Over the past few years there has been an uptick in UAV power tether systems coming to market. The concept is great: simply plug your drone into a ground based power pack with an extension cable that attaches to the drone and your UAV should be able to fly indefinitely.
Folks that are flying at extended events such as races, marathons, weddings, search & rescue, flying drones in cold weather etc. will quickly realize the value of such a system. No longer are they limited to the 20-40 minute battery life of most drones!
So, what are some of the options currently on the market?
Here is our list of the 4 UAV tethering systems currently available:
Elistair Tethers
The Elistair is one of the most well rounded and feature-laden tether systems on the market today. The system integrates a UPS backup battery, an ultra-lightweight tether and also includes data transfer from the drone back to a ground station.
Adding a data stream to a tether system adds significant value to the system as this will keep your drone free from signal jamming etc.
Update June 2020: Elistair has just released the Safe-T 2, an improvement on the wildly popular Safe-T. The Safe-T 2 includes up to 125 meters (400 feet!) of tether, 2200 watts max continuous power, a fiber optics and BPL option and much more. It can be used on DJI Matrice and Inspire series, Acecore and Yuneec platforms.
FUSE Tether System
The FUSE tether system is setup to allow DJI platforms to fly continuously when plugged in to a Honda generator. The system includes 200 feet of tether and includes and automatic tension adjustment on the tether, to prevent slack in the tether line (a potentially dangerous situation).
It also includes an onboard battery backup system which provides enough power for a safe landing should the tether system fail.
FoxTech T3500 Tether System
The FoxTech tether system outputs 3500W of power and has a tensile strength of 50KG. Like many of the other systems it includes 100m of tether lines. It can output 6S or 12S power and includes a nicely laid out ground station.
The system does not come cheap, and at the time of this writing is listed for over $25,000!
PowerLine Tether System
The PowerLine tether is built specifically for the DJI series and allows for tethering without having to permanently modify the drone’s airframe.
It also includes 200′ feet of tether (like most of the others) but can be optionally fitted with a 300′ option. It is compatible with almost any power grid in the world. It includes and AutoTrac tensioning system to keep proper tension on the line.
Volarious V-Line
The Volarious V-line is a relatively new product and at the time of this writing was designed specifically for the DJI Mavic 2 Series. Volarious states that the system adds over 2 hours of flight time to the DJI Mavic 2 series and includes an automatic tensioner for the cable.
Pricing is not publically available at this time.
In Conclusion
The benefits of tethering a drone to a power supply are numerous, from being able to fly indefinitely to being able to transmit data uninterrupted from the drone for extended periods of time.
We will continue to expand this list as more options come to market. If you have any you would like to see added please don’t hesitate to reach out to info@dronetrader.com!
