Category: Battery
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How BAD are cheap 18650 Li-Ion batteries from China?
China is a magical place where you can get everything for a fraction of a price. Like 10000mAh 18650 LiIon batteries for $1.5. Of course, we have to begin with a note, that there are no 10000mAh 18650 batteries! Technology does not allow for such energy density. And if they would exist, they would not…
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Li-Ion vs. Li-Po for drones and airplanes?
Lithium-Polymer (LiPo) batteries dominate the RC hobby. In like 98% of the cases, if you have a drone or RC airplane, or RC car, it is powered by a LiPo battery. The reasons are simple: they are high current capable, fast to charge, and have relatively high energy density. LiPo is, however, not the only…
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DIY 4S battery pack from 18650 Li-Ion for RC FPV drone
‘ve made me an endurance Li-Ion battery pack for my 7 inch endurance quadcopter. With good quality Sony 18650 VTC6 it is possible to get 20A constant current which is enough for an airplane or endurance quadcopter. Works just fine and with reasoable speed of 40-50 km/h I’m getting more than 15 minutes of real…
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Getting started with 18650 Li-Ion batteries
18650 Lithium-Ion batteries are the workhorse of modern consumer (and not only consumer) technology. If you have anything that is battery operated and there is a “Li-Ion” mark anywhere on it, probably it is powered by 18650 Li-Ion battery. Laptop batteries, cordless drills, cordless tools, e-cigarettes. All of them (probably) have 18650 cells inside. In…
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Parallel LiPo charging video tutorial
Here is another of my tutorial YouTube videos. This time, I talk a little about parallel LiPo charging: why to do it, how to do it andwhy it might be dangerous when you do it wrong:
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Tutorial: replace battery in RunCam HD
My RunCam HD died after 5 months in a drawer. Reason: battery destroyed. It had enough energy for approx. 2 seconds of operation. So I had a choice: buy original battery from RunCam for $9.99 plus shipment, or fix it DIY style. I’ve choces the second option. Luckily for us, RunCam used generic 803035 LiPo…
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How to connect APM Power Meter to Cleanflight and INAV
This topic was eluding me for some time now. It’s time fix the problem and finally present a short tutorial how to connect 90A APM Power Meter for flight controller boards like Naza32, SP Racing F3 or any other running Cleanflight / Betaflight / INAV software and equipped with Current Meter ADC input. I will…
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How to dispose / utilize LiPo batteries
LiPo batteries that run RC hobby are potentially dangerous devices. When not handled properly they can ignite or even explode. And they do not live forever. Even the best battery, no matter how taken care off, loses capacity, swells and has to be disposed. When we combine both facts we face a problem: how to…
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The best way to mount LiPo on a drone: 3M Dual Lock
LiPo battery, as the heaviest single element of any racer quadcopter, is mostly the first one to fell off during crash. Or displace in high-g maneuvers. Or simple fell off in flight. Like on this picture below I’ve found on Reddit. Grrrr… for sure this is something I would like not to see personally again.…