Unbelievable Tips to Extend Your RC Controller Battery Life!

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00:00:00 - You could be getting more battery life!
00:00:46 - Effect of miscalibrated voltage
00:01:58 - Measure voltage with the battery plugged in and radio on
00:03:30 - How to adjust calibration
00:04:15 - If your radio doesn't have accessible battery?
00:08:08 - Have I earned your support today
00:09:33 - How to adjust the Batt Range
00:13:04 - How to adjust the low battery alarm
00:13:28 - What next?
How to keep LiPos from burning down your house - • How to keep LiPos from...
Is your LiPo safe to use or should you discard it? -
• Is Your LiPo Safe To C...

[@adam.gibson]

You also want to calibrate it near the low volt threshold. The scaling through the range can be off so if you calibrate it at fully charged state, you might find that fully charged is accurate but near low voltage, it is off. I always calibrate near the low voltage alarm threshold. The most important voltage is alarm voltage and not fully charged voltage.

[@bkmahaffey]

Checked my zorro. It was 1 volt off. My tx16s was .3 off. Thanks again, JB! Respect, brother! 2:28

[@CapnBry]

The TX16S backlight at full brightness doubles the handset power usage vs the first tick where it is on. 100% more battery life if you turn down the brightness! I just have it on a knob.

[@erikvf7]

Hey Joshua, Dynamic Power is the key! I think a good way to extend the battery life in a ELRS radio is switching on the Dynamic Power. This helped me A LOT, especially when the radio is ON, and you're not flying, so it will set the minimum power. And when you're flying, you can set a maximum power but the radio will not MAX if it's not necessary. That also make my Jumper T-Pro run much cooler than before.

[@taxigalaxi]

Where is the option in the settings or is it a LUA script?

[@erikvf7]

@@taxigalaxi the lua script for the ELRS

[@jdnic1]

7:16 it could be that your 18350 is going bad. That voltage drop is not normal at all. Replace it immediately, because while the battery can be discharged at 2.5v, the radio can only handle minimum of 6.2v. if your radio drops below that, your quad will just failsafe out of the sky. I found this out in an unfortunate way. You could actually test this on a bench. Your quad won't even bind to the radio at this voltage.

[@19Jose91]

that happened on my zorro just once, it was acting weird and the voltage was super low, charged it and it's been good since then

[@MCsCreations]

Thanks a bunch for all the tips, Joshua! 😊 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@PopeyeFPV]

Excellent tips here JB! I'm saving this video for future reference. A+++

[@FlyZoneFpv]

Great tip Jb thanks 👊🏻

[@crazylolsbg]

Thanks

[@PhillyDroneLife]

Nice work JB! ✊✊ Mikey

[@Fly_High_FPV]

You can check the tango 2 with the back off, just use your probes on the back of the plug 👍

[@SharpTurnsFPV]

Perfect video for my zorro

[@RickLaBanca]

I actually believe these tips.

[@JZEFPV]

I too believe them where millions wouldn’t I’m sure lol

[@FPVJesus]

I can’t believe you would say that.

[@wrstew1272]

Who would think that Bardwell would blow smoke up their sit down? 😮

[@MontegaB]

On the zorro or other radios with a lite module, you can pull battery voltage off the module bay pins, too as long as the external bay is enabled in EdgeTX

[@lubosschejbal9258]

Thanks JB for all your work! 🙏🏻 I wrote to Radiomaster because I want max battery life, but even more to safely return from every flight with my TX16s v1. Radiomaster answered fast that for their pack (5000mAh 2s LiIon 21700) I should set it in radio to 6,6V warning and 6,4V minimum. I assume it’s like safety precautions as the radio might probably get unstable when opperated at lower voltage (like bellow 6V). Lowering display brightness and make a switch for RF module power on/off (like Tx pit-mode) can help significantly to extend battery life! Happy flying! 🙋🏻‍♂️

[@nakmax]

How do you make a power on/off switch for rf module?

[@JoryFPV]

ELRS 3.3 has an option to disable the backpack functionality (if you're not using it) which saves 0.3w of power draw. So when that comes out of RC it might be worth looking at for us Zorro users fighting for scraps.

[@CapnBry]

🤩 someone read the changelog! With this and all the other power changes since the Zorro came out, I can get over 4h now on a pair of 1400mah at 10mW. Still no giant Boxer battery but a definite step up since release.

[@JoryFPV]

@@CapnBry I was worried about battery life coming from larger radios with a lipo, but it really hasn't been an issue because of how fast it charges. It's generally taking less time to charge to full than it takes to charge my lipo's at 1c, so I'm always leaving with it fully charged. I'll still happily take that 0.3w though since I haven't changed my VTX channel since 2017 lol Keep up the good work.

[@CapnBry]

@@JoryFPV haha truth. It charges faster than it uses the battery. The battery life hasn't been an issue for me either, using it as my main handset for over a year. You do have to be a little conscious of it compared to a 20h+ Boxer with the big battery.

[@19Jose91]

@@CapnBry I barely get 1h of flying with my zorro I'd say.. imma check that disabling backpack thing (I use the original zorro 18350 batteries) and check with the multimeter if it's yelling battery low too fast... I have a question though: When charging the power button stays solid red right? and when charged it just turns off? Because I've seen it blinking in red a few times, not sure if I left it charging for too long or what

[@CapnBry]

@@19Jose91 whoa an hour? That's crazy low! Is your backlight cranked up, or not using ELRS dynamic power? The backpack doesn't help but it feels like you should get better battery life than that 😬

[@jescheffler]

I'm glad it's not just me that struggles with the battery covers on the Zorro.

[@MichelangeloFPV]

Nice tips. Not sure if you already mentioned about dimming the screen backlight of the Boxer. I keep mine at 5% and still very readable....

[@soursham]

Dam those purple gimbals look great on your Boxer🔥🤟

[@TailSpinRCSpain]

I actually did learn something today. I'll do this on my trusty Zorro, I use it every day for about 5 mins, it lasts 2 weeks. (One pack per day FTW) LOL.

[@samy_yu]

I thought you'd tell me about turning off the backlight, because it can also help save battery. For example, so that the backlight of the screen does not light up when you control the sticks, but only when you press the buttons.

[@pipanski]

Great video, but I have two questions you didn't comment on.... 1) the 2S you cut the leads off of. What did you do with that battery after? Garbage? Did it still have any charge or did you fully discharge it? 2) the lipo in your radio, do you storage charge that after each day of flying like you would do with your drone batteries?

[@RCDUDEFPV]

Thumbs up

[@Alluvian567]

Could you also make a mode (like I have for when I am using it as a joystick) where the internal and external modules are turned off? I mean for trying to eliminate voltage sag if you have to test the batteries externally.

[@crisnmaryfam7344]

2:20 Always best to test a battery under load. Regardless of what that load is for the particular battery. For Example.. IF you do not load test an auto battery for your car, It can be fully charged and test as such, but as soon as it sees a tiny bit of load its dead and will fail to start the car. Im sure plenty of people have encountered this Exact scenario... before reluctantly buying a new car battery.

[@planemann2000]

The working voltage on a TX16s is 6.6v to 8.4v as specified. Wouldn't you want to set the low voltage warning a little above the specified low voltage?

[@dronetesycroissants6907]

Muy buena información, pero corta...para los que tenemos xlite, xlite pro, etc...como lo medimos el voltaje????

[@thomaslea7121]

I've just done some testing with the Zorro powered from internal 18350s Vs external 2s battery and there is a 0.4V voltage difference between the two readings! I imagine that this could be a diode drop due to some load sharing circuitry internally (it doesn't let the external battery charge the 18350s or let the 18350s try to charge the external 2s lipo)

[@Walter_Berg]

If you Google radiomaster boxer input voltage range you will see 6.6-8.4 Isn't 6.6 the lowest operating voltage that radio can work with?

[@jakeclauson9863]

Amazon has a cheap kit of balance lead connectors. Comes in real handy in the rc hobby

[@Fly_High_FPV]

I like the premade balance extension cables, get some good quality silicone jacketed wire with both male and female leads, useful sooo many times

[@Moorde_FPV]

I was thinking about this the other day...

[@CDRaff]

3:05 Since you are already in "calibration mode" might as well calibrate your battery checker using the same battery and the same technique.

[@gregorydahl]

Get a Josh bardwell goggle power lead adaptor and a barrel to 2s balance lead adapter . His product can use any flight pack battery put out 2s for zorro . And some xt60 to xt30 adapters for your tool kit . Get 2

[@wrstew1272]

Doesn’t the radio have a minimum voltage input that is specific to that individual model? 2x2.5 volts may be too low? I run a liPo in an older JR that was initially NiMh and change very very infrequently. I don’t use it much, but it doesn’t self discharge either. I actually don’t top completely off, not knowing what my radios limit is, so I don’t fully top off the LiPo. 5 years old and still cycles great. (Try that with nicads or NiMh cells)😅

[@adrianau4246]

Hey, my batt range won’t go lower then 3.4v it was set at 3.3 and I went up , and couldn’t go back down to 3.3v any ideas ? It’s 3.4-4v batt range now.

[@skatamartin4970]

Asteroids, Breakout, Pong...? how cool is that?! is there a video about installing games on your radio yet? Now i question myself what else might be possible with the tools section of EdgeTX

[@Grimstash]

I would think you should Darken your display about 50% as well as turn your output power down depending on where you're flying to save battery life for sure.

[@crisnmaryfam7344]

Definitely a good tip for any electronic device (your smart phone for example). Though for some this is not something they Can do, for lighting and/or maybe eye sight reasons.

[@robert-gille]

If you set a lower max voltage, wouldn't it charge the batteries to that lower voltage as well so you don't get a longer "full battery" icon and in the end even less battery time?

[@mikeb1596]

I love that shirt

[@Fly_High_FPV]

That's my Master of Robots design, get it at www FlyHighFPV com

[@r0bfpv]

5:52 this is so me xD

[@adrianau4246]

Jumper t lite?

[@lucanixfpv]

You could also tie your screen light to your arming switch so it turns off while ur armed with the goggles on.

[@OdysseusVrakas]

That's a good idea. I have mine set to only power on button press not throttle or switch movements

[@dasGieltjE]

Had a issue with the Boxer where the xt30 connector was reading fine but one of the two cells was 0,8v lower than the other....

[@Fly_High_FPV]

I wonder if the boxer is balancing them or just dumb charging...i'd pull the pack and charge with a smart charger, check the IR of the 2 cells , if good. Then go back to charging internally, but check to see that it stays balanced.

[@dasGieltjE]

@@Fly_High_FPV Not charging through the Boxer, using a proper charger for that. Seems that the boxer is pulling more from one cell than the other.

[@Fly_High_FPV]

@@dasGieltjE did you check the cell's resistance? A bad cell seems more likely, but i'd be interested in the answer, either way

[@nendhang]

hi Joshua why no one race with box goggles?

[@autonoob]

But how can I set it up so it powers off by itself at the low voltage. In case I forget to turn it off?

[@Fly_High_FPV]

I've never seen the option. Because of the nature of flying, I want the radio to stay on until it can't possibly stay on anymore, even if i damage the battery, just to be sure i always get my bird home.

[@autonoob]

@@Fly_High_FPV well what happens to me is I land when I get the warnings. But it’s so easy to forget it turned on on the bench and wreck the batteries.

[@ryanbourgoin788]

Mambo? 1s?

[@torpedoLaw]

This is exactly why I use a Radiomaster or TX16s. The battery just last forever and forever and forever. I don’t mess with a small stuff.

[@The2xWhiskey]

That's what she said...

[@mikeb1596]

It's a tradeoff, comfort vs battery life. I prefer the Zorro and am happy to just have a spare set of batteries if I need them. I never fly quadcopters for hours at a time anyway

[@Alluvian567]

I am on a zorro, measuring 1.87 v across the right and left pin of the 2s connector. This makes no sense to me. Batteries are pretty charged, the zorro display is reading 8.0 V. Does this mean this is a bad multimeter? I have not used it in a decade.

[@Alluvian567]

measuring the battery itself in the handle it shows 3.99. Does the 2s port need to be activated in some way?

[@Nekzuris]

The iFlight Commando 8 has a default battery range from 3.2v to 4.2v, is it safe to lower it to 3.0v ?

[@Fly_High_FPV]

If the battery is a lipo, it's bad to take it that low, li-ions can handle it. Also, you should check the minimum cutoff voltage to avoid weird effects (like falling out of the sky) if undervolted

[@flyinryanfpv]

On the RadioMaster Zorro, if you have an external 2S plugged in the bottom what does the radio do? Does it double the voltage ie the two 18350's and the 2S or does it prioritize the 2S and when that gets to a certain voltage it jumps over to the 18350's? Also, how would you calibrate the radio if you're running that type of setup? Cheers brother 🍻

[@jaysonrees738]

Seeing as he was able to probe the voltage off of those pins, they're connected to the battery tabs, so auto switching won't be a thing. I'd also say there's a good chance that you'd be running an external pack in parallel with the internal cells. (I'm making an educated guess, so you probably want to verify this claim before trying it. 4S voltage would likely kill it, so email them directly.) As for calibration, you should be fine calibrating off of an individual set. Running things in parallel won't mess that up.

[@thomaslea7121]

I believe there is a load sharing circuit that prioritises the 2s (this wouldn't stop the internal battery voltage from being on the balance plug) The reason that I believe this is because there is about a diode voltage drop difference in the accuracy of the Zorro's voltmeter dependant on if it is powered internally or externally. Source- I'm an electronics design engineer and just did some tests. If this is correct, then it's probably better to calibrate the Zorro to the internal battery voltage as that's what the radio is actually seeing. This means that it will warn you about 0.4V earlier for the lipo Vs the li-ion which is desirable

[@jaysonrees738]

@@thomaslea7121 I'm glad somebody who has a unit to test and knows what they're doing said something. Thanks for putting better information out there!

[@FPVian]

How does the battery calibration affect the charge cycle? Are those independent?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

I can't say 100% sure but I believe they should be. Generally on a device like this, the battery charging is handled by a dedicated IC which has the voltage sense and limits pre-set. For safety reasons, the IC does not allow the user to adjust the limits, since the whole point of the IC is to safely manage charging of the battery. You could test this by fully charging the battery, then change the calibration so the battery appears to be less than full charge by, say 0.2 volts, then plug in charger and see if it keeps charging. Or do the opposite -- with the battery at less than full charge, reduce the calibration until it appears to be full charge and see if charging stops.

[@morshusot8475]

​@@JoshuaBardwelli asked radiomaster and there is the response : The calibration voltage is just a display, the charge tube management module has nothing to do with the EdgeTX system, and displays the power level on the screen just like a voltmeter, so calibration or non-calibration has no effect on the battery

[@bentarr17]

Is it really safe to discharge 18350 cells to 2.5 volts? I have only been running mine down to 3.3

[@Fly_High_FPV]

Yes, li-ions are able to do 2.5v, because of different chemistry. Some are rated as low as 2.0v (but 4 volts isnt enough to power this radio)

[@stevefehervari779]

I was hoping some one can help me with my quadcopter I posted a short video of the two problems, one is the green led when i arm it blinks 4 times fast the 1 then 3 and the roll and yaw are going the wrong direction, and cant figure it out.

[@Fly_High_FPV]

You can change the roll and yaw in the betaflight receiver tab. AETR1234, just reorder the letters till you get them right. Not sure what reciever you have to troubleshoot that

[@le_ti_lik]

Plug drone in before turning radio on. Done.

[@OdysseusVrakas]

Is that a lipo in the radio? Not a li-ion? Woildnt it need to be in storage mode when not in use?

[@SBvice]

Believe the radio drops it down to storage voltage after a day or two. Just booted my mine up now that was fully charged last week and it’s sitting at 7.7v

[@Fly_High_FPV]

To get the maximum cycles out of the lipos we'd put into storage voltage AND cold storage (40-60F), but most of us never use storage voltage on our radios and still get 3-5 years out of the lipos inside. Li-ions likely to get 5-10 years with normal abuse. Dont sweat it. On 6S packs i wouldnt go more than 3 days without storing. The radio should not automatically discharge your packs over time while turned off.

[@OdysseusVrakas]

​@@Fly_High_FPVI'd go for a li-ion pack if it means I have to put my radio battery in storage voltage after each use.

[@funkynerd_com]

Just tried reading the voltage from the JST connector on my Zorro and I only get a single cell for some reason. Middle wire has no voltage on it and the left (red) wire had 4v. So, yeah, didn't work for me. :(

[@CrashFPV21]

Yeah dude, this is weird as hell, didn't work for me either with the Zorro

[@CapnBry]

I'm shocked it showed any voltage at all at that connector-- it isn't directly connected to the battery. If it was connected to the internal battery then when you plugged in an external battery it would short the two and catch fire. It at least goes through a diode which would make the measurement useless.

[@fredperry3063]

Link to battery videos? Card didn't show.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Links are also in the video description.

[@RizHassan]

Mattelica t-shirt for sale?

[@Fly_High_FPV]

That's my Master of Robots shirt, www FlyHighFPV com check the swag section 🙌

[@agiel149]

I'm using 2s 20700 3000mah battery on my T16 and I often forget when my transmitter battery was last charged 😂

[@imothy]

the most dangerous part of this hobby is battery safety. Yet the part 107 doesn't mention batteries once.

[@GeorgeGraves]

Dude. Time to upgrade the walmart multimeter.

[@honeybeedrones5510]

What's with the FPV Sucks. On the upper left side of your desk matt

[@skree_fpv436]

One of the frames he reviewed recently came with a sticker sheet and that was one of the stickers.

[@ThranMaru]

6:08 did you just... strip wire insulation with your nails (which also have barely any length)?! I could've saved myself so much money for strippers and fiddling around with wires

[@19Jose91]

have you not ever stripped a thin wire with your nails? haha

[@ryanbourgoin788]

Mamba sry

[@Dan-ro6nj]

Purple gimbals! Treachery in broad daylight!

[@Trohorm]

I would really like to subscribe to you but I really want an fpv quadcopter that I would like to buy and build by my self but I don’t have enough money. So I’m saving as much money as I can so I can buy a quadcopter and then subscribe to you’re patreon. 😢

[@fpvdotkiwi]

While this is useful for those who haven't already calibrated/adjusted voltage range, the title of the video title is clickbait.. Far too ambiguous. At face value, I thought you meant changing some secret settings to actually save battery life. No, that's not what this is. Then I thought maybe you were actually talking about extending the total lifespan of my rc controller battery, which again is not what is being shown. If you lower the min voltage you could significantly lower the lifetime of your battery. The real title should be something like "Calibrate your battery to show and discharge to your preference" Just sayin.

[@tacocat709]

That's not very clickable though

[@thecmac]

no views?? NO comments?? FIRST

[@tacticalFPV]

Why not just plug the 2s into the zorro and the meter into the xt30, the same thing you did with the boxer?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

The zorro also has internal batteries.