Best known for its extensive lineup of camera drones, DJI also offers a couple of power stations designed to keep them charged between flights. The $999 Power 1000 Portable Power Station is its flagship model that offers 1,024 watt hours (Wh) of capacity and can deliver stable output at 2,200 watts. Relatively lightweight and easy to take with you on the road, it's ideal for camping, powering small hand tools, and of course, juicing drone batteries, but you’ll have to purchase dongles (separately, or in a bundle with the device) to charge devices like smartphones. If you require more power, consider a larger generator like the 2,048Wh Ugreen PowerRoam 2200 ($1,599.99).

Design: Highly Expandable, But Heavily Dependent on Dongles

The Power 1000 uses a dark gray rectangular cabinet that measures 9.0 by 17.6 by 8.8 inches (HWD). It weighs a manageable 28.6 pounds and has two handles (one on each side) that make it easy to tote around. There are air vents on both sides of the cabinet, and on the right side are two threaded mounting holes that can be used to attach an optional MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) Power Solar Panel Adapter Module ($59). 

In the sunlight, the Power 1000 can be recharged using a Zignes Solar Panel, which DJI sells for $299. It’s a foldable 100Wh panel assembly consisting of four linked panels and is rated to fully recharge the station in around 12 to 15 hours. It has an IP65 weatherproof rating and requires the above-mentioned MPPT module, which lets you connect up to three 100Wh panels for a total output of 300Wh. It weighs nine pounds and measures 50.6 by 20.9 by 0.9 inches (HWD) unfolded and 13.5 by 20.9 by 1.9 inches folded. It folds into a built-in carry case with a handle for easy transportation.

(Credit: John R. Delaney)

If you want to charge the Power 1000 using a car, you can expect to wait up to 11 hours for a full battery, depending on the charger you use. It works with the DJI 1.8kW Solar/Car Super Fast Charger ($319), the 1kW Super Fast Car Charger ($299), or the DJI Power SDC to Car Charger Plug Power Cable (12V) ($22). When paired with the 1.8kW Solar/Car Super Fast Charger, it takes only 40 minutes to fully charge 1024Wh; with the 1kW Super Fast Car Charger, it takes 78 minutes; and with the DJI Power SDC to Car Charger Plug Power Cable (12V), it takes 11 hours.

The Power 1000 uses a lithium fluorophosphate (LFP) battery pack that is rated to last up to 10 years. It can run a typical home refrigerator for around 20 hours, recharge a mobile phone up to 57 times, recharge a laptop up to nine times, and run a microwave oven for approximately 1.3 hours. Most DJI drones can be fully recharged within 30 minutes or so.

If the Power 1000's capacity of 1,024Wh isn't enough for your needs, DJI also sells the 2,048Wh Power Expansion Battery 2000 for $1,169, which brings the power capacity up to 3,072Wh. You can stack up to five expansion packs for a total capacity of 11,264Wh.

There are nine ports on the power station, all conveniently located on the front of the cabinet. There are two AC outlets, an AC input, two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, and two SDC ports. By comparison, the UGreen PowerRoam 2200 offers 20 ports, including a dedicated RV port. The Power 1000 offers a fast AC recharge mode that will recharge the battery to 80% in 50 minutes and 100% in 70 minutes. Standard recharge takes longer (two hours to fully recharge) but will help extend the life of the battery.

Sharing space with the ports is a color display that offers a wealth of information. It shows the power station's current battery level, the remaining usage time when the station is charging a device, system warnings (overloads and error codes), AC output frequency, SDC voltage values, and overall input and output values. There are LED indicators for AC Fast Recharge and Standard Recharge activity, USB-A and USB-C activity, and Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) mode, which automatically switches from AC to battery power in the event of an outage to ensure connected devices remain operational. A battery level bar shows the power station's recharging progress.

The Power 1000’s Software Defined Connection (SDC) ports are proprietary and bidirectional. They can communicate with plugged-in accessories and will adjust the voltage and amperage based on the connected device’s needs, whether it's a drone battery, a 12V car charger, or a solar panel. A car outlet to SDC dongle will set you back $49, and an SDC to XT60 solar panel dongle goes for $25.

(Credit: DJI)

If you want to charge a DJI drone battery directly, you'll need the correct SDC dongle for either an Air 3, Inspire 3, or Mavic 3 series aircraft, and you can expect to pay around $22 for each one. You can forgo the dongle and plug in your drone's included battery charger into an outlet on the Power 1000 instead, but you won't enjoy the smart, optimized fast charging available via the SDC connection. DJI's entry-level drones, gimbals, and most other camera and filmmaking equipment you'll use on location charge via USB-C.

App: Rudimentary Device Information Only

The Power 1000 is not equipped with built-in Wi-Fi or Bluetooth radios. Instead, you’ll have to pick up the $25 SDC Power Dongle to add Bluetooth and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi wireless connectivity and control the Power 1000 remotely. You’ll also have to update the Power 1000 firmware to make it work.

The DJI Home mobile app (free for Android and iOS) opens to a device screen that shows a picture of the Power 1000, its name, and its online status. Below the picture is a power bar that shows the remaining battery percentage and the time remaining until the station is out of power. The bottom portion of the screen has tabs for input and output. When input is selected, you’ll see the total power input from each AC and SDC port in real time. When output is selected, you’ll see how much power each AC, SDC, and USB port is putting out.

(Credit: DJI/PCMag)

Tap the three lines in the upper right corner to view the generator's meager settings menu. Here you can view information such as the serial number and firmware version, update the firmware, and set a minimum discharge limit and maximum recharge limit to automatically stop the power flow when those thresholds are met. Other settings let you configure screen, device, and AC timeout limits when no activity is detected.

Historical energy usage reports, shutdown notifications, temperature notifications, and low battery alerts are missing. The Ecoflow Delta Pro 3 ($3,699), which I'm testing for an upcoming review, provides historical usage graphs and low battery and temperature notifications, and the Ugreen PowerRoam offers low battery alerts.

Setup and Performance: Some App Hiccups, But Keeps Devices Running

Preparing the Power 1000 for first use should be a straightforward process, but I ran into a number of issues in testing. I plugged it into an AC outlet to bring the battery level up to 100% and plugged in the SDC Power Dongle that DJI sent with it so I could test the mobile app. The dongle didn't light up, and the app wouldn't pair with the Power 1000. A call to tech support revealed that I would have to update the Power 1000's firmware, which requires connecting an online laptop to the device via USB, downloading the DJI Assistant software, and performing the update. I tried this with my Windows 11 ThinkPad, but the Assistant software wouldn't recognize the Power 1000. I swapped out the USB cable and tried another laptop (also a Windows 11 machine), but the results were the same. Finally, in an act of desperation, I tried using an older laptop with Windows 10, and the update worked. Apparently, the DJI Assistant software doesn't work with Windows 11.

Once the dongle was working, I opened the app, tapped Add Device on the opening screen, and it immediately recognized the Power 1000. I tapped Pair, selected my Wi-Fi SSID, entered my Wi-Fi password, and waited a few seconds for the device to connect to my network. Once connected, I gave it a name and was ready for testing.

For my first test, I plugged a lamp with a 40W bulb into one AC outlet and a Dreo Smart Air Circulator PolyFan 704S into the other. With the fan running at high speed, the Power 1000 lasted 10 hours before shutting down. The Ugreen PowerRoam 2200 lasted 25 hours on this test, but it does have twice the power capacity. I recharged the Power 1000 using an AC input, and it was back to 100% in a little over an hour.

(Credit: DJI)

Next, I plugged in a Midea Cube 35-Pint Smart Wi-Fi Dehumidifier and set it to its high fan speed setting. It drew 350 watts and ran for 2 hours and 30 minutes. In comparison, the Ugreen PowerRoam 2200 ran for 6 hours and 15 minutes before requiring a recharge.

For my final test, I plugged in a Morento Smart Space Heater and ran it at its highest setting, which drew 1,500W. The Power 1000 lasted 33 minutes on this test compared with the Ugreen PowerRoam 2200’s time of 1 hour and 45 minutes.

With the solar panel positioned in an area of my backyard that sees around five hours of direct sunlight each day, it needed a little more than 14 hours to fully charge the power station.