Hello to all Spark owners who use it when travelling...

As you all know, DJI has released a portable charging station for the spark. But i need your real world experience!

So I want to ask all spark owners,
- who also own the portable chargning station
- and have specifically travelled, or gone on outings, with their spark before owning the portable charging station...and with it after owning it:

* Do you think it is better to take a total of 4x batteries with you... or take total of 3x batteries and the portable charging station with you?
* What real life lessons did you learn when you travelled with the portable charger, vs when you didnt? ...was 4x batteries simpler, smaller and easier? or did you always

Please note:
- My important criteria are weight, size, and convenient use -not cost in any way.


4x BATTERY OPTION:
Spark (300g) + 3x more batteries (285g) = 585g & easy size to carry... but once all 4x batteries are dead, assume your flying time of 40-44 min is used up (or you have to wait about 80min for your powerbank to charge 1 more battery while its on your spark)

PORTABLE CHARGER OPTION:
Spark (300g) + 2x more batteries (190g) + portable charger (680g) = 1170g... double the weight, much bulkier, but after (putting the 1st dead battery in to charge) you can still fly for another 24min, but you will still have to wait another 20min to have that 1st battery charged again...

Please help me: Which of these options have prooved more useful in REAL LIFE USES?
many thanks,
Rob

I don't own the portable charging station, and I won't buy it. I had a look at the specs, and I wouldn't really recommend it, even though it's a very neat design (I like it). But with a capacity of 5000mAh, it's just not worth hauling around, I would rather get two or three addition batteries instead. If you have six batteries in total, you have as much flying time as with the charging station, plus you won't have to wait for them to be charged during the day, you leave the house with six full batteries.

Now if the portable charging station had double or triple the capacity, that would be another story.

I'm going with third option - with car inverter 12/220V. Best case if you travel with car.

I have this thing here:
RAV Power 20100mAH 65W Powerbank with a wallplug - http://amzn.to/2rYcnnz
It weights about 900grams including the spark-wallcharger form the fly-more-combo and you can charge 3 batteries at once in about 45-50 minutes. Maybe you can then even charge one or two batteries again.
I have not tested using it a second time.

Yes it takes more space and weight but you can charge almost everything with it.

xfirf_ Posted at 2018-2-2 00:28
I have this thing here:
RAV Power 20100mAH 65W Powerbank with a wallplug - http://amzn.to/2rYcnnz
It weights about 900grams including the spark-wallcharger form the fly-more-combo and you can charge 3 batteries at once in about 45-50 minutes. Maybe you can then even charge one or two batteries again.

Thanks for this comment...
I like that its got more power than the DJI charger, but another kilogram of weight knocks out one of my lenses in my hand luggage bag.

have you gone travelling/sightseeing or taken with you on hand luggage yet?

KurtVD Posted at 2018-2-1 22:59
I don't own the portable charging station, and I won't buy it. I had a look at the specs, and I wouldn't really recommend it, even though it's a very neat design (I like it). But with a capacity of 5000mAh, it's just not worth hauling around, I would rather get two or three addition batteries instead. If you have six batteries in total, you have as much flying time as with the charging station, plus you won't have to wait for them to be charged during the day, you leave the house with six full batteries.

Now if the portable charging station had double or triple the capacity, that would be another story.

Thanks Kurt. you make  a good point.
How many batteries would the the 5000mAh charger successfully charge before its flat? is it only 3?

And what about these 2x products?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/produc ... YB7UVA7OU&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/produc ... VNQ9LP7N9&psc=1

Considering these are 4x the power, do you think its better to own 6x batteries -or own 4x and buy one of these?

(or let sell the Spark and buy the Air?) lol

I think more batteries is probably more practical.   Back that up with a 12/240 inverter just in case.  Same flight time, no waiting.  And if you’re desperate you can still charge one in the car

fans6bd7f944 Posted at 2018-2-2 01:57
Thanks for this comment...
I like that its got more power than the DJI charger, but another kilogram of weight knocks out one of my lenses in my hand luggage bag.

Not yet.

Bug my handluggage is under 9kilo at the moment.
Including a a7ii with 3 lenses, the drone, the charger, a tripod, a notebook and some other stuff.

It’s not the smallest of powerbanks to haul around but is very versatile.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B072FPVDWN/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It’s also available in other regional Amazon stores.

It has four USB ports with up to 3Amp output.
A 12Volt at 10Amp output
A 240Volt/110Volt output.

From one charge I was able to charge six Spark Batteries, 4x5200mAh 3s LiPo’s, 1x2200mAh 4s LiPo, and an iPad Air.

Form factor wise it has a footprint similar to a 10inch tablet but obviously deeper and heavier. However I’m able to easily carry this, along with the Fly More Combo and two extra batteries, in a small back pack. Even though I purchased this primarily for charging Spark batteries it has many other out and about uses.

fans6bd7f944 Posted at 2018-2-2 02:07
Thanks Kurt. you make  a good point.
How many batteries would the the 5000mAh charger successfully charge before its flat? is it only 3?

Well, they say it's good for 3 full charges, and since a battery has a capacity of 1480 mAh and the charger 5000, that should be no problem (3 x 1480 = 4440, so you 560 mAh left minus some losses through the charging process).
However, if you want to compare it with other "power banks", you have to take into account the voltage: The DJI charger has 5000mAh at 11.4V, just like the battery, whereas most power banks indicate their capacity at 5 Volts, because that is the USB voltage. So a power bank with 10'000mAh@5 Volts has NOT double the capacity of the DJI charger. Unfortunately I'm much too stupid to know how to compare them at the same voltage, but maybe someone else around here knows the formula.
So before buying one of these two, I would have to know what is their capacity at 11.4 Volts.
Generally, I think for one-day outings it's better to own more batteries than to bring a charger (DJI or powerbank), unless you're going on trips that last the whole day, from morning till the end of afternoon, and want to use your Spark many times. (Even then, with six batteries, you have about 1 full hour of flying time, that's quite a lot). I would only consider bringing a charger if I was regularly on trips or vacations "off the grid", where you sleep in tents or cabins and can't charge your batteries in the evening (or at noon in a restaurant).

Raimenzio Posted at 2018-2-1 23:48
I'm going with third option - with car inverter 12/220V. Best case if you travel with car.

For those who go on their outings by car:
You don't need an inverter in your car, unless you need to charge multiple batteries and fly at the same time, otherwise you can get one of these (https://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopter-parts/pp_1146860.html) and charge one battery directly and the other one while it's in the Spark. Actually, since most cars have more than one 12v plug, and for the price I got it, you can even get two if you like.

KurtVD Posted at 2018-2-2 04:20
For those who go on their outings by car:
You don't need an inverter in your car, unless you need to charge multiple batteries and fly at the same time, otherwise you can get one of these (https://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopter-parts/pp_1146860.html) and charge one battery directly and the other one while it's in the Spark. Actually, since most cars have more than one 12v plug, and for the price I got it, you can even get two if you like.

How quickly does this charge though ?  With the inverter option, you should be able to use your standard 3 battery charging dock and possibly charge 3 much faster.

I’m no battery expert, so I don’t know if the inverter can deliver as many amps as needed to charge the 3, but I still think it would do it faster than the single 5V 2A unit.   Hopefully someone can confirm either way

My choice is compromise between capacity, size and weight, while also has USB-C to top up the phone at the same time.
https://www.trust.com/en/product ... owerbank-with-usb-c

I can't rely on a car charger while hiking miles away from the car

The fly more battery dock uses a 50W power supply. Almost any 12V to AC inverter can deliver that.
Anyway, I use 2 batteries and a 27000mAh power bank with builtin inverter and the fly more charging kit,
that gives 4-5 extra flights without much waiting for batteries to be charged.

KurtVD Posted at 2018-2-2 04:18
Well, they say it's good for 3 full charges, and since a battery has a capacity of 1480 mAh and the charger 5000, that should be no problem (3 x 1480 = 4440, so you 560 mAh left minus some losses through the charging process).
However, if you want to compare it with other "power banks", you have to take into account the voltage: The DJI charger has 5000mAh at 11.4V, just like the battery, whereas most power banks indicate their capacity at 5 Volts, because that is the USB voltage. So a power bank with 10'000mAh@5 Volts has NOT double the capacity of the DJI charger. Unfortunately I'm much too stupid to know how to compare them at the same voltage, but maybe someone else around here knows the formula.
So before buying one of these two, I would have to know what is their capacity at 11.4 Volts.

It's even worse than that. USB Power Banks specify their charge capacity not at the USB's 5V but at the voltage of the actual battery inside them, that is 3.7V or 3.8V. The voltage then has to be boosted to 5V by the circuitry inside the power bank and this itself is a lossy process.

The key to the puzzle is doing the calculations using watt-hours (Wh) which are a measure of electrical energy instead of (milli)amp-hours (Ah) which are the measure of electrical charge - rather usless for our practical comparisons when not accompanied by the voltage figure.

The Spark's battery is specified for 1480 mAh (1.48 Ah) at 11.4 V for a total stored energy of 1.48 * 11.4 = 16.87 Wh.
A 10000 mAh (10 Ah) USB power bank using 3.8 V Li-Po battery is storing 38 Wh of energy when fully charged.

When charging the battery in-Spark using a power bank, there are two power conversion stages: first, the power bank has to boost its battery voltage to 5 V mandated by USB standard (assuming it's a generic one, not a QuickCharge one) then the Spark has to boost 5V USB to 13.05 V needed by its battery. Both of these are lossy, not 100%-efficient processes. While I don't know the exact efficiency of the Spark's boost converter and power bank's do vary from model to model, it wouldn't be unreasonable to estimate both at 85% (0.85) at each step. 0.85 * 0.85 gives us 0.72 (72%) total power conversion efficiency. In other words, only around 72% of the total energy stored in power bank's battery will make it into the Spark's battery. The remaining 28% will get wasted as heat in both the power bank and Spark.

Knowing that, it's easy to guesstimate how many times we'll be able to recharge a fully discharged Spark's battery using a 10000 mAh USB power bank:

(38 / 16.87) * 0.72 = 1.62 (full Spark battery charges)

I have 4 batteries, 3 for the Quick Charging Hub, and one in the drone.
I use a Naztech VOLT Power Station, which has 27,000mAh, USB-C, Quick Charge 3.0, and 85W of 110V A/C power. This unit is the maximum size allowed on an airplane as well , IIRC, when traveling. It has accessories to allow use in different nations that use different receptacles as well.

I have easily charged 8-10 batteries that were discharged between 10% to 22% remaining battery life, plus a battery in the drone, plus my RC, and had a little reserve power left over. This is with plugging the Quick Charge Hub into the A/C outlet, and the USB cables into the Naztech VOLT.

This little unit even has enough power, when fully charged, to run my 43" 4K TV/monitor in the field when I want to display to other what the drone records while flying
https://www.amazon.com/Naztech-2 ... eight/dp/B072P1NFR7

I have the official DJI Spark Battery Charging Station and I'm happy with the purchase. One thing I can see many users miss when deciding between it and the Smatree (or other powerbank solution) is how the DJI's solution is much more than a simple power bank. The fact that it doubles as a Spark storage and carrying solution makes for a really convenient, tightly integrated package. I really like that it sits on the shelf, charging my Spark, its two spare batteries and its internal battery when connected to power supply, ready for me just to disconnect the power cable and grab the whole thing on my way out. When I'm back, depending on whether I'll need my Spark up in the air again in a short time or not, I put it back on the shelf and either reconnect the power supply for it to top the batteries up or just leave it like that, ready for the power cable to be plugged in just before it's needed again. Remember, when you already own a Fly More Combo, you get a second piece of identical power supply to the one you already have, for added flexibility.

fans6bd7f944 Posted at 2018-2-2 01:57
Thanks for this comment...
I like that its got more power than the DJI charger, but another kilogram of weight knocks out one of my lenses in my hand luggage bag.

The DJI Charger bay is also about 700gr.  

I just ordered the Spark Battery Charging Station yesterday after going back and forth for a week on whether or not to buy.  With the Fly More package, the Spark only came with 2 batteries which is not enough.  I was actually in the market to buy a couple more batteries so that I would have 4.  When I saw the Charging unit and two batteries for $139 I figured that the Portable Charging Station would cost me $41.00 which is nice to have for a few nice reasons to buy.  So now I will have 4 charged batteries to take along plus the Battery Charging Station that will give me 3 more fully charged batteries for a total of 7......that should make a nice afternoon of flying and picture taking.

THE PHANTOM 4 OF THE LOVE SHACK Posted at 2018-2-2 17:05
I just ordered the Spark Battery Charging Station yesterday after going back and forth for a week on whether or not to buy.  With the Fly More package, the Spark only came with 2 batteries which is not enough.  I was actually in the market to buy a couple more batteries so that I would have 4.  When I saw the Charging unit and two batteries for $139 I figured that the Portable Charging Station would cost me $41.00 which is nice to have for a few nice reasons to buy.  So now I will have 4 charged batteries to take along plus the Battery Charging Station that will give me 3 more fully charged batteries for a total of 7......that should make a nice afternoon of flying and picture taking.

I didn't quite realise that at the price of 139$, the charger comes with two batteries. If you were going to buy more batteries anyway, getting the charger on top for 41$ is very reasonable.

Cookster670 Posted at 2018-2-2 04:48
How quickly does this charge though ?  With the inverter option, you should be able to use your standard 3 battery charging dock and possibly charge 3 much faster.

I’m no battery expert, so I don’t know if the inverter can deliver as many amps as needed to charge the 3, but I still think it would do it faster than the single 5V 2A unit.   Hopefully someone can confirm either way

I have only used it once, and I can't remember how fast it was charging. It says 2.5 Amps at 13.05 Volts.

THE PHANTOM 4 OF THE LOVE SHACK Posted at 2018-2-2 17:05
I just ordered the Spark Battery Charging Station yesterday after going back and forth for a week on whether or not to buy.  With the Fly More package, the Spark only came with 2 batteries which is not enough.  I was actually in the market to buy a couple more batteries so that I would have 4.  When I saw the Charging unit and two batteries for $139 I figured that the Portable Charging Station would cost me $41.00 which is nice to have for a few nice reasons to buy.  So now I will have 4 charged batteries to take along plus the Battery Charging Station that will give me 3 more fully charged batteries for a total of 7......that should make a nice afternoon of flying and picture taking.

Did you also buy the DJI bag to match that?

fans6bd7f944 Posted at 2018-2-3 01:20
Did you also buy the DJI bag to match that?

Yes, since it is only $19 freight delivered.  Looks like a real nice way to "grab and go".  Makes a nice package.

KurtVD Posted at 2018-2-2 21:25
I have only used it once, and I can't remember how fast it was charging. It says 2.5 Amps at 13.05 Volts.

Not really sure how much I will use it for travel as well since I really do not travel that much anymore.  But just figured that with the other nice features plus when I do occassionally travel with the charging unit, it will come in real handy.   Having the 4 batteries will be great for us.

Im planning on buying the portable charging station at the end of this month. 139$ for it, and two batteries is a steal. I like it because when I go backpacking you are only carrying around it, two batteries and the drone, instead of have four or five batteries loose in your bag. I believe it's a lighter setup as well. I however, will not be packing my DSLR's at that point, its the drone or the camera.   

Cookster670 Posted at 2018-2-2 04:48
How quickly does this charge though ?  With the inverter option, you should be able to use your standard 3 battery charging dock and possibly charge 3 much faster.

I’m no battery expert, so I don’t know if the inverter can deliver as many amps as needed to charge the 3, but I still think it would do it faster than the single 5V 2A unit.   Hopefully someone can confirm either way

Today I've used it a couple of times, and it "feels" just as fast as the charger at home. I did one "timed run": charged a battery from 28% to 99% in exactly 30 minutes.

Something else to consider: I don't wanna spend too much on accessories for my Spark, since there is quite a high probability that I will either break it or lose it within a year or less. If/when that happens, I'm not sure if I wanna get another Spark, I'd rather upgrade to a Mavic, and maybe the Spark is not even gonna be available anymore by then. So I'd rather wait for a battery to be charged now and then, and save my money for a new drone instead.