You’re flying your drone, but suddenly it starts flashing red light. Nothing can be more annoying than a drained drone battery when flying your drone. A reason for your batteries to drain quickly might be improper charging.
So it comes to the question of how to charge a Sky Rider drone?
To charge your Sky Rider drone you need to use a charging cable. Normally, the cable comes with the drone package. First, power off your drone and carefully remove the battery. Next, connect the battery plug to the USB portal of your laptop. Your drone should start charging by now.
Have some time in your hands? Well then, let’s dive into the details and learn about the whole process.
Contents
Things to Know before Charging a Sky Rider Drone
It’s important to charge your sky rider drone battery fully. Otherwise, it won’t have proper flight time. However, there are some crucial aspects you should consider before charging.
This might include what kind of battery the drone provides, voltage, capacity, etc. Following up we’ll discuss these aspects, so read along!
What Battery Comes with Sky Rider Craft?
Generally, Sky Rider craft comes with 1S 3.7V LiPo batteries. The capacity ranges between 380 to 650 mAh. For this reason, the runtime of these drones is limited to 8-10 minutes.
This is also why the Sky Rider drone review might mention carrying extra batteries.
Now, let’s find out what charging options these Sky Rider LiPo batteries offer.
What Charging Option Does the Battery Offer?
You can charge the battery with a charging hub. The charging hub can charge up to four intelligent flight batteries at a time.
Another option is you can use an AC charger. This charger has ports nearly similar to computer ports and it uses a banana plug cable.
The drone batteries also offer the USB DC charging option by default. For this, you can check the Sky rider drone manual for this option.
To make the best use of the USB you need to buy a good quality adapter. Because a wrong adapter can short out with any sort of charge. It can have the wrong amount of current go through it to your drone batteries. So, invest in a good adapter!
Now moving on to the burning question ‘how do you charge a Sky Rider drone?’. Let’s get into it!
Guide to Charge the 3.7V LiPo Battery of Sky Rider
Before jumping into the charging steps we’re gonna fill you in with some other aspects.
Here we’ll talk about what kind of DC source you’ll need to charge the battery. Also, a quick look at the charging cable of the Sky Rider Phoenix quadcopter drone.
What Kind of DC(USB) Source You’ll Need?
There are quite a few DC (USB) sources that can be used for USB charging the batteries. You can use laptop ports, power banks, carports, etc. So, let’s check out which one’s the better option!
Laptop Ports
On your laptop, you’ll find the “Powershare” USB Port. Here you’ll plug in your cable and your drone battery plug. Now, your drone will start charging.
Usually, your laptop’s USB port will deliver 0.5 amps or 5V power. Hence your drone will take a bit longer to charge due to fewer amps. However, for LiPo batteries, this is a good thing. Because this will help the batteries to retain more power!
Power Banks
Power banks are compatible and easier to carry. Thus it makes an excellent source of power for your drone batteries.
Plus the power bank comes with various power outputs such as 1A, 2A, 2.5A, etc. So depending on your urgency you can use the ports accordingly. Here the higher the power output the quicker you’ll be able to charge your device.
USB Wall Port
You can charge your drone battery up to 40% quicker using a USB wall port. Usually, the wall portals with USB ports contain smart chips.
Hence, it can recognize the prime charging amperage of all the gadgets. Thus this will help balance the current output. This is the reason why it charges the drone batteries the fastest.
So, if you’re looking for the quickest charging method, go for the wall port!
A Quick Look at the Charging Cable it Comes with
Sky Rider’s drone model packages usually include 1 USB charging cable. Generally, the plug type of these cables is an XH2.54 Connector.
This is the charging cable that most of the Sky Rider drones come with. Now that we’re well aware of all the basic facts, let’s move on to the steps.
6 Steps to Charge a Sky Rider Drone Craft
You have a Sky Rider drone with a camera, and want to know how to charge it. Well, look no further because we have the detailed steps right here!
Follow these 6 steps carefully and you’ll have a fully charged drone! So what are you waiting for? Let’s check it out!
Step 1: Power off the Craft
First, you need to ensure the craft is turned off. Otherwise, charging the drone would take more time than it should. Press on the power button for 3 seconds to turn it off!
Step 2: How to Remove the Battery
Next, pull off the battery lid. Carefully detach the plug attaching the battery to the craft using a plier.
Now, it’s very important to remove the battery before charging. Otherwise, there’ll be a chance of trickle charge or short in the battery.
Step 3: Attach the Charging Cable
In this step, connect the battery plug to the plug on the charging cord.
Make sure to adjust the pins accurately. Otherwise, because of power output fluctuations, your battery might get damaged.
Step 4: Connect to the USB Port
Now, connect the charging cord to the USB port. You can power it through a laptop/PC, power bank, USB power portal, or adapter. After connecting it, your battery should start to charge.
Step 5: How to Know the Battery is Charging
Now once the charging starts the USB will start to blink red light. In case the light doesn’t blink, recheck the connection on both ends. Your battery should start charging now.
Once the light turns green your battery has been fully charged. Apart from that, you can also calculate the charging time based on the battery voltage. After that, all you have to do is reconnect the battery and start flying!
Step 6: Reconnect the Battery
Lastly, when the charging is full, put the battery back in its case. Next, reattach the power battery plug to the craft. Finally, close the battery cover. Make sure the pins fit accurately.
Also, carefully tighten the battery lid or the battery might get damaged. Now you can turn on your drone to check. If you’re unaware of how to turn on Sky Rider drone, we’ve got you.
Simply, press the power button for 3-5 seconds and you’ll see the drone powered on! Well, just by following these steps you’ll have yourself a fully charged drone ready to fly!
Alternatives to the Stock Charging Cable
Well, battery chargers are quite small and can get misplaced easily. But we come bearing some recommendation for you to put out of your misery.
Now, you can use other commercial LiPo chargers if you lose the built-in charging cable. In this case, you need to use a balance charger to equalize your LiPo cells first.
However, make sure that you don’t surpass the suggested charge current for your specific battery. For the exact rate, you can refer to your drone’s user manual.
3 Best LiPo Chargers we Recommend for Sky Rider Drone
Here we have some of the best LiPo chargers for your drone batteries. Check them out!
| Image | Title | Why is it Good? | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
  | Tenergy TB6-B Balance Charger Discharger 1S-6S Digital Battery Pack Charger | High-quality chips and materials. Also, comes with a built-in balance charger. | Click Here |
  | LiPo Charger Lipo Battery Balance Charger | High-quality chips and materials. Also, comes with a built-in balance charger. | Click Here |
  | FCONEGY B6 Lipo Battery Balance Charger 80W 6A Discharger | High-quality chips and materials. Also, comes with a built-in balance charger. | Click Here |
You can use any of these charging cables to charge your drone batteries fully. However, match your drone battery’s compatibility before you make the purchase.
How Long Does it Take to Charge Sky Rider Drone Battery?
Primarily, charging time relies on the charging port and the battery capacity of your drone. So let’s see which one takes how long!
If You Use the Stock Charging Cable and a USB Power Source
Normally, it takes 60-120 minutes to charge the battery using the stock charging cable. But using a laptop port as a USB power source will take more than 8 hours. This is because of the lower voltage of 5V on these ports.
If You Use Other LiPo Charger
Typically, at the 1C rate, it would take 30-40 minutes to charge the battery. But it also depends on the size and capacity of the battery. After charging the LiPo cells should have 4.2V per cell.
Anyhow, no matter what the charging procedure some safety measures should be taken. Otherwise, the batteries will end up damaged. So, we have some useful tips for you down below!
Tips to Avoid Charging Damages for Sky Rider Battery?
Here are some pro tips to help you not damage your drone batteries:
Tip 1: Use a Battery Voltage Tester or Monitor
When charging your LiPo battery use a Battery Voltage Tester or Monitor. It gives a warning when the battery voltage gets too low or too high. So that you know when to plug off the charger!
Here are some battery voltage tester recommendations only for you:
| Image | Title | Price |
|---|---|---|
  | ANCEL BA101 Professional 12V 100-2000 CCA 220AH Automotive Load Battery Teste | Check Price |
  | TOPDON BT100 100-2000 CCA Automotive Alternator Tester | Check Price |
Use this tool to make sure your battery voltage doesn’t go below 3.7V. Otherwise, the battery will become permanently destroyed and inoperable.
Tip 2: Maintain Your Batteries Condition
Check the body of your batteries for any lumps or swelling. This is an indication of a damaged battery due to overcharging. Immediately get rid of the battery and replace it with a new one.
However, there are ways to avoid this situation. So, it’s better you start taking care of that battery when you still have time.
Tip 3: Change the LiPo Batteries
Even though LiPo batteries don’t have an expiration date, it’s safer to change them. Usually, after about 1-1.5 year, the performance of the batteries start to deteriorate. So, it’s better if you replace them every 12-18 months.
This is everything we have on how to charge a Sky Rider Drone battery.
FAQs
Can I upgrade a Sky Rider drone battery?
Yes, you can upgrade your sky rider drone battery. Using upgrade kits you’ll be able to increase the runtime and durability of the battery. These kits contain all the essential hardware to upgrade the power system of your drone.
What’s the charge rate of a stock Sky Rider drone battery?
Mostly, the charge rate of a stock Sky Rider drone battery is 1C. Because it’s the stable charge rate for all the LiPo batteries. For example, if the battery capacity is 1000mAh you need to set the charger at 1A.
Is overcharging bad for the sky rider lipo?
Yes, overcharging is bad for the Sky Rider LiPo batteries. If you charge the battery too long it’ll likely be damaged soon. Also, the performance of your drone and its durability will be reduced drastically.
Shall I drain out the sky rider battery before charging?
No, you don’t need to drain out the Sky Rider battery before charging. Because the battery doesn’t develop voltage recession traits like NiCad or NiMH. So you can plug the battery charger directly without discharging first.
Wrap Up
Hope you got a detailed understanding of how to charge a Sky Rider drone.
Besides these charging methods, you can use a computerized balance charger. This will automatically identify the cell counts on your LiPo batteries. Then it provides the same voltage to all the cells accordingly.
That’s all, until next time, take care!