I don't have a Spark, but I figured Spark owners can use the new charging station. If posting Spark related articles on this website is a problem, then please let me know.@clackey - seems a bit strange joined today and first post is a direct link to WeTalkUAV.
Might want to take a look at IP address...
It seems like a great deal coming from someone who owns a Phantom 4 Adv. The battery charging hub for P4 batteries is $90, and it has to be plugged in directly into an external power source. DJI made a great move by releasing a power bank type travel charger that supports flow-through-charging technology, especially since it only costs $89.
Advexure
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Spark Battery Charging Stations are now IN STOCK at Advexure! Order by 4pm PT for same day shipping. Link below. Don't hesitate to reach out with any questions. Safe flying!
Buy DJI Spark Portable Charging Station – Advexure
Buy DJI Spark Portable Charging Station – Advexure
Virtual1
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>> the Charging Station charges up to three Spark batteries in 2.5 hours when fully charged.
2.5 hours to charge three batteries? pass.
But when I go to the park I bring all my batteries (6) and the full sled charger, along with an 18AH 12v SLA battery and a 200w AC inverter. I've found I can't charge them fast enough to "fly nonstop" but it's close enough for me to not waste the daylight. If I can just sit and take a break for 5 minutes between flights (including those first few when I have batteries charged and ready to go!) I can fly basically nonstop all afternoon. (gives me a little time to top off the phone/pad/controller too)
Being an electrical engineer of sorts though it irks me a bit to take a 12v pack, invert it up to 120vac, and then step it back down to 12v or so to run the sled. DJI needs to make something that runs directly off 12v and can charge at least three batteries as fast as the sled for those of us that want or need high duty cycle. It needs to at least come close to 100% uptime by charge speed and number of batteries on charge at a time.
12v batteries aren't that hard to come by, and if nothing else you can just use the cig lighter in your car. There are several aftermarket models of charger that are intended on running off the cig lighter jack, but they all only support 1, 2, or 3 batteries so I may just get a couple of those.
I'm also working on getting my cables in order so I can put a 10AH power bank in my pocket and keep my kindle charged while flying. (I don't think I can do that with the remote... it seems to shut off when charging?! I can't even name another usb-charged accessory I have that refuses to run while charging or running off USB power)
2.5 hours to charge three batteries? pass.
But when I go to the park I bring all my batteries (6) and the full sled charger, along with an 18AH 12v SLA battery and a 200w AC inverter. I've found I can't charge them fast enough to "fly nonstop" but it's close enough for me to not waste the daylight. If I can just sit and take a break for 5 minutes between flights (including those first few when I have batteries charged and ready to go!) I can fly basically nonstop all afternoon. (gives me a little time to top off the phone/pad/controller too)
Being an electrical engineer of sorts though it irks me a bit to take a 12v pack, invert it up to 120vac, and then step it back down to 12v or so to run the sled. DJI needs to make something that runs directly off 12v and can charge at least three batteries as fast as the sled for those of us that want or need high duty cycle. It needs to at least come close to 100% uptime by charge speed and number of batteries on charge at a time.
12v batteries aren't that hard to come by, and if nothing else you can just use the cig lighter in your car. There are several aftermarket models of charger that are intended on running off the cig lighter jack, but they all only support 1, 2, or 3 batteries so I may just get a couple of those.
I'm also working on getting my cables in order so I can put a 10AH power bank in my pocket and keep my kindle charged while flying. (I don't think I can do that with the remote... it seems to shut off when charging?! I can't even name another usb-charged accessory I have that refuses to run while charging or running off USB power)
大疆晓粉丝
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Virtual1
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I'm looking at this one, it does not have a built-in battery so has to be connected to 120VAC but does four batteries at once and is a lot less expensive:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074J7XP8H
The WeTalk doesn't have enough battery capacity by itself to be terribly useful for me and it's a bit slow on charging. I'd like to see something that runs off a big 12v battery but it seems the only alternative is to get several of the car chargers, which again costs a lot more.
I did find one interesting alternative though, this is an AC car adapter for Spark's 3-battery sled:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078BPMLJM
But with 6 batteries I would need two of those and another sled. So it seems I can have what I'm looking for but it won't be cheap.
Ok here we go... thee of these will charge all six of my batteries on 12v for under $60, yays
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075K37YT5
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djmaincheese
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djmaincheese
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Virtual1
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I like the decal job, the red on the back rotors vs the white on the front is also helpful at distance. When I flew helis, we'd usually make them nice and colorful with a distinct color for the tail so you could more easily tell which way it was facing.
OldBlueHeron
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Virtual1
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I just got a set of THESE: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074P6NS1X
for some reason I only got one pair instead of two. They seem to work okay though and are easier to see when moving. also cost less than stock DJI.
for some reason I only got one pair instead of two. They seem to work okay though and are easier to see when moving. also cost less than stock DJI.
I actually just ordered this charger along with the case. I know smatree also has a charging hub that can charge i think 4 batteries? I can't specifically recall and it was posted here as well somewhere. I was going to do additional research to compare the two but at this point, I just went proprietary from DJI. I don't know if one is better than the other. I went with this probably because I couldn't pass up a 20% coupon to get the Charging Hub + Battery combo for 100 or so dollars, as each batter is about $59 so it was almost a no brainer.
This tops me off to 6 total batteries which I think is more than enough.
This tops me off to 6 total batteries which I think is more than enough.
Virtual1
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$49 at Best Buy or WalMart:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dji-intelligent-flight-battery-for-spark/5901370.p?skuId=5901370
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dji-CP-PT-000789-Spark-Part3-Intelligent-Flight-Battery/241478296
(our Walmart does not carry them in stock but gets them in or to my mailbox in a few days, Best Buy stocks 2 batteries and 2 sets of props as well as the Spark itself)
yep that's what I've got. Lets me fly more or less continuously all day. I'll probably get some pics and description of my new case and charger setup here shortly. Charges up to 6 batteries at once at full charge speed.
The Spark batteries claim to be rated 1480mAh at 11.7v, which I was expecting would be 17.3Wh but the battery states only 16.87 Wh. My recharge case has a 12v 18Ah SLA battery, 216Wh, which should get me at least a dozen recharges. (figuring the power losses in charging about equal with the remaining power in the battery when I land well before 0%)
So with 18 total flights before I'm dry, at 20min each, (figuring a little break when changing batteries) that's a good 6 hours in the park / on location
20 minutes each battery? Huh?$49 at Best Buy or WalMart:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dji-intelligent-flight-battery-for-spark/5901370.p?skuId=5901370
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dji-CP-PT-000789-Spark-Part3-Intelligent-Flight-Battery/241478296
(our Walmart does not carry them in stock but gets them in or to my mailbox in a few days, Best Buy stocks 2 batteries and 2 sets of props as well as the Spark itself)
yep that's what I've got. Lets me fly more or less continuously all day. I'll probably get some pics and description of my new case and charger setup here shortly. Charges up to 6 batteries at once at full charge speed.
The Spark batteries claim to be rated 1480mAh at 11.7v, which I was expecting would be 17.3Wh but the battery states only 16.87 Wh. My recharge case has a 12v 18Ah SLA battery, 216Wh, which should get me at least a dozen recharges. (figuring the power losses in charging about equal with the remaining power in the battery when I land well before 0%)
So with 18 total flights before I'm dry, at 20min each, (figuring a little break when changing batteries) that's a good 6 hours in the park / on location
. I am more thrifty to say it's about 12 to 14 minutes of flight time per battery which equates to 1.4 hours of flight time continuously to burn through. With the DJI charging hub. I figured it will charge the3 batteries once go around which means another 45 minutes from there. I'm. It sure if I can get another 3 to charge but if so that another 45 minutes on top of that. Now let's be realistic here. At least for me. 3+ hours of flight time without having to go back to an outlet is a lot. How often I would be in these situations where I will burn through that much flight time is going to be very minimal. If I was smarter earlier 4 batteries would have been it for me. I didn't see the DJI hub with two batteries and bought each separately.
A couple weeks later a lightbulb went up in my head and was like duh I should have done just that.
In either case, not complaining I have 6
.
Virtual1
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20 minutes each battery? Huh?
nah, as I was saying, "figuring a little break when changing batteries". Usually spent swapping batteries in the charger, maybe topping the controller or iPhone, chatting with others in the park, showing off the gear, grabbing a drink/snack, reviewing footage, etc. Giving the thumbs a chance to rest at any rate
I do tend to go all-in on my free time so spending a chunk of a day at the park flying is entirely likely for me. Just having the six batteries and the 3 battery sled from DJI has found me sitting on my hands waiting for batteries on a few occasions, hence the new charger setup.
Cool I'd like to see the setup.nah, as I was saying, "figuring a little break when changing batteries". Usually spent swapping batteries in the charger, maybe topping the controller or iPhone, chatting with others in the park, showing off the gear, grabbing a drink/snack, reviewing footage, etc. Giving the thumbs a chance to rest at any rate
I do tend to go all-in on my free time so spending a chunk of a day at the park flying is entirely likely for me. Just having the six batteries and the 3 battery sled from DJI has found me sitting on my hands waiting for batteries on a few occasions, hence the new charger setup.
I forgot to mention that I also have the Mavic Pro Platinum which I can technically switch over to with 4 batteries if I need to.
I have seen myself though fly for like 20/30 minutes with either of the two and I'm like I either got what I need or move on from there. Perhaps I'm still a bit paranoid with flyaways that I don't push myself too much lol.
