If you own a DJI Smart Controller, you may have come across this message while trying to plug it in to charge.
Current charging speed slow. Please use the charger that comes with the device for a faster charging speed.
Slow charging a smart controller could represent a hazard, because the slow charge rate isn’t enough power to maintain the battery level while flying your drone.
After a recent incident where the smart controller shut down while I was flying a drone, I became determined to find a solution to be able to rapid charge the controller via a battery pack I already had
A forum post I discovered mentioned the controller used Qualcomm’s QuickCharge standard. Qualcomm’s QuickCharge standard is a pre-USB PD era charging standard that allows negotiated charging above 5v for supported devices.
I didn’t want to buy yet another battery pack just for an antiquated standard, so I opted to make a cable that converts USB PD to QC instead.
Parts list (Amazon Affiliate links):
- Any USB PD battery pack that supports 12v(rare) or 20v output(More common). I used an Insignia I got for cheap, but any 65W capable USB PD charger will do
- USB C PD 20V to barrel jack adapter cord
- USB QC 3.0 pigtail adapter
- Barrel jack pigtail
Consumables I already had:
Tools:
- Wire Strippers
- Lighter
Here is the final product:
The braided cord goes into the battery pack, and the barrel plug goes into the QC 3.0 adapter. This braided cord is the magic sauce that tells the charger to output 20v, and send that to the “yipin Hexha” adapter
That adapter will let you charge your Smart Controller significantly faster than before, and your controller won’t die while charging. Hope this helps!
