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Calibrate batteries on spark?
5331 21 2018-1-30
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dansmar
First Officer
Flight distance : 422149 ft
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I was reading in another thread about another topic and saw this listed ‘ that the spark batteries every 3 months need to be discharged and then recharged to keep the batteries calibrated’

What is the procedure for this and what percentage is discharged enough to be recalibrated?

I currently always stop flying at between 25 and 30 percent - thanks for any answers
2018-1-30
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SpeedyBirdy
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Yea I’m wondering about the same thing. Hopefully some of the experienced people could help explain this.
2018-1-30
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heliman
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Denmark
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I don’t do that. But this may give very good clues about it:
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/battery_calibration
2018-1-30
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Bright Spark
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Lithium batterires can be wreched by over discharge. So all modern battery systems contain a low voltage cut off to prevent this. So you can probably run them safely  flat .
I never fly past 20 per cent left but some including DJI say they should be  taken down  to cut off every 3 months for calibration. Probably the correct procedure.
2018-1-30
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dansmar
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Bright Spark Posted at 2018-1-30 13:07
Lithium batterires can be wreched by over discharge. So all modern battery systems contain a low voltage cut off to prevent this. So you can probably run them safely  flat .
I never fly past 20 per cent left but some including DJI say they should be  taken down  to cut off every 3 months for calibration. Probably the correct procedure.

Thanks for the response

Where does dji state this it’s not in the manual for the spark - what percentage is cut off - this seems very ambiguous

Any moderators out there -I would like official clarification as well - don’t want to damage the batteries, also don’t want the batteries to die for no reason
2018-1-30
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SOUNDWAVE439
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There is no discharge In spark
2018-1-30
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Solestacz
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there's a very good and extensive tutorial re: dji intelligent batteries on youtube which explains that process - it recommends completely discharging batteries after 20 recharge cycles, so the charge controller s/w can get a new baseline from which to measure charge/discharge.
2018-1-30
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dansmar
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Solestacz Posted at 2018-1-30 13:38
there's a very good and extensive tutorial re: dji intelligent batteries on youtube which explains that process - it recommends completely discharging batteries after 20 recharge cycles, so the charge controller s/w can get a new baseline from which to measure charge/discharge.

Do you have a link? Is this official DJI video or something made by a 3rd party? Just looking up DJI intelligent batteries on you tube is going probably a lot of matches
I watched 2 official DJI battery videos on YouTube, in neither video does it say to calibrate the batteries - only to recharge them at least every 3 months - again where is the official DJI link or explanation - 3rd party people can say anything

I am very interested in maintaining my batteries properly to DJI specs
2018-1-30
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fansa6d9d300
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United Kingdom
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a battery reboot is also used when the cells are at different levels or you have an error.
smart batteries can be run down to reset there values.
for the spark i would fly until 10% land and just run the motors until it shut down.
to be honest i would only do this if there was discrepancies in the cells voltage.
2018-1-30
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Bright Spark
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When nicads came out, there was strict advice that they had a memory effect, and required periodic full  discharge for similar reasons. Then that  was reversed, don't bother.
Lithiums about the same.
My system is to test fly to 10 per cent, and if I get 14 or more mins, carry on as usual.
Sparks batts look to be of high quality because their cell voltages appear very constant during use. I've no idea how many cycles one can expect, but flight times will decrease when they deteriorate.
I've wasted ages testing lipos, slow/fast charge/discharge,  etc, and broadly no conclusions.In a large aerobatic helicopter, they just don't last long.
2018-1-30
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dansmar
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fansa6d9d300 Posted at 2018-1-30 14:02
a battery reboot is also used when the cells are at different levels or you have an error.
smart batteries can be run down to reset there values.
for the spark i would fly until 10% land and just run the motors until it shut down.

Where is an official DJI statement or video etc.. regarding this - nothing personal but just because some random person in a forum days to do something doesn't make it right - just would like to see DJI official recommendation
2018-1-30
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Bright Spark
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You'd have to dig very deep to really understand them.
If the spark goes into low battery mode, all that matters is it does it on low voltage. Then you can carry on until your flight times. become unacceptably low. If it's done on capacity it  might be problematic, esp if you  fly great distances away.
They don't seem to be doing at all well in gauging remaining charge in cars.
2018-1-30
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Solestacz
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dansmar Posted at 2018-1-30 13:56
Do you have a link? Is this official DJI video or something made by a 3rd party? Just looking up DJI intelligent batteries on you tube is going probably a lot of matches
I watched 2 official DJI battery videos on YouTube, in neither video does it say to calibrate the batteries - only to recharge them at least every 3 months - again where is the official DJI link or explanation - 3rd party people can say anything

here ya go

it's not a DJI-produced thing, but watch it and tell me that guy doesn't know what he's talking about, lol.
2018-1-30
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dj_dread
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you can find the manual for batteries here: https://www.dji.com/spark/info#downloads
usually, all lipos need to be discharged at their half capacity when stored (not using for a certain amount of time). these "intelligent" batteries can auto-discharge if not used for 10 days.
2018-1-30
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Bright Spark
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Well it's a moot point when after explaining about the horror of a lipo fire he recommends you keep it in your pocket in cold weather.
Film crews in the arctic do it, but it's not for me.
2018-1-30
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Rustic17
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So when you say calibrate, you mean to fully discharge the battery and then recharge it, right???  There's no hooking it up to DJI Assistant2 or anything like that, right?
2018-1-30
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Solestacz
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Rustic17 Posted at 2018-1-30 16:05
So when you say calibrate, you mean to fully discharge the battery and then recharge it, right???  There's no hooking it up to DJI Assistant2 or anything like that, right?

affirmative
2018-1-30
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dansmar
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dj_dread Posted at 2018-1-30 14:41
you can find the manual for batteries here: https://www.dji.com/spark/info#downloads
usually, all lipos need to be discharged at their half capacity when stored (not using for a certain amount of time). these "intelligent" batteries can auto-discharge if not used for 10 days.

So nothing official from DJI about calibrating the batteries periodically - that's all I wanna know - thanks for all the responses

As the manual states just charge them at a minimum of every 3 months
2018-1-30
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DJI Elektra
DJI team
Hong Kong
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Hi, guys. I would recommend you idle the battery of spark in a dry place if you do not use it. It will start discharging automatically after being idle for ten days. You can fully charge the spark every three months for maintenance.
2018-1-30
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dansmar
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DJI Elektra Posted at 2018-1-30 20:20
Hi, guys. I would recommend you idle the battery of spark in a dry place if you do not use it. It will start discharging automatically after being idle for ten days. You can fully charge the spark every three months for maintenance.


Thanks for the response Electra - so per dji other than storing in a dry place and charging every 3 months when not in regular use no other maintenance on the batteries are needed? Ie battery calibration etc..
2018-1-30
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Rustic17
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The video in this thread is 50 minutes...all on the Spark battery!!!   When I saw the 50 minutes pop up I thought "NO WAY" but it is very informative and something I highly recommend.
2018-1-31
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DJI Elektra
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dansmar Posted at 2018-1-30 22:51
Thanks for the response Electra - so per dji other than storing in a dry place and charging every 3 months when not in regular use no other maintenance on the batteries are needed? Ie battery calibration etc..

You are welcome. Please storage the battery in a right way to maintain the capability. Thanks for your support.
2018-2-5
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