Can you charge the Anafi battery with a portable powerbank? Can you fast charge it with USB-C to USB-C Power Delivery if the powerbank has it?
Can you charge the Anafi battery with a batterypack?
- Thread starter FlyHigh
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With PD and USB-C? I bought a powerbank and its not working? It charges my phone and my laptop. but when I connect to the anafi battery it drains the anafi battery instead of charging it?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079Z4RHZZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
My Puridea PD 18W 20000mAh works fine.
You need a USB-C to USB-C cable for PD to work.
Often Powerbanks have to be activated (Button) to start charging.
Ender
You need a USB-C to USB-C cable for PD to work.
Often Powerbanks have to be activated (Button) to start charging.
Ender
Good to hear! I wonder what is wrong with mine, i guess i'll have to send it back?
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Like the previous member said, I had to press a button on the powerbank (PB) in order for it to charge the Anafi battery. If I just plug the PB into the Anafi battery, the PB starts charging. So you have to be careful and make sure to tell the PB to send out power I think.
Ah man mine doesn't work like that. All the button does is display the power level.
Mines the same. I’m experiencing the same issue as you with this power bank
20800mAh USB C Power Bank Portable... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07C1V8H5V?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf
Jagerbomb52
Well-known member
QuadKid
Well-known member
This is the one I use, power will always flow from the PB to the item(s) being charged, so as long as you have at least 5,000 MAH left in the PB it will charge the Anafi battery (you do need to buy a micro USB > Type C adapter though. And it is not PD compatible.
Mini Max PB Charger
Mini Max PB Charger
Any other recommendations for a PD capable power bank?
I sent my charmast back to Amazon as my Anafi battery would only charge the power bank.
I sent my charmast back to Amazon as my Anafi battery would only charge the power bank.
Jagerbomb52
Well-known member
Unless someone posts proof and links I'm saying that the most one can get with a PD charger is 18W on an Anafi pack. That's 12V @ 1.5A
I’d love to see the setup that is providing the claimed 24W charging.
Anker PD charger, 12V @1.4A is the best it will do from people testing it on RCgroups forum.
I’d love to see the setup that is providing the claimed 24W charging.
Anker PD charger, 12V @1.4A is the best it will do from people testing it on RCgroups forum.
Hahahahaa.... no. Not at 25w anyhow.
Sorry but those ebay listings are pure fiction. First if all, just taking it's own specs, 4 amps by 5 volts is at best 20 watts.
But by way of comparison, this amazon listed panel is considerably larger, almost certainly using better cells and is still listed at a lower wattage.
And i still wouldn't expect 24 watts anywhere north of the 40th parallel except mid day in the dead of summer on a cloudless day. 16 is probably something you could rely on regularly.
I love solar, but it is a over time solution and takes up a lot of space for any real power. The average person would be better served putting solar on their house and charging off the mains or via powerbank off the mains or try buying into a solar pool venture (this used to be a thing anyhow, i've not checked for a while). Businesses (especially sprawling flat roof structures) should cover every inch of sun exposure, but that a different discussion.
The only way portable solar like this works is if you can use all day to charge a bank and then use the the bank for everything else. But there is a limit to that. Using my 16w, a 20000 mah power bank will take 6.6 hours to charge provided there are 6 hours maintaining 16w charging which is unlikely. It can be done but it is not fast and you really have to have a strong reason like off grid camping for a few days, but the weight of panels and batteries is going to limit that for backpackers.
Sorry about the soapbox. I really like solar it's just that I've seen so many turned off by unrealistic expectations.
Have you actually used this panel to charge a power bank of this size? How long did it take.
I am well aware that the specs on these things are exaggerated. I have this folding solar charger rated at 60 watts. I have had limited success charging anything with it.
https://www.amazon.com/ALLPOWERS-Foldable-SunPower-Technology-Smartphone/dp/B00RFCVR62
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I do many extended rafting and camping trips where we are away from any source of power. I will be doing a trip next year where we will be on the river for 24 days. Carrying enough precharged batteries is just not reasonable. It would be great If I can find a way to charge a power bank as we float down the river. I realized that it would be impossible to keep the panel pointed directly at the sun.
Saw this in the user guide:
'About USB-PD power banks: Parrot does not recommend users to invest in a USB-PD power bank, as not all of them support USB-C to USB-C charging of ’s battery. Indeed, due to the nature of the USB-C technology, some USB-PD power banks recharge on ’s smart battery, rather than the other way around.'
'About USB-PD power banks: Parrot does not recommend users to invest in a USB-PD power bank, as not all of them support USB-C to USB-C charging of ’s battery. Indeed, due to the nature of the USB-C technology, some USB-PD power banks recharge on ’s smart battery, rather than the other way around.'
So that means that some of them do support it. I guess it's just a matter of finding ones that do work as we need.
I really want to buy this drone if I can confirm that it is possible to solar charge a power bank and use that to recharge the drone batteries.
Indeed, I bought two PD power banks and one will charge annafi (about two charges) but the nicer one gets confused and tries to use it as a power source running it down.
The one that works is no longer on Amazon UK so no link
But was a
1 X Usb Type C Power Bank, Puridea QC 3.0 Quick Charger + 18W PD 20000 mAh Portable Charger with Power LCD Display (18W Faster Charger Input,QC 3.0 USB Po
Sold by Baokudi
£18.99
So Watt Hours equals 3.7x20=74Wh allowing for no losses and the battery actually having that capacity.
The one that does not work http://amzn.eu/d/9rCVE0G so don't get one of these.
The Anafi battery specs
SMART BATTERY
- Type: High density LiPo (2 cells)
- Capacity: 2,700mAh
- Flight time per charge: 25min
- Charging port: USB-C
- Weight: 126g
- Voltage: 7.6V
- Max charging power: 24W
So it is a 20.52 Watt Hour battery (VxA)
Charging with a "real" solar panel system connected to a regulator with USB output should be possible but not from the joke solar panels on the side of a power bank. A lot of power bank sellers also greatly exaggerated the capacity of the battery fitted.
The one that works is no longer on Amazon UK so no link
But was a
1 X Usb Type C Power Bank, Puridea QC 3.0 Quick Charger + 18W PD 20000 mAh Portable Charger with Power LCD Display (18W Faster Charger Input,QC 3.0 USB Po
Sold by Baokudi
£18.99
So Watt Hours equals 3.7x20=74Wh allowing for no losses and the battery actually having that capacity.
The one that does not work http://amzn.eu/d/9rCVE0G so don't get one of these.
The Anafi battery specs
SMART BATTERY
- Type: High density LiPo (2 cells)
- Capacity: 2,700mAh
- Flight time per charge: 25min
- Charging port: USB-C
- Weight: 126g
- Voltage: 7.6V
- Max charging power: 24W
So it is a 20.52 Watt Hour battery (VxA)
Charging with a "real" solar panel system connected to a regulator with USB output should be possible but not from the joke solar panels on the side of a power bank. A lot of power bank sellers also greatly exaggerated the capacity of the battery fitted.
I think the solar aspect, combined with the canoe aspect makes this use case a bit unique - I don't think you'd want a regular solar panel either, you want a marine one built to deal with potentially being dunked, and probably a powersports battery or larger to charge from the panel, running a car charger or inverter off of that. You should be able to get 5 or 6 charges from a bigger battery if it's full, which will give you some buffer between sunny and cloudy days. You'll want to keep an eye on the charge level, so get a cheap led digital voltmeter that just shows the battery voltage, that way you can keep an eye on the battery level and know if you're killing it - completely discharging it will reduce the battery's capacity - you'll need to know what voltages it should be, and when to stop using it before charging again.
You'll probably also want a way to orient the panel, ideally a way to slew it around to face the sun whichever way you're headed in the boat. On top of that, you won't want to get up to the bow every time you change direction to orient it, so tye some string or get a remote throttle lever like for an outboard and attach that to the pivot mechanisim so you can turn it from your seat while paddling.
This setup will be in the way a little for seeing in front of the boat, so you'll probably want a way to remove it quickly for dangerous sections of river, lest you miss the cues for rocks, and things in the water. If you put it at the back of the boat you'll just forget it's there and not orient it. Maybe you're travelling north sout mostly and can just have the panel pivot left to right. Maybe you get a big panel and just lay it flat, but you won't get much charge at any time other when the sun is overhead - pointing a smaller panel at the sun will certainly get you more charge than a panel twice as big that doesn't face the right way.
This presupposes that you're in the boat most of the time and want to charge from the boat.
Are you always in the boat, or are you boating somewhere to a destination in the backwoods, staying a week or two then shipping out? I assume you boat all day most days and camp in the evening for your trips, but if you're staying at camp for multiple days at a time and just using the boat to get in and out, get a big folding panel, put it in your drybag or barrel or wherever, and use your battery to charge along the way.
Finally, the Anafi has very similar requirements for charging as most phones, the uniqe aspect here isn't the drone itself, it's the combination of trip length and mode of transportation - the solar part, and to a lesser extent the battery bank that's suitable to be charged by solar from the boat is more of a canoe/kayak trip forum question I think - there are going to be lots of people on a dedicated small human powered watercraft camping forum that charge their phone somehow for long trips.
You'll probably also want a way to orient the panel, ideally a way to slew it around to face the sun whichever way you're headed in the boat. On top of that, you won't want to get up to the bow every time you change direction to orient it, so tye some string or get a remote throttle lever like for an outboard and attach that to the pivot mechanisim so you can turn it from your seat while paddling.
This setup will be in the way a little for seeing in front of the boat, so you'll probably want a way to remove it quickly for dangerous sections of river, lest you miss the cues for rocks, and things in the water. If you put it at the back of the boat you'll just forget it's there and not orient it. Maybe you're travelling north sout mostly and can just have the panel pivot left to right. Maybe you get a big panel and just lay it flat, but you won't get much charge at any time other when the sun is overhead - pointing a smaller panel at the sun will certainly get you more charge than a panel twice as big that doesn't face the right way.
This presupposes that you're in the boat most of the time and want to charge from the boat.
Are you always in the boat, or are you boating somewhere to a destination in the backwoods, staying a week or two then shipping out? I assume you boat all day most days and camp in the evening for your trips, but if you're staying at camp for multiple days at a time and just using the boat to get in and out, get a big folding panel, put it in your drybag or barrel or wherever, and use your battery to charge along the way.
Finally, the Anafi has very similar requirements for charging as most phones, the uniqe aspect here isn't the drone itself, it's the combination of trip length and mode of transportation - the solar part, and to a lesser extent the battery bank that's suitable to be charged by solar from the boat is more of a canoe/kayak trip forum question I think - there are going to be lots of people on a dedicated small human powered watercraft camping forum that charge their phone somehow for long trips.
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