DJI BATTERY STATION ANNOUNCED. PRE-ORDER HERE!!!

FlyHighUSA · Dec 14, 2017

BView attachment 17439 I’ll DJI Battery Station is Here!!!
Built specifically for DJI TB50’s only!
Retail pricing $1,199

Your initial response will be the same as mine was. Man that is expensive, however if you do the math at the normal cost of 200 bucks per pair of TB50 using the standard 180 w charger and charging hub, this is actually a fair price. I have not used one but I will express my concern of it not charging the TB55. Other than that I think it’s going to be a great charging system. If you guys want one or have any questions please give me a call at 270-473-1409

giumick · Dec 14, 2017

And if Dji were not complete bandits you could work out the safe charge rate based on your batery c rating yourself and use a $50 charger with a 12v source to achieve the same result.

I bet this costs as much as a lunar lander

FlyHighUSA · Dec 14, 2017

I definitely wish we could use standard chargers but unfortunately that’s not the case. Many public safety pilots out there have been patiently waiting for a solution and I’m glad one has arrived that can help them keep there birds in the air. It’s definitely not for everyone but if you want to pay the price I’m sure it work great. Otherwise it’s 2 at a time per station. I’m definitely using one of these.

dronepilot54 · Dec 14, 2017

What about input? 12/110/220V?

dronepilot54 · Dec 14, 2017

Pre-order chiper than order?

FlyHighUSA · Dec 14, 2017

dronepilot54 said:
Pre-order chiper than order?

No sir same price. It will assure you first wave shipment. We do offer a first time customer coupon for 20 dollars to all new customer

NickU · Dec 14, 2017

@giumick - DJI list it as £1299 on their website.

Given you get a charger with an I2, you'd be looking another 3 hubs and power bricks, costing around £500 for a similar (standard) charging setup of 4 pairs simultaneously - that would get you the 8 batteries charging at the standard rate (90 mins), but no fast charge or discharge (storage/flight 50/25%). Seems you also get the ability to check and update battery firmware if you plug the station in to you computer and connect it to Assistant 2. Another £800 is a lot to pay for tidying up cables, saving a bit of space, and storing four extra batteries in a neat case

.

Think I'll pass on this one for now as (so far) I'm meeting operating needs with 12 batts and 2 chargers. If it'd been about £400 cheaper, then it might have been more tempting, tho' fast charge to 90% in 35 mins is interesting/tempting. The slow mode is bizarre as you'd be better (faster) to run with the cheaper standard chargers without noise (if you disable the beeper) for a 90 min charge - the station takes 4 hrs 20 minutes (Silent mode) for full charge!

@dronepilot54 100-240v only, no 12v input mentioned in specs.

having said all that, I can see how/why it will appeal to those working on set with I2's and Ronins, and those travelling/flying with theTB50's.

FlyHighUSA · Dec 14, 2017

Personally I’m a huge fan of the tidy in the case where all of mine are in one spot and can be kept in storage safely. Battery management has been one of our main complaints from customers. Hopefully this solution will help people who this type setup appeals too. Definitely not for everyone but hey that’s what makes the world go round right ? Fly safe out there my friend.

giumick · Dec 14, 2017

NickU said:
@giumick - DJI list it as £1299 on their website.

Given you get a charger with an I2, you'd be looking another 3 hubs and power bricks, costing around £500 for a similar (standard) charging setup of 4 pairs simultaneously - that would get you the 8 batteries charging at the standard rate (90 mins), but no fast charge or discharge (storage/flight 50/25%). Seems you also get the ability to check and update battery firmware if you plug the station in to you computer and connect it to Assistant 2. Another £800 is a lot to pay for tidying up cables, saving a bit of space, and storing four extra batteries in a neat case .

Think I'll pass on this one for now as (so far) I'm meeting operating needs with 12 batts and 2 chargers. If it'd been about £400 cheaper, then it might have been more tempting, tho' fast charge to 90% in 35 mins is interesting/tempting. The slow mode is bizarre as you'd be better (faster) to run with the cheaper standard chargers without noise (if you disable the beeper) for a 90 min charge - the station takes 4 hrs 20 minutes (Silent mode) for full charge!

@dronepilot54 100-240v only, no 12v input mentioned in specs.

having said all that, I can see how/why it will appeal to those working on set with I2's and Ronins, and those travelling/flying with theTB50's.

And no 12v feed as well

£1300 is a ludicrous amount for a charger. They seem to only aim stuff like this squarely at people with huge budgets who are not willing to learn battery safety and its just a let down in my opinion. These batteries get the lightest use ever compared to aerbatic flying and still throw errors etc so You might as well just get more batteries and have enough to keep a loop going as they charge.

I have some lipos that can charge in 20-30 minutes at the field with 3x capacity charges and ultimately revolectrix chargers etc cost £500 at the high end and will make your dinner for you if need be there so advanced so the price tag is disgusting.

I am in the process of courting a new drone company at present and this is exactly why, Dji are squarely aiming for more money than sense clients and there is so many they pull it off.

I bet a Chinese company could clone this and build a decent charger into it for £500, its all it was ever worth. There is no get what you pay for about it as Dji use cheap components too and their chargers are inferior to any decent spec R/C charger anyway.

FlyHighUSA · Dec 14, 2017

I opened this thread for people who have interest in it. If it’s not for you that’s fine but there are alot of people who will get great use and enjoy it’s attributes. I respect your opinions and you have valid concerns. That being said I really don’t want to go down the road of bashing DJI. I’m a supporter of DJI and an Enterprise dealership and I like there products along with over 7k customers. I totally agree they are not perfect but I do think they are pushing the envelope and bringing far more good than bad. Let’s try to focus on what this charger CAN do and not what some other clone company may or may not be able to do. This charger is here now and if something better comes along from DJI or any other reputable company I will be the first to post about it. Again I respect your opinions my friend.

giumick · Dec 14, 2017

FlyHighUSA said:
I opened this thread for people who have interest in it. If it’s not for you that’s fine but there are alot of people who will get great use and enjoy it’s attributes. I respect your opinions and you have valid concerns. That being said I really don’t want to go down the road of bashing DJI. I’m a supporter of DJI and an Enterprise dealership and I like there products along with over 7k customers. I totally agree they are not perfect but I do think they are pushing the envelope and bringing far more good than bad. Let’s try to focus on what this charger CAN do and not what some other clone company may or may not be able to do. This charger is here now and if something better comes along from DJI or any other reputable company I will be the first to post about it. Again I respect your opinions my friend.

Your right pal absolutely but when a company makes your profession an arms race that you cant afford to keep up in and your struggling to make ends meet ultimately it hurts.

I was going to get 2 i2's and a x7 this year and backed off as they have removed the versatility from the i2 and want more money out of your for the m200 etc. Who on the average professional level honestly can afford 30-40k of debt every few years to keep up...It just isnt right and our local training/ Dji centre is staffed by people who all went bust as they couldn't keep up so went for a sales job.I think it proves the point.

They will never change unless a voice pushes back and people show them they have to change/ support customers better.

Anyway my apologies for the rant and i did not mean to bash Dji but my god i hope they are listening.

FlyHighUSA · Dec 14, 2017

I will definitely forward your concerns to my rep and my contacts inside DJI. I’m a fan of the little guy. Why? Because I am one lol seriously I hear ya appreciate your honesty. If I can ever be of help please dont hesitate to give me a shout.

giumick · Dec 14, 2017

FlyHighUSA said:
I will definitely forward your concerns to my rep and my contacts inside DJI. I’m a fan of the little guy. Why? Because I am one lol seriously I hear ya appreciate your honesty. If I can ever be of help please dont hesitate to give me a shout.

I would appreciate that as the more dealers who speak up the more they may consider change

FlyHighUSA · Dec 15, 2017

DJI Battery Station Pre-Order Now!!! - FlyHighUSA

Link above for additional information!!!

ed.matthews4 · Dec 15, 2017

I like it.
From the doogly doo;
"Charge up to eight TB50 batteries simultaneously. Multiple ports let you also charge the Inspire 2 remote controller, CrystalSky/Cendence Intelligent Battery, and a mobile device."
I wonder if that mean it can do 8 TB60's and an Inspire 2 remote controller, CrystalSky/Cendence Intelligent Battery, and a mobile device all at once?

FlyHighUSA · Dec 15, 2017

Yes it does 8 TB50 and remotes and Crystal Sky batts at the same time from what the engineer at DJI told us.

MrTVR · Dec 15, 2017

£1,200 in the UK, the equivalent of $1,600!

I mean, seriously!

It’s a battery charger in a plastic box!

I’m with giumick and agree that DJI products are starting to look way over priced and increasingly less reliable and less desirable with every firmware update.

ed.matthews4 · Dec 15, 2017

It's $1,199.00 in the US. Check the link.

Dr. Ifly Drones · Dec 15, 2017

The new charging system is the right tool for those who need it. A production crew would think nothing of the price. I worked with a production crew recently who are filming "Good All Over" Good All Over | Charity is a Messy Business and they would have been on this in a second. They flew parts of their pilot in Africa and having that kind of capability to keep a rig flying on a professional shoot pays for itself in short order. All that said, I can understand how most of us would balk a bit at the price but, I can tell you I can see this in my future.

FlyHighUSA · Dec 15, 2017

Wow the exchange rate kills you guys. That’s terrible.

Dr. Ifly Drones said:
The new charging system is the right tool for those who need it. A production crew would think nothing of the price. I worked with a production crew recently who are filming "Good All Over" Good All Over | Charity is a Messy Business and they would have been on this in a second. They flew parts of their pilot in Africa and having that kind of capability to keep a rig flying on a professional shoot pays for itself in short order. All that said, I can understand how most of us would balk a bit at the price but, I can tell you I can see this in my future.

Hey old friend, I couldn't agree more!!!