I've inherited a Phantom 2 without battery.  I was told the battery died in a crash landing but I want to test it for myself before I spend any $$ on this machine.  Would it be possible to simply connect the machine up to a PSU directly to test the general electronics, or are there some sort of sophisticated sensors expecting a battery to be attached before I can test?  I don't want to buy a battery before I'm sure it's at least functioning reasonably well.

I haven't opened it up yet and no doubt can easily figure out + and - for the battery, but thought it would be good if there are any tech documents on this model available online - apologies, I'm completely new to the forum!

Cheers

I would use a legit battery.  There are plenty of swollen P2 batteries that have no value other than bench testing, so maybe you can find one for free or for shipping.  Unfortunately South Africa is a long way from many places.  And some countries, like USA, don't permit shipping Lipos out of the country.  

Good luck

Hello and good day Wedwo. Thank you for reaching out and for the inquiry. For us to be able to help you further with your DJI Phantom 2 and with regards to this matter. Kindly please send an email to support@dji.com for further assistance. Thank you for your support.