Taranis X9D Plus Help

[emanrocks15]

I really want to get a Taranis X9D Plus and use telemetry on my quad. I was wondering if this battery would work as a good replacement. I have a Onyx 245 charger that uses banana plugs, would this work to charge the battery mentioned in the above link? Does the X8R receiver have telemetry? If so what would I have to get? I just want to know what percent my battery is at in my quad or plane. Or would the x4r be better?

 

[rockyboy]

I don't really think it's necessary to switch out the battery in the Taranis for a LiFe or LiPo - the battery it ships with these days is very solid for a day of flying, and doesn't mind being left in the closet at full charge for weeks at a time. Really not worth the effort and expense to change it out IMHO.

The X8R and X4R both support telemetry. I have an X4R on my 250 quad, and the X8R on my 400ish tricopter. They both work great, the only things to look for are does your flight controller support CPPM or SBUS (and make sure the receiver matches) or if you're going old school and wiring each channel individually (not really recommended these days) that the receiver has enough channels exposed via the classic 3 pins to get the connection done.

A great resource for looking up info on all the Taranis receivers and modes is https://alofthobbies.com/radio-gear/frsky-telemetry-system/x-series-receivers.html

 

[emanrocks15]

I was looking at doing the Kiss FC and the either the x4r or the x8r. If I got the x8r it would be with the Tx. If I got the x4r it would be seperate. Do I need extra wiring for me to be able to see the battery percentage with the x4r or x8r and Kiss FC?

 

[rockyboy]

With both of those receivers you'll be able to get the receiver battery voltage and radio signal strength (RSSI) automatically - but you need an external voltage sensor to get the full battery pack voltage.

Those come in a couple flavors - there are simple voltage sensors that just track a total battery pack voltage like https://alofthobbies.com/analog-voltage-sensor-for-frsky-x8r-receivers.html - these are great from a cost and size perspective (around $8)

To get tracking of each cell voltage individually you need a slightly more expensive sensor like this one https://alofthobbies.com/frsky-sp-flvs-smart-port-lipo-voltage-sensor.html (around $15)

There is also a newer voltage sensor that tracks each cell individually https://alofthobbies.com/smart-port-mini-lipo-voltage-sensor.html that doesn't have the LCD readout screen, saving a little weight and cost at $11ish

All of these sensors can be chained together with other stuff like current and airspeed sensors if you want - just make sure you're getting X series sensors to go with your X series receiver. There is a conversion module to use D series sensors with an X series receiver, but since you're buying new it's easier to avoid that all together.

 

[emanrocks15]

Will the above links for sensors also tell me the milliamps that I have used? I really want to set mAh alarms. The battery capacity is the only thing I really care about right now. However, it might be fun to expand my sensors like airspeed and altitude. What other cool sensors are there?

 

[rockyboy]

measuring amps is different than measuring volts - the sensor you're looking for there is this one https://alofthobbies.com/frsky-sp-40a-smart-port-40-amp-sensor.html

check around their website for airspeed, altitude (vario), gps, temperature, rpm, etc. etc. etc.

 

[emanrocks15]

I was planning on using the Kiss FC with the x4r or x8r receivers do I still need the sensors? Rotor Riot does a build with the Kiss FC and the x4r and don't add any sensors.

 

[rockyboy]

You don't need the sensors to have a great flying machine - just if you want that telemetry coming back to the transmitter.you can have some info from the flight controller routed to an OSD for visibility through goggles but that doesn't help the transmitter get info for monitoring and alarms

 

[emanrocks15]

I really want to know the amount of mAh that I have used and the Rotor Riot video does that without any sensors? So do I need any sensors with the Kiss FC and the x4r receiver to see how many mAh I have used?

 

[rockyboy]

I haven't used a Kiss FC before so I can't help you any more on that one. In my experience with other flight controllers, that requires an external sensor.