Cold

[DavidRumbles]

I am looking for some advice, I live in Scotland and it's quite cold right now. The first time it happened it was -2 celsius my iPhone was fully charged, as I landed after about 5 mins my phone crashed? I pushed the button but it was off! I then tried to turn it back on but it was dead.

Again today about 2 or 3 degrees, during flight my phone turned off. It had roughly 50% battery before I took off and I was only flying for about 2 minutes.

I never have any problems with my phone or battery life usually until I fly.

I have heard the apple products can be unreliable under 0 degrees. Has anyone else experienced this or have any advice of what to do or what devices are best to use?

Also does anyone know how cold the drone can fly in?


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[Dan cutter]

Yes, iPads and such will "turn off" if they get into the sub-freezing zone. I have iPad 2, iPad Air, iPad Pro, and MacBook Pro---they have all done this. I believe it is the lithium ion batteries--not the device. They won't even charge if device is in the 20s. Something thin and metallic will assume ambient temperature very fast whereas drone batteries stay warm enough to fly 25 minutes. They also warm up when discharging so I imagine the drone will fly in extreme cold. Interesting bit of info--if you warm up a drone battery on your car's defroster it is a good idea to turn it often.
If not you'll get messages that a cell is damaged. Warming one side of the battery will result in uneven voltages.

 

[Laar]

I use the Ipad mini 2 and have flown at -20c, but I make sure the ipad is 100% charged and the phantom's battery is kept warm until ready to fly. At that temperature I don't fly in sport mode (undue stress on bird) and constantly monitor battery status of ipad. When the 10% battery warning on tablet comes on, I land immediately. Often my hands give up the good fight long before either battery does.

 

[Dan cutter]

Yes-- my fingers tell me when to land too! The batteries win every time.

 

[lb650]

You needs to get you some of them touch sensitive gloves they work pretty well. And yes make sure tablet is 100% charged and it should last 2 batteries at -10 -12. I use an iPad air2 same thing happens if it's below 70%.


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