Ron Gray Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 I’ve been using my Horus since the BETA test days and really like it and unlike my Taranis I haven’t upgraded it to Open TX (yet). But the one thing that does bug me is the battery life, or lack of it. I was up at the field last Thursday and had about 6 flights of about 7 mins and then went out to fly a last one. After about a minute I got the low TX battery warning so immediately came in to land and sure enough, the battery status indicator was in the red. I know that I had fully charged the TX the night before, flashing green to start with, then steady green then nothing so woul have expected to have been able to fly for longer. Previous flying days have usually involved a combination of both Horus and Taranis (its battery lasts for weeks before a charge is necessary) so I hadn’t come across the low TX battery warning before. How long do you get from yours? And is Open TX less power hungry I wonder? Would be nice to be able to replace the battery with a larger capacity one, better still if they had made them swappable as per the Taranis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bott - Moderator Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 Ron the steady green is an indication that charging is taking place. When the LED goes off, the battery is full.It sounds like you are not leaving it until the LED goes off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy48 Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 I have my main screen widget set to show the actual tx transmitter battery voltage. It should be in the range of 11v or higher when fully charged, and is usable down to about 9v. That way I can be sure it is fully charged. I've not had a problem with battery life. it could also be due to the settings you have for the battery range. These should be set to 9.2 to 10.8. If the lower value is set higher then you will get early low battery warnings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masher Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 I am not a Horus owner but took part in the beta testing. As part of that I set up a 'heavy load' test using sound files at high volume, telemetry readouts, full brightness display & full Tx power etc - anything I could think of to load the battery up. I got bored after about 6 hours as the battery was holding up very well. If you are getting low batt warnings after less than an hour use, either the battery is not being properly charged or there is a fault in the battery/charging circuitry I would suggest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted November 4, 2017 Author Share Posted November 4, 2017 @ Chris - as you can see from my post, my charging sequence is green flashing light, steady green then off, this indicates full charge. So I’m not charging it incorrectly! @ Andy - will check my warning settings. What I would like to know is how long do you other Horus users get from a full battery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted November 4, 2017 Author Share Posted November 4, 2017 Thanks Masher, I may just leave mine switched on and see how long it lasts from full charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 I've no idea how long mine will run for, certainly long enough for half a dozen flights plus setting up a couple of models, plus range checks. I tend to stick it on charge on a Friday night, I may give it another charge mid-week if I get an extra day out but never yet because of a low battery warning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted November 4, 2017 Author Share Posted November 4, 2017 One thing that I’ve just noticed. I put it on charge last night and the green light was off this morning, as per normal but instead of leaving it like that I unplugged it and plugged it in again. Green flashing light, then to steady green and that is where it has remained for the last 3 hours. I unplugged and checked voltage and it is at 10.2 do still has a way to go. Will leave it plugged in and see how it goes over today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Blandford Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 I've noticed that when you have a NiMh battery become very discharged you can get a "false peak" occuring when you first start to charge it. So doing what you are doing is a good idea. Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted November 4, 2017 Author Share Posted November 4, 2017 Good point Mike, thanks. BTW, green light still on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangster Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 I like to give them a long slow charge from time to time to equalise the cells. Works for lead acid too. Smart chargers are anything but smart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted November 4, 2017 Author Share Posted November 4, 2017 I only use the supplied charger for the Horus battery, so no option for slow / fast / balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bran Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 Posted by Ron Gray on 04/11/2017 11:15:09: What I would like to know is how long do you other Horus users get from a full battery? During Beta Several times I out the Dev Horus on at 06:00 and gave up around 22:00. This was while running monitor cycle. Now with two, I calibrated their battery voltage to the system's reading of it, set the range, and have not had any life issues, not coming anywhere near lower limit on any extended sessions. Not had any false peaks either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bran Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 Posted by Ron Gray on 04/11/2017 17:10:28: I only use the supplied charger for the Horus battery, so no option for slow / fast / balance. It isn't a charger, it's a power supply, the charger is internal. If anyone puts a charger on the Horus connection they will regret it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted November 4, 2017 Author Share Posted November 4, 2017 The combination of power supply and internal circuity provides the supplied charger, my bad for saying the supplied charger but you know what I meant. This is the first time that I've had an issue with the charging on the Horus and I have been using it once or twice a week since the Beta days! Maybe, like you Dave, I should calibrate the battery to the system. Green light still on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted November 5, 2017 Author Share Posted November 5, 2017 I switched off the charging last night as the green light was still on having been like that for most of the day (bearing in mind it had gone off following charging the night before). TX showed voltage to be 10.9 so this morning I switched it on, max brightness and left the automatic stick movements on so it was doing something, probably not as power hungry as using the sticks but hey. Left it like that for 2 hours and voltage had dropped to 9.6, so, even allowing for it using possibly less power than when on the flight line, a typical day of flying should easily be covered. Put it back on charge again to see what it does this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted November 5, 2017 Author Share Posted November 5, 2017 Opened it up and checked the battery on the multimeter, showing 11.4v against 10.8v on the Tx. Recalibrated Tx to new settings so will see how that goes. Thanks Dave for the tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted November 14, 2017 Author Share Posted November 14, 2017 Went out flying today, 7 approx 7 mins flights, voltage at start 11.4 at end 10.6. a lot of difference than previous so it looks like the recalibration has sorted it (fingers crossed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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