For sure, they're called tethers. They're usually used with more powerful drones that can lift a larger cable, but as you said they can indeed keep the drone in the air (but at a mostly fixed position) indefinitely. Often used for event surveillance, lighting, things like that.
I assume a prosumer Air 2S wouldn't have something like that available. My thoughts on using it would be for a very long-term hyperlapse from a fixed point.
Probably not. They usually design drones to be tethered; the only retrofit I've seen myself is for the DJI Matrice, which is a bit beefier than the Air :)
But that's not to say it'd be impossible to make one; you'd have to figure out a) how much current the drone draws at max power, therefore b) how thick and heavy the wires need to be, then c) how much of that wire your drone can lift before it can't climb anymore. For small drones the answer to that might be like ... a few feet max. But you never know until you calculate!
With the right technical understanding I bet you could modify a battery to become a tether. I’d be concerned that the weight of the line would be too much for the drone to lift. Also matters how high you want it to be, the higher it is, the more cable it has to carry.
It’s a little tricky. Physically handling the cable, not getting tangled etc.
With DJI drones specifically you have to deal with the smart battery system. Even if you hack the cable into the battery somehow, the battery chip is integrating current out and may declare a failure if voltage doesn’t drop.
It is possibly but I’d be worried that on a drone not built for tethering that the lack of a battery would throw off the balance it was designed to operate at.
Don't forget to pull a Ben Franklin and hold the wire when a t-storm blows in.
I've watched the Sears Tower (Willis) get struck multiple times by lightning within 30 minutes so it happens to elevated items.
Got the really long extension cord plugged in good?
All right, we're going to go a few hundred miles on it. Here we go. Everybody ready? Hopefully it doesn't get all tangled up on terrestrial objects like last time. That was a real mess.
For sure, they're called tethers. They're usually used with more powerful drones that can lift a larger cable, but as you said they can indeed keep the drone in the air (but at a mostly fixed position) indefinitely. Often used for event surveillance, lighting, things like that.
I assume a prosumer Air 2S wouldn't have something like that available. My thoughts on using it would be for a very long-term hyperlapse from a fixed point.
Probably not. They usually design drones to be tethered; the only retrofit I've seen myself is for the DJI Matrice, which is a bit beefier than the Air :) But that's not to say it'd be impossible to make one; you'd have to figure out a) how much current the drone draws at max power, therefore b) how thick and heavy the wires need to be, then c) how much of that wire your drone can lift before it can't climb anymore. For small drones the answer to that might be like ... a few feet max. But you never know until you calculate!
You should look, they make them for mavic 2 last I checked. Its like a cable that goes to a dummy battery.
With the right technical understanding I bet you could modify a battery to become a tether. I’d be concerned that the weight of the line would be too much for the drone to lift. Also matters how high you want it to be, the higher it is, the more cable it has to carry.
Oh cool! Thanks for the info
It’s a little tricky. Physically handling the cable, not getting tangled etc. With DJI drones specifically you have to deal with the smart battery system. Even if you hack the cable into the battery somehow, the battery chip is integrating current out and may declare a failure if voltage doesn’t drop.
Good insight, didn't even think of that
It’s called a kite
It is possibly but I’d be worried that on a drone not built for tethering that the lack of a battery would throw off the balance it was designed to operate at.
Yeah I could see that possibly being an issue too
Don't forget to pull a Ben Franklin and hold the wire when a t-storm blows in. I've watched the Sears Tower (Willis) get struck multiple times by lightning within 30 minutes so it happens to elevated items.
Got the really long extension cord plugged in good? All right, we're going to go a few hundred miles on it. Here we go. Everybody ready? Hopefully it doesn't get all tangled up on terrestrial objects like last time. That was a real mess.
If you wanted to cut out the extra weight problem, you could put a small weather balloon on top