Autel X-Star Go

[plowak]

Some thing to look at while waiting for the Nano+. Bought this brand new off eBay. Why? As Sir Edmund Hillary said, "Because it's there".
The controller charges the main battery does not. Looking ahead I anticipate several challenges: rebuilding the battery; linking the controller to the drone; finding a Starlink app that will work with this unit; and, the unexpected along the way.
Any help, ideas welcome.

 

[Aerial Drone Architect]

It looks to be the same battery as Phantom 3. If it is just slightly smaller than the X-Star batteries I would bet it's the same as the PH 3.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

You will find a link to the App in this post. Also if you get it running and use a GoPro camera with it you might have to downgrade the GoPro to get video feed. Truthfully other then it being a cool old Autel drone it is pretty much a paper weight with the battery not being available. Good luck with it though.
Keep us informed how it goes.

X-Star Go Done question

I just inherited an X-Star Go with a Gopro hero 3+ It flies fine but 2 things. It needs the GoPro attached to fly. Is this normal? I cannot get the software on my phone (android) to connect to the transmitter. I have connected the phone to the transmitter wifi but the app does not work. is it...

autelpilots.com

 

[plowak]

Progress report: Since this was an new unused, sealed kit at purchase, it came with a Quick Guide and a complete User Manual. I removed the battery shell and was exploring options to swap the origional battery cells for a new battery. I had been trickle charging as a NICAD at 0.1v with no joy. Then I ran across an old posting in AP which suggested jump starting the battery with another 11.1v LIPO battery. This I did and LABH (low and behold) at 25sec the battery registered 9.4v, I am continued charging with the Autel charger and am now at 40% and rising - this with a five or six year old LIPO battery! I will not have the problem with this battery remembering the last settings because its never been charged before. Will post videos of my first flights as soon as the temperature gets above zero here in Fairbanks Alaska.

 

[plowak]

Stuck, earthing seems to work except camera, can't get it to pair. It's a Hero 4 Black firmware ver 5.0. Tried downgrading to earlier firmware but with not would not accept the downgrade files. The motors spin up but no FPV. Any ideas anyone?

 

[last_xstarfighter]

Progress report: Since this was an new unused, sealed kit at purchase, it came with a Quick Guide and a complete User Manual. I removed the battery shell and was exploring options to swap the origional battery cells for a new battery. I had been trickle charging as a NICAD at 0.1v with no joy. Then I ran across an old posting in AP which suggested jump starting the battery with another 11.1v LIPO battery. This I did and LABH (low and behold) at 25sec the battery registered 9.4v, I am continued charging with the Autel charger and am now at 40% and rising - this with a five or six year old LIPO battery! I will not have the problem with this battery remembering the last settings because its never been charged before. Will post videos of my first flights as soon as the temperature gets above zero here in Fairbanks Alaska.

Could you explain how you managed to "jumpstart" the dead battery, I still have 2 that I would love to bring back to life if possible. Thanks.

 

[Fly-a-holic]

I have never had to do it but you connect the dead battery to a charged one. Positive to positive and negative to negative and let it sit a while. Then disconnect and connect it to the stock charger. If you don't have a charged battery, the 12v battery from a riding mower, your boat or car will work. Be careful, there are risks involved especially if you are not use to doing things like this.

Edit: WHEN YOU FLY THE JUMPSTARTED BATTERY OR ANY THAT HAS BEEN SITTING FOR A WHILE, HOVER THE ENTIRE BATTERY CLOSE TO THE GROUND UNTIL YOU BUILD CONFIDENCE IN THE BATTERY. EVEN THEN, I WOULD NOT FLY OUT OF LINE OF SITE OR OVER WATER.

 

[last_xstarfighter]

I have never had to do it but you connect the dead battery to a charged one. Positive to positive and negative to negative and let it sit a while. Then disconnect and connect it to the stock charger. If you don't have a charged battery, the 12v battery from a riding mower, your boat or car will work. Be careful, there are risks involved especially if you are not use to doing things like this.

Edit: WHEN YOU FLY THE JUMPSTARTED BATTERY OR ANY THAT HAS BEEN SITTING FOR A WHILE, HOVER THE ENTIRE BATTERY CLOSE TO THE GROUND UNTIL YOU BUILD CONFIDENCE IN THE BATTERY. EVEN THEN, I WOULD NOT FLY OUT OF LINE OF SITE OR OVER WATER.

Thanks, I had tried using a 9v battery someone else said they had had luck with using, problem is you never really know how long to keep it connected without risk. I did manage to get one dead battery to at least show signs of life now, but it will not hold a 3 volt charge as of yet and drains below 3 volts very fast.

 

[Fly-a-holic]

Thanks, I had tried using a 9v battery someone else said they had had luck with using, problem is you never really know how long to keep it connected without risk. I did manage to get one dead battery to at least show signs of life now, but it will not hold a 3 volt charge as of yet and drains below 3 volts very fast.

I really don't think you'll hurt anything with a 9v battery. Even if you held it on there indefinitely, it wouldn't overcharge the battery. Also a 9v don't have much capacity so its charge would diminish quickly.
You really need a 12v battery or another 4S (4 cell) battery to jump it with.

If your battery is self discharging, take caution because of the dangers with lithium batteries.

 

[Detritalgeo]

The community over at secondlifestorage.com have great info on reviving old Li cells. They are mostly talking about the cylindrical Li-Ion but the chemistry is the same just not the form factor. Most people start with a basic SKY-RC hobby charger to get going on reviving cells. I would not recommend pushing large current into a cell or pack that has voltage that has dropped below 2.5V.

 

[ktdtx]

I know this is an old post but had 3 batteries, used very little, sitting in case for about 5 years. Read about Zero with voltmeter.
This video helped me get some electricity into them so charger would recognize them. The process isn't as difficult as it looks. Use almost any power source to get more than 3 volts into the battery and the charger will kick in. All 3 batteries charged to 100% and have been holding the charge reasonable well.

Now the problem I am having is finding the Starlink app to run the thing. Autel, for some reason, really seems to want these drones to go away.