We talked about it before the summer, and it’s finally here! The 350 mAh battery is now available in our shop. It implies some changes in the products we offer, so here is a breakdown of what’s new:
The 350 mAh battery
It is more powerful than the 250 mAh battery that comes with your Crazyflie. We based it on the Tattu 350mAh 3.7V 30C 1S1P but with some custom works like gold connectors, tailored wire length, and awesome Bitcraze graphics on it. On top of the added power, the upgrade has higher capabilities, (30C burst current, which is more than 10 Amp) and higher energy density (~130 Wh/kg instead of ~105 Wh/kg). It all means that this could boost your hover time up to 10 minutes, and you’ll have more punch during acceleration! It is, though, more expansive than the 250 mAh.
The pin headers
The 350 mAh is thicker than the stock battery, which means you would need longer pin headers in order to snug it onto your Crazyflie. For that, there are now 9mm pin headers available in the shop. This means that now, you can get 3 different male connectors:
- the 8+14mm is the one that comes with your Crazyflie kit. It’s meant to be phased out at some point. It allows to fit 1 or 2 decks and the 250 mAh battery.
- the 9+15mm is slightly longer and is available in the shop – both as a spare part and in the upgraded battery bundle. It allows to fit 1 or 2 decks and the 350 mAh battery.
- the male long connector: the longest pin of all, it’s the one that allows you to fit 3 decks.
Since it makes more sense to have slightly longer pins, the male connectors as spare parts are now slightly longer ones than those you get in your Crazyflie kit.
If you’re not sure, you can always buy the upgraded battery bundle that offers the 350 mAh battery with the right pin headers.
Bundles
The 350 mAh battery is much more suited for swarms than the 250 mAh, that’s why we’re planning on having an upgraded offer for our swarm bundles. In the coming week, both the Lighthouse and the Loco Swarms will be fitted for the updated offer. That would mean that it will include the new batteries with the right pin headers as well – there will be a slight price increase to match the price of the batteries.
Bare PCB
But that’s not the only surprise waiting for you in the shop: you can now also buy a spare Crazyflie PCB! We thought it would be good to have this option in the store – in case you have crashed too many times and you only just need the PCB!
Right now, it may seem a little confusing, between our different propellers, batteries, or pin headers. It’s mainly because we are trying to, slowly, build up a better, upgraded offer – which will, eventually, culminate in an upgraded Crazyflie 2.1, where the 47-17 propellers and the 9mm pin headers are standards. We’re also planning to publish a guide to help you quickly figure out what would best suit your needs!