Drones... do you have one, which one and why???

[The Chairman]

Sunset in the Upper Keys! Woot! Which reveal do you like better? It's been a stormy day off and on, so it's not a perfect sunset.

 

[Caveeagle]

I built a home made quad based on a Reptile500 frame. So far, just to fly around my property.

I have been flying fixed wing RC models since the 80s. At some point,I will add cameras and FPV to our quad. I am a firm believer slow progress and doing the build/ maintenance myself. .

 

[The Chairman]

I am a firm believer slow progress and doing the build/ maintenance myself.

Our goals are probably quite opposite. I see this as a tool to enhance how I can document resorts and dive sites with an eye for producing travel videos for SB.

 

[Chip Elliott]

How hard is it to fly? Is it pretty self controlled? How do you control it and the camera at the same time?

 

[flyboy08]

How hard is it to fly? Is it pretty self controlled? How do you control it and the camera at the same time?

You use an app on your phone that slips into the remote control. Your phone screen is the viewfinder of the drone.

 

[The Chairman]

How hard is it to fly? Is it pretty self controlled? How do you control it and the camera at the same time?

It's taken some time to get it figured out. Turning it on is a trick, albeit a simple one. However, it has all sorts of fail safes. I fly it out over the bay and hit the "home" icon. It flies home on its own at 100 ft and then lands itself as well. There are a number of automatic modes where it can circle a point of interest while always pointing inward, act like a tripod, follow a target from the front, rear or side or even tap fly. If the battery drops below 30%, it comes straight home. If it loses RC signal for more than ten seconds, it does the very same thing. You set the height it auto flies at and I have mine set to 100 ft. I would increase that around tall buildings or trees.

 

[Caveeagle]

Our goals are probably quite opposite. I see this as a tool to enhance how I can document resorts and dive sites with an eye for producing travel videos for SB.

Agreed...

And I suspect you are more attuned to the technology and dedicated to safe operation.

The risk is that the cost of packaged units is so low now that many get into trouble getting into the air before they really know what they are doing. There has already been one big move to regulate and limit acces to a hobby that I love. And these rules extend beyond "drones" so that now even RC planes have to be registered.

It was already mentioned that the gps homing feature can cause issues if you don't use it properly. There have also been many "fly offs" when inexperienced or careless people don't set up the flight controls properly.

I'm not trying to be negative.. I am a big fan of these, just think there is potential dangers if people don't take the risks seriously.

Most of us agree that instruction is critical to safe diving. But in the case of drones, I think many go to far, too fast.

..JMHO

 

[Chip Elliott]

It's taken some time to get it figured out. Turning it on is a trick, albeit a simple one. However, it has all sorts of fail safes. I fly it out over the bay and hit the "home" icon. It flies home on its own at 100 ft and then lands itself as well. There are a number of automatic modes where it can circle a point of interest while always pointing inward, act like a tripod, follow a target from the front, rear or side or even tap fly. If the battery drops below 30%, it comes straight home. If it loses RC signal for more than ten seconds, it does the very same thing. You set the height it auto flies at and I have mine set to 100 ft. I would increase that around tall buildings or trees.

Just wow. I want one. Really. Like now.

 

[The Chairman]

You use an app on your phone

My phone was a tad small, so I went with a Samsung S2 8 inch tablet. It's small enough to sit in the controller, yet big enough for me to compose my shots.

 

[The Chairman]

It was already mentioned that the gps homing feature can cause issues if you don't use it properly.

Mine sets automatically when it takes off and lands just inches away. Just don't use it if you're on a moving boat. It will land where the boat was but now isn't.

Most of us agree that instruction is critical to safe diving. But in the case of drones, I think many go to far, too fast.

I've tried to get instruction for my drone, but it's just nutzoid. I was quoted $250 for a two hour class. I asked what it included and was horrified at how ultra basic it was. At the end of the two hours I would be able to turn it on, sync it, take off, land, use the "come home feature", set the camera controls and a few very basic tasks. So, I first took off and landed a dozen or so times. I used the simulation mode and learned a lot. I have no idea how many youtube videos I have viewed. There's a learning curve, and I'm somewhere at the beginning of it all.