Batteries

[drislio]

Decided to take the solo out for a flight. Figured I would try a B&H battery I bought recently. I checked it in solotool, looked good, no decrease in capacity, good overall health, so I charged it and went to the park.

I launch the solo, which went up about 5 feet, at which point it became clear that there is not enough juice to go up so it started to drop, still spinning, until it fell in the ground and flipped. Thank goodness I did not have my gumball on.

Went home, took the battery pack I use most frequently and no issues...

Be careful out therw...

 

[USMC86]

get back in contact with B&H- they may be able to replace it.

 

[Dash Hewes]

I just bought 5 from B & H, when I got them I got out the solo tool and 4 were good, one was not.
I told them the deal what solo tool said and they replaced it. I've flown all of them and getting close to 14 min. They are all 8/15 manufacture. All my original batteries from 6/15 are done, none got more than 35 flights each. The battery was original $150, expensive per flight. Now at $30...reasonable.
With the five I just bought I now have 17 new. I never fly out of sight but I do fly over water a lot, this is concerning. I've lost 3 in the drink over the years.

 

[USMC86]

3 water landings? yikes.

 

[wsalopek]

Dash..

What is "solo tool"? Something that checks battery health?

Thanks

-

Bill

I just bought 5 from B & H, when I got them I got out the solo tool and 4 were good, one was not.
I told them the deal what solo tool said and they replaced it. I've flown all of them and getting close to 14 min. They are all 8/15 manufacture. All my original batteries from 6/15 are done, none got more than 35 flights each. The battery was original $150, expensive per flight. Now at $30...reasonable.
With the five I just bought I now have 17 new. I never fly out of sight but I do fly over water a lot, this is concerning. I've lost 3 in the drink over the years.

 

[Bob firewheels]

Anyone know where one can find this tool to test the batteries?

 

[Dash Hewes]

two sites:

Solotool - 3DR battery diagnostic tool
3DR Solo Battery charging adapter and diagnostics tool. – Madhacker.org

The madhacker reader seems to show more info.

 

[Bob firewheels]

two sites:

Solotool - 3DR battery diagnostic tool
3DR Solo Battery charging adapter and diagnostics tool. – Madhacker.org

The madhacker reader seems to show more info.

Thank you for the info!

 

[Michael Lione]

Word of advice for either of the battery testers. Even defective batteries can read OK at rest. A couple of indicators that your pack has bricked is to compare individual cell voltages. All four should be very close to equal. Also a mAh value ≤2000 at full charge is a good indication that the cell is at or very close to EOL.

A bad or marginal cell that looks OK on the tester can trigger the sudden drop in voltage that inturn triggers the battery failsafe RTL once put under a load in flight.

If you are unsure of your Battery's condition once airborne stay low a close flying a few hard figure 8' before you continue your sortie. This hopefully will flush out a failing pack before you get too far up and away.

 

[Bob firewheels]

Word of advice for either of the battery testers. Even defective batteries can read OK at rest. A couple of indicators that your pack has bricked is to compare individual cell voltages. All four should be very close to equal. Also a mAh value ≤2000 at full charge is a good indication that the cell is at or very close to EOL.

A bad or marginal cell that looks OK on the tester can trigger the sudden drop in voltage that inturn triggers the battery failsafe RTL once put under a load in flight.

If you are unsure of your Battery's condition once airborne stay low a close flying a few hard figure 8' before you continue your sortie. This hopefully will flush out a failing pack before you get too far up and away.

Thank you for the time given for the advice and I'll definitely heed the advice on the older batteries in question. Although I think they should all be good as they've be store and kept in a good stored condition. But, you know how that goes.
Thanks again!
Bob

 

[coolsolo]

What I don’t understand is, 3DR advertises their Site Scan platform supports three different drones, the DJI Phantom 4 Pro, DJI M200 series, and their own Site Scan Drone, which is a Solo with a 20.1MP Sony R10C camera attached. Although it uses a different gimbal system, they must still be making batteries and parts for it!


https://3dr.com/products/supported-drones/

 

[Michael Lione]

Nope they don't and haven't done so since the original battery productions, the final one in 11/15. They threw the Solo under the bus while making every attempt to keep the SiteScan side viable. The good news was despite the liquidation 3DR maintained excellent Support to the thousands that took advantage of Solo purchases that were half of their cost of manufacture. That support was focused on the early SiteScan clientèle that paid $12,000+ for their mapping software hoisted on the back of a modified Solo. The rest of us benefited by this policy. More recently 3DR got in bed with the Big White Duck in the sky and since then the Solo Support has been (rightfully) reduced. I can only assume SiteScan users have a private Support relationship. The 3DR Party has ended for Solo and there are some indications that the SiteScan side as well. Good news is the incredible core of Support provided by this forum.

We are being promised by the most reliable source(s) that a re-engineered and advanced Solo battery is in the offing. For now, keep a close eye on your packs with the SoloTool/Madhacker Testers and continue to feel confident buying the (Old) new packs from B&H at $30 with free legs and shipping. Most important is their painless (cost free, no questions asked) replacement policy.

 

[DJMc]

Nope they don't and haven't done so since the original battery productions, the final one in 11/15. They threw the Solo under the bus while making every attempt to keep the SiteScan side viable. The good news was despite the liquidation 3DR maintained excellent Support to the thousands that took advantage of Solo purchases that were half of their cost of manufacture. That support was focused on the early SiteScan clientèle that paid $12,000+ for their mapping software hoisted on the back of a modified Solo. The rest of us benefited by this policy. More recently 3DR got in bed with the Big White Duck in the sky and since then the Solo Support has been (rightfully) reduced. I can only assume SiteScan users have a private Support relationship. The 3DR Party has ended for Solo and there are some indications that the SiteScan side as well. Good news is the incredible core of Support provided by this forum.

We are being promised by the most reliable source(s) that a re-engineered and advanced Solo battery is in the offing. For now, keep a close eye on your packs with the SoloTool/Madhacker Testers and continue to feel confident buying the (Old) new packs from B&H at $30 with free legs and shipping. Most important is their painless (cost free, no questions asked) replacement policy.

Are you able to expand on the re-engineered battery that you mentioned? Is it a commercial developer or a community project?

It's the critical item in Solo longevity I think. When considering further sensor investment, given the price of Solo airframes, a long term battery supply might just swing it for Solo even with 3DR's withdrawal.

 

[Michael Lione]

Are you able to expand on the re-engineered battery that you mentioned? Is it a commercial developer or a community project?

It's the critical item in Solo longevity I think. When considering further sensor investment, given the price of Solo airframes, a long term battery supply might just swing it for Solo even with 3DR's withdrawal.

If you are aquainted with the likes of Philip Rowse and Paul Dinardi then you can take comfort in my promise of replacement pack which are indeed a commercial venture.

There are several Community based solutions which reley on the ridiculously dangerous BMS extraction. Additionally there are several alternative packs available that easily connect to the Solo via the Brownie Board adapter cable. The latter solution eliminates the telemetry provided by the BMS therefore necessitating you fly on a timer but exponentially safer than attempting to crack the case and incorporate the extracted BMS with a new aftermarket pack. Besides the inherent danger this mod requires additional components and soldering skills.

Many among us are willing and adept to take the risk. The mods are doable and have met with success. My contention is that as long as there are $30 replacement packs these mods are not worth the risk.

 

[DJMc]

Thanks for the additional inofrmation, that's great news.

Agree on the pack replacement option - defiantly a last resort. I'm struggling to get packs over here in the UK for less than $140 ish though - but still worth it to avoid the risk.

I'll keep my eye out. Much appreciated.