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Charging Phantom 4 Pro high capacity Battery with USB Powerbank
5045 11 2017-3-22
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Xavier1984
First Officer
Flight distance : 1579088 ft
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Switzerland
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Hi,

Is it possible or is there any solution to charge Phantom 4 Pro high capacity battery with an USB powerbank (or USB source) ?

Thanks :-)
2017-3-22
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Nigel_
Captain
Flight distance : 388642 ft
United Kingdom
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Yes, it is possible!

A USB power bank provides 5V, to charge the P4 battery you need 17.5, or between 13 and 16 if you have the car charger.  So you either need to convert the 5V into a higher voltage which is possible but not really feasible for the amount of power being consumed, or you need to connect 3 USB power banks in series to get 15V and then use the car charger.

USB power banks typically provide 10 Watts per port, to charge the P4 battery requires 90W, so you will need 9 power banks connected with 3 sets of 3 with each set having 3 connected in parallel and the 3 sets in series.

The P4 high capacity battery holds 89.2 Wh of power, so to give a full charge each of your 9 power banks will need to hold 89.2 / 9 = 10Wh of power, power banks are normally rated in mAh, 10Wh converted to mAh is 2700 mAh.

If you can find a powerbank that has 3 x 2.1A ports then you can connect the 3 ports together in parallel and then connect 3 of those power banks in series.  Each power bank then needs a capacity of 2700 x 3 = 8100mAh.  There will be a bit of power lost but 3 10,000mAh power banks, each with 3 2.1A outputs + the car charger + a spaghetti of cables + 1 hour charge time should be able to do the job for a single charge.

I recommend buying an extra p4 battery, although it will cost a lot more...

For portable charging, the only really practical way is to use a lead acid caravan battery (deep discharge) with a mains inverter and the normal DJI mains charger, although it does need to be a "pure sine wave" inverter to avoid blowing up the mains charger so still isn't a cheap solution.
2017-3-22
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Antonio76
Captain
Flight distance : 144403 ft
Denmark
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The specs for the DJI charger say:
CHARGER
Voltage        17.4 V
Rated Power        100 W
I doubt that a USB source can give you that...
2017-3-22
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Shockingbird
lvl.3
Flight distance : 929465 ft
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United States
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Possible? Yes. Practical? No.
Best solution is an extra battery.
2017-3-22
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Aerial Gopher
lvl.1
Flight distance : 331906 ft
Canada
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I have a solution... I just don't have time to post the details. But I have accomplished this with Laptop Battery banks. I actually got to charge a mavic battery 7 times with my set up.  Search for it in the mavic forums in the next couple of days.  

Basically What I did, After much frustration with the mavic car charger being so picky with the voltages! I use two hi capacity laptop battery banks, connect them in series to get 32 volts, and use the OEM charger to charge the mavic batteries.  The point was to be able to go hiking and charge them as I walked.  The reason why I used 2 banks was because the MAX output of one wsa 5 amps at 12 volts (13.3 when checked with volt meter) and the power bank powered off due to too big of a load.  Connecting in parallel shout of power bank because it didn't like it :-0  and so series was tested, and setting the battery bank at 16 volt option  ( 12/16/19 options) made 32 volts,a nd the mavic charger was happy.  On full charge of the battery banks I got 7 full charges of mavic batteries.  the battery banks had USB as well, but I used another smaller one to charge the controller, which probably wouldn't of died, but it WANTS to charge my cell phone.. I HATE THIS!

Battery banks weighed 2 lbs each, so its an extra 4 lbs to carry up the mountain haha

So i'll try to put the full details of my set up in a day or two with pictures.  keep an eye out for it.  I am sure you can adapt what you need for other drones and car chargers.

FYI I bought one battery bank at 75 Cnd, to test it, then wanted another one but the guy ran out, and then bought the same one from another one on ebay at 90 Cnd $  Worth the money!
2017-3-23
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Aerial Gopher
lvl.1
Flight distance : 331906 ft
Canada
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I created my post with the full details, BUT I think new users posts are not put on the forum right away.  Search for Hiking with Mavic - Battery bank Charging - proven   That is my post.  Hopefully its posted soon

2017-3-23
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Nigel_
Captain
Flight distance : 388642 ft
United Kingdom
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Aerial Gopher Posted at 2017-3-23 03:16
I created my post with the full details, BUT I think new users posts are not put on the forum right away.  Search for Hiking with Mavic - Battery bank Charging - proven   That is my post.  Hopefully its posted soon

" and use the OEM charger to charge the mavic batteries"

The P4 charger is a mains charger so does not take 32V.

The P4 car charger is for 12 volt car accessory sockets, I don't think it is even rated for 24V truck accessory sockets, certainly putting 32V into it would be risky.

I guess the Mavic is different?

It would be possible to use any 4S LIPO battery connected directly to the car charger, however the cost saving over an extra P4 battery doesn't really seem worth the inconvenience of having to transfer the power...
2017-3-23
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piee
Flight distance : 10689 ft
United States
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Nigel_ Posted at 2017-3-23 05:02
" and use the OEM charger to charge the mavic batteries"

The P4 charger is a mains charger so does not take 32V.

This,http://www.ebay.com/itm/BESTEK-2 ... :g:AJMAAOSw3R1XT5ke
2017-3-23
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Aerial Gopher
lvl.1
Flight distance : 331906 ft
Canada
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Nigel_ Posted at 2017-3-23 05:02
" and use the OEM charger to charge the mavic batteries"

The P4 charger is a mains charger so does not take 32V.

I had to do some work... I though there was a car charger for the phantom series, and there was.
The specifications are the same as the mavic car charger, DC Input: 12.3-16 V (Sedan); 25-30 V (Coach)

The solution I did was a true portable, IE if you wanted to go hiking, the battery banks I used were laptop battery banks, hooked up in series, and powering the OEM charger.  This works if you WANT a truly portable solution.  If you want a Mobile solution, IE, need a car or vehicle, just use the OEM car charger for the phantom. OR buy the inverters that everyone keeps talking about that create havoc crap sine wave that will cause problems on the AC charger.  The point I was trying to make was that the system I built for me can be moved, put in a backpack, etc, and last I check, Only a smart car could fit in the backpack and carried up a mountain. :-)  
I don't know why my post is not showing up though.. I'm at 35 points and still doesn't show up publically.....
2017-3-30
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Aerial Gopher
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Flight distance : 331906 ft
Canada
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Aerial Gopher Posted at 2017-3-30 22:18
I had to do some work... I though there was a car charger for the phantom series, and there was.
The specifications are the same as the mavic car charger, DC Input: 12.3-16 V (Sedan); 25-30 V (Coach)

YAY, I posted it again and it worked!  At this post...
http://forum.dji.com/thread-90801-1-1.html
2017-3-30
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Geebax
Captain
Australia
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This has been discussed before, and last time the consensus was that it is easier and lighter to carry extra Phantom batteries than it is to carry all these other solutions.
2017-3-31
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Aerial Gopher
lvl.1
Flight distance : 331906 ft
Canada
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Geebax Posted at 2017-3-31 00:41
This has been discussed before, and last time the consensus was that it is easier and lighter to carry extra Phantom batteries than it is to carry all these other solutions.

I beg to differ. I have used my set up a bunch of times now.  The battery banks weigh 890 Grams, so x that by 2, and fit neat and nice in the backpack, and same with the OEM Mavic Car Charger.  Can fly all day.  So that's 1780 Grams for both.   ( My setup can charge 7 mavic battery's) 7 Mavic battery's is 1680 Grams  DOH! you are right. But my solution is way less expensive.  Damn 100 grams!!!! :-)

I quickly looked at the specs for the Phantom and the capicty is about 2 times of the mavic, and weigh just less than twice the meight of a mavic battery, not by much, like 30 grams.  SO  Technically you win.. But it is possible. :-)


Guess it comes down to what the need is.  If you are looking for portable and can charge with a car, that would be the way to go, but if you want mobile, ie on trails in mountains etc, I was pretty happy with my battery bank set up. But I am Bias :-)


2017-4-17
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