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The Micro USB Slot on the Spark Battery Charging Hub
14204 22 2017-8-10
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S-e-ven
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under the rubber on the picture, what is it for, please?
Can I charge from this side, with a powerful micro USB charger (powerbank, delivering 4A), or .....?
As the power adaptor has 2 USB slots, I would not see it as a "charge the controller" with micro usb2micro usb option.

Thank you

2017-8-10
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DJI Thor
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This micro USB port is recommending for firmware upgrading only.
2017-8-10
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jyc
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Upgrading firmware of batteries?
2017-8-10
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S-e-ven
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Thanks for the info!
2017-8-10
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SuperCurro
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DJI Thor Posted at 2017-8-10 05:12
This micro USB port is recommending for firmware upgrading only.

How can we upgrade the battery firmware with the dock?

If I connect the dock to the pc it recongnise "USB Serial Device"

Then I connect the bateria (nothing)
I turn on the battery (two push) and nothing
I connect tha charger of the dock and nothing....

So how can we check or upgrade the batteries. I have 5 batteries.
2017-8-10
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LouisP
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SuperCurro Posted at 2017-8-10 12:42
How can we upgrade the battery firmware with the dock?

If I connect the dock to the pc it recongnise "USB Serial Device"

You upgrade the batteries on the drone.  The app should notify you if the battery needs updating and then do it..   Repeat for all of your batteries.
2017-8-10
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TheCyberKnight
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This port is there for an eventual update of the charger firmware. It would be done through DJI Assistant.
2017-8-10
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SuperCurro
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TheCyberKnight Posted at 2017-8-10 13:14
This port is there for an eventual update of the charger firmware. It would be done through DJI Assistant.

The dji assistant software doesn't recognize it even the COM appears.
2017-8-10
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ImHereToCrash
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SuperCurro Posted at 2017-8-10 14:13
The dji assistant software doesn't recognize it even the COM appears.

ya same, drivers all seem to load into windows 10 just fine.. dji assistant 2 doesnt seem to see it.  my charger bank needs an update, i think..i hope..maybe... i just want to update it
2017-8-10
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DJI Thor
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SuperCurro Posted at 2017-8-10 12:42
How can we upgrade the battery firmware with the dock?

If I connect the dock to the pc it recongnise "USB Serial Device"

It doesn't need to upgrade yet, if new firmware is released, then connect it to the PC for upgrading.
2017-8-11
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fanse8f5c40d
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My DJI forced me to update everything and I updated one of the batteries (I have two). And it won’t charr anymore on the charging HUB.

What am I missing?

(Right one with single light is the one that updated firmware)
2017-9-11
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Sparky_17
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SuperCurro Posted at 2017-8-10 12:42
How can we upgrade the battery firmware with the dock?

If I connect the dock to the pc it recongnise "USB Serial Device"

this is to upgrade the firmware of the charging hub only.  Not for drone, battery firmware updates.
2017-9-12
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M1dn1ght N1nj4
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OMG, does EVERYTHING they make have its own firmware?  When was the last time the charging dock was updated?  Also, I haven't seen a place that lists the docks current firmware version.

Do the prop guards have a hidden port for a firmware upgrade?  Maybe give them better collision handling?
2017-9-12
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Zbig
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M1dn1ght N1nj4 Posted at 2017-9-12 06:30
OMG, does EVERYTHING they make have its own firmware?  When was the last time the charging dock was updated?  Also, I haven't seen a place that lists the docks current firmware version.

Do the prop guards have a hidden port for a firmware upgrade?  Maybe give them better collision handling?

If it has an MCU of any kind, it has its own firmware, yes. The charging hub does have some smarts built-in, like power management. What is your problem, anyway? There is currently no need to update the firmware as there are no known issues with it. And perhaps there never will be any. What they've done is called future-proofing and is actually a very wise move. Would you prefer there would be a product recall in case some potential safety hazard gets discovered in the future? Or if an improved, higher-performance battery shows up in the future, would you rather buy a new charging hub or perform a firmware update on your existing one?
2017-9-15
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Wachtberger
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TheCyberKnight Posted at 2017-8-10 13:14
This port is there for an eventual update of the charger firmware. It would be done through DJI Assistant.

I am very sure that the charger does not have a firmware. And updating the battery firmware with the dock did not work for me when there were updates available. Have tried it several times.
2017-9-15
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M1dn1ght N1nj4
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Zbig Posted at 2017-9-15 07:34
If it has an MCU of any kind, it has its own firmware, yes. The charging hub does have some smarts built-in, like power management. What is your problem, anyway? There is currently no need to update the firmware as there are no known issues with it. And perhaps there never will be any. What they've done is called future-proofing and is actually a very wise move. Would you prefer there would be a product recall in case some potential safety hazard gets discovered in the future? Or if an improved, higher-performance battery shows up in the future, would you rather buy a new charging hub or perform a firmware update on your existing one?

Chill out, it's a joke.  Sounds like it was a bit over your head.

Anyway, just having an MCU does NOT mean the firmware is upgradable.  Also, nearly every other type of battery charger, "smart" or not, does not have any form of user accessible firmware.  It has software that runs on a chip, but it has one job, and does it just fine.  The dock is nothing more than a distributor of power.  The batteries themselves can choose whether or not to accept more incoming power, as they have their own chip on board.

You think your wall charger is telling your phone to stop charging?  No, of course not.  The phone determines when it has enough power, and decides to only pull in what it needs, when it needs it.  The charger would have NO idea what complex piece of equipment is plugged into it, what its power requirements are, charging voltage, etc.

So no, I highly DOUBT the charge has firmware.  It just wouldn't make any sense.  Also, the more complex something is, the more ways it can fail.  Keeping things simple is always best.  If it doesn't need upgradable firmware, don't take the extra overhead and engineering to make it so.
2017-9-15
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Zbig
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Wachtberger Posted at 2017-9-15 07:58
I am very sure that the charger does not have a firmware. And updating the battery firmware with the dock did not work for me when there were updates available. Have tried it several times.

Wachtberger, if by charger you meant the charging hub, what makes you so sure it doesn't have a firmware? I'm pretty sure of the contrary. But let's clarify what I mean by the firmware, first. Any piece of code running on any kind of a microcontroller, no matter how simple, I consider the firmware. Nowadays, even simple things like "breathing" the LED green while charging and lighting it different colors in different states, is usually done with a MCU due to various reasons. And the Spark charging hub has a more serious task on its hands than just lighting an LED, as I will explain shortly in another post answering Ninja. I'm not sure what you meant by trying to update the charger and failing. There's no charging hub firmware update so far as there's apparently no known issue to solve. The USB socket is there, the bootloader is there, ready to accept an update but it doesn't mean there's the PC-side software update mechanism in place yet as there's simply no need for it at this point.
2017-9-15
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Wachtberger
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M1dn1ght N1nj4 Posted at 2017-9-15 10:42
Chill out, it's a joke.  Sounds like it was a bit over your head.

Anyway, just having an MCU does NOT mean the firmware is upgradable.  Also, nearly every other type of battery charger, "smart" or not, does not have any form of user accessible firmware.  It has software that runs on a chip, but it has one job, and does it just fine.  The dock is nothing more than a distributor of power.  The batteries themselves can choose whether or not to accept more incoming power, as they have their own chip on board.

I can only agree! Exactly what I was trying to say and you have explained it very well, thank you for that!
2017-9-15
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Zbig
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M1dn1ght N1nj4 Posted at 2017-9-15 10:42
Chill out, it's a joke.  Sounds like it was a bit over your head.

Anyway, just having an MCU does NOT mean the firmware is upgradable.  Also, nearly every other type of battery charger, "smart" or not, does not have any form of user accessible firmware.  It has software that runs on a chip, but it has one job, and does it just fine.  The dock is nothing more than a distributor of power.  The batteries themselves can choose whether or not to accept more incoming power, as they have their own chip on board.

M1dn1ght N1nj4, I'm sorry if my post came across as aggressive. Internet posts don't always convey the tone accurately and yours didn't occur to me as a joke. Being non-native English speaker doesn't help me much, I figure. But to the point.

You're perfectly right that, in most cases, a charger is a glorified constant voltage power supply. The actual charging control logic usually sits further down the line: it's in the phone in case of a (smart)phone and in the battery itself in case of DJI's intelligent batteries. But I have strong reasons to believe there's some additional trickery going on in the Spark's charging hub; let me elaborate. The DJI's own FAQ states the following for the battery charging times: "52 minutes for one battery, 55 minutes for two batteries and 85.2 minutes for three batteries with the battery charging hub." Now, let's take a closer look at the batteries' specs: 11.4V rated voltage (3S HV), 1480mAh capacity which gives us 16.87Wh of stored energy. And the charging hub's AC adapter specs: 13.05V, 3.83A (50W). The batteries take little more than 50 minutes for a full charge which means the initial CC charging phase is carried out at the current higher than 1C (1480mA). The current tapers off in the CV phase (as the battery has reached its terminal voltage) so you have to start with a current considerably higher than 1480mA per battery. In case of up two two batteries, 3.83A / 2 = 1.915A per battery so it's all fine and dandy. But as soon as you put the third battery, you'd need more than 1480mA * 3 = 4440mA and that gives us 58W - way over the 50W power budget of the supplied brick. And, as we established, we charge at more than 1C initially so this is a best case scenario. That is why I'm confident there's additional logic in the charging hub that sequences the power delivered to the individual batteries in the case of charging three of them. Given the level of technical advancement of the rest of the DJI's stuff, I can assure you they're not relying on the overcurrent safety measure built into the PSU (SMPS's usually just drop out under overcurrent condition, anyway). Also, as stated in the manual, the hub is able to signal the fault conditions using its colored LED and you do need an MCU running - however complex or simple - firmware for that. All that is why I honestly don't get it why you guys would prefer it to be non-updateable. Just pretend that micro-USB is not there for the time being; chances are, in the future you'll be grateful it's there after all ;)

Cheers!
Zbig
2017-9-15
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Kloo Gee
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M1dn1ght N1nj4 Posted at 2017-9-12 06:30
OMG, does EVERYTHING they make have its own firmware?  When was the last time the charging dock was updated?  Also, I haven't seen a place that lists the docks current firmware version.

Do the prop guards have a hidden port for a firmware upgrade?  Maybe give them better collision handling?

M1dn1ght N1nj4,

I can only go by what DJI says and I've seen on multiple forum threads where the DJI support techs (including DJI Thor in this thread) give the same answer about firmware for the charging hub.  

The Mavic Pro also includes the same port in its charger hub and it is clearly labeled as a firmware update port in it's documentation:

https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/ ... ry+Charging+Hub.pdf

I've looked for a similar Spark document for the charging hub, but my Google-Fu is failing me today...

Also, if you read the marketing fluff about the battery charger, they make it sound like it's doing some thinking of its own:

http://store.dji.com/product/spark-battery-charging-hub

Separately, I ordered my Spark the day it was announced and so I was one of the first batch of deliveries the first day it was being delivered to customers.  I swear I remember having to update the firmware for the battery charging hub.  However, I can't find anything to prove it.  So I may just be a senile idiot making things up!
2017-9-15
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Charles Adams
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Kloo Gee Posted at 2017-9-15 15:15
M1dn1ght N1nj4,

I can only go by what DJI says and I've seen on multiple forum threads where the DJI support techs (including DJI Thor in this thread) give the same answer about firmware for the charging hub.  

I ordered it the day of announcement too!  My wife was going to get me a P4P, and I gave that up because I was impressed with the spark and thought it would be a much better drone for boating.

The gesture controls have been a disappointment, but I really am happy with the spark as a better boating drone.
2017-9-15
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Kloo Gee
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Charles Adams Posted at 2017-9-15 15:20
I ordered it the day of announcement too!  My wife was going to get me a P4P, and I gave that up because I was impressed with the spark and thought it would be a much better drone for boating.

The gesture controls have been a disappointment, but I really am happy with the spark as a better boating drone.

Haha, sounds like we've got a lot in common!  If I ever get out west, I'm going to make you take me out for one of those boat rides!  I'll supply your beverage of choice!  Lol

I have a raw video recorded with my thoughts on the gesture controls.  I keep putting off editing it and getting it ready to publish ....
2017-9-15
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fansdd6ee53d
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I have the same problem when I try to connect the charging hub to my PC, it only recognizes a "DJI VCPSerial" as an unknown device, even when I connect my DJI Spark it doesn't recognizes at all, what can I do? Can someone help me with the drivers or anything?
2018-1-31
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