Question about batterys and sensors..

[Marius69]

Hi, I used to have an Inspire 1 for a while a couple of years ago. Now I bought an I 2 and it files great! However, I remember the advice with I1 to never take off if the battery was not fully charged. WIth the I 2 the flight time is much longer now. How about the batterys, is it OK to make a few different flights in the same day without charging always the battery in full? I mean to fly for example first 7 minutes, then change the location and fly another 7-8 minutes as there should be still power left (around 65-70 %) and then another short flight when there still is 45 %? Is this OK?

And the other question: with the I 1 the sensors should have been between 1400 and 1600 for a safe flight. In the I 2 there are just the lights (green, yellow and red) in the GO app, but I have not found any accurate information about how to use or read this. Can anyone clarify this a little...

Thanks from Marius

 

[Viper Pilot]

I fly all the time the way you described. I.E., start off with fully charged batteries. Fly for 5 min. approx. Land and then take off again and fly another 5-10 minute mission. I don't see a thing wrong with that.

 

[delucenay]

I've done that 15-20 times so far with my week old i2. I love it. Just love it.

 

[Marius69]

I've done that 15-20 times so far with my week old i2. I love it. Just love it.

OK Good! Then, how about the sensors, they are blinking normally green at the left end. Does this mean that you just ignore them until the system ask you to calibrate the IMU or compas. Or do you get any other informatioin you should react?

 

[delucenay]

I'd have to review my notes. However. This is my first drone. Other than Parrots bebop 2. So I'm pretty new to all of this.

 

[SanCap]

Hi, I used to have an Inspire 1 for a while a couple of years ago. Now I bought an I 2 and it files great! However, I remember the advice with I1 to never take off if the battery was not fully charged. WIth the I 2 the flight time is much longer now. How about the batterys, is it OK to make a few different flights in the same day without charging always the battery in full? I mean to fly for example first 7 minutes, then change the location and fly another 7-8 minutes as there should be still power left (around 65-70 %) and then another short flight when there still is 45 %? Is this OK?

And the other question: with the I 1 the sensors should have been between 1400 and 1600 for a safe flight. In the I 2 there are just the lights (green, yellow and red) in the GO app, but I have not found any accurate information about how to use or read this. Can anyone clarify this a little...

Thanks from Marius

I have 78 + hours on my Inspire 2 and have had to push myself to trust the battery system after flying the Inspire 1's and only flying after a full charge. I can say that I do not worry about doing multiple flights on the same battery within a couple of hours. I don't think I would ever try it the next day.

 

[delucenay]

Aren't hey lithium ion batteries? So they can be used and charged at any power level? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[The Editor]

Aren't hey lithium ion batteries? So they can be used and charged at any power level? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Lithium Polymer (LiPo)
Lithium Ion would not be able to supply the current demanded

 

[delucenay]

Ahhhh. Thank you. And are they subject to strict charging/discharging? I know they need discharged to stay healthy. But do you know if it's okay to fly repeatedly on partial charges? If you could please explain in detail.

 

[The Editor]

Ahhhh. Thank you. And are they subject to strict charging/discharging? I know they need discharged to stay healthy. But do you know if it's okay to fly repeatedly on partial charges? If you could please explain in detail.

I wouldn't. Simply because DJI insist on using an estimation of charge depletion based on percentage. This is inaccurate and not absolute like voltage is.
The algorithms estimate where is full (100%) and where is empty (0% - although this is still above 3v per cell) but these points change with pack age.
All lipo cells will increase in internal resistance with age and also lose capacity over time. It is impossible for any algorithm to determine exactly where these points have shifted to for a given pack since everybody will treat and store their batteries differently.
This is why, from time to time battery 'fuel gauges' need re calibrating for a given pack(s) to re teach them what is 'full' and what is 'empty'
DJI may well advise in the manual that periodic calibration isn't necessary but they were wrong about advising compass calibration for every flight/new location (they have subsequently changed their advice) and I believe they are wrong in not advising routine calibration of the batteries.
The nanny packs they have come up with are not as reliable as standard 'bare' lipo packs and I for one prefer a battery management routine which I trust more than DJI's fit it and forget about it mentality.