How can I charge controller in the field?

Michael Thompson · Jul 13, 2016

I have 5 batteries but they do me no good if the controller dies. What can I use to charge the controller while I'm away from civilization? The controller has no USB input so I can't use a regular power bank. Thanks.

GadgetGuy · Jul 13, 2016

Maybe carry another controller? Your 5 batteries will not exhaust a fully charged controller (4 hours of use), so you will be needing to recharge everything at the same time that you have access to AC or DC.

Meta4 · Jul 13, 2016

Michael Thompson said:
I have 5 batteries but they do me no good if the controller dies. What can I use to charge the controller while I'm away from civilization? The controller has no USB input so I can't use a regular power bank. Thanks.

Flying five batteries will hardly put a dint in a fully charged controller battery.

WWK888 · Jul 13, 2016

Flew five batteries today and still have four lights on the RC.

Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

GadgetGuy · Jul 13, 2016

I guess that's a wrap, folks!

msinger · Jul 13, 2016

Michael Thompson said:
What can I use to charge the controller while I'm away from civilization?

One full charge on your remote controller should last for 20-30 flights. To answer your question, here are some accessories you can use to charge the remote controller when you're away from home:

Anbee Car Charger
DJI Car Charger (from DJI or Amazon)
DJI Battery to DC Power Cable

Michael Judd · Jul 13, 2016

i have one of them emergency jump starters that has a air pump, usb, a 12 volt plug and a 120 plug.

RussOnTheRoad · Jul 13, 2016

Coming from the world of RVing where solar power and inverters are of ongoing converstation, should you find that you actually wish to charge your controller using a power source other than utility provided power you might be well advised to avoid modified sine wave inverters. I know that's a mouthful. Let me explain. Electronic devices that convert DC into 110 volt AC are called inverters. The less expesnive modified sine wave inverters have been known to damage sensitive electronics in some instances. Pure sine wave inverters are costlier, but safe.

Any sort of device, such as the portable battery booster/jump starters with built in batteries are going to have DC batteries and if they provide AC electricity then they will also have some sort of inverter built in to convert the DC to AC. I'm guessing this would most likely be a modified sine wave inverter. Similarly, most inverters that plug into an accessory outlet in an automobile are likely to be modified sine wave inverters.

I don't know if DJI power supplies for charging DJI batteries and RC units might be damaged by a modified sine wave inverter but it may be worth knowing about. It would be an ineffecient use of electricity, though--converting DC to AC and back to DC again.

GadgetGuy · Jul 13, 2016

While the topic is interesting, the OP will never have a problem because he only has 5 batteries, and they will all require recharging long before his fully charged transmitter battery requires recharging, as it lasts far longer than all the flights possible with only 5 fully charged batteries!

RussOnTheRoad · Jul 13, 2016

GadgetGuy said:
While the topic is interesting, the OP will never have a problem because he only has 5 batteries, and they will all require recharging long before his fully charged transmitter battery requires recharging.

Yes, of course that's quite correct but you overlook the following: the OP (or somebody else) may at some future point have more than 5 batteries, or a situation where for one reason or another, forgetfullnes, for exmple, the RC is allowed to run low and not be fully charged before flight. Then, what of wanting to recharge the batteries in a remote location? In any one of these scenarios the ability to perform remote charging might prove desireable.

GadgetGuy · Jul 14, 2016

RussOnTheRoad said:
Yes, of course that's quite correct but you overlook the following: the OP (or somebody else) may at some future point have more than 5 batteries, or a situation where for one reason or another, forgetfullnes, for exmple, the RC is allowed to run low and not be fully charged before flight. Then, what of wanting to recharge the batteries in a remote location? In any one of these scenarios the ability to perform remote charging might prove desireable.

Absolutely! That's why it's a very interesting discussion for all! A teachable moment! I certainly was not intending to imply that the discussion was not appropriate. All the solutions also would work for recharging the original 5 batteries, too! These threads take on a life of their own! Carry on!

Michael Judd · Jul 14, 2016

Russ, if that were true about chargers, both the jumpstarts and the acc outlet of your car, then do you think that DJI would make a charger that plugs into your vehicles 12V system? I have used this jumpstarter for going on 5 years now charging everything from drone batteries to my cameras, laptops, phones, and just about everything else with not one problem.