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Increase battery life

Hi i am exploring this as well.
I am part of the group Security Check Required
Where some users there have made an adapter so you can use the Mavic air battery and get around 21 minutes of flying. I am in the process of getting all the stuff together to do this . There is a company that makes the adapter pre-built UAV Mods. On their site it will say out of stock but i have spoken to them and they should have more in the next 2 weeks. Check out that site the that group there are a lot of mod you can do for the battery. This one you can have fully battery telemetry just like the stock battery
 
Hi i am exploring this as well.
I am part of the group Security Check Required
Where some users there have made an adapter so you can use the Mavic air battery and get around 21 minutes of flying. I am in the process of getting all the stuff together to do this . There is a company that makes the adapter pre-built UAV Mods. On their site it will say out of stock but i have spoken to them and they should have more in the next 2 weeks. Check out that site the that group there are a lot of mod you can do for the battery. This one you can have fully battery telemetry just like the stock battery
I mean, without any adapters
 
do a search on here ,youtube, etc . I have already done that and every battery "mod" requires you to do something none are just plug and play. I wondered about what you asked as well and wondered why DJI simply does not make a higher capacity battery as a upgrade part like Parrot did. Not sure but i wish they did
 
do a search on here ,youtube, etc . I have already done that and every battery "mod" requires you to do something none are just plug and play. I wondered about what you asked as well and wondered why DJI simply does not make a higher capacity battery as a upgrade part like Parrot did. Not sure but i wish they did
Because when they made this drone, they used the best weight/power battery available at that time. The more capacity in the battery, the more it weighs, which shortens the flight time. It is a vicious circle. If you want more flight time, get a larger drone like a Mavic.
 
Because when they made this drone, they used the best weight/power battery available at that time. The more capacity in the battery, the more it weighs, which shortens the flight time. It is a vicious circle. If you want more flight time, get a larger drone like a Mavic.
Jimlips is right , the more weight you have on your Spark or any Drone for that matter will kill your time in the air . the battery most likely weights as much as the spark . i'm sure DJI and all drone manufacturers take all the weight into consideration and try to use light weighting components to lighten the load . i have seen video that extends drone time that is hard to believe but the time in the video shows to be correct . so it can be done . in the future they will have batteries that will last longer and are lighter . the one reason we use lipo batteries is the punch you get from them , it's instantaneous , when you go to sport mode and you move the stick to accelerate it moves out that's power in a lipo . it is what it is and if you want a drone to last longer in the air you will have to pay for it , remember we fly a $300 spark . for what DJI put into this portable , carry anywhere in a little carrier , fantastic to say the least . i have a lot bigger and better quade's but i always bring the Spark with me .
 
How are you getting 15 minutes? I agree with all the above but that will not stop me and others to try to find a way (like using a Mavic air battery) to get some more. I am not saying I am doing this now but when the warranty is up i might. But right now i have 4 batteries so that is about a little over 40 minutes of flight time but i usually get 12 minutes each. So I am pretty happy with it for me i am more interested in getting the best signal possible for both RC and Video distance is nice but i want a solid and consistent signal . So that is something i am exploring at this point.
 
Battery life and cost of battery seems to be a pretty good trade-off to me. Efficient time usage seems to be the real key. I generally hustle out and back in sport mode and photograph in normal. Sport mode doesn't seem to suck up battery life on the spark like it does with the Air. That's just a guess of course.
 
Woah, that's a lotta replies in this thread. As for me, this "build" with a "plug'n'play" connector, seems bulky, unsafe and it looks like some kind of a small explosive devise, which is attached to a drone. I'd rather stick to a normal battery, or try to change the internals of the Intelligent Battery, than trying this out. I think, it's possible to make a housing for a bigger battery, so it does look like quality. That's why, I hope, in August, as I come back home, I'll make this project happen.
I'll create a thread, when I'm done, so I'll be able to show my progress.
 
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Hello, Spark Pilots.
I have a question, is it possible to disassemble spark battery, and change it to a bigger one. Like, is there anywhere, a battery, which has a bigger amount of Mah's, but with around the same size, as the battery inside of Spark's Intelligent Battery?
there has been people that mod a cable from the connector to a battery alittle bigger one instead of 1440 like 2000.. but the controller needs to see the data so your not getting feedback youll have to use a clock and time it meaning retrun to home wont work right it wont guesstimate when it needs to come back if a problem like dropped video.. i woulnt do it id use a stock battery.. or if you have to take one aaprt and buy a batttery that iwll fit in the original case and solder it to the board.. i plan to do that when my batts fail ebay has some brand name ones dont use chinese batts use brand name ones about 1500 mah hv ones theres videos on youtube on how to do it the spark battery is easy to take apart and they should fit in as long as its a rectangle and not a long arse one and high...
 
oh and dont charge your spark from the usb on the back i find that it only charges mine to 98 percent seems a bit less if i use a external charger like i built one from a buck converter 10 amp adjiustable and a ebay special car spark charger i tore apart bascially i supply any voltage 10 volts from 60 to the plug and the step up supplies 13.8 to the car charger and then you get the full 100% charge for some reason the spark internal charger is weak or set wrong and doesnt put the full ammount in... aka cut short... and my screen showed 100% after 1 day sittting and 1 day from the spark at 97 percent.. so i use that charger now and never charge via the onboard
 
Jimlips is right , the more weight you have on your Spark or any Drone for that matter will kill your time in the air . the battery most likely weights as much as the spark . i'm sure DJI and all drone manufacturers take all the weight into consideration and try to use light weighting components to lighten the load . i have seen video that extends drone time that is hard to believe but the time in the video shows to be correct . so it can be done . in the future they will have batteries that will last longer and are lighter . the one reason we use lipo batteries is the punch you get from them , it's instantaneous , when you go to sport mode and you move the stick to accelerate it moves out that's power in a lipo . it is what it is and if you want a drone to last longer in the air you will have to pay for it , remember we fly a $300 spark . for what DJI put into this portable , carry anywhere in a little carrier , fantastic to say the least . i have a lot bigger and better quade's but i always bring the Spark with me .
they call that diminishing returns oh but its a bigger bat yea so you'll get less time because its heavy... theirs a balance point you have to buy batts that are just above the rating or find out how much a spark can lift per motor and multiply that by 4 then thats what your craft can handle at idle hover punch outs etc thats a different story spark i think can take 1500 mah to 2000 mah 2000 mah wont be nimble and will only give maybe 2 mins more max so a 1500 30 seconds more and wont bog it down... also props get carbon fiber or stiffer props watch out with cf props they have nooooo mercy if they hit your finger or anything else and shatter flying shards in your eyes etc... so be careful ife seen them explode while flying too from poor manufacturing .... a stiffer prop is good because of deflection you get less...
 
Just a tip regards the battery, I find even fully charged by the time you switch everything on and get set to fly you usually use 3 to 4% of the charge, I keep a portable power pack plugged into the Spark whilst doing this (cant take off accidentally with it !!!!) when I am ready to go I have 99% battery which adds a couple of minutes!
 
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wait you put on a usb powered pack into the spark yo know the spark charger would try to pull way more amps from that usb charger and prolly burn out that charger..? i may be wrong since the batts fully charged it may be a trickle but youd need one capable of atlast 2.1 amps to obtain this not some single cell one that does 500 mah.... ill try that thats a good idea ill let you know if i fly off with a pack dangling too lol
 
wait you put on a usb powered pack into the spark yo know the spark charger would try to pull way more amps from that usb charger and prolly burn out that charger..? i may be wrong since the batts fully charged it may be a trickle but youd need one capable of atlast 2.1 amps to obtain this not some single cell one that does 500 mah.... ill try that thats a good idea ill let you know if i fly off with a pack dangling too lol
L, not sure about the technical side, the charger is a Romoss Premium, have been doing this for a couple of months without any problems (so far!) I use it to charge the batterys off the craft also; the Spark recognizes you have it plugged in and tells you that you cant take off! with a 99% charged battery I got my best range which was just over 3.5 klms (7k round trip) with 15% battery at the end.
 
L, not sure about the technical side, the charger is a Romoss Premium, have been doing this for a couple of months without any problems (so far!) I use it to charge the batterys off the craft also; the Spark recognizes you have it plugged in and tells you that you cant take off! with a 99% charged battery I got my best range which was just over 3.5 klms (7k round trip) with 15% battery at the end.
see the on b oard charger needs 12 volts.. i dont see how any 5 volt source will charge it.. if you look at the back of the charger that plugs in to mains it says 5 volts 9 volts and 12 5 for the remote or 9 and 12 for the craft... so youd need one that outputs 12.. because theres a converter inside the spark that ups it to 13.8.. if there is even one there may not be one it may be inside the mains plug.. the batts need 13 volts min to start charging..see it may well be lieing to you and say its charging when it really isnt what you need to do is place wires on the battery going to the outside from the connector that shows the voltage staying steady or going up it may be that the onboard charger is taking 5 volts it maybe that it thinks its getting 12 volts and falsly reports it to the controller.. and you really arent charging... so some real tests need to be done... for 2 percent id really stop doing it its not worth it once you set up the settings.. all you need to do each flight on a diffrent location is set the compass and thats fast... if you fly the same spot you really dont need to use a charger.... now maybe maybe a way to do it a better way.. is to get a puresing wave inverter.. i have one under my seat 1000 watts.. use the factors wal charger and get a long usb charger to your craft say 20 feet max etc then it would actually work but your really just doing it for the settings i dont go into settings at all once i set it up the first time i just calibrate compass and im done then wait for home by then home is done and take off and hover 30 seconds so teh downward camera can snap a pic for precises landings and take off about 1 min 30 seconds... by then im at 99% so really its not worth it i mean cool you do it but in my eyes not worth it... maybe a extra battery say a 1000 mah one on the side or bottom might give you 5 mint more
 
see the on b oard charger needs 12 volts.. i dont see how any 5 volt source will charge it.. if you look at the back of the charger that plugs in to mains it says 5 volts 9 volts and 12 5 for the remote or 9 and 12 for the craft... so youd need one that outputs 12.. because theres a converter inside the spark that ups it to 13.8.. if there is even one there may not be one it may be inside the mains plug.. the batts need 13 volts min to start charging..see it may well be lieing to you and say its charging when it really isnt what you need to do is place wires on the battery going to the outside from the connector that shows the voltage staying steady or going up it may be that the onboard charger is taking 5 volts it maybe that it thinks its getting 12 volts and falsly reports it to the controller.. and you really arent charging... so some real tests need to be done... for 2 percent id really stop doing it its not worth it once you set up the settings.. all you need to do each flight on a diffrent location is set the compass and thats fast... if you fly the same spot you really dont need to use a charger.... now maybe maybe a way to do it a better way.. is to get a puresing wave inverter.. i have one under my seat 1000 watts.. use the factors wal charger and get a long usb charger to your craft say 20 feet max etc then it would actually work but your really just doing it for the settings i dont go into settings at all once i set it up the first time i just calibrate compass and im done then wait for home by then home is done and take off and hover 30 seconds so teh downward camera can snap a pic for precises landings and take off about 1 min 30 seconds... by then im at 99% so really its not worth it i mean cool you do it but in my eyes not worth it... maybe a extra battery say a 1000 mah one on the side or bottom might give you 5 mint more
Thanks L for the tech clarification; the only way I can tell the Romoss is working is I have used it when there is no power point to charge and it seems to work well, for eg, battery down to one light and takes about the same time to fully charge again, lights sequence up the same also!
 
Thanks L for the tech clarification; the only way I can tell the Romoss is working is I have used it when there is no power point to charge and it seems to work well, for eg, battery down to one light and takes about the same time to fully charge again, lights sequence up the same also!
its just strange it works at all.. what id like to see is if you can say have a 50 percent battery plug that in and see if you get one more bar or fill it up then it would confirm it works right... might take hours because power banks really arent 2.1 amps there like 1 amp at most.. the chinese companies lie a bit a good power bank will cost in the hundreds.. see i have a cheap one 30 bucks i might try .. see if that gives me anything.. i just find it odd that the spark needs 12 volts... well the wall charger says 5 9 and 12 so thats odd.. if and why dji did that makes no sense.. so if it only needs 5 volts at 2.1 amps then why give us a mains charger capable of 9 volts and 12.. now a step up converter depending on the type needs i think min 5 volts to step up.. but it might be at max capacity thats why the spark gets hot while charging.. notice the top of the spark gets hot.. the higher the input say 12 volts ups it to 13 it does not work hard only hard work is dumping 2 amps in the battery not voltage... i dunno im amazed it even works.. see my step up i use to make 13.8 volts needs a min of 10 volts to make 13 volts it cuts off below 10 its a ebay special.. cost me 5 bucks but is able to do 2 spark batts at 5.2 amps just fine... then again im dumping in 12 volts at what ever it can take amps wise... ill try my little charger thing see if it works.. i mainly now use my custom one i built because i noticed if i charge via the spark it only gets to 98% and if i charge via my way it goes to 100% and 10 times faster so maybe the spark has a smaller amp draw and thats why its able to take 5 volts i dunno... we will never know till we get the schmatics
 

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