Batteries, Anafi and phone

[Pixelpilot]

Morning all,

I took delivery of my Anafi yesterday and I have two questions.

1. My iPhone 6s drains it battery really quickly when connected to the controller. The battery is old and I will be replacing it but is this normal. It had 80% and it died before the drone battery did.
I did discover that I had the Anafi WiFi connected which I didn’t need as I was using the controller but would this make much difference?

2. Anafi battery charging.
I am aware and was expecting the long charge times of the batteries, 4 hours last night from empty to full.
I understand it can be affected massively by the plug that you put the USB into, my question is what exactly should I be looking for in the specification of a plug when I buy some specifically for this purpose?
I have tried to understand the information on the plug and relate it to the batteries but failed. Could someone tell me what to look for in a plug spec and explain the hyroglyphics on the plug ?

Many thanks in advance everyone,
Jeff

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Any wall charger that will compare to something like this will charge your battery in about 105-110 minutes.
USB C Charger with 27.6W USB-C PD Power Delivery 3.0 & 18W Quick Charge 3.0 Ports Dual USB Wall Charger

And it sounds like your phone battery is way past the change stage. The battery drain is a lot faster then it should be. Time to get that changed

 

[Pixelpilot]

Thanks for the quick response Agustine.
You’re right I’ve known my iPhone battery was dieing for a long time. I’ve ordered one from ifixit last night so that should sort that.
I will look for a plug with those specs. I have seen some people say that the higher the W value the better, is that true? and that a plug with USB C would be better still?

Thankyou.
Jeff

Edited to ask:
I think you have listed 2 sets of specs there, is that correct?
Thankyou.
Jeff

 

[Jagerbomb52]

If going by what Parrot puts out in the specs that would be true but several people have done their own testing and say anything around 18W is all it can handle. I can't confirm this just passing on what other have said. If it is a PD charger they will charge faster for sure.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

If you are considering a PD portable power bank make sure you do your research as not all charge the anafi battery. There are some posts on here that might help you out as to which ones work. Use the search Icon in top right hand corner.

 

[Pixelpilot]

If going by what Parrot puts out in the specs that would be true but several people have done their own testing and say anything around 18W is all it can handle. I can't confirm this just passing on what other have said. If it is a PD charger they will charge faster for sure.

Excellent, Thankyou again.

 

[Landbo]

Morning all,

2. Anafi battery charging.
I am aware and was expecting the long charge times of the batteries, 4 hours last night from empty to full.
I understand it can be affected massively by the plug that you put the USB into, my question is what exactly should I be looking for in the specification of a plug when I buy some specifically for this purpose?
I have tried to understand the information on the plug and relate it to the batteries but failed. Could someone tell me what to look for in a plug spec and explain the hyroglyphics on the plug ?

Many thanks in advance everyone,
Jeff

Hi Jeff.

A Parrot Anafi battery consumes maximum of 17 watts from a PD (Power Delivery) charger (12.1 Volt * 1.4 Amp). So buying a 60 Watt with only 1 PD port is a waste of money as you only use the 17 Watt.

Beware with QC chargers as it is not all that can regulate the output voltage after the the PD protocol and then the charger does not lift up the output voltage but supply instead max 5 Volt 3 Amp !!!

If, on the other hand, you charge the battery from a USB 3.x port or USB charger that can supply 5 Volt and 3 Amp it takes about 20 minutes longer to charge the battery, so it might be an idea to look through the drawers for old USB chargers / USB power supply instead of spending money !!!

The battery takes a maximum of 2.2 Amp at 5 Volt which is about 11 Watts. Note that the loss in the charging circuit is apparently greater with a PD charger than from a standard USB 3.x port / USB charger.

Personally, I mostly use an old 5 Volt 3 Amp USB charger for my batteries even I have a PD charger.

More I do not think can be said about a charger for Anafi batteries.

Regards, Leif.

 

[Rocky the FS]

I bought this one: Amazon.com: Anker 40W 4-Port USB Wall Charger with Foldable Plug, PowerPort 4 for iPhone XS/XS Max/XR/X/8/7/6/Plus, iPad Pro/Air 2/Mini 4/3, Galaxy/Note/Edge, LG, Nexus, HTC, and More: Cell Phones & Accessories

It charges the Anafi battery from 10% to full in about 90 minutes. Since I rarely go that low, I figure an hour for a full charge. So far (two months 20 cycles), I have not had any indication that this charger causes problems. It only puts out 2.4 amps per socket.

 

[Pixelpilot]

Hi Jeff.

A Parrot Anafi battery consumes maximum of 17 watts from a PD (Power Delivery) charger (12.1 Volt * 1.4 Amp). So buying a 60 Watt with only 1 PD port is a waste of money as you only use the 17 Watt.

Beware with QC chargers as it is not all that can regulate the output voltage after the the PD protocol and then the charger does not lift up the output voltage but supply instead max 5 Volt 3 Amp !!!

If, on the other hand, you charge the battery from a USB 3.x port or USB charger that can supply 5 Volt and 3 Amp it takes about 20 minutes longer to charge the battery, so it might be an idea to look through the drawers for old USB chargers / USB power supply instead of spending money !!!

The battery takes a maximum of 2.2 Amp at 5 Volt which is about 11 Watts. Note that the loss in the charging circuit is apparently greater with a PD charger than from a standard USB 3.x port / USB charger.

Personally, I mostly use an old 5 Volt 3 Amp USB charger for my batteries even I have a PD charger.

More I do not think can be said about a charger for Anafi batteries.

Regards, Leif.

Wow thanks Leif for the detailed explanation, very much appreciated

 

[pmh1nic]

My iPhone 6s will last 2 to 3 Anafi batteries with 30% remaining on the phone. I also don't drain the Anafi batteries lower that about 30%. I do put the phone in airplane mode and make sure BT and Wifi are actually off before flying.

As for the Anafi batteries I've used phone USB chargers (IOS and Android) and it usually takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to charge. As mentioned I don't go down passed 30% battery charge when flying so I'm not charging fully depleted batteries.

 

[Pixelpilot]

I bought this one: Amazon.com: Anker 40W 4-Port USB Wall Charger with Foldable Plug, PowerPort 4 for iPhone XS/XS Max/XR/X/8/7/6/Plus, iPad Pro/Air 2/Mini 4/3, Galaxy/Note/Edge, LG, Nexus, HTC, and More: Cell Phones & Accessories

It charges the Anafi battery from 10% to full in about 90 minutes. Since I rarely go that low, I figure an hour for a full charge. So far (two months 20 cycles), I have not had any indication that this charger causes problems. It only puts out 2.4 amps per socket.

 

[Pixelpilot]

Thanks Rocky, I’ll take a look.
Do you know if I plug all 3 of the Anafi batteries into it at once, will that affect the charging time?

 

[Pixelpilot]

My iPhone 6s will last 2 to 3 Anafi batteries with 30% remaining on the phone. I also don't drain the Anafi batteries lower that about 30%. I do put the phone in airplane mode and make sure BT and Wifi are actually off before flying.

As for the Anafi batteries I've used phone USB chargers (IOS and Android) and it usually takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to charge. As mentioned I don't go down passed 30% battery charge when flying so I'm not charging fully depleted batteries.

Thanks for that information. My phone battery clearly needs replacing and I have one on order.
That’s a good tip about airplane mode, I’ll try that next time.

Thankyou.

 

[Pixelpilot]

Quick update, phone battery replaced and lasts for ages now

I bought these plugs in the end:
Anker chargers

Thoroughly recommended and charge the batteries in 90 minutes.

Thanks again for the advice.

Jeff.