Smart Battery Information [WIP]

Here you will find information relevant to the Smart Batteries used in the Sky Scout series.

Charging

Can I connect my smart battery charger to an extension cord?

• NO! Your smart battery charger should only be plugged into a wall outlet to get maximum charge to your batteries. Using an extension cord can cause the batteries to charge off balance and also could hurt the batteries themselves.

How to Plug in Batteries

• Orient the battery to have the power button pointed towards yourself, hold the charger in place with one hand. Align the slots of the battery with the contacts on the charger base, and with the other hand hold the charger steady as you push the battery in. If the bottom 4 charge level LED’s illuminate and the top one begins blinking green, the battery is charging.

  • Double check the charger is fully plugged in if you ever find a battery has not charged fully or at all since the last time you plugged it in.

How to Perform a Hotswap

Long Term and Short Term Storage

Pre-Arms and Failsafes

Pre-Arms:

• Battery X Not Detected

  • Indicates one battery is not detected. This can occur due to slight variations in battery seating. For the side that the battery is not detected, press the side lever of the battery tray and give the battery an extra push. If the problem persists, submit a support ticket.

• Battery X Voltage too Low

  • Users will see this if the raw voltage reading of a battery is below the acceptable threshold. Typically a user should see “Low Capacity” rather than this message. If you see this message, submit a support ticket.

• Battery X Capacity too Low

  • Indicates the battery has insufficient energy for another flight. The minimum arming capacity is 40%. Users will see this message for one battery at a time, though it usually applies to both unless one is at 40% and the other at 39%.

• Battery Charge Difference Too Large (State of Charge Imbalance)

  • Indicates the charge percentage between the two batteries exceeds the 8% margin. This can happen if batteries were charged at different times and then removed prematurely, or one was used alone. If the issue occurs frequently, submit a support ticket.

    • If you encounter this issue frequently/outside of the mentioned scenarios there may be another issue, and it’s advised to submit a support ticket.

• Battery Cycle Difference too Great

  • This message indicates that one battery has been charged 15 or more times than its paired battery. This usually occurs if batteries from different sets or ages are mixed, or if a battery from a pair is frequently removed from the charger before a cycle is complete.

    • To be sure you’re allowing your batteries to complete their cycle, allow the green light to turn off on its own.

• Battery X Above Maximum Arming Temperature

  • This indicates the battery has gotten too hot for safe usage, which might occur if the drone is left in harsh sunlight on hot days for too long while idle. If you see this message without a clear cause, submit a support ticket.

• Battery X Below Maximum Arming Temperature

  • This indicates the battery has gotten too cold for safe usage, which might occur if the drone is left in frigid temperatures for too long. As a friendly reminder, WISPR always recommends storing batteries in a temperature controlled room- batteries suffer greatly from exposure to cold temperatures. If you see this message without a clear cause, submit a support ticket.

Failsafes

• Triggering RTL. Battery voltage at critical level.

  • Users will see this if the raw voltage reading of a battery under load is below the acceptable threshold in flight. Typically a user should see “Battery Capacity at critical level” rather than this message. If you see this message, it’s indicative of a greater issue and you should submit a support ticket.

• Triggering RTL. Battery Capacity at critical level.

  • The return home immediately to ensure a safe landing and prevent damage to the batteries. Currently the Sky Scout is programmed to be on the ground at 13% battery life.

• Triggering RTL. Battery X failure: Battery Disconnected

  • This means one of the two batteries has (even temporarily) ceased communication with the drone. This should not be a common occurrence, but if you do encounter this issue it’s best to submit a support ticket.

• Triggering RTL. Battery X failure: Battery above safe temperature

  • This means that the specified battery has risen over the safe temperature threshold in flight, and further use could damage the battery. This shouldn’t be encountered in typical operations but potentially could occur if a battery was left idle in the heat for too long prior to an extended flight in a hot climate. If you encounter this issue without a clear cause, submit a support ticket.

Smart Battery Data Sheet