Hi everyone, first time posting.

I'm building an FPV 5" quadcopter but I'm having trouble understanding which battery would be best for my use.

This are the relevant parts (I think, if there's anything else required let me know!):

- SpeedyBee F405 V4 BLS 55A 30x30 FC & ESC Stack
- EMAX ECO II Series 2207 FPV Drone Motor - 1700Kv
- Azure Power Johnny Freestyle 4838 Propellers


I'm looking for a battery that can give me the best possible runtime without adding too much weight.

I suggest a 1300mAh or 1400mAh LiPo. I run Tattu R-Line 1300mAh 6S LiPos which give me around 5 minutes of hooning around, or up to 8 minutes of taking it easy. This is with 1950KV motors which are thirstier than 1700KV's, and with a quad that has an all-up-weight of ~670g.

P.S. Welcome to the forum

(11-Mar-2024, 11:25 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: I suggest a 1300mAh or 1400mAh LiPo. I run Tattu R-Line 1300mAh 6S LiPos which give me around 5 minutes of hooning around, or up to 8 minutes of taking it easy. This is with 1950KV motors which are thirstier than 1700KV's, and with a quad that has an all-up-weight of ~670g.

P.S. Welcome to the forum

Thank you for the info! 

Is there a formula to roughly calculate how much flight time I might have based on the battery I choose? I've seen some videos recommending 4s batteries if you're a beginner cause it makes the drone not as sensitive when making adjustments.

Where I live, a 6s 1050mAh 100C battery costs around 130 USD so I'm trying to pick the best option possible.

P.S.: How important is the C rating really? Meaning what can I get away with so I get something cheap lol.

the battery is the bottleneck, a bad bttery makes everything worse battery is the best option to spent the money ;-) its pay back warranty :-)

4s would be freedomspec :-) a race class where different builds simulate same performance by software, to about the performnce of 1700kv on 1300mah 4s pack.

the power can be reduced software wise, a lower cell count might work headless but learn to adjust power nicely is also good thing but more work.

a throttle limit os mostly nice, but overall it doesnt need lowered power, in the beginning it needs space, just take the time to get used to the power in free ope airspace :-)


ecalc.ch can provide alot infos about flighttimes,...


c-rates arent true, it would be heaven if they were true or close to true xD
c-rate does count to figure out the best quality pack from a reputable manufacturer. first comes the brand or battery reputation, than the c-rate as intdicator which pack to choose from that reputable manufacturer.

i would highly suggest the money for the best quality you can get, to get bad performance and handling, crashes and broken parts... a bad battery will destroy the pleasure.
where do you live? maybe list few batteries and you will get some experiences

(12-Mar-2024, 02:39 AM)hugnosed_bat Wrote: the battery is the bottleneck, a bad bttery makes everything worse battery is the best option to spent the money ;-) its pay back warranty :-)

4s would be freedomspec :-) a race class where different builds simulate same performance by software, to about the performnce of 1700kv on  1300mah 4s pack.

the power can be reduced software wise, a lower cell count might work headless but learn to adjust power nicely is also  good thing but more work.

a throttle limit os mostly nice, but overall  it doesnt need lowered power, in the beginning it needs space, just take the time to get used to the power in free ope airspace :-)


ecalc.ch can provide alot infos about flighttimes,...


c-rates arent true, it would be heaven if they were true or close to true xD
c-rate does count to figure out the best quality pack from a reputable manufacturer. first comes the brand or battery reputation, than the c-rate as intdicator which pack to choose from that reputable manufacturer.

i would highly suggest the money for the best quality you can get, to get bad performance and handling, crashes and broken parts... a bad battery will destroy the pleasure.
where  do you live? maybe list  few batteries and you will get some experiences

Damn... That's good to know, nobody in all the videos or Reddit posts I saw mentioned that.

So maybe it's best to go for something like a 1500mAh 6s and not pay too much attention to the C rating but to the brand?

I was hopping to save some money on the battery cause I've already spent way more money just bringing the parts from USA to Uruguay. Here there's basically no market for FPV, so there aren't many options. And batteries cost a lot because of the fees to import them as they're considered hazardous cargo.

The build is costing almost double what it'd cost if I lived somewhere else with access to this stuff

My random thoughts are due to the high cost of your batteries:
1. Don't buy the cheapest or the most expensive batteries, or the lightest ones, for any given size and specification. You just want a robust middle of the road pack.
2. Take good care of them. Charge them at 1C (or 2C if you are about to fly) with a good balance charger. Don't run them down too far, that hurts them so make sure you set your OSD to show average cell voltage and get in the habit of checking it while flying. Storage charge them for storage. Don't store them fully charged or discharged. I even use a discharger to discharge mine to storage charge if I can't fly them during a session.
3. If you buy HV batteries consider setting you charger to charge them to 4.2v. You won't get the rated spec but it's an easy way to prolong their life.
4. Store them in a steel ammo box or something. Just be careful. Charge them outside or only when you are around them.
I have hobby batteries that are 6 years old and still flyable. But I think FPV is pretty hard on batteries. Maybe because we see the voltage and think we are OK, but you will learn fast that when the voltage starts to drop at the end of the flight it drops fast! So run Timer 2 in your OSD as well. I use the OSD timer, voltage, and my feeling of how hard I have been pushing the pack, to try and land before the voltage starts dropping fast. That is a battery killer, when you land with a 6s pack that is super hot at single digit percentage or barely over 3.0v. You really want to see a warm battery at 25-30% and 3.6-3.7v after disarming the quad for maximum life expectancy.

(15-Mar-2024, 05:04 PM)husafreak Wrote: My random thoughts are due to the high cost of your batteries:
1. Don't buy the cheapest or the most expensive batteries, or the lightest ones, for any given size and specification. You just want a robust middle of the road pack.
2. Take good care of them. Charge them at 1C (or 2C if you are about to fly) with a good balance charger. Don't run them down too far, that hurts them so make sure you set your OSD to show average cell voltage and get in the habit of checking it while flying. Storage charge them for storage. Don't store them fully charged or discharged. I even use a discharger to discharge mine to storage charge if I can't fly them during a session.
3. If you buy HV batteries consider setting you charger to charge them to 4.2v. You won't get the rated spec but it's an easy way to prolong their life.
4. Store them in a steel ammo box or something. Just be careful. Charge them outside or only when you are around them.
I have hobby batteries that are 6 years old and still flyable. But I think FPV is pretty hard on batteries. Maybe because we see the voltage and think we are OK, but you will learn fast that when the voltage starts to drop at the end of the flight it drops fast! So run Timer 2 in your OSD as well. I use the OSD timer, voltage, and my feeling of how hard I have been pushing the pack, to try and land before the voltage starts dropping fast. That is a battery killer, when you land with a 6s pack that is super hot at single digit percentage or barely over 3.0v. You really want to see a warm battery at 25-30% and 3.6-3.7v after disarming the quad for maximum life expectancy.

Thank you for the tips!

For me I would say buy some CNHL 1300's or something around that size, like Snow suggested size wise. CNHL are ok and they are good value for money. Also buy some GNB and Tattu packs of around the same size. Tattu tend to keep you in the air a bit longer, but cost a lot more per pack, so if you can say live with 4 minutes of freestyle, then you might be able to get 3-4 CNHL packs for the same price as 2-3 Tattu. GNB and Dogcom are ok too. Those are the brands I use for my builds, but 90% of the time I fly CNHL packs or Tattu, depending on what I'm doing. The GNB packs I have are all 2S for whoops and micro builds.

The other thing with CNHL is they often have deals on and at certain times of the year you can get stupid sized batteries for stupidly low prices or even free. Black Friday last year I got two 3S 850 Lipos for cost of postage. Don't know any particulars for shipping to Uruguay, but they do have a warehouse in Brazil i think, so it's probably possible.