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SPARKS BATTERY CHARGING HUB MICRO USB DONT WORK
3173 13 2017-10-8
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Viking-Pilot
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Hi there, I have just discovered a micro USB port on my Sparks charging hub and I thought it was meant to be used for charging the batteries while I was dirving my car as a car charger, but I have tried it out and was very disapointed when I discovered that it didn't work...so, Am I doing something wrong here? or is the micro USB port malfunctioning? or maybe the micro USB port has another purpose? Anyone knows? Please tell me im doing something wrong cause this will be awesome to be able to use it that way...

Thanks in advance...

2017-10-8
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Wachtberger
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You are not doing anything wrong. For the time being that port has no function.
2017-10-8
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Viking-Pilot
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Wachtberger Posted at 2017-10-8 02:08
You are not doing anything wrong. For the time being that port has no function.

OOOOOH...Really?? i can't believe it!! hahah, there is a huge potencial to make this drone even more portable and take the possibilities way beyond expected by being capable of using the hub as a car charger for the 3 batteries and a fourth one charging on the Spark itself during long trips, wich is my case as i have 4 batteries...JEEEEZZ...what a dissapointing discovery...  
2017-10-8
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DJI Thor
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The micro USB port is for the hub's firmware upgrading. Now no firmware needs to be updated for the charging hub now.
2017-10-8
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Zbig
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Viking-Pilot Posted at 2017-10-8 02:27
OOOOOH...Really?? i can't believe it!! hahah, there is a huge potencial to make this drone even more portable and take the possibilities way beyond expected by being capable of using the hub as a car charger for the 3 batteries and a fourth one charging on the Spark itself during long trips, wich is my case as i have 4 batteries...JEEEEZZ...what a dissapointing discovery...

Yeah, and there's those pesky things called "laws of physics" that keep getting in the way In order to charge 3 Spark batteries via microUSB in an hour or so, you'd need to push 10A of current through the wimpy little connector. Bad idea. That's why there are no 10A USB chargers. And that's assuming you'd be able to boost 5V@10A to 13V with 100% efficiency. Not gonna happen. There's a reason DJI haven't used microUSB for the battery hub charger in the first place after all, don't you think? ;)

The microUSB port is there for future battery hub firmware updates.
2017-10-8
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Viking-Pilot
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DJI Thor Posted at 2017-10-8 03:20
The micro USB port is for the hub's firmware upgrading. Now no firmware needs to be updated for the charging hub now.

Oooh...I see, thanks for the aswer.
2017-10-8
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Viking-Pilot
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Zbig Posted at 2017-10-8 03:27
Yeah, and there's those pesky things called "laws of physics" that keep getting in the way  In order to charge 3 Spark batteries via microUSB in an hour or so, you'd need to push 10A of current through the wimpy little connector. Bad idea. That's why there are no 10A USB chargers. And that's assuming you'd be able to boost 5V@10A to 13V with 100% efficiency. Not gonna happen. There's a reason DJI haven't used microUSB for the battery hub charger in the first place after all, don't you think? ;)

The microUSB port is there for future battery hub firmware updates.

Yeah you got a point there, but also you can amplify the power output, I know the hub should have been much heavier and maybe bigger, but I wouldn't mind waiting 3 hours for the batteries to be charged as long as i dont need to find a place to plug the hub in the midle of nowhere...or at least being able to charge 1 battery at the time so I still could be flying on one...

Anyway thanks for the information, i guess il have to get me one of those power converters for the car...;-)
2017-10-8
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Zbig
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Viking-Pilot Posted at 2017-10-8 03:50
Yeah you got a point there, but also you can amplify the power output, I know the hub should have been much heavier and maybe bigger, but I wouldn't mind waiting 3 hours for the batteries to be charged as long as i dont need to find a place to plug the hub in the midle of nowhere...or at least being able to charge 1 battery at the time so I still could be flying on one...

Anyway thanks for the information, i guess il have to get me one of those power converters for the car...;-)

By allowing the charge via microUSB of the limited number of batteries or allowing them to charge slower, DJI would accomplish the following:

1. Increase the cost and complexity of both the hardware and the control logic firmware.
2. Generate lots of bitching and moaning from the bunch of people who would feel it's their birthright to charge as many batteries as they please as fast as they please via microUSB.

I can see why DJI wouldn't want any of that.

Now, I too miss a car charging possibility. There are some third party solutions available I haven't tried, though. I'm sure when (and if) the official DJI's car charger shows up, it will output 13V, just like the mains power brick and will use the same connector. It's much easier to step up the voltage from 12V nominal to the 13V needed by the charger efficiently and the voltage in the socket of a running car is even higher: closer to 13.8V.

For the time being, I've got a QuickCharge 3.0 car USB charger that will allow me to quickly charge the batteries in-Spark and rotate them faster should such a need arise.
2017-10-8
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Viking-Pilot
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Zbig Posted at 2017-10-8 05:43
By allowing the charge via microUSB of the limited number of batteries or allowing them to charge slower, DJI would accomplish the following:

1. Increase the cost and complexity of both the hardware and the control logic firmware.

Thanks for your explanation, it makes lots of sense, I do hope DJI release soon a car adapter for the hub, that would be great, in the mean time il see if i can find a power amplifier for the car socket for a good price and test it out...
2017-10-8
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ACW
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It is for updating the firmware on the hub itself - not to be mistaken for updating firmware on the batteries (which it doesn't) and has nothing to do with directly charging the batteries. All DJI battery hubs have these ports for connecting to Assistant 2 for FW updates. Out of all the hubs I believe only the Inspire 1 hub had a FW update back in 2015 so it seems kind of pointless - for now.
2017-10-8
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Viking-Pilot
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ACW Posted at 2017-10-8 14:39
It is for updating the firmware on the hub itself - not to be mistaken for updating firmware on the batteries and has nothing to do with directly charging the batteries. All DJI battery hubs have these ports for connecting to Assistant 2 for FW updates. Out of all the hubs I believe only the Inspire 1 hub had a FW update back in 2015 so it seems kind of pointless - for now.

Thanks for your answer, indeed it's for no use..really hope for a quick release of some kind of car charging hub for the batteries, will make thing much more easy and the fun will never stops on trips..
2017-10-8
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DJI Thor
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Viking-Pilot Posted at 2017-10-8 03:42
Oooh...I see, thanks for the aswer.

Yeah, you are welcome. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at any time, we're glad to help.
2017-10-9
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MAvicMinh
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Viking-Pilot Posted at 2017-10-8 02:27
OOOOOH...Really?? i can't believe it!! hahah, there is a huge potencial to make this drone even more portable and take the possibilities way beyond expected by being capable of using the hub as a car charger for the 3 batteries and a fourth one charging on the Spark itself during long trips, wich is my case as i have 4 batteries...JEEEEZZ...what a dissapointing discovery...

You can always use an inverter. Google Bestek 150W inverter
2017-10-10
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Viking-Pilot
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MAvicMinh Posted at 2017-10-10 06:00
You can always use an inverter. Google Bestek 150W inverter

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to look out for one of those
2017-10-10
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