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Drones?

Vikes79

Vikes79

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Do you run into times where you feel like you need more battery time?

I’m not opposed to the Mavic air, I’m just afraid that I’m going to be changing batteries a lot.

if I use it to check fences / property, the areas I’d be checking would have at least a mile of fence just on the perimeter. Some of the extremes could be up to 5 mi.

On your Mavic Air, can you program in waypoints and camera angles to let it run a route autonomous?

It looks like the Mavic Air can do waypoints provided you use a second party control software.

hmm decisions decisions
 
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JTW

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I was looking at drones before I got the Talon bug. One thing I didn't like about the Mavic is that it's GPS controlled and won't fly in restricted zones. Airports have a 5 mile no fly zone (internet maps available). I live within one of those so I wouldn't even be able to practice in my own backyard. As more people get drones these areas will get larger, restricting flight even more. Another problem for me is that southern Utah is my passion and a lot of that is national parks where flight is also illegal. A GPS software flight control won't even let me film my campsites.

If my interest rekindles, I'll be looking at drones where I make the flight decision, not chinese software.
I‘ve flown mine within a few hundred yards of our local airport. It will flash a warning and you can ignore it
 
J

JTW

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Do you run into times where you feel like you need more battery time?

I’m not opposed to the Mavic air, I’m just afraid that I’m going to be changing batteries a lot.

if I use it to check fences / property, the areas I’d be checking would have at least a mile of fence just on the perimeter. Some of the extremes could be up to 5 mi.

On your Mavic Air, can you program in waypoints and camera angles to let it run a route autonomous?
It will do more than I know how... I use mine for photographing properties and farms. Here’s a recent example..


As for battery life, I think you’ll always “want” more. But for my uses it’s been fine. Now, you won’t fly 5 miles slowly and remember range is subjective to topography. I can go a long way flying high and being on a hill. But if you drop down in a valley and are on the other side of a hill you suffer communication.
 
Vikes79

Vikes79

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It will do more than I know how... I use mine for photographing properties and farms. Here’s a recent example..


As for battery life, I think you’ll always “want” more. But for my uses it’s been fine. Now, you won’t fly 5 miles slowly and remember range is subjective to topography. I can go a long way flying high and being on a hill. But if you drop down in a valley and are on the other side of a hill you suffer communication.

Very cool!
 
Vikes79

Vikes79

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I pulled the trigger on a Mavic Pro Platinum fly more kit for $1k. The pro2 and zoom are just a bit much for a first drone for me. Almost went with the air.

Looking forward to having fun with it!

Good news is the state parks allow drones (under 400’) and there are a few cool state off road parks that have minimal trees that I think the drone would track my P1k5 very well.

totally pumped!
 
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bobbybog

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I second the bebop2. Got it much Chatham the mavic and all the same quality. Flys awesome. I also got the air controller and FPV goggles with it. All for about $300.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I third the bebop2. Had it for over a year now with the same setup. Flies awesome and will trail you if you ask it to without any intervention from the controls.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Vikes79

Vikes79

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983' AGL = FAA violation..... psssst. I do it too....


This is confusing to me. If you take part 107, then you are supposed to adhere to the 400’.

But if you stay as a hobbyist, then you are just limited by the airspace you are in.

I’ve been following the professional drone boards for a while and this is what I’ve drawn as a conclusion. Maybe I’m off base but this seems to be the consensus.

For me 400’ agl is more than adequate for my needs.
 
Vikes79

Vikes79

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Had some fun today with the Mavic Platinum. Checked some fences across a section and the drone did very well. Still many things to tweak and adjust.

Played with the active track today. Still need to tinker with the camera settings I think.

 
CID

CID

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Had some fun today with the Mavic Platinum. Checked some fences across a section and the drone did very well. Still many things to tweak and adjust.

Played with the active track today. Still need to tinker with the camera settings I think.

When the drone is active tracking and the battery gets low, how does it know where to land? Are you supposed to keep track on the remote, know it's time to land and do so manually? Or will the drone pick a spot near the vehicle and self land? What if it decides to land in a sagebrush? :oops:

That was funny watching you try to ditch it, sharp turns and acceleration - hooligan. rofl :p
 
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Vikes79

Vikes79

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When the drone is active tracking and the battery gets low, how does it know where to land? Are you supposed to keep track on the remote, know it's time to land and do so manually? Or will the drone pick a spot near the vehicle and self land? What if it decides to land in a sagebrush? :oops:

That was funny watching you try to ditch it, sharp turns and acceleration - hooligan. rofl :p

I was trying not to tear up my pasture too much so I had it in 4wd.

My particular drone has set points for what the drone will do if signal is lost between it and the controller.

You can choose between hover, return to home and land or just land.

I set my home point landing spot when the drone takes off and set the return home height high enough that I know the drone won’t hit anything on its way to its home location.

As far as battery goes there are set points that will warn you and some that will force a landing. You do need to pay attention to the battery percentage and the wind conditions you are flying in.
 
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Vikes79

Vikes79

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Pretty cool doing a flyover the house with the drone cooking along at 40 mph!
 
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Superthrill

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I have several drones I have built from scratch. First one was a DJI f450 . 3S with a Gopro mount, A foxeer camera for first person. I can not wear the damn goggles because of presbyopia so I have a LCD screen . Built another 6S stunt drone that holds a Gopro as well. Took a while to learn to fly that one freestyle, but finally got the hang of it. I get about 15 minutes with the F450 fully loaded and the 6S freestyle about 5 minutes.
Several FRsky Taranus controllers.

Building them from scratch is what I enjoy.
 
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