So, I head out to fly this afternoon, and guess what I find?  One of my batteries, which I used and fully charged Friday, is half dead this afternoon.  It auto-discharged after 48 hours!!!!

This is preposterous!  

So here is the paradox...
Which battery will wear out sooner?  One which has about 50 percent of it's finite number of charge cycles wasted by automatically rending it useless in the field.  Or, a battery that frequently sits a day to two fully charged?

The best anwser to the question; Each user should be able to decide for themselves!  Make auto-discharge behavior optional.

DJI, frankly, we Phantom users already put up with a lot when it comes to Phantom batteries.  They are outrageously expensive, we have but one charger option -- painfully basic, the batteries take a LONG time to charge, and sometimes they suddenly disable themselve for no vailid reason.  This new "feature" is just over the top!  I want to enjoy my Phantom, not be ground by a irritating battery design.

Please, fix this!

While I don't disagree with your statement regarding making the auto-discharge behavior optional, the learning lesson for me here is not to charge my batteries until the day before using them for flight...Thanks for the learning lesson.

It's not as simple as not charging prior to use.  It's about storing at a 50% charge state.  Cannot be done with the Phantom charger WITHOUT babysitting the battery, and disconnecting at the point at which you guess it to be 50%.  Cumbersome at best.

We Phantom owners don't have access to them, but there are many lipo chargers out there that cater to lipos.  In addition to discharging a battery, they have the far more common approach...  Press a button, charges to 50% and stops.  Not to mention you can charge a battery in about 15-20 mins, and batteries cost about $40.

An actual Phantom-compatable feature rich modern lipo charger would be the most eloquent solution.

I agree we need a new charging system with the option to only 50% charge the battery. smart is not smart enough :-)

You should share this with the Facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/Vision.Plus.Owners/

might be a good idea to open up that facebook page to everyone rather than registered facebookers...

A. How do you know it was the auto discharge that caused your issue? Auto discharge is only supposed to kick in after 10 days and supposed to only work with their newest batteries.

B. You can still connect a "normal" lipo charger to your phantom batteries but you'll have to make yourself a plug. That way you can charge faster ( 1C no problem ),  apply CC charge and CV soak ( stock only CC push ) and run a storage charge/discharge.

C.  DJI should bring out an optional advanced charger that has all those functions, connects to the battery smart bus  and either displays all battery relevant information directly or indirectly via a computer/device with data logging for each battery.  Will be an exuberant price since it's DJI ( charger 200$ DJI logo 300$ ) but at least this makes an advanced OEM charger option available for the masses.
   

swomilan Posted at 2014-11-3 22:07
A. How do you know it was the auto discharge that caused your issue? Auto discharge is only supposed ...

Hmm. has battery some kind of Watch buildt in ???
"Auto discharge is only supposed to kick in after 10 days "

b.w.j@joergense Posted at 2014-11-4 00:07
Hmm. has battery some kind of Watch buildt in ???
"Auto discharge is only supposed to kick in afte ...

I guess it has an internal timer

Dont update the battery if you dont want the auto discharge after the 48hours.  So it is kind of optional.  I dont no where 10 days came from I read from a DJI Forum rep member 2 days.  I cant update a few of mine as there the old version which suites me fine as I have good battery management ,though a smarter charger would be good to stop the baby-sitting.

shacks86 Posted at 2014-11-4 08:46
Dont update the battery if you dont want the auto discharge after the 48hours.  So it is kind of opt ...

I'd like to down-grade the firmware, but doubt that possible.

I would assume this is done for a reason? Like to protect the battery life in the long run? I'm just speculating here but I don't see why they would have bothered to make an auto discharge if it didn't serve a purpose..
I don't disagree with making it optional though... more user control is a good thing!

swomilan Posted at 2014-11-3 22:07
A. How do you know it was the auto discharge that caused your issue? Auto discharge is only supposed ...

First off, I acknowledge I am not beyond a mistake.  Is it possible I mistakenly did not charge they battery when I thought I did?  Yes.  However, at least three of my usual procedural steps, and my memory, say otherwise.

However, even if I did make a mistake —the battery did not self-discharge— I still detest the whole idea.  Mainly for two reasons.  One, major inconvenience to have a battery drained when you expect charged, and the fact some percentage of the limited number of charge/discharge cycles in a battery’s lifetime will be wasted.  In effect, further increasing the cost of Phantom batteries.

I would love to have other battery charger options, but I'm not up on the pros and cons of doing so with a Phantom battery.  Any suggests where to follow what other's experiences have been in connecting other chargers?  They are hard to find, but I do have one of the batter connecters like is inside the Phantom.  I use it in conjunction with a Phantom battery as an auxiliary power supply for my FPV monitor, and the odd time when I want to run a battery down for storage, via an 1157 taillight bulb.


I'm sure you are correct, any "deluxe" DJI charger would be expensive.



Thanks for your input.  

^^^^^^^^^i find your avatar very distracting ...so do others, just saying. ^^^^^^^

shep941@gmail.c Posted at 2014-11-4 09:10
I would assume this is done for a reason? Like to protect the battery life in the long run? I'm just ...

There is most definitely a good reason for lipo batteries not to sit fully charged -- it shortens their lifespan.

The question is, what constitutes an "extended period".  How long is too long?  

IF we had an easy way to charge to 50%, and IF we had a way to charge batteries in tens of minutes (rather than hours), it's fairly painless to maximize battery life by storing at 50%, and charging prior to use.  But alas, we do not.  

Basically wasting energy by throwing it away is a clunky work-around.

One guess the reason this is being addressed this way is that there have been too many battery warranty requests.  It's starting to cost DJI real money, and I think the price of Phantom batteries more or less subsidizes the selling price of the Phantoms.  It's akin to ink-jet printers.  Sell the printer cheap, charge a lot for ink, and actively pursue breaking any third party attempts at producing less pricey alternatives.

Eirlink Posted at 2014-11-4 09:26
^^^^^^^^^i find your avatar very distracting ...so do others, just saying. ^^^^^^^

Okey-dokey I'll change it.  

Eirlink Posted at 2014-11-4 09:26
^^^^^^^^^i find your avatar very distracting ...so do others, just saying. ^^^^^^^

Like this better?  

sorry AP, i just cant read your posts with all that going on.

Eirlink Posted at 2014-11-5 02:35
sorry AP, i just cant read your posts with all that going on.

Refresh your browser.  I changed it.  

AP much better, and more calming too , fair play .

Hello, the battery auto-discharge function only starts after 10 days of no operation. It helps users extend the battery and prevents any potential swelling problem. 10 days come out in this way: if you charge your battery this Friday and plan to fly in the coming weekends. Later you change your mind, and don't make it a trip. Next weekend, you may wanna fly. We guarantee you can still do so in the next weekends. This is 10 days time. Afterwards, if you still don't touch your battery. The auto-discharge function will activate itself and discharge to a safe level (~60%) in 2 days.

Thanks for the explanation Bruce.  I/we appreciate your input.