Spark battery discharge adjustment time?

[Pashasdad]

Can we expect to see a FW upgrade that allows more control over the Spark battery discharge time as in Mavic and Ohantom products?

 

[Mako79]

I think batteries this small may not need discharging like the mavics.
Look at the P3ADV and Pro remotes. They have the similar size batteries and AFAIK doesnt require discharge.
The SPark batteries also has hibernation modes. Not sure how it works but it essentially puts the battery into starfish mode.

 

[Craigsdal]

I think batteries this small may not need discharging like the mavics.
Look at the P3ADV and Pro remotes. They have the similar size batteries and AFAIK doesnt require discharge.
The SPark batteries also has hibernation modes. Not sure how it works but it essentially puts the battery into starfish mode.

My understanding is that brand new Spark Batteries are in hibernation mode from the factory and will not power up until they are fully charged before the initial use.

 

[Mako79]

My understanding is that brand new Spark Batteries are in hibernation mode from the factory and will not power up until they are fully charged before the initial use.

True.. But here's why,,

Spark – Specs, FAQ, Tutorials and Downloads

5. When does a battery enter Hibernation Mode?
When a battery is less than 10% charged, it will enter Hibernation Mode after approximately six hours of nonuse.
When a battery is completely drained, it will enter Hibernation Mode within 10 minutes of turning off.

 

[suprPHREAK]

The Spark batteries (and remotes, for that matter) do go into a self discharge after a few days of non use.

Put your Spark away for a week and see!

 

[ageloreyes27]

The Spark batteries (and remotes, for that matter) do go into a self discharge after a few days of non use.

Put your Spark away for a week and see!

Intelligent storage mode! Me Likey!

 

[His415]

I think batteries this small may not need discharging like the mavics.
Look at the P3ADV and Pro remotes. They have the similar size batteries and AFAIK doesnt require discharge.
The SPark batteries also has hibernation modes. Not sure how it works but it essentially puts the battery into starfish mode.

Starfish mode, that's a new one for me. What's it mean?

 

[Dronason]

I think batteries this small may not need discharging like the mavics.
Look at the P3ADV and Pro remotes. They have the similar size batteries and AFAIK doesnt require discharge.
The SPark batteries also has hibernation modes. Not sure how it works but it essentially puts the battery into starfish mode.

Sorry, cannot be really compared. Phantom3 RC battery is not charged the same way and is also not the same type of LiPo.
What should be avoided is that the battery remains fully charged for several months.
After 2 months, I think my batteries never get the 10 days in standby so in average they would remain fully charged most of the time. Now I am leaving half of them at 2 leds level and roll them each week. At least if I would not fly for a month, I would have just to charge all of them and store them in a safe place.

 

[suprPHREAK]

Look at the P3ADV and Pro remotes. They have the similar size batteries and AFAIK doesnt require discharge.

They begin a self-discharge to a storage level after 10 days.

Sorry, cannot be really compared. Phantom3 RC battery is not charged the same way and is also not the same type of LiPo.
What should be avoided is that the battery remains fully charged for several months. After 2 months, I think my batteries never get the 10 days in standby so in average they would remain fully charged most of the time. Now I am leaving half of them at 2 leds level and roll them each week.

Whats different about the Phantom 3 RC? It has an on board intelligent battery, and it will self-discharge after 10 days. On ALL DJI "Intelligent batteries" (which includes those inside the remote), they will initiate a self-discharge after a certain amount of time. I'm not sure what exactly it is for the Spark, but on the Phantom it is adjustable to your preference.

Note: that the time is for it to begin the discharge, which then take a few more days.

With regards to your comment about "after 2 months...", I presume you mean you fly so often that they are almost always fully charged. This is fine, as they are being cycled, and not the same as leaving it fully charged. The issues creep up when leaving them to sit at a full charge for a long time, which the battery itself will automatically prevent.

Note: it is also bad to leave a lithium battery at 0%, so ideally, leave it around 20-30% for storage. If you are parking it for a long time, give it a full charge and let the battery adjust itself, as designed.

DJI batteries are NOT dumb LiPo's as used in other RC aircraft. They don't require maintenance on the user's part, because they do it themselves.

 

[Dronason]

They begin a self-discharge to a storage level after 10 days.



Whats different about the Phantom 3 RC? It has an on board intelligent battery, and it will self-discharge after 10 days. On ALL DJI "Intelligent batteries" (which includes those inside the remote), they will initiate a self-discharge after a certain amount of time. I'm not sure what exactly it is for the Spark, but on the Phantom it is adjustable to your preference.

Note: that the time is for it to begin the discharge, which then take a few more days.

With regards to your comment about "after 2 months...", I presume you mean you fly so often that they are almost always fully charged. This is fine, as they are being cycled, and not the same as leaving it fully charged. The issues creep up when leaving them to sit at a full charge for a long time, which the battery itself will automatically prevent.

Note: it is also bad to leave a lithium battery at 0%, so ideally, leave it around 20-30% for storage. If you are parking it for a long time, give it a full charge and let the battery adjust itself, as designed.

DJI batteries are NOT dumb LiPo's as used in other RC aircraft. They don't require maintenance on the user's part, because they do it themselves.

Yes for Phantom 3 removable battery, it self discharge after a delay you select, just the Spark has a fixed delay.

But my Phantom 3 RC don't self discharge on their own nor they have any circuit for that. There is of coarse the battery self discharge and leak to the power switch circuit but it take months to get one LED down. See Phantom3 pilot thread p4 controller


There is in any case the same potential question with the battery inside the Spark RC. Didn't see anything in the manual about its storage, so I would assume it has to be treated the same way as Phantom RC battery.