Inspire 2 battery modification

[Viper Pilot]

Another thought on this subject. It's been reported that the larger TB54 batteries that fit in the same slot as the TB50's woun't work because of prop interference. Wonder if a 14" prop would clear them and how the I2 would perform with that configuration? Just thinking!

 

[Nick H.]

Another thought on this subject. It's been reported that the larger TB54 batteries that fit in the same slot as the TB50's woun't work because of prop interference. Wonder if a 14" prop would clear them and how the I2 would perform with that configuration? Just thinking!

I2 is most likely too heavy. In addition, we don't get the same PID control one would get with a DIY drone. If we did, then we could tune them better to fit a 14" prop. Of course, I can't say for certain this wouldn't work, but I've tried smaller props on many drones in the past with terrible results. For example, I've used 13" props on the I1. It was mega bad. Super sluggish control and the motors had to spin way too fast to keep the drone in the air.

 

[Raphael Dahan]

Not sure what you are asking. There is a dremeled hole in the plastic housing that holds the plugs for the motors. I thread my wires through there, then I thread my wires through the bottom of the metal chassis of the Inspire 2 (which I also dremeled out). The plastic housing is then screwed onto the inside of the chassis and the wires dangle underneath the Inspire 2.

Yes, but in pic 6 after you assemble the plastic housing, we can't see the hole you dremeled, why?
Also I just wanted to thank you for the effort you put here in the forum for all of us.

 

[Nick H.]

Yes, but in pic 6 after you assemble the plastic housing, we can't see the hole you dremeled, why?
Also I just wanted to thank you for the effort you put here in the forum for all of us.

The plastic housing is two pieces. The bottom portion has the indents where the motor plugs are seated. That is also the part where I made my solder joints and threaded the wire through the widened hole I made on the bottom piece of the housing.

The top piece of the housing has the 4 screws. Those screws go through the bottom piece and secure it down on the chassis.

 

[fredz]

So, Nick, do you think splicing here will have the same effect?

 

[Viper Pilot]

Re using smaller props, your probably right but if one could find say 14" props with more pitch it might minimize the effect you saw on the I1. I did an RPM test on the I2 (with out props) and measured approx 9700 RPM max. No idea what the RPM is with the props attached. Anyway, interesting experiment your working on. Thanks for the info.

 

[TheGrumpster]

This is brilliant. Love your courage. I hate DJI's batteries and wish someone would figure out a hack to simply be done with them altogether and allow the use of regular LiPo packs that we all know and love. Just this morning I had a DJI failure where one cell in a pack was a tiny bit lower than the rest and it wouldn't arm the motors. DJI are nothing but swindlers as far as I'm concerned. $320 for a set of batteries that lasts 20 flights. What a crock.

 

[Raphael Dahan]

The plastic housing is two pieces. The bottom portion has the indents where the motor plugs are seated. That is also the part where I made my solder joints and threaded the wire through the widened hole I made on the bottom piece of the housing.

The top piece of the housing has the 4 screws. Those screws go through the bottom piece and secure it down on the chassis.

Thanks Nick, now it makes sense, all good, I think I'm ready to go for the mod.

 

[Nick H.]

So, Nick, do you think splicing here will have the same effect?

Most likely yes, but there will be a lot more wiring. In addition, I don't know what wire goes to what. You don't see how those wires are connected to the motor plugs since it is all hidden inside that black box. You'd have to open up that box to do it, but at that point, you are already at the area where I've made my modifications and it would be easier to do what I did.

 

[Raphael Dahan]

Not sure where I would put such large batteries and still get the benefits of the vision system. More weight also means diminishing returns. Long discussion on this when we were doing it to the I1. Right now, I like the 6 extra minutes from the 4000mah, plus, they weigh very little and I have options to move them around to better locations. Lastly, I've only tested this on a windy day where the I2 was fighting the wind the entire time. I may get better results on a calm day.

I did try four 6S 1300mah batteries yesterday all wired in parallel (so 5200mah extra). It was even stronger wind yesterday and I got 25 minutes, 30 seconds. Seems about right, but the set up was a hack job. Not sure if I'll do that again unless I can think of a way to put the batteries on in a better way. Reason I had four 1300mah 6S batteries is that it is difficult to find LiHV batteries in a variety of sizes. They are not all that common. I don't like using Lipo for this application because they are lower voltage than the DJI batteries since DJI uses LiHV. Not that I'm against this - I'm all for it. You are able to pack in more power in a smaller space using LiHV.

Nick, what do you think about 2x 2600 in parallel LiHv from thunder power? Tried them on I1 , got 29.2 min.

 

[Raphael Dahan]

Nick, what do you think about 2x 2600 in parallel LiHv from thunder power? Tried them on I1 , got 29.2 min.

Sorry, I mean 2x2700mAh

 

[Nick H.]

Sorry, I mean 2x2700mAh

Sure. That would most likely be more time than what I'm getting. Probably 3-4 more minutes would be my guess.

I don't like the price though of thunder power. If I went with bigger batteries, Turnigy makes 6S 3400's for $60 on Hobbyking. I personally would try that, but it would be about a kilogram of extra weight. I think the next thing I will try are the 3S 5200 Multistars. I will be happy with 25-26 minutes of flight time with the batteries secured to the outside and have a clear camera path. Others may just want really long flight times.

 

[fredz]

Most likely yes, but there will be a lot more wiring. In addition, I don't know what wire goes to what. You don't see how those wires are connected to the motor plugs since it is all hidden inside that black box. You'd have to open up that box to do it, but at that point, you are already at the area where I've made my modifications and it would be easier to do what I did.

Thanks - but isn't it less wiring instead of more? Just splice there and done?

This is how they're wired and the X would be where you can splice (both + and - are there). I am just wondering if you would also need to splice the other pair (on the right)...

 

[Nick H.]

I can't quite see everything going on in this picture to make a safe assessment. You could very well be right.

 

[bluelight.support]

$320 for a set of batteries that lasts 20 flights.

Can you explain that ?Im confused.

 

[TheGrumpster]

Can you explain that ?

Yea, I got my I2 in late December with one set, then bought 4 more sets as soon as they became available (about a month later). I've done ~140 flights, so figure maybe 30 flights on the first set. This morning when I powered up to fly, I got the fatal battery error and the motors wouldn't arm. All because one cell in one pack was 0.1V less than the rest.
And the worst thing is that idiotic discharge system DJI has. Just awful. I come from the DIY big octo crowd and have been playing with LiPos for almost 5 years now. Was still using my original Turnigy packs from 2012 with 100s of flights on them as of late last year. And those were dirt cheap. And I could charge and discharge them as I saw fit. Not with DJI.

 

[Ftolino]

Well done Nick . Looks nice and Clean setup. I might be experimenting whenever they send mine back.

 

[Waldemar54]

Hmm... if you don't like DJI and you are true to your word just sell all DJI and build your own. Otherwise, your mod will ONLY work for a short while and there is no point in destroying the nice design.

 

[Fickert]

Yea, I got my I2 in late December with one set, then bought 4 more sets as soon as they became available (about a month later). I've done ~140 flights, so figure maybe 30 flights on the first set. This morning when I powered up to fly, I got the fatal battery error and the motors wouldn't arm. All because one cell in one pack was 0.1V less than the rest.
And the worst thing is that idiotic discharge system DJI has. Just awful. I come from the DIY big octo crowd and have been playing with LiPos for almost 5 years now. Was still using my original Turnigy packs from 2012 with 100s of flights on them as of late last year. And those were dirt cheap. And I could charge and discharge them as I saw fit. Not with DJI.

I have seen a cell that is usually 0.1v below on one of my batteries and it hasn't cause an issue with my i2. Whats the warning/ error it gives?

And as far as charging/ discharging that is simple, charge to a little over half for storage, and if discharging just go fly in hover? Keep the current draw low.

 

[TheGrumpster]

Whats the warning/ error it gives?

"Bad Battery" in red where the app normal says "ready to fly". You cannot arm motors with this error. Oddly, that happened on a fully charged set. Once I got the thing flying, I never had another problem. So maybe the secret is to only charge to 90% or so. I don't know. I will definitely keep an eye out from now on.