Phantom 3 LED lighting

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

I fabricated some LED lights for that late night flight. Using two 6800mah 3.7v wired in series to 7.4 volts. Tactical flashlight batteries. Regulated voltage reduction chip back down to 5.5 volts. USB LED lights from Amazon.

Video of the night flight here:

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[alokbhargava]

Unable to see your video on my iPhone 7 plus

 

[Digdat0]

your youtube link is jacked, its on the edit link for the vid. here's the proper link:

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edit: holy crap thats bright!! how is the battery drain with them on?

 

[airbender]

I fabricated some LED lights for that late night flight. Using two 6800mah 3.7v wired in series to 7.4 volts. Tactical flashlight batteries. Regulated voltage reduction chip back down to 5.5 volts. USB LED lights from Amazon.

That's really interesting. Can you post the link to the parts on amazon?

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Just a pic of mine,STILL waitin 4 strobe light off ebay so i got this cheap lightweight pushbike light,,and very effective,,glued it to camera lock that came with drone just clips on and off landin gear and far back enough not to anoy the vps

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

I have been having issues with my you tube links lately. Sorry. Digdat0 got it right. Thanks Dig! These lights are run off external 3.7 batteries. 6800mah. They seem to last at least 20 minutes. I only ran 1 drone battery so far.
Parts list:
Voltage regulator: Amazon.com: Qunqi 5pack MP1584EN ultra Small DC-DC 3A power Step-Down Adjustable Module Buck Converter 24V To 12v 9V 5V 3V for Arduino: Home Audio & Theater
Batteries: Amazon.com: LiCB 2Packs 6800mAh 18650 Battery Rechargeable Li-ion With Lithium Battery Holder case 3.7v Batteries for Flashlight LED Light(2 PCS): Home Audio & Theater
Charger: Amazon.com: LiCB Charger for 18650 26650 16340 14500 18350 10440 Battery: Home Improvement
Battery box: Amazon.com: Haobase 5Pcs Battery Holder for 3.7V 18650 Battery: Home Audio & Theater
Toggle switches (optional): 10 SPST ON/OFF Subminiature Toggle Switch Mini with Red handle: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Video link:

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[airbender]

Parts list:
Voltage regulator: Amazon.com: Qunqi 5pack MP1584EN ultra Small DC-DC 3A power Step-Down Adjustable Module Buck Converter 24V To 12v 9V 5V 3V for Arduino: Home Audio & Theater
Batteries: Amazon.com: LiCB 2Packs 6800mAh 18650 Battery Rechargeable Li-ion With Lithium Battery Holder case 3.7v Batteries for Flashlight LED Light(2 PCS): Home Audio & Theater
Charger: Amazon.com: LiCB Charger for 18650 26650 16340 14500 18350 10440 Battery: Home Improvement
Battery box: Amazon.com: Haobase 5Pcs Battery Holder for 3.7V 18650 Battery: Home Audio & Theater
Toggle switches (optional): 10 SPST ON/OFF Subminiature Toggle Switch Mini with Red handle: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

And the light modules?

BTW, there is no such thing as a 6800 mAh 18650 lion cell. At absolute best, 3400 mAh is more accurate for a 'perfect' cell. Those you ordered could be anything, and I would keep a very close eye on them when recharging, if not outright replacing them with a known good brand, such as LG, Samsung, or Sanyo.

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

LED lights (Forgot this one):
Amazon.com: Yitee 5pcs USB Light Keychain Super Bright 6 LEDs Mini USB Light Lamp with Smart Touch Electrodeless Dimming Switch For Laptop Keyboard Light(Pure White), Qty:5: Computers & Accessories
As for the batteries, they are 6800mah, the endurance proves this.

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

They are batteries for tactical flashlights. High current draw needs lots of mah.

 

[PilotRyan]

And the light modules?

BTW, there is no such thing as a 6800 mAh 18650 lion cell. At absolute best, 3400 mAh is more accurate for a 'perfect' cell. Those you ordered could be anything, and I would keep a very close eye on them when recharging, if not outright replacing them with a known good brand, such as LG, Samsung, or Sanyo.

I second what airbender says, those batteries look questionable. I'm a flashaholic and my best 18650 that I pay top dollars for are only 3500mAh. If you bought these from a chinese website chances are that they're re-branded and relabeled recycled cells. The only honest way to test the capacity is with a good Lithium charger that displays the current charged.

Otherwise your mod looks freaking amazing. I think I have the exact same USB lights. Are they the touch switch ones that you can adjust the brightness by sliding your finger over the back of it?

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

Yes, touch switch. I shorted out the touch on others I have, but its hit and miss as whether the shorting works. Some get fried, others work fine. As far as these batteries go, I only can assume the capacity. I don't have any less mah batteries to side by side test the endurance, which is what the capacity reveals: Milliamps per hour. I assume they are what is printed on the label and the time endurance I've seen them perform at says they last what I wanted them to last. I can wire them into the front LED's on the Phantom and be able to turn them on/off which is what I originally wanted to do and still may, but I ddn't want to use the drone's battery for obvious reasons.
(And I miss Orange County.....)

 

[airbender]

They are batteries for tactical flashlights. High current draw needs lots of mah.

And I have a vape, believe me, there is no such thing as a 6800 mAh cell. You can have high amp draw, or high capacity, not both.

Quick bit of math:

• The lights you have are one watt per the specs, so four watts total draw at 5.5 VDC, which is .7 amps, rounded down.
• The cells are wired in series for approx 7.2 VDC, then fed to a converter to the 5.5 VDC. The claimed mAh is 6800, which is 6.8 amp hours (Ah). One amp hour is defined as a one amp draw being able to run for one hour.

At that low of a draw, if those cells were actually labeled truthfully (which is impossible), they would run for around 6 hours approximate, not the 20 minutes you observed. By the runtime you listed, my guesstimate would be a capacity of around 500 mAh or less.

As of 2016, the highest capacity 18650 li-ion rechargeable battery is made by Panasonic, the NCR18650G with a capacity of 3600mAh at 3.6VDC.

Think about it, if it was possible to have that high of a capacity, wouldn't the big names be offering them for sale, or wouldn't DJI be offering higher capacity batteries for the AC's?

Grossly exaggerated capacity claims and counterfeits are very common with 18650's on ebay and amazon, and I'm afraid what you have there is not the real deal. They may work for the purpose, but myself, I avoid dodgy cells as they have, in the past, proven to be unsafe.

And I agree with the others, I love the idea behind it and it looks really good! It's definitely something I'm considering doing as well as most of the pre-made lights I've seen are not quite what I've been wanting to do.

References:
What is the difference between Ah and mAh?
Watts to amps (A) conversion calculator

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

I had said I flew for twenty mins. and at the end the lights had the same brightness they started with. Not that they lasted twenty mins. As far as the 6800mah which these are marked as I cannot say what their actual capacity is. All I can say is they work well. I just bought a digital charger with charging display and I'll be interested as to the info that gives me. Why I had bought these batteries is I've tried all kinds and wanted endurance. So far they look to be providing that.

 

[PilotRyan]

Yes, touch switch. I shorted out the touch on others I have, but its hit and miss as whether the shorting works.
(And I miss Orange County.....)

That's sweet, those are some extremely bright lights and they're pretty cheap too.

Bottom line is up to you if you want to gamble your quad using those batteries, we're just trying to help not criticize. I have rebranded knockoffs 18650 batteries as well that are rated anywhere from 4000-5000 mAh. Sure they work, but I leave them in my emergency torch light in the backyard. Not in my car, not in my house, not in my EDC flashlights, and certainly not in any expensive equipment.

 

[airbender]

I had said I flew for twenty mins. and at the end the lights had the same brightness they started with. Not that they lasted twenty mins.

Fair point, I read it as they lasted 20 min.

As far as the 6800mah which these are marked as I cannot say what their actual capacity is. All I can say is they work well. I just bought a digital charger with charging display and I'll be interested as to the info that gives me. Why I had bought these batteries is I've tried all kinds and wanted endurance. So far they look to be providing that.

That's a good idea to verify the capacity with a good charger unit.

If they work for you, then that's fine, I just wanted to warn you and anyone else that may read this thread that there is no such thing as a lion cell with that kind of capacity and that fakes can be dangerous if the seller (or their source) cut corners when producing them.

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

That's sweet, those are some extremely bright lights and they're pretty cheap too.

Bottom line is up to you if you want to gamble your quad using those batteries, we're just trying to help not criticize. I have rebranded knockoffs 18650 batteries as well that are rated anywhere from 4000-5000 mAh. Sure they work, but I leave them in my emergency torch light in the backyard. Not in my car, not in my house, not in my EDC flashlights, and certainly not in any expensive equipment.

There's no danger strapping these to my drone, if they fail then the lights won't work and all the drone has to do is carry their weight. The drone has no dependence on these batteries. Separate system. I love to design, experiment and further my experience with the Phantoms. If all I did was worry what could happen, It'd stay in it's original shipping box. Plus I have two more, still in their boxes waiting for their turn. Life is for expanding the limits and seeing what happens.

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

I constantly am feeling them for heat when charging/using. As well as swelling and any other abnormalities. So far so cool. Yes, batteries can be dangerous. This is what the light system looks like out of the drone.

 

[PilotRyan]

Very nice. What are those black cubes that the red/black battery wires are connected to?

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

Very nice. What are those black cubes that the red/black battery wires are connected to?

Mono phono jacks, for ease of install/teardown.

 

[airbender]

I constantly am feeling them for heat when charging/using. As well as swelling and any other abnormalities. So far so cool. Yes, batteries can be dangerous. This is what the light system looks like out of the drone.
View attachment 78814

With cells, how much does the entire assembly weigh?