Drones

[IEAngelsfan]

Wow, I didn't realize that there were so many pervs....ah.....peeping toms......uh........voyeurs.....ok, I mean so many enthusiastic hobbyist here. 

[wopphil]

The Alabama Hills cafe in Lone Pine is the tits.

[RuledByNone]

I crashed the drone on saturday. I was trying out a great 3rd part app called Litchi. It allows you to enter waypoints from a Google Earth like map and the drone will follow the course autonomously. You can control the altitude of each waypoint, where the camera points, how long it orbits etc.

I ran a short test flight and everything went fine. I set the altitude of all the waypoints to 98 feet thinking that was plenty high enough to be above any trees. What I didn't realize (RTFM!) was that altitude setting is above your starting point, not the ground altitude of each individual waypoint. On the second flight I had the drone going over some extremely rugged area and around a couple of higher mountains. Predictably, once it reached 98 feet above the starting position it crashed into the mountain at full speed. Bad feeling waiting as the drone never came home.

I quickly found the error and used the map program to trace the route to exactly where the drone reached 98 feet above the starting position. I entered the location into the gps and went on a long hike on sunday. Found it within 25 feet of where I thought it would be. One propeller damaged and the gimball shocks knocked loose and battery knocked out. Easy and cheap fix. Lucky. They build these things tough.

[arch stanton]

You should be able to find maps with accurate terrain data but I don't know if they would be compatible with your app.

[mrwicked]

are these drones ready to deliver burritos yet or what?

[ten ocho recon scout]

3 hours ago, RuledByNone said:

I crashed the drone on saturday. I was trying out a great 3rd part app called Litchi. It allows you to enter waypoints from a Google Earth like map and the drone will follow the course autonomously. You can control the altitude of each waypoint, where the camera points, how long it orbits etc.

I ran a short test flight and everything went fine. I set the altitude of all the waypoints to 98 feet thinking that was plenty high enough to be above any trees. What I didn't realize (RTFM!) was that altitude setting is above your starting point, not the ground altitude of each individual waypoint. On the second flight I had the drone going over some extremely rugged area and around a couple of higher mountains. Predictably, once it reached 98 feet above the starting position it crashed into the mountain at full speed. Bad feeling waiting as the drone never came home.

I quickly found the error and used the map program to trace the route to exactly where the drone reached 98 feet above the starting position. I entered the location into the gps and went on a long hike on sunday. Found it within 25 feet of where I thought it would be. One propeller damaged and the gimball shocks knocked loose and battery knocked out. Easy and cheap fix. Lucky. They build these things tough.

Grrrr, that sucks.

I grabbed a phantom on black friday, but am keeping it boxed...gonna pull the trigger on the mavic. the phantom is insurance in case it doesnt get here before my next trip in january.

[Blarg]

2 hours ago, mrwicked said:

are these drones ready to deliver burritos yet or what?

As long as your penthouse is less than 98 feet from the ground.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

3 hours ago, mrwicked said:

are these drones ready to deliver burritos yet or what?

Reminds me of a discussion me and a few friends had in San Fran about 4 years ago.  The friend who lived up there was talking about drones delivering food, amazon orders, etc. and my question was how do you keep the rats with wings from dive bombing your food order?  

[mrwicked]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

As long as your penthouse is less than 98 feet from the ground.

shit.

someone send me a drone with a big ass tape measure. i dont know how high up my place is.

ps bring burritos.

[halonatic13]

Ask away on any questions about drones.  I've been flying them the last couple years.  I have an inspire1 & Phantom 3 Pro, looking at the Phantom 4 Pro as an upgrade for the phantom 3.  You can see some of my work here.  

 

[ten ocho recon scout]

3 hours ago, halonatic13 said:

Ask away on any questions about drones.  I've been flying them the last couple years.  I have an inspire1 & Phantom 3 Pro, looking at the Phantom 4 Pro as an upgrade for the phantom 3.  You can see some of my work here.  

 

Thats badass!

How easy to fly is the phantom? ive never flown anything RC related...is it pretty idiot proof?

If i understand correctly, i can pretty much just tell it to go to a certain height and follow or something, right? i dont plan on taking it anywhere with crazy terrain, or flying it far away.

[ten ocho recon scout]

4 hours ago, halonatic13 said:

Ask away on any questions about drones.  I've been flying them the last couple years.  I have an inspire1 & Phantom 3 Pro, looking at the Phantom 4 Pro as an upgrade for the phantom 3.  You can see some of my work here.  

 

Also, will the phantom 3 i bought be as effective in making hobos and abandoned buildings look chic and cosmopolitan? or would i need the pro?

[RuledByNone]

11 hours ago, mrwicked said:

are these drones ready to deliver burritos yet or what?

Burritos will be easy. Pizza would be a lot more difficult. In a decade or so houses will have delivery chutes instead of mail slots.

Crazy video from a few years ago showing lots of drones not crashing into each other (or mountains)

 

[RuledByNone]

5 hours ago, halonatic13 said:

Ask away on any questions about drones.  I've been flying them the last couple years.  I have an inspire1 & Phantom 3 Pro, looking at the Phantom 4 Pro as an upgrade for the phantom 3.  You can see some of my work here.  

 

 

That's great stuff. I'm guessing that's with the Inspire. Do you use the Litchi app to control the video or something else?

Also, do you have any experience using a VR headset so you can see what the drone sees in realtime?

[RuledByNone]

1 hour ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

How easy to fly is the phantom?

Really easy. The gps/accelerometers keep it rock steady even on a windy day. I flew a $50 drone first and it was fun but very hard to control in any kind of wind. You probably won't crash but there's DJI insurance if you want it. I only crashed because I got overconfident and didn't take the time to learn the new app software.

I think you'll like the mavic especially if you travel or have to take it somewhere to fly because of how portable it is.

[ten ocho recon scout]

3 minutes ago, RuledByNone said:

Really easy. The gps/accelerometers keep it rock steady even on a windy day. I flew a $50 drone first and it was fun but very hard to control in any kind of wind. You probably won't crash but there's DJI insurance if you want it. I only crashed because I got overconfident and didn't take the time to learn the new app software.

I think you'll like the mavic especially if you travel or have to take it somewhere to fly because of how portable it is.

thats the sole reason im grabbing one. way the hell too expensive, but when im living out of a backpack and a carry on abroad for a week or so, the portability is everything.

[ten ocho recon scout]

50 minutes ago, calscuf said:

The wife is bugging me for Xmas present ideas and while earlier I was going to make fun of you drone weirdos, after some thought, it actually sounded kind of cool, like a remote controlled helicopter with a camera.  So any suggestions on an entry level perv-copter? Something under $200?

i was the same way. i ran into a guy earlier this while traveling, and he told me eas pissed because he brought his drone all the way down from america and couldnt use it. i looked at him funny, because who the hell brings some nerdy toy on a trip.

then he showed me his videos, like the one above. totally changed my view. was on another trip recently with a pro photographer who had one. made some cool ass videos where we were. now im sold.

[Amazing Larry]

7 hours ago, calscuf said:

The wife is bugging me for Xmas present ideas and while earlier I was going to make fun of you drone weirdos, after some thought, it actually sounded kind of cool, like a remote controlled helicopter with a camera.  So any suggestions on an entry level perv-copter? Something under $200?

I fly this thing around my office when I'm bored and I've finished the internet. Lots of fun for under $20. 

https://www.amazon.com/Cheerson-CX-10-Mini-Quadcopter-Drone/dp/B00KXZC762/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1481034560&sr=1-3&keywords=Mini+drone

[halonatic13]

9 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Also, will the phantom 3 i bought be as effective in making hobos and abandoned buildings look chic and cosmopolitan? or would i need the pro?

LMBO!!!  That was shot with the Phantom 3 Pro.  Those shots were actually for a documentary for MSNBC.  It was about a local guy who took dumpsters and changed them into homes for the homeless in Oakland.  Pretty crazy.

[ten ocho recon scout]

37 minutes ago, halonatic13 said:

LMBO!!!  That was shot with the Phantom 3 Pro.  Those shots were actually for a documentary for MSNBC.  It was about a local guy who took dumpsters and changed them into homes for the homeless in Oakland.  Pretty crazy.

now i feel bad for making a joke, lol.

any tips on the mavic? as in you know anywhere its arriving sooner? i keep reading all the preorder people are still waiting, so it could still be a few months for new orders?

[halonatic13]

10 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

now i feel bad for making a joke, lol.

any tips on the mavic? as in you know anywhere its arriving sooner? i keep reading all the preorder people are still waiting, so it could still be a few months for new orders?

I was so ready to jump on the mavic because of it's size.  Then DJI decided to release it's Phantom 4 Pro!!!  The sensor is huge compared to the mavic, plus the dynamic range.  You can't compare the 2 anymore.  It really comes down to, do you want a small drone to travel with and put in your pocket OR do you want something that's quality is above and beyond anything else that is out there.  Unless you want to spend 6k on the new inspire. =)  I'm happy with my Inspire 1

[halonatic13]

19 hours ago, RuledByNone said:

 

That's great stuff. I'm guessing that's with the Inspire. Do you use the Litchi app to control the video or something else?

Also, do you have any experience using a VR headset so you can see what the drone sees in realtime?

This reel is done with both drones actually.  I'm looking at upgrading my inspire 1 to the micro 4/3 lens to give me an extra boost in dynamic range and quality. =)  I've never used the Litchi app, not sure what that is.  I usually have my 2nd operator control the camera for the inspire.  The shots that kinda roll 360 are with the inspire.  I have yet to try VR.

[halonatic13]

Here is what I shot today with my phantom 3 pro.

[halonatic13]

21 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Thats badass!

How easy to fly is the phantom? ive never flown anything RC related...is it pretty idiot proof?

If i understand correctly, i can pretty much just tell it to go to a certain height and follow or something, right? i dont plan on taking it anywhere with crazy terrain, or flying it far away.

The phantom series are super easy to fly.  Just make sure you check your IMU calibration, your compass and you're set.  Have a strong enough tablet as well.  I use an iPhone 6s plus and an iPad Air 2 with no issues.  I've also never had issues aside from breaking a gimbal cable accidently when putting my phantom away.  DJI replaced it with a new one.  Just follow the regulations and you are safe.  They have a 

[gotbeer]

@red321 you got competition. 

Those drone pics are pretty badass.