carolina Dronz
Purchased the same charger a few weeks ago because my stock Q500 charger was 1) not fully charging, 2) not properly balancing cells. Cell balancing got worse over time. I thought it was my batteries, but it was the stock charger. The Hitec charger works great and will also discharge/charge to storage level - Its default is less than my preferred 3.85 V per cell storage potential, but its convenience is too good to ignore. Did have to solder up some cables to adapt supplied XE-60 leads to EC-3. Then only had to use stock charge adapter cable to couple Q500 battery to Hitec balance adapter. Bought Typhoon H charging cables from Carolina Dronz and now charge all my drone batteries the morning I fly rather than the day before.
Thank you for your reply! So 3.85 V is the preferred voltage for storage? Where do I find that sort of information? Also, while I'm shopping chargers, should I look for one that would provide the 3.85 V level for storage?
3.85 V per cell is the charge placed on each cell at the factory. If it is good enough for them, it is good enough for me. In the past, I have limited flights to land with my batteries near those cell potentials. This reduced my flight time compared to folks who flew to LVC, but I am still using batteries that I purchased years ago. BTW, attached are a couple of explanatory photos of the cables I had to make to use them with EC-3 connectors of the Q500 batteries.
Attachments
Great information, thank you! May I tap your knowledge a little further? I have the battery that originally came with this Q500. The original owner did not worry about preserving the battery, so this battery no longer provides normal length flight times. Is there a way to bring batteries like this back to near their original capacity or should they just be replaced?
Unfortunately there is not much you can do to recover lost capacity. If the battery shows no signs of puffing, it can still be used albeit, monitored closely with a reduced flight time. When I had my H, I also had a battery like this.
I marked it appropriately, and continued to use it for not-flight activities, such as doing calibrations and sitting powered up, while downloading the GPS almanac when needed.
I marked it appropriately, and continued to use it for not-flight activities, such as doing calibrations and sitting powered up, while downloading the GPS almanac when needed.
The moderator is correct. An over-the-hill battery that has been repeatedly discharged below its LVC can show full charge and cause your bird to drop like a rock a few minutes into a flight without warning. One or more cells simply fail to put out the necessary current to maintain flight. You will not even get a chance to try to return home. If you recover your bird and check the voltage of each cell, they will probably show normal voltages when they are not under load. I had this happen enough while flying helis years ago to know suspect batteries are bad news waiting to happen.
Okay thanks! Yes, I have been using my old battery for the same purposes.
Thank you! Very happy you posted this! I had been using suspect batteries thinking shorter flight times would be the only result. After reading this i will no longer take that chance.
I cannot fairly answer that question because I have only flown my Yuneec drones using stock and Gifi batteries. I do have any data for other batteries.
I may have asked the wrong person, but didn't you say you had purchased the HiTec Multi Charger X2? That is the purchase I'm referring too. Just wondering which supplier to order from.
Sorry for the misunderstanding. I bought my HiTec from my local hobby shop (LHS) because having access to a good LHS is more important than ordering the lowest price online. I also deal with Carolina Dronz when I want something they have that my LHS does not carry for much the same reason - Support trusted business friends rather than Jeff Bezos.
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