So I have a drone with 3.7v/500mAh battery, which lasts about 5 minutes. I want to connect it to DC power, but the fucking Chinese power source I ordered is broken and only let's me adjust the Volts.
What kind of power source do I need and where can I get one?
>>943024
What's the point in tethering a drone? Ma as well put your camera on a stick.
>>943024
>power source I ordered is broken and only let's me adjust the Volts.
>>943024
>power source I ordered is broken and only let's me adjust the Volts.
And what do you want to adjust?
>>943063
>>943132
I have a power source that should be able to adjust both amperage and voltage. I'm sorry I'm not so good with the terms since english is not my first language.
I should get 3.7V and somewhere around 1 ampere to fly the thing. I have no electrician skills so I don't know how to calculate the exact amount I need, so I got this power source in which you can choose both. Only thing that I can only change voltage.
>>943148
It depends on the power source, but you generally limit the maximum value of current and voltage.
Is usual to set the voltage needed for the circuit to work, and limit the current to avoid frying said circuit.
But I'm no expert, read the power supply manual.
>>943024
If that's the drone you have, the x5 can barely fly with that stock camera. With the weight of a ton of wire, its gonna be pretty shitty.
>>943024
you need hair thin wire like what's in a taser and then convert it to high voltage like how power lines work.
>>943273
Pretty sure the idea is to eliminate the weight of the battery, which surely weighs a hell of a lot more than some tethered power leads, provided they're not terribly long.
>>943148
Keep in mind, those settings are limits and the actual power draw is dictated by the load. For example, if the quadcopter draws more than 1 amp (which I suspect it does, based off flight time and battery capacity), then the power supply will restrict the voltage to prevent more than 1 amp from passing. If the quad draws LESS than 1 amp, however, then the voltage will remain regulated at the full 3.7 volts and the quad will draw whatever power it happens to be consuming.
In any case, the battery you're replacing isn't regulated, so there's no harm in having the current set "too high." The quad will still only draw what it draws. The voltage must be set in the appropriate range, though. Too high and you could cause damage, too low and the quad may be underpowered or not work at all. 3.V is the nominal voltage of a LiPo cell, but at full charge they deliver more like 4.2V, so you know that much is safe. And for both improved available power and also for reduced current draw through the tether (offering greater efficiency and/or the option of using a slightly lighter, thinner tether), I'd recommend using 4-4.2V instead of just 3.7.
And also, in line with >>943057, I'm kinda curious what your goal is here. Do you just want a drone with extra endurance for practice reasons? Or are you using it for camera work or some other use? And how long of a tether do you actually need?
>>943434
>>943057
Thanks. I want to use it for an artwork. This is just a test version, for the actual artwork I will buy a better drone, because I doubt that this one will last for too many days before it just breaks.
Someone calculated that the drone would need as much as 6A to fly, do you think it's possible?
>>943687
>Someone calculated that the drone would need as much as 6A to fly, do you think it's possible?
I still think it's possible, but you need a power supply that can produce the required power, and your altitude will be limited by the tether (either by the length itself or by the sheer weight if the tether is very long or thick). I would weigh your battery, and measure out the length of wire you need (x2 because you need + and -), weigh that too, and if the wire is lighter than the battery it's replacing then you're golden.
Buy a fucking kite
>>943794
also the more wire you use to more voltage loss per meter of wire. maybe use some light voltage booster device every XX meters or something..
>>943794
Thanks. I've had trouble finding a suitable power source. Do you have any tips?
>>943687
a quadcopter like the one in the OP wouldn't last 5 hours before a motor burns out, even a high quality quadcopter with brushless motors won't last a week.
>>944200
I don't know exactly. Keep looking.
One option you could do that I know would be available and could work is to use a much larger single-cell battery or a different-chemistry battery of equivalent voltage (3s NiMH for example). Sure, it will still eventually go dead, but since it's on the ground and not constrained by weight you could use a very large one. May not be the ideal solution, but it's worked for me for different purposes (i.e. I often use large 3s LiPo batteries as portable 12v power supplies, for camping or powering my charger and such at the flying field).
