Sourcing Solo Batteries?

[D Cross]

All of our batteries are dead or close enough that I don't trust them to fly again. I realize this is probably a hopeless cause, but does anyone know of a aftermarket battery that would work? Googling about has turned up nothing, and all the posts on the forums seem to concur. But its worth one last shot.

Since it is owned by, and I fly (flew?) it for, a state university I am hesitant to to modify it on my own for liability reasons and I can't purchase used parts from eBay. We are working on a replacement, but if at all possible I would like to keep the old Solo running for as long as safely possible, even if just as a backup.

If not I guess she'll be relegated to being a model for teaching class/paper weight.

Thanks.

 

[jonbrotherton]

You can buy refurbished batteries from SoloFlies.com or choose the BMSOne Lipo plug and play also on SoloFlies.com which allows you to use standard Lipo battery packs that are easy to find and inexpensive.

 

[Mike Boland]

I am using the the BMSOne in 2 configurations, one with module seperate so it can be fitted to an unmodified Solo, and the other built in.
I now use 6500mAh 4S batteries and have a comfortable 20 minutes in the air.

 

[jonbrotherton]

I am using the the BMSOne in 2 configurations, one with module seperate so it can be fitted to an unmodified Solo, and the other built in.
I now use 6500mAh 4S batteries and have a comfortable 20 minutes in the air.

Lipo or Li-ion?

 

[Mike Boland]

Either.
The BMSOne is programmable, battery type, voltage/percent curve, method of capacity tracking

 

[Kkjensen]

Either.
The BMSOne is programmable, battery type, voltage/percent curve, method of capacity tracking

I had the same question but I guess my extended clarification is: Looks like buying an after market charger and the long term commitment to using one or another might incur more costs. I see the 10500mAH Li-Ion cells for sale there but not lipo. I do like the sound of buying the BMSone and some batteries all at once but am a bit stumped on the charging tech and whether or not the original can be used safely.

 

[Mike Boland]

I use XT60 for all my low power drone applications.
Here you can see that the Solo now takes standard XT60/balance connections so any of my standard LiPo chargers does the job fine.

 

[makatanav]

[European Union] 3DR Solo battery BMS 60€ w postage/per piece, but only for buyers from EU

 

[jonbrotherton]

I had the same question but I guess my extended clarification is: Looks like buying an after market charger and the long term commitment to using one or another might incur more costs. I see the 10500mAH Li-Ion cells for sale there but not lipo. I do like the sound of buying the BMSone and some batteries all at once but am a bit stumped on the charging tech and whether or not the original can be used safely.

You can use the Solo charger to charge through the BMSOne. The Lipo packs are available at various sources. The recommended pack is the Tattu 4S 5200mah 35C to use the default BMSOne settings. The BMSOne is user-configurable, so you can run whatever packs you like.

 

[Kkjensen]

Thanks for the help. I've ordered the Li-po one and have found a supplier that has the tattu 5200 lipo cells in canada already. Cheers

 

[Kkjensen]

I use XT60 for all my low power drone applications.
Here you can see that the Solo now takes standard XT60/balance connections so any of my standard LiPo chargers does the job fine.

You don't have build notes and pics on fitting the BMSone into the gps dome do you? That looks nice and clean. I like it

 

[Mike Boland]

I didn’t take any of the BMSOne going in as it is already holed to screw straight in on the GPS mounts.
You will have to round off one edge of the board to fit the Solo holdings but that is trivial.
I do have some pics of the installation of the external GPS housing and GPS if thats of any interest?

Edit: I have actually found the pics I took of the build/mod of the Solo.
I will endeavour to put together a build blog for the BMSOne mods.

 

[D Cross]

Sorry it took so long to get back, been a crazy month. Thank you All for the guidance I will take a look at the SoloFiles site and give it a think.

 

[Jcochran16]

I cannot find SoloFlies.com.

 

[makatanav]

 

[Chardia]

Looks like you have a meat thermometer sitting on top of the front there.