Ooh, that was a neat video. Cool building for it, too. Nice shot of the graffiti at 2:13.

Nice video! I just picked myself up a phantom 3 professional and plan to take it to some abandonments soon

Speaking of, these have started to pop up around here:



What a world we live in...

Posted by htp123 Speaking of, these have started to pop up around here: http://i.imgur.com/VBbsVlql.jpg What a world we live in...

Yea its really sad... people are so paranoid about these things. Its always made me wonder though, Ive been flying drones for a year and a half now, and not once have I had any hostile reactions to it. Ive probably had at least 2 dozen people talk to me when flying but with genuine curiosity and positive reactions to it. Is it just where I live or are many drone users that big of idiots which cause people to totally freak out?

I mean if youre flying right by an airport or something serious like a forest fire or something then yea that's just lack of common sense but still.

Just my opinion but why are people so paranoid about you "watching them"? This is just me but if I'm going to "get off" from footage theres an entire internet full of p0rn out there. So why the heck would I be "filming you" walking down t he street? its just silly. I mean if its blatantly following you then yea that's not too good, but if its a couple hundred feet up? Even with a 4k camera you wont be able to see any "details."

Well, consider this.


A drone that doesn't have shielded propellers could kill somebody if they were to lose control of it and the auto-guidance systems failed somehow. Also, someone could use it as a murder weapon if they were psychotic.


So yeah, they could be considered weapons.


But I'd bet that it's at least equally likely that the people erecting these signs are more worried about mundane-ish mishaps, such as a drone shorting out a transformer on a pole or smashing into their house/car/whatever...

In ~3 years, I've never been told I'm doing something wrong, but I definitely did a couple of times.

While I was learning to fly FPV, I tried to keep some person walking on the train tracks centered in my view, just as an exercise in manually control. A few minutes later the person with me asked me if I'm perving the girl on the tracks.

Another time I was flying in a park, and a wasp landed on my hands. I freaked out because I can't let go of the controller, so I put SkyTerror3000 down as fast as I could, only to realize some dog was gunning for the still-spinning props.

RC hobby clubs here have been trying to self-regulate for years, but I think this just grew too fast. Who has honestly read through their PDF, started 'box flying' first, etc?

Some good points! It would make a very interesting high tech murder weapon haha. I saw a video somewhere of someone actually having a pistol attached and remotely firing it while it's flying. It was neat but that's not okay.

I do aerial cinematography & photography.
Been curious to take my quads out to possible locations.
Location scouting for stock footage & photo is a real thing and has gotten me access into a lot of areas I wouldn't have thought were accessible. Sometimes it's easier to ask permission than forgiveness.
http://www.DreamHome360.com

Posted by Makasari Nice video! I just picked myself up a phantom 3 professional and plan to take it to some abandonments soon.

Thanks! Let us know how that goes!

Posted by reduxzero Ooh, that was a neat video. Cool building for it, too. Nice shot of the graffiti at 2:13.

Thanks! Super illegal.. haha.

Looking back at it now there's a few things I've learned piloting these things; in that video I was cookin' in excess of 60kph and you really don't need to be moving that fast to get the shots. Also there was HEAVY magnetic interference on site that made it really hard to do the low-flying stuff, which was only made more difficult when I was pushing full-pin on the forward stick.

Posted by BCKing I do aerial cinematography & photography. Been curious to take my quads out to possible locations. Location scouting for stock footage & photo is a real thing and has gotten me access into a lot of areas I wouldn't have thought were accessible. Sometimes it's easier to ask permission than forgiveness.

That's cool, do you have one of those SFOC thingies?

Posted by Gary Powers I worked with a professional pilot. The drones are not what you would call stealthy, but I could see that there could be some uses.

I was looking into getting a micro drone for scouting out drains..
I actually pre-ordered this model a year or so back and they are finally shipping.. I will try to take some vids and let you folks know how it goes when it finally arrives. I have some concerns about connectivity given the density of the walls.

https://www.indieg...ts--4#/updates/all

Posted by Stomping Charmander I was looking into getting a micro drone for scouting out drains..

You're gonna need quite the light on a drone to have any idea what you're looking at. Our eyes can barely see very deep into a drain with a 500 lumen flashlight, and you're hoping to look around with an analog(?) HD video feed from a small, highly unstable drone without any camera stabilization...

Re: signal, I don't know how it would fare trying to transmit directly down a concrete tube.. maybe better than you think? It all depends how the RF bounces. If it's bad at penetration AND reflectance, then you're SOL. If it's bad at penetration (we already know it is) but good at reflecting off of concrete, then... you might have a shot.

Lastly, you'll need a full cage over the props. You can't stand to lose a prop after hitting the ceiling 800m inside a drain. And what happens if you DO hit the ceiling and the drone drops in the water... Is it turfed, or can it take off from water / right itself should it land upside down?

Things to consider ;)

Posted by flySparro You're gonna need quite the light on a drone to have any idea what you're looking at. Our eyes can barely see very deep into a drain with a 500 lumen flashlight, and you're hoping to look around with an analog(?) HD video feed from a small, highly unstable drone without any camera stabilization... Re: signal, I don't know how it would fare trying to transmit directly down a concrete tube.. maybe better than you think? It all depends how the RF bounces. If it's bad at penetration AND reflectance, then you're SOL. If it's bad at penetration (we already know it is) but good at reflecting off of concrete, then... you might have a shot. Lastly, you'll need a full cage over the props. You can't stand to lose a prop after hitting the ceiling 800m inside a drain. And what happens if you DO hit the ceiling and the drone drops in the water... Is it turfed, or can it take off from water / right itself should it land upside down? Things to consider ;)

Maybe not the best tool for scouting out drains..
Should look into developing some sort of mini zeppelin scouting drone..?

Posted by Stomping Charmander Maybe not the best tool for scouting out drains.. Should look into developing some sort of mini zeppelin scouting drone..?

Wireless is hard for underground, but I don't see any UER members showing up with a track-type robot and a 500m tether cable for it any time soon, either. Hahaha

Come to think of it, that would be the best solution. 500m of telephone wire or Cat 5 for the data feed, a battery on board, and the ability to handle water and 1-2ft height changes (wood or aluminum dams, pipe changes from rect/circ and vice versa).

Posted by flySparro Wireless is hard for underground, but I don't see any UER members showing up with a track-type robot and a 500m tether cable for it any time soon, either. Hahaha Come to think of it, that would be the best solution. 500m of telephone wire or Cat 5 for the data feed, a battery on board, and the ability to handle water and 1-2ft height changes (wood or aluminum dams, pipe changes from rect/circ and vice versa).

They market this as "all terrain"..
https://xerall.com/
I give it two hours before I lose it down a tunnel or something..

https://www.youtub...atch?v=Al-889M7_CQ

Posted by Stomping Charmander They market this as "all terrain".. https://xerall.com/ I give it two hours before I lose it down a tunnel or something..

That's cool! All it needs is a lumecube and IPX67 rating.

Posted by flySparro You're gonna need quite the light on a drone to have any idea what you're looking at. Our eyes can barely see very deep into a drain with a 500 lumen flashlight, and you're hoping to look around with an analog(?) HD video feed from a small, highly unstable drone without any camera stabilization... Re: signal, I don't know how it would fare trying to transmit directly down a concrete tube.. maybe better than you think? It all depends how the RF bounces. If it's bad at penetration AND reflectance, then you're SOL. If it's bad at penetration (we already know it is) but good at reflecting off of concrete, then... you might have a shot. Lastly, you'll need a full cage over the props. You can't stand to lose a prop after hitting the ceiling 800m inside a drain. And what happens if you DO hit the ceiling and the drone drops in the water... Is it turfed, or can it take off from water / right itself should it land upside down? Things to consider ;)

Maybe some miniature nylon wire ties near each motor with ends still attached pointing above the rotors for guards. It's going to be hitting the ceiling for sure. Since this product is evolving, contact the company to give feedback and see if they have solutions.

The motors, battery and cam easily detach in crashes it said on Tom's Hardware review.
Maybe a little silicone grease on those electrical connectors be in order for moisture protection.
Energized components corrode fast...
Rubber bands might help keep it together in crashes especially the bat and cam.
Spare parts are cheap; carry a repair kit, couple bats and charger.

These drones are really getting slick and the price is coming down.
A very cool thread