Raven 4 battery choice

[Cameron Anderson]

First flight with a Raven 4 and space is at a premium...manual says 3.7 lipo is okay, but I generally prefer more voltage. 7.4v lipo won't fit and 9v is impossible unless the rocket wears it as a hat.

Any good or bad 3.7 Lipo Raven 4 experiences? I'm building my electronics sled right now and I'm pulling my hair out.

 

[tim cubbedge]

I use these.
https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...FpaXRNzy9_hi-0Gv6oI6ulhFu0A,cdl:1,prmr:1,cs:1

The Raven power perch is made specially for that battery.

 

[Cameron Anderson]

I like that battery.

Im guessing you'd recommend the perch? I didn't dislike it when I saw it, but if it's worth the utility, I might have to get it for future use.

Im flying a Wildman Mach 2 and trying to fit a Raven 4, T3 GPS, RRC 2, 2 switches, one 9v, and two 3.7 lipid in an av bay just over 5" long. It's an exercise in organization to be sure.

 

[tim cubbedge]

I like the perch but you’ll need a magnet as it uses magnetic switch.
Another option is an adapter sold by Additive Aereospace. Not sure if he still sells them.
https://www.additiveaerospace.com/c...nsion-for-raven-altimeter?variant=34106211981

 

[Cameron Anderson]

Also pretty cool. I have a simple wiring harness for this airframe to really reduce size. But I will probably fab up a small connector set in the future for larger rockets.

 

[Buckeye]

I like that battery.

Im guessing you'd recommend the perch? I didn't dislike it when I saw it, but if it's worth the utility, I might have to get it for future use.

Im flying a Wildman Mach 2 and trying to fit a Raven 4, T3 GPS, RRC 2, 2 switches, one 9v, and two 3.7 lipid in an av bay just over 5" long. It's an exercise in organization to be sure.

The 3.7V LiPo mentioned by timbucktoo powers the Raven 3 and PowerPerch just fine, so I imagine it will perform just as well on the Raven 4.

Ditch the RRC2 and its 9V battery. You have 4 output channels on the Raven, if you are worried about backup deployment.

Post some pics of your ebay setup when you are done. I have a Mach 2 on the build pile and looking for ebay ideas.

 

[Cameron Anderson]

I like having 2 seperate altimeters for redundancy, hence the RRC2. I need a stratologger for this though.

One 3.7 lipo is taped in top of the 9v, the other is shoved to the side of the Raven 4...still working in brackets for them. No brass tubes glued yet either for the allthread that will hold everything together. Braas will go on T3 side. And I need to wire up my Raven wiring harness and switches still. They will be pull-to-arm spring lever switches.

 

[Earache]

I use these.
https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...FpaXRNzy9_hi-0Gv6oI6ulhFu0A,cdl:1,prmr:1,cs:1

The Raven power perch is made specially for that battery.

Don't forget that the Power Perch is drilled for a Raven 3 and the Raven 4 has a different hole spacing. I don't know if Adrian has updated the power Perch hole pattern.

 

[OverTheTop]

I use these. Quite small and inexpensive: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-nano-tech-180mah-2s-25-40c-lipo-pack-5pcs.html?___store=en_us

I generally use the 120mAh versions of these for the pyro supplies.

I am guessing they are too big for your application.

 

[manixFan]

Don't forget that the Power Perch is drilled for a Raven 3 and the Raven 4 has a different hole spacing. I don't know if Adrian has updated the power Perch hole pattern.

I don't understand what you mean by this. There aren't any holes on the PowerPerch unique to either the Raven 3 or 4. The altimeter connects to a header on the PP, and the terminal block on the 3 and 4 is identical. The mounting holes for the Raven 3 and 4 are different though. But the PP is compatible with either model of the Raven.

I have flown many flights with the small Lipo batteries used with the PP (and in his small diameter AV bays) without issue. I did some testing early on and after leaving the Raven on for an hour I was able to fire all 4 e-matches without issue. As with many of these altimeters, you have to make sure your battery won't source more current than the outputs can handle. Hence the smaller capacity cells for the Lipo batteries. I also use Strataloggers and they have the same issue.


Tony

 

[Cameron Anderson]

That's good to know Tony. I was wary about a long wait before flight and having sufficient juice to pop the e-matches.

 

[Adrian A]

I don't understand what you mean by this. There aren't any holes on the PowerPerch unique to either the Raven 3 or 4. The altimeter connects to a header on the PP, and the terminal block on the 3 and 4 is identical. The mounting holes for the Raven 3 and 4 are different though. But the PP is compatible with either model of the Raven.

I have flown many flights with the small Lipo batteries used with the PP (and in his small diameter AV bays) without issue. I did some testing early on and after leaving the Raven on for an hour I was able to fire all 4 e-matches without issue. As with many of these altimeters, you have to make sure your battery won't source more current than the outputs can handle. Hence the smaller capacity cells for the Lipo batteries. I also use Strataloggers and they have the same issue.


Tony

Thanks. Tony. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

 

[Cherrywaves89]

The 3.7V LiPo mentioned by timbucktoo powers the Raven 3 and PowerPerch just fine, so I imagine it will perform just as well on the Raven 4.

Ditch the RRC2 and its 9V battery. You have 4 output channels on the Raven, if you are worried about backup deployment.

Post some pics of your ebay setup when you are done. I have a Mach 2 on the build pile and looking for ebay ideas.

How long have you been able to keep power running to the raven on a battery this size?

 

[Buckeye]

How long have you been able to keep power running to the raven on a battery this size?

Several hours at least. Enough to wait in the launch queue at LDRS, fly to 16,000 ft, and track the rocket over a mile away on foot.

 

[plugger]

I've used the same HobbyKing 138mAh lipo with a Raven with dual deploy charges for two flights in one day without issue. Plenty of juice in those little suckers.

I hope the 'boro is treating you well.

 

[Chad]

i haven't flown with it yet but i bought a couple of these for my Raven (i've only flown with 9V prior)

https://shop.gag.com/parts/120mah-lipo-battery.html ( 1s 120mah )

from the Raven manual
"The largest lithium polymer battery that should be used with the Raven is 1S, 170 mAhrs, because larger lipo batteries can produce currents well in excess of the 9 Amp rating of the Apogee and Main deployment outputs in the event of an output short circuit, which can permanently damage the altimeter."

edit: i think the Raven4 says 25A outputs on the home page so maybe the docs need to be updated?

 

[watheyak]

i haven't flown with it yet but i bought a couple of these for my Raven (i've only flown with 9V prior)

https://shop.gag.com/parts/120mah-lipo-battery.html ( 1s 120mah )

from the Raven manual
"The largest lithium polymer battery that should be used with the Raven is 1S, 170 mAhrs, because larger lipo batteries can produce currents well in excess of the 9 Amp rating of the Apogee and Main deployment outputs in the event of an output short circuit, which can permanently damage the altimeter."

edit: i think the Raven4 says 25A outputs on the home page so maybe the docs need to be updated?

I've wondered about this myself. I've been using HobbyKing 130mah just to be safe, but would mind a little more capacity.

 

[OverTheTop]

FYI I have usually run the 180mAh batteries from Hobby King and the Ravens have no trouble with those.

 

[Cherrywaves89]

From the users manual. . . "In the case of the Raven3, the single beep will also happen if the battery voltage is below 3.85V." I'm curious how everyone is getting around this. I got the battery mentioned by @OverTheTop a few weeks ago, (120mah/3.7v) wired it up, and I'm getting the low voltage warning "one beep" and no continuity beep on either the drogue or main channels. Running a Raven 4 by the way.

 

[OverTheTop]

I always charge my batteries to full (4.2V) before the launch. Up to two weeks before. I have not had a problem with low-volts warnings. Note I do use Raven 3 alts.

 

[cerving]

FYI, 3.85V per cell is only 55% of capacity, and the voltage/percent drops pretty rapidly from there. Sounds like a prudent no-go voltage number to me...

https://blog.ampow.com/lipo-voltage-chart/