Hey, Two of my 4 original batteries have died in the last 2 weeks. I've confirmed that I'm not doing anything wrong when charging or using them, just bad luck. I am wondering if I can use Panasonic batteries, Sony or other batteries that turn off once they are charged so that they can't be overcharged.. I feel like these LiPo batteries will always keep dying. I understand that V-lock batteries and Anton Batteries can be used, but they are heavy. I'm looking for another solution.. I'm guessing the voltage is too low for the Panasonic, Sony or Canon batteries? Thanks, William
Wondering if we should unplug the batteries when we store the Movi. Does that somehow drain then even when off?
We have concluded that 4 of our original batteries are faulty. We assume that they are from a bad batch. 4 of our new batteries work well. (the original 4 last only a few minutes, and always have done since new). Hopefully Freefly replaces them. It's caused a lot of stress and hassle on set while we diagnosed this problem, and spent time and money researching alternatives.
Hi Ben, Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your batteries. I am not aware of any wide scale bad battery batch issues previously but we would be happy to discuss the issue you are having via a ticket ticket so we can better understand why you feel they are faulty as there are many reasons why a battery would stop holding a charge. Best Regards, Denise
Thanks Denise, I will have my electrical engineer write up a report so we can get the return underway.
Great, thank you Ben. Just to be clear, the batteries do not come with the same term warrant that a MoVI or the new Controller come with. The warranty policy for batteries is noted here http://store.freeflysystems.com/pages/terms-and-conditions-of-sale in paragraph 6b. That said, and as you know, we have in the past made exceptions to help out when we can. We are happy to discuss this issue with you. If you chose to have your engineer write up a report, that seems like a bit of unecessary work for you and him but we are happy to discuss with either of you, whichever works. Best Regards, Denise
Hi Denise, These batteries have never worked for us. I began a dialog with one of your staff members about this after our very first shoot. (have a chat with him, it's very clearly documented). When we can put in one of the new batteries and get 30 to 40 minutes run time out of it, switch to the original ones and get 3 to 7 minutes... And it has always been this way. That, to me, suggests a faulty product. Being based outside of the USA, and having equipment fail is such a time waster for us. I will have the engineer write up a brief summary, then we know we are all on the same page.
Thanks for the clarification Ben and I agree 100% that anything (batteries or otherwise) should always work right out of the box. I apologize that you had the issue and we will work to find out more about what drove your particular issue. Best Regards, Denise
my battery LITERALLY blew up on me and almost took my hand with it. Someone please direct me to how i can keep these wires apart so i dont risk my life with this piece of equipment. i am beyond upset. just wish i could use this safely.
i went to put the battery in and somehow the wires must have touched weach other and MASSIVE SMOKE engulfed my office and bedroom. i ran outside with it as the sparks went up the wire until it almost hit the full battery. why would this happen?
Can you be more specific Jim: Did you remove the banana plugs from the charger while the battery was still connected to the small, red, JST connector? If that's not the case, which wires are you talking about touching please? Those LiPo's have a *scary* amount of energy in them -- it's like shorting together the wires on a car battery -- instant arc welder. Andy.
i took the + and - connectors off the charger. i went to put the battery in my MoVI M5 and while i was placing it in the WIRES STARTED SMOKING. please let me know if there is some sort of tutorial on getting this system set up without risking my body parts...again. thx
Thanks, Jim: The only safe connection sequence is: 1. Without the LiPo connected to the JST (little red connector), plug the banana leads into the charger first. 2. Only then connect the LiPo. The only safe disconnection sequence is the reverse of this: 1. Disconnect the LiPo from the JST (little red connector). 2. Then disconnect the banana leads from the charger. The lethal combination is having the LiPo connected to the banana plugs without those banana plugs being safely plugged into the charger. However, there is nothing that can prevent Bad Things from happening if you ever short out any LiPo lead -- the battery technology allows for very light weight, high energy storage -- but you only get that by having a battery with a very, very low internal resistance. And that low internal resistance means that if you ever do short the leads together, then you can get more than 200 Amps to flow -- not for long, but a very "exciting" short period. Hope that helps. Andy.
I'm worried that leaving batteries in the Movi case could start a fire. Should I be buying a metal box to keep them in? If I'm heading to a shoot with a fully charged battery or two in the same case as the Movi, should I be worried about the batteries causing a fire? William
The JST connectors and the balance connectors are fully shrouded, but for additional peace of mind, you could put some low-tack masking tape around the connectors to prevent anything shorting them out -- and certainly for travel. I certainly do store the LiPo's I have in ammo boxes that I get from an outdoor store, but then I'm flying a Cinestar or two so have many more and large capacity. (Drill a pressure relief hole in the ammo box if you do use them otherwise you have an possible explosive problem if a LiPo ignites.) LiPo's demand considerable respect and must be handled properly (as you have discovered). Andy.
Jim as far as instructions Section 1, P3 of the M5 and M10 manuals show the sequence of making a connection to the charger. When Charged reverse steps 7 and 6. If you use some tape something like painters tape works well.