The Autel X Star Premium drone is a powerful and versatile aerial platform, but its flight time can be a limiting factor. This article explores a user’s journey to extend the flight time of their Autel X Star Premium by building a custom battery pack. Through experimentation with different battery cells and charging methods, they achieved flight times comparable to the original Autel battery. This detailed account provides insights into the challenges and successes of enhancing the performance of the Autel X Star Premium drone.
Enhancing Autel X Star Premium Flight Time: A DIY Approach
Initially, the user achieved approximately 12 minutes of flight using the standard Autel charger and battery with factory settings. Seeking improvement, they experimented with an IMAX B6 mini charger and high-voltage (HV) charging on a DJI Phantom 3 4400mAh HV LiPo pack. This yielded a slight increase to 15 minutes. Pushing the boundaries further, overriding the “Critical Battery Level” warning resulted in 16 minutes of flight.
Dissatisfied with reprogramming the battery’s TI BQ3055 chip, the user decided to explore alternative battery options. The goal was to find a battery with similar specifications to the original Autel battery pack (14.8V, 4900mAh, 72.52Wh) or utilize a 3.85V 5100mAh LiPo with HV charging. The user hypothesized that the higher capacity 5100mAh LiPo could potentially provide up to 19 minutes of flight time.
Image: A potential replacement battery option for the Autel X Star Premium.
Prototype Development and Testing
The first prototype involved adding a balance cable to the Autel drone battery pack and using DJI Phantom 3 LiPos charged in HV Balanced Mode on the IMAX B6 mini. This modification resulted in a flight time of approximately 15 minutes and 25 seconds, a modest improvement.
Encouraged by the results, the user ordered 5100mAh HV LiPos and constructed a second prototype. This prototype utilized the original Autel EEPROM and BMS with the TI BQ3055 chip. Using the IMAX B6 Mini with HV Balanced Charge, this configuration achieved the desired outcome: over 19 minutes of flight time, rivaling the original Autel battery’s performance.
Image: Prototype battery pack using DJI Phantom 3 LiPos.
Image: The final prototype battery pack achieving the desired flight time.
Conclusion: Achieving Extended Flight with the Autel X Star Premium
Through persistent experimentation and a DIY approach, the user successfully extended their Autel X Star Premium’s flight time. By utilizing higher capacity LiPo batteries and optimizing charging techniques, they achieved a flight duration comparable to the original battery, demonstrating a viable solution for users seeking enhanced performance from their Autel X Star Premium drone. This journey underscores the potential for extending the lifespan and utility of older drone models through innovative battery solutions. While the user ultimately achieved their goal, the process highlighted the frustration with Autel’s discontinuation of the X Star Premium battery, prompting a discussion about customer support and long-term product viability in the drone industry.
