There are several reasons we do not have an internal battery.
1. Customers using or Watch / Automated Watch
Watch and Automated Watch, is our active tracking option, that will watch over you as you fly and generate an alert if there is a disconnection with the satellite network.
When using Automated Watch, the Spider will automatically turn on and start sending your position report every one to two minutes after take off. To turn Watch off, the user will need to press the blue Watch button on the Spider before powering the aircraft down.
By pressing the Watch button you tell the system that you have landed safely and it can stop watching over you. That's how the system knows the difference between an intentional power down and potentially an accident. The Watch system can not recognize when a battery is being used.
2. Safety
Unfortunately we do not recommend powering the Spider independently as this is a safety concern, most batteries contain Lithium and Lithium Ion batteries are a real risk in aircraft.
3. Reliability
We have seen a few issues with the battery/Spider losing power and cutting off mid flight and causing false emergency situations.
4. Cost
The other extreme to using a battery, if it works well, if that pilots forget to unplug the battery packs that are connected with Spiders. The Spiders will continue to keep tracking even when the aircraft is no longer flying, creating larger than normal bills.
If you have any feedback on this article, we always love to hear it! Please send to support@spidertracks.com
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