SUCCESS!!!

[pdmike]

Well, after two weekends of Too Darn Hart to fly, I was able to go out today. SUCCESS!!! For the first time, I was able to get her up and KEEP her up. In fact, I flew out the battery in two flights. How's that?

Couple of things - first off, I calibrated the sucker before each takeoff. Secondly, I learned to keep my mitts off of the left hand joystick on left and right, which swivels the quad on its axis, thereby depriving me of control of it. There was a pretty good wind. No problem - just take off facing directly into it and when the quad starts to come back, just give it some forward. It dips its nose into the wind and either goes forward slowly or holds its own depending on how strong the wind.

All in all, I am very cheered. I have only been out twice before and both of those ventures did not go so well. I spent most of the time replacing prop guards and watching the quad go totally our of control the second I got her up. Not today, mates!

 

[Rick M]

It's all about practice!

 

[mozquito1]

Try not to run the batteries dead. It does them no good & you can kill the cells.
The lowest you are supposed to run them down to is 3.7v. If they go below 3v the charger may not charge them. There is ways to get over this but it may not work & can be dangerous. Nicad. Don't leave charging batteries un attended.

 

[pdmike]

Try not to run the batteries dead. It does them no good & you can kill the cells.
The lowest you are supposed to run them down to is 3.7v. If they go below 3v the charger may not charge them. There is ways to get over this but it may not work & can be dangerous. Nicad. Don't leave charging batteries un attended.

Maybe I misspoke. I didn't run the battery totally dead. However, I have been discharging it fully when I get it home by just leaving the quad on overnight. Don't do that, hey? OK. How do you know when you have it down to a certain level?

 

[Rick M]

Maybe I misspoke. I didn't run the battery totally dead. However, I have been discharging it fully when I get it home by just leaving the quad on overnight. Don't do that, hey? OK. How do you know when you have it down to a certain level?

Definitely don't leave the quad drawing power overnight. You may well have already done damage to those LiPo's. Do a bit of research and reading on LiPo battery care. It will save you a lot of money in the long run.

 

[yay]

How do you know when you have it down to a certain level?

depends on the quad. there's stuff that can eg. be set in betaflight, to beep, or something like that. the e011 i flew would flash its lights and the power would sag for a moment. i guess most people notice when it doesn't fly as strong. you're prolly good tho, its just from words on the internet.

 

[mozquito1]

Lipo checker £3 on ebay. V-bat alarm in cleanflight/betaflight.
Flew out the battery, to me means you flew it till it stopped. Not good for the battery.

 

[pdmike]

What about charging the battery? Can you overcharge it? Is it bad to go off and leave it for six or seven hours while it is charging? How long does it take one of these batteries to charge up?

 

[mozquito1]

Yes you can overcharge. If it's a 1-2cell then take off soon as the light changes.
Never leave batteries un attended.
Depends on size really the charge times.
Digital chargers are OK as they will cut off at 4.20 per cell. But cheap ones just pump it in. Also 3.7v is the lowest you should go.