Repurposing old DJI batteries...

[Donnie Frank]

Hey doods!

Since going mobile, I've always disliked depending on generators for power. Most of my jobs are small enough that I don't have to recharge batteries to finish my missions. A recent upgrade required I use an external monitor and have a network. Most guys use their smart phones to create a LAN, but I have a flip phone and we have found that using my partner's smart phone's hotspot function has been less than ideal, as he often needs to communicate with other crew members via voice or text, which seems to kick us off the hotspot. So I decided to repurpose some old drone batteries to make us truly mobile.

In this photo I have repurposed an old Phantom 4 Pro battery to power a router that I have essentially installed in the M300 Pro case. Now, to create a network, all we do is power up the P4P battery and we have a very robust, very reliable LAN. This older, retired P4P battery (with over 80 flights on it) will run the router for over 24 hours. Just open the case, power up the battery and it's "go-go gadget LAN!"



I've also purchased a 1200 nit monitor for outdoor use. I power this up with older Inspire 1 batteries and older Matrice 600 Pro batteries. The older TB48's will run the monitor on it's highest brightness setting for close to 3 hours. The TB47's about 2.5 hours.

Here's a TB48 running the monitor:



And here's an older, faulty TB47S (M600) battery. While we can't use this battery in the M600, it works perfectly powering up the monitor.



My next project is to see if I can rig something up for my laptop. If I'm feeling saucy, I may even try to build some kind of "power bank" that can accommodate a myriad of voltages. But that's far down the road.

D

 

[dave canadaIhclit]

are you using a converter i,ve been needing this setup

 

[Donnie Frank]

are you using a converter i,ve been needing this setup

I'm not. That said, the new AbraxSys video monitor is custom built to my specifications, which includes requiring 20-53VDC. So as you can imagine, a 22.8VDC Inspire 1 battery falls right into that sweet spot.

It's funny, but 90% of the devices we use are DC devices. Your TV, radio, routers, computers, your car, motorcycle, truck and on and on and on are all DC devices. So I find it strange that so many are struggling with Solar DC converters to AC so that the power brick can convert BACK to DC. If I ever set up my house with Solar power and batteries, all DC devices will be powered directly off DC. This was the entire thought process behind my DC battery charger that runs VERY efficiently off of a car battery. Read: NO HEAT! (Okay...very little heat). Ergo, no wasted electricity converting DC to AC and then back to DC. This is an all DC -> DC process.



Worth noting; any device that requires a power brick is a DC device. So while most video monitors have the AC->DC converter built into the monitor internally, and ergo require a standard AC cable to plug directly into them, I HAVE seen quite a few that require a power brick, which means the AC->DC conversion is done in the power brick. Essentially, these monitors can be powered directly off a battery. The required DC voltage is usually listed right there on the jack.

D

 

[matteog]

You can have your Inspire and Matrice batteries regenerated by HeliEngadin in Switzerland instead of using them as precious powerbanks

 

[BigSteel]

This is pretty great. I get what matteog is saying about having batteries replaced/regenerated, but this is a real dynamite way to keep using the old and weak should it not be worth it financially to send them off.

 

[Donnie Frank]

You can have your Inspire and Matrice batteries regenerated by HeliEngadin in Switzerland instead of using them as precious powerbanks

Why would I do that when I can buy new Inspire 1 batteries for $159??





D

 

[Donnie Frank]

This is pretty great. I get what matteog is saying about having batteries replaced/regenerated, but this is a real dynamite way to keep using the old and weak should it not be worth it financially to send them off.

DJI started selling Inspire 1 batteries again. I just purchased a brand new one like 3 months ago for $199, which is less than the regeneration guys are charging.

D

 

[matteog]

DJI started selling Inspire 1 batteries again. I just purchased a brand new one like 3 months ago for $199, which is less than the regeneration guys are charging.

D

Where did you get it? In Europe they're not available

 

[Donnie Frank]

Where did you get it? In Europe they're not available

Through DJI direct, which is in China. It was shipped from China.

D

 

[BigSteel]

Through DJI direct, which is in China. It was shipped from China.

D

We had them here in Korea for a bit too, for 260,000₩ (~182 USD), but now they're all sold out again. Still listed on their store page with a notification alter for stock, though, so maybe they'll be back.
But I do think I'm going to jump on the M3 Classic train...

 

[Inspired119]

Anyone know about these batteries?
"HSABAT TB48 TB47 6000 mAh Battery for DJI Inspire 1 TB48 TB47 Intelligent Flight"
Wondering if anyone has experience with them and also how the Temp Sensor gets inserted.

HSABAT TB48 TB47 6000 mAh Battery for DJI Inspire 1 TB48 TB47 Intelligent Flight | eBay

 

[dave canadaIhclit]

dthe batteries osent look like there finished ,lol with the m1p batteries they are glued anywhere on the batteries I would presume in the middle of them all

 

[Donnie Frank]

dthe batteries osent look like there finished ,lol with the m1p batteries they are glued anywhere on the batteries I would presume in the middle of them all

Huh??? English please.

D