Extending Flight Time

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I think I have come up with a way to increase flight times by 5 or 6 mins which is like 18%. Here's how: cut the red & black wires to the gimbal, add a extension about 10", Velcro a 1100ma 14.8v lipo. just behind gimbal, add matching connector for batt. when it's time to fly plug in gimbal then turn on Solo and go Fly. Cost under $15
 
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I think I have come up with a way to increase flight times by 5 or 6 mins which is like 18%. Here's how: cut the red & black wires to the gimbal, add a extension about 10", Velcro a 1100ma 14.8v lipo. just behind gimbal, add matching connector for batt. when it's time to fly plug in gimbal then turn on Solo and go Fly. Cost under $15

Good thinking....and keep thinking....Think outside the box. One might find it will work for them and other might not....
 
I think I have come up with a way to increase flight times by 5 or 6 mins which is like 18%. Here's how: cut the red & black wires to the gimbal, add a extension about 10", Velcro a 1100ma 14.8v lipo. just behind gimbal, add matching connector for batt. when it's time to fly plug in gimbal then turn on Solo and go Fly. Cost under $15

Would you be able to (please) send some "happy Snaps" to illustrate what you did?
Thanks.
 
I am curious;what was the smart battery reporting regarding the voltage?
Did you ignore the 25% Warning?
What was the % when you landed?

The idea definately has merit.
 
I am curious;what was the smart battery reporting regarding the voltage?
Did you ignore the 25% Warning?
What was the % when you landed?

The idea definately has merit.
All of the reading were normal except the amp. draw was lower, I always try to land at about 20% and no I never ignore the 25% Warning, I've seen Batts go down very fast sometimes.
 
There is always that old battle of weight vs fuel vs flight time so I don't get why this adds more of the later. Wouldn't this be similar to soldering a plug to the plus/minus battery connectors inside the Solo and using that to parallel another flight battery?
 
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Great idea but I am wondering why you elected to use a 4s battery to power the gimbal. Normally ancilliary things on an airframe run at 12v or 5v from regulators on the main board. Obviously your system is happy with what you have done but i am a little concerned that 4s may be a little to much voltage unless of course the gimbal itself has a regulator and maybe you already know that?

Bill
 
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The weight if the gimbal and GoPro are the major contributing factor to the decrease in flight time we see as compared to a bare Solo.
If you power up your Solo with gimbal and GoPro, but don't arm it, you are probably only pulling about 1 Amp. In flight the total current draw is closer to 18 Amps.
The weight of the accessories is way more critical to flight time as compared to the small power draw they have. Adding an extra battery just isn't worth its weight.
 
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Great idea but I am wondering why you elected to use a 4s battery to power the gimbal. Normally ancilliary things on an airframe run at 12v or 5v from regulators on the main board. Bill

I think he chose 4s because that is what powers the Solo. Many gimbals (Tiny2 'fer instance) can work across a wide range of voltages.
 
Great idea but I am wondering why you elected to use a 4s battery to power the gimbal. Normally ancilliary things on an airframe run at 12v or 5v from regulators on the main board. Obviously your system is happy with what you have done but i am a little concerned that 4s may be a little to much voltage unless of course the gimbal itself has a regulator and maybe you already know that?

Bill
Thanks Bill, I did check the pen out voltage and it was the same as the batt. 15.8v but your right most gimbals use 5v or 12v but it's happy !!!
 
There is always that old battle of weight vs fuel vs flight time so I don't get why this adds more of the later. Wouldn't this be similar to soldering a plug to the plus/minus battery connectors inside the Solo and using that to parallel another flight battery?
You are indeed 100% correct as a retired pilot I do know the penalty's of "tankering fuel" in fact I did it here by using a 1500mil pack, I found it will last about 6 flights, have now ordered a 1100 to replace it and save weight.
 
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Thanks Bill, I did check the pen out voltage and it was the same as the batt. 15.8v but your right most gimbals use 5v or 12v but it's happy !!!
Great dave sounds good excellent find and idea now if we can find out what the current draw is we will be able to calculate how much flight time for a given battery.

Bill
 
Great dave sounds good excellent find and idea now if we can find out what the current draw is we will be able to calculate how much flight time for a given battery.

Bill
I did put out a post asking that,but didn't get any thing back. My thought is with 3 servo's and quite a smart board I think a amp is close.
 
You are indeed 100% correct as a retired pilot I do know the penalty's of "tankering fuel" in fact I did it here by using a 1500mil pack, I found it will last about 6 flights, have now ordered a 1100 to replace it and save weight.

DaveB, I just got my solo and am thinking about adding a battery like what you did. Could you let me know how the 1100mAh battery has been working out for you (how much extra flight time)? Any advice on the project would be appreciated.
 
You can measure the power draw of the gimbal, Pixhawk and WiFi . Just look at the current being used before you arm the aircraft. I think you will see it is about 1-1.5 amps. Assuming the power consumption of the other components is about 0.5 amps the gimbal uses almost no power. I think you will see your flight time decrease by adding the weight of the additional battery.
 
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Problem is: i'm a total newbie :D. I can work out equations with my science background, but I have no instruments of any sort. Anyway, why don't I add some weight on the solo and fly it to compare the drop in fly time vs extra weight added and post the results when I finish?! dud :)
 
You can save yourself time by searching on this forum. Someone added a second battery to Solo (5100 mAh I believe) and only gained 5 min or so of flight time.
With the stock motors there is only so much you can do without new battery technology.
If you want longer flight times make the copter lighter. Best way to do that is remove the gimbal or gimbal and camera, but I assume that would negate the need for Solo.
BTW, the 3DR app should show you battery voltage and current both on the ground with motors off and in flight so you can judge how much power the gimbal uses. It is only about 5% of what the motors pull in flight.
 
I saw his youtube video and thread as well. But a second solo battery is a lot heavier than just a small 1100mAh battery. Anyway, I just came back from my test :D

Method: 2 flies back to back, similar path and pattern - flew out at 250ft altitude to the same point about 2400ft away, hovered around until battery dropped to 50%, then back, hovered above home until battery dropped to 5% then landed.

Result:
- with only gimbal & hero 3B: started with 96%, landed with 3% left: total fly time = 16.5 min (this has been my average)
- with gimbal, hero 3B, and 5.6oz added (piggyback 4x 18650 batteries): started with 97%, landed with 1% left: total fly time = 11.5 min

So basically +5oz = -5 min of fly time from this test. Maybe I should try +2oz hover test to be more fair. But for now, I agree the weight is the bigger issue here.
 
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