Battery Auto Shut off?

[alex covo]

Soooo. I've been flying the solo with no hiccups for a few weeks now. Its been a pretty awesome experience to say the least. I also practiced on a smaller drone for a few months before I finally decided to move up in scale. I'm not sure how anyone who has never flown one is surprised when things don't go right and they experience a crash.

Anyway, I was out practicing, flying aggressively (Manual mode), and drifted into a tree. The battery fell out into some brush and I'm wondering if it will turn off automatically because it popped out? Or will it run itself out all the way to zero, thereby damaging the battery? I had read somewhere that if the battery goes all the way to zero it can damage it. On the bright side, the engines shut off quicker than I could initiate the emergency motor shut-off, (because the battery came out). So no damage to the motors. Live and learn.

The reason I ask is because its nighttime and I want to wait until the morning daylight to look for it. Unless I have no choice.

Much appreciated.

Alex

 

[DodgeP]

I have no idea if running the battery to zero will damage it. My Inspire 1 batteries (as suggested by DJI), should be run completely down (to zero), every 20 cycles. That instruction is in the manual.

 

[alex covo]

I have no idea if running the battery to zero will damage it. My Inspire 1 batteries (as suggested by DJI), should be run completely down (to zero), every 20 cycles. That instruction is in the manual.

Interesting to know, Hope thats the case with these batteries.

 

[CanadianSolo]

LiPo batteries shouldn't be run down to zero. If you know your not going to fly for a day or two leave it until you fly. Im pissed at 3dr about the battery, I love my SOLO but wish the battery had a Balance port on it that way you could charge it at 2-3c. The charger takes FOREVER! Having the button on the battery not connected should'nt draw that much....?

Ask yourself a question, are you supposed to be flying at night? Don't wreck a good thing for the rest of us. Drones already have a bad name in the media, don't make it worse.

Cheers,

 

[Jubalr]

Soooo. I've been flying the solo with no hiccups for a few weeks now. Its been a pretty awesome experience to say the least. I also practiced on a smaller drone for a few months before I finally decided to move up in scale. I'm not sure how anyone who has never flown one is surprised when things don't go right and they experience a crash.

Anyway, I was out practicing, flying aggressively (Manual mode), and drifted into a tree. The battery fell out into some brush and I'm wondering if it will turn off automatically because it popped out? Or will it run itself out all the way to zero, thereby damaging the battery? I had read somewhere that if the battery goes all the way to zero it can damage it. On the bright side, the engines shut off quicker than I could initiate the emergency motor shut-off, (because the battery came out). So no damage to the motors. Live and learn.

The reason I ask is because its nighttime and I want to wait until the morning daylight to look for it. Unless I have no choice.

Much appreciated.

Alex

If the battery is out without a power draw, I believe it will turn off, though not much to turn off except the lights. Even if it didn't, without a draw it would last a very long time.

 

[DodgeP]

Contact support for the official answer if you have a real desire to know how far to let your battery drain. Like I said earlier. Depleting to 0 is recommended for my Inspire 1

 

[Jubalr]

Contact support for the official answer if you have a real desire to know how far to let your battery drain. Like I said earlier. Depleting to 0 is recommended for my Inspire 1

View attachment 421

Dodge, 0 would be relative to how the gauge is calibrated. At 0 I would bet that there is still 3.2 or more volts per cell. Same with Solo but not to that extreme.

 

[alex covo]

LiPo batteries shouldn't be run down to zero. If you know your not going to fly for a day or two leave it until you fly. Im pissed at 3dr about the battery, I love my SOLO but wish the battery had a Balance port on it that way you could charge it at 2-3c. The charger takes FOREVER! Having the button on the battery not connected should'nt draw that much....?

Ask yourself a question, are you supposed to be flying at night? Don't wreck a good thing for the rest of us. Drones already have a bad name in the media, don't make it worse.

Cheers,

It was sunset, and I was practicing (just to reiterate). Also, I'm practicing in the middle of the country side, in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in Russia. I'm an AMA member and fly responsibly. I carried the drone through 4 countries without pulling it out if its case because i'm aware of each individual countries regulations regarding drones. I am a professional photographer. I am experimenting with longer lenses on a modded gopro. So, no I don't fly at night since it is useless for me to do so. Don't jump to conclusions

On a seperate note the manual states that the battery should be recycled if it goes down to 0. That sucks :/

Cheers

 

[alex covo]

If the battery is out without a power draw, I believe it will turn off, though not much to turn off except the lights. Even if it didn't, without a draw it would last a very long time.

I hope so. BTW You have the most informative posts. I really appreciate your effort in educating all of us Keep up the good work!

 

[DodgeP]

Dodge, 0 would be relative to how the gauge is calibrated. At 0 I would bet that there is still 3.2 or more volts per cell. Same with Solo but not to that extreme.

In this case zero is zero is zero. If you drain the battery until it can't turn on, for all intents and purposes, it's at zero. No one is going to purposely drain their battery to the point where it can't turn on and then attach it to a meter to check the voltage and say, nope.. not at zero yet.. The statement, "never let your battery drain to zero is nonsense in this case". For all intents and purposes your battery is at zero if you can't turn it on, regardless of the voltage left on the cells. Not every statement made in the manual or by instruction is meant to be broken down to its smallest element.

 

[DodgeP]

To fly a Solo or any other drone, you don't need to be a scientist, engineer or developer. Most people want a simple answer to the their question; for instance.

Q) Will my battery be okay if it fully drains?
A) Most likely, Yes!

It's highly misleading to make a statement like; never let your batteries fully drain. Most people will associate fully drained to a point where it won't turn on the drone.

 

[Jubalr]

To fly a Solo or any other drone, you don't need to be a scientist, engineer or developer. Most people want a simple answer to the their question; for instance.

Q) Will my battery be okay if it fully drains?
A) Most likely, Yes!

It's highly misleading to make a statement like; never let your batteries fully drain. Most people will associate fully drained to a point where it won't turn on the drone.

Sorry Dodge. Didn't mean to upset you. Just trying to answer his question. You will not find any manufacturer or anyone with knowledge of Lipos to go below 3.0v per cell with 3.5 being the safest. Beyond that and permanent damage (or worse) can occur. Whether or not any given device will 'power on' is going to vary and not be a reliable and safe indicator. That's why we have a voltage meter. "Most Likely' is not good enough for me, personally.

Take Care and Fly Safe..
Jubal

 

[alex covo]

Soooo, woke up this morning, found the battery in the bushes. Power was off. When I checked it, the charge indicator lit up with no loss of battery life. Tested both the Solo and Battery and both worked with out a hitch in GPS and Manual Modes.

Important Note: Solo did give me a calibration error upon restarting it after the initial crash (This is a good thing as I might have forgotten to redo calibration on my own). I did both the level and compass calibration and it solved the problem. Even if it doesn't indicate a calibration error, it seems like a smart thing to do after any major incident while flying.

My experience with this drone has been 100% successful. The drone has done everything it is suppose to do. It has warned me when it wasn't level, when I was near metal objects, when it needed calibration, etc. I've flown it out to 1000 ft without signal loss. I haven't tested the limits, since I can barely see it at 1000ft. (Flying line of sight without a spotter).

Anyway, really glad I made this purchase. Now, just need the gimbal

 

[Jubalr]

Soooo, woke up this morning, found the battery in the bushes. Power was off. When I checked it, the charge indicator lit up with no loss of battery life. Tested both the Solo and Battery and both worked with out a hitch in GPS and Manual Modes.

Important Note: Solo did give me a calibration error upon restarting it after the initial crash (This is a good thing as I might have forgotten to redo calibration on my own). I did both the level and compass calibration and it solved the problem. Even if it doesn't indicate a calibration error, it seems like a smart thing to do after any major incident while flying.

My experience with this drone has been 100% successful. The drone has done everything it is suppose to do. It has warned me when it wasn't level, when I was near metal objects, when it needed calibration, etc. I've flown it out to 1000 ft without signal loss. I haven't tested the limits, since I can barely see it at 1000ft. (Flying line of sight without a spotter).

Anyway, really glad I made this purchase. Now, just need the gimbal

Glad you found it Alex and all is well! Thank you for the kind words earlier. Glad to help. I have had a similar experience with the Solo being trouble free.
Fly Safe..
Jubal