Anyone have experience with a relatively long (~20 ft) restraining tether that will keep light tension on the line to minimize risk of tangling in the props, with enough cord strength to restrain a 44 lb octocopter should it decide to wander during preliminary GPS system testing prior to first flight?
I have been thinking something built for the serious kit flyer might serve.
Replies
Hi Chris, can you share with me what cable you used to power your drone over the 50m?
Chris Anderson said:
I built a fancy apparatus with a PID-controlled reel to maintain tension, but that may be overkill. A slightly heavy cable, such as a 22-gauge wire carrying power, should do the trick.
Are you suggesting that the weight alone on the 22 gauge power line should be sufficient to keep it clear of props? Makes sense.
But I would love details on your fancy rig.
Yes, that worked for me. I had to use a 500 watt power supply @48v to minimize/compensate for power loss in that relatively thin cable, but for ~50m it's fine.