Skydio 2 Dual Charger - US$129 ??? (update: US$149 now...)

loyukfai · Nov 25, 2019

Skydio is asking $129 for the dual charger...

Skydio Dual Charger

Keep two batteries fully charged with the Skydio Dual Charger. Used with Skydio 2’s 65W USB-C wall adapter, 2 batteries are fully charged in about 2 hours.

www.skydio.com

FWIW, the Mavic quad charging hub is $49.

DJI Battery Charging Hub for Mavic Pro

Buy DJI Battery Charging Hub for Mavic Pro featuring Charges up to Four Batteries in Sequence, Charges Fullest Battery First, Requires Mavic Battery Charger, Requires Power Bank Adapter. Review DJI null

www.bhphotovideo.com

The battery itself is $99.

Skydio 2 Battery

Get 23 minutes of flight time by adding a 4280mAh Battery to your Skydio kit. The Skydio 2 Battery is compatible with the Skydio 2 or 2+ drone.

www.skydio.com

BTW, some other additional accessories are now listed as well, e.g. ND filters, Pro Kit.

Skydio 2+ Kit Options

Skydio offers fully autonomous drones for business, public safety and creative endeavors.

www.skydio.com

Pappy · Nov 26, 2019

That dual charger is definitely overpriced, must be those magnets drive the price up (fyi - I'm being sarcastic about the mags). Two negatives I see right off the bat - (1) charges one after the other and NOT concurrently like the Spark 3 slot battery charger, (2) it doesn't even include a power supply I guess you use the one that came with the S2. I'd rather use the money on an extra battery than on this over priced product.

loyukfai · Nov 26, 2019

Skydio updated the description and said it can charge both batteries concurrently if one uses a >65W charger.

Still hard to justify the price tag though.

Like you said, better to spend the money on one more battery instead.

Maybe/Hopefully in future some 3rd party alternatives will become available.

Cheers.

LivinLarge · Nov 27, 2019

I think for the price, they should have included a 90 Watt adapter for dual charging.
At least the batteries are cheap compared to the competition.

Ridefreak · Nov 28, 2019

I agree, for that price they should have included the adapter. I ordered one because if you don't have the adapter you must use the drone as a pass thru to charge the battery, effectively grounding it anytime you charge.

LivinLarge · Nov 28, 2019

With this $29 power adapter and the Skydio charger, you should be able to charge two batteries concurrently in 90 minutes. Actually, you could charge a third one in the drone at the same time.

Amazon.com: Feirsh 87W USB-C Power Adapter, 87W Type C AC Laptop Charger Cord Replacement for MacBook Pro,HP,Dell,Lenovo and Other USB C Laptops Pads or Phones : Electronics

www.amazon.com

Pappy · Nov 28, 2019

LivinLarge said:
With this $29 power adapter and the Skydio charger,

So now the price is almost $160 to charge two batteries concurrently. I'll pass even more now. I looked to see what DJI charges for the their battery hub and it's only $89. That gives 4 and not 2 battery slots, but it is only a sequential charger and not concurrent.

LivinLarge · Nov 28, 2019

Pappy said:
So now the price is almost $160 to charge two batteries concurrently. I'll pass even more now. I looked to see what DJI charges for the their battery hub and it's only $89. That gives 4 and not 2 battery slots, but it is only a sequential charger and not concurrent.

DJI makes it up on the batteries at $159 each.

Pappy · Nov 28, 2019

LivinLarge said:
DJI makes it up on the batteries at $159 each.

So true. I'm a hobbyist and I'm in batch 3 so it will be awhile before I have to determine (1) spend the money on an extra battery and just put up with the slight inconvenience using the S2 as a charger or (2) if I'm lucky a third party will have a cheaper and/or better multiple battery charger out by spring of next year.

Ridefreak · Jan 1, 2020

Did a charging test last night, typically a single battery @ 10% or so charge has been taking 50~55 min to charge when connected to the Skydio. Using the dual charger along with an 87W brick , two batteries @ approx the same level charged up in 75min. 30min savings or about 25-30% quicker charging when using the dual charger, the larger brick is required though.

OldBlueHeron · Jan 1, 2020

Did you provide the brick? Still waiting on my charger to ship. What exactly is included with the charger?

Lifeisfun · Jan 1, 2020

Does the charger have auto discharge to storage level when not in use for some time?
Thanks

Ridefreak · Jan 1, 2020

OldBlueHeron said:
Did you provide the brick? Still waiting on my charger to ship. What exactly is included with the charger?

This is the brick I used.

Amazon.com: Feirsh 87W USB-C Power Adapter, 87W Type C AC Laptop Charger Cord Replacement for MacBook Pro,HP,Dell,Lenovo and Other USB C Laptops Pads or Phones : Electronics

www.amazon.com

All that comes with the charger is a receptacle itself that looks kind of like a battery. It's got the USB-C connection and a place on each side for the battery to attach to.

Ridefreak · Jan 1, 2020

Lifeisfun said:
Does the charger have auto discharge to storage level when not in use for some time?
Thanks

According to SD they batteries have a 2 week discharge circuit, After a period of 2 weeks the batteries will go into a discharge mode.

"Battery idle state: If the battery is above 60% state of charge, after 14 days of idle time (no flights) it will start to self-discharge down to 60%. This self-discharge helps extend battery cell lifetime and may take several days to complete. Charge your battery as you would normally to exit this idle state. "

Lifeisfun · Jan 1, 2020

That's great! Thanks

OldBlueHeron · Jan 1, 2020

Ridefreak said:
This is the brick I used.

Amazon.com: Feirsh 87W USB-C Power Adapter, 87W Type C AC Laptop Charger Cord Replacement for MacBook Pro,HP,Dell,Lenovo and Other USB C Laptops Pads or Phones : Electronics

Amazon.com: Feirsh 87W USB-C Power Adapter, 87W Type C AC Laptop Charger Cord Replacement for MacBook Pro,HP,Dell,Lenovo and Other USB C Laptops Pads or Phones : Electronics

www.amazon.com

All that comes with the charger is a receptacle itself that looks kind of like a battery. It's got the USB-C connection and a place on each side for the battery to attach to.

Thank you sir.

leenanj · Jan 1, 2020

I think the most important part is being able to charge the battery off the drone. I don't like the idea of having the drone turned on for hours just to charge.

Jim · Jan 1, 2020

I haven’t timed it but it definitely charges both batteries at the same time when using it with the Apple 90 watt USB—C adapter.

stefanonwheels · Jan 8, 2020

Isn't it super-disappointing that they don't even include a simple USB-C cable with a crazy overpriced dual charger!?

What you get is just the charger, no cable or anything.

leenanj · Jan 8, 2020

stefanonwheels said:
Isn't it super-disappointing that they don't even include a simple USB-C cable with a crazy overpriced dual charger!?

What you get is just the charger, no cable or anything.

Actually it's not even a charger but just a battery holder with contacts. You use the charger and cable that came with the drone. Oh well you don't have to buy it as its not needed, just a convenience to have.