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ImplicitAssembler
Jan 24, 2013

Bruce is full of poo poo in general and of course he would prefer that footage to be fake.
It mostly looks real. It gets enough things right, that I doubt they would screw up on something like placing the camera/safety plane wrong.

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Splode
Jun 18, 2013

put some clothes on you little freak

ImplicitAssembler posted:

Bruce is full of poo poo in general and of course he would prefer that footage to be fake.
It mostly looks real. It gets enough things right, that I doubt they would screw up on something like placing the camera/safety plane wrong.

Yeah it's not fake. Bruce is halfway between a tinfoil hat wearing internet wacko and the usual old boomer who writes endless complaints about nothing to his local council. I have no idea why he has any traction with anyone.

Prefect Six
Mar 27, 2009

rage-saq posted:

Ordered my Mavic Air 2 yesterday, it’ll show up Tuesday. Can’t wait to fly it!

I got mine Monday and have been flying it non-stop. Took some really dumb videos of the kids, threw the footage in Premiere, added dubstep and now I'm up for an Oscar.

i own every Bionicle
Oct 23, 2005

cstm ttle? kthxbye

Prefect Six posted:

I got mine Monday and have been flying it non-stop. Took some really dumb videos of the kids, threw the footage in Premiere, added dubstep and now I'm up for an Oscar.

Start a vlog about it please, there’s a dearth of those

rage-saq
Mar 21, 2001

Thats so ninja...

i own every Bionicle posted:

Start a vlog about it please, there’s a dearth of those

NGL I think live-streaming with it would be fun but you’d need more than 1 phone to do it with properly so it wouldn’t be fun

Beve Stuscemi
Jun 6, 2001




A twitch stream where the chat gets to vote on which FAA rule you break next

rage-saq
Mar 21, 2001

Thats so ninja...

Jim Silly-Balls posted:

A twitch stream where the chat gets to vote on which FAA rule you break next

Chat votes 90% to fly closer to the blue angels

Beve Stuscemi
Jun 6, 2001




Got sucked into a jet engine, FBI is on their way can I get an F in the chat folks

Prefect Six
Mar 27, 2009

i own every Bionicle posted:

Start a vlog about it please, there’s a dearth of those

I keep forgetting this is a comedy website.

Spoke Lee
Dec 31, 2004

chairizard lol
I'm interested in getting my first drone, but was wondering about control. Is there a way to connect your controller to your pc or an app so you can control it via software but still get the full range? Interested in getting one but I can't physically use a controller but want to be able to fly it farther than it says the app (DJI) says it does alone.

Corky Romanovsky
Oct 1, 2006

Soiled Meat
What sort of flying are you wanting to do? Videography? General pleasure flights? Proximity flying? People do assemble their own vehicles with commercially available flight controllers to do computer plotted flights beyond visual range (rules have been changed/clarified regarding BVR).

Spoke Lee
Dec 31, 2004

chairizard lol
For now just for fun, but would like to use it for videography down the road.. The ocean is at the end of my street and it would be nice to just be chilling in my room checking out the ocean. Despite being so close I haven't been able to get out there since I was like 25 years.

I saw something called FlytBase that looked like it might be something to look into but it's $99 a month.

sleppy
Dec 25, 2008

I'm not too sure on the DJI side of things, and my only exposure to the tool is watching a few of this guy's videos, but Ardupilot might be a free alternative that suits your needs.

ImplicitAssembler
Jan 24, 2013

Ardupilot can definitely do it, but it's really not something you can buy off-the-shelf and building it will require it done in stages, most of the initial steps requiring a regular control set up, so you will need help with the initial build and set-up.

It will also be illegal to do in most places.

Rontalvos
Feb 22, 2006
This isn't a quadcopter but it's still a drone of sorts, an autopiloted plane checking out the ocean. This guy is using a 4G cellular connection to pipe the digital fpv feed to the iPad.

https://youtu.be/dxj8JwdQ7Lk

i own every Bionicle
Oct 23, 2005

cstm ttle? kthxbye

Spoke Lee posted:

I'm interested in getting my first drone, but was wondering about control. Is there a way to connect your controller to your pc or an app so you can control it via software but still get the full range? Interested in getting one but I can't physically use a controller but want to be able to fly it farther than it says the app (DJI) says it does alone.

How far does it have to go specifically? Just thinking if you are stuck inside your walls/trees/other buildings will reduce range quite a bit.

Litchi gets recommended as a non-controller app sometimes but I have no direct experience with it.

Elendil004
Mar 22, 2003

The prognosis
is not good.


Technically without a waiver (which aren't hard to get but Spike Lee you probably wouldn't be able to meet any of the hurdles to get the LOS one) you can't fly out of line of sight. That said, the FAA clearly doesn't give a poo poo about actually holding anyone accountable unless you fly in front of the Blue Angels. You fly down your road to the ocean you're 99.9% fine.

Beve Stuscemi
Jun 6, 2001




Rontalvos posted:

This isn't a quadcopter but it's still a drone of sorts, an autopiloted plane checking out the ocean. This guy is using a 4G cellular connection to pipe the digital fpv feed to the iPad.

https://youtu.be/dxj8JwdQ7Lk

This works exactly the same for the parrot drones, they have basically the same software.

I can only speak to parrot, not DJI, because its what I have, but the Parrot Flight Plan software is extremely awesome. You lay out waypoints on google maps, set the height of the waypoints, camera direction (if you need it somewhere other than straight forwards), flight speed between waypoints, points of interest if you want (POI's automatically focus the camera on the POI for any waypoints you select). It gives you an estimated flight time and if EFT < Battery life flight time, you pres butan and go.

The drone can and will fly outside of the video link range and "maximum allowable range" autonomously. If you've set your flight plan up correctly, it will come back to you no matter how far it goes out of range because it can navigate via GPS. If you are homebound but can get outside to launch a drone, this will serve you well. If you do the 4G LTE mod, you will get live video no matter how far the drone is away from you, as long as both you and the drone have LTE service

The new Parrot Anafi has 20-30 minutes of flight time, so plan for about 40% battery on the way out, 40% on the way back (wind dependent), 10% reserve and you should be OK

E4C85D38
Feb 7, 2010

Doesn't that thing only
hold six rounds...?

I've been looking into getting a microquad or at least getting in line for one. Since I last did research, all the transmitters I know of are discontinued. What's the current recommendation for an entry level OpenTX device?

Spoke Lee
Dec 31, 2004

chairizard lol
Distance is about 1,200 ft to the ocean. That video looks so fun. There are a ton of little islands and passageways in the marshes in the half mile radius around my house.

That Anafi was the other one I was looking at. I have it between that and the Mavic Air 2 depending on what can do what I'm looking for. Is Flight Plan the equivalent to the Ground Station software from DJI? Although I don't think it's compatible with the Air 2.

My gf helps me with anything I need and usually gets invested in whatever I've got going on, so having someone to help launch it isn't a problem.

some kinda jackal
Feb 25, 2003

 
 

E4C85D38 posted:

I've been looking into getting a microquad or at least getting in line for one. Since I last did research, all the transmitters I know of are discontinued. What's the current recommendation for an entry level OpenTX device?

Turnigy 9x is still super basic, sold, and openTX supported I think. Then again I haven't updated mine in 2+ years so I'm just guessing at the "supported" part :ohdear:

Splode
Jun 18, 2013

put some clothes on you little freak
Jumper t8 is meant to be alright, but transmitters are one of those things where you only need one so you may as well get a good one. I've got the x lite but the radiomaster tx16 is the current crowd favourite. Especially since FrSky managed to piss off everyone in the hobby by loving around with backwards compatibility breaking protocol changes

evil_bunnY
Apr 2, 2003

Martytoof posted:

Turnigy 9x is still super basic, sold, and openTX supported I think. Then again I haven't updated mine in 2+ years so I'm just guessing at the "supported" part :ohdear:
that’s very old and there are better options now.

I'd never buy a frsky controller in TYOOL 2020, there's just too much hassle, and have fun updating all the receivers you buy, and fighting with all the BNF models you get.

A Jumper T12 pro is probably a good option. If it were me I'd get the new radiomaster TX16s or jumper T18 but that's more money and you might not want the added features.

evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 14:11 on May 21, 2020

Corky Romanovsky
Oct 1, 2006

Soiled Meat
Happy with the Jumper T16. My stock version of firmware might have an intermittent signal loss with dsmx, which likely was addressed in an update. Only had a near miss with a long flight that I'm not convinced wasn't an antenna alignment issue. Zero issues with fhss and D8/D16. Sounds like a tossup between the latest Jumper T16 variant and the aforementioned Radiomaster (they are the same radio except for fairly minor differences but likely game breakers depending on your personal use cases).

some kinda jackal
Feb 25, 2003

 
 
Interesting! Are there any decent radios that can take an HDMI or other video output for on-controller FPV? I've got a HMD coming in the mail but if I could replace my 9x with something that I didn't have to frankenstein a screen onto that would be aces. Not that I'm looking to get rid of my 9x right now -- suits my limited use.

Captain Toasted
Jan 3, 2009

Martytoof posted:

Interesting! Are there any decent radios that can take an HDMI or other video output for on-controller FPV? I've got a HMD coming in the mail but if I could replace my 9x with something that I didn't have to frankenstein a screen onto that would be aces. Not that I'm looking to get rid of my 9x right now -- suits my limited use.

Easiest way of doing this would probably be to get an FPV watch and Velcro it to your radio. I don’t know of any radios that have a built in FPV screen


https://www.getfpv.com/topsky-2-fpv-watch-w-48ch-5-8ghz-receiver.html

evil_bunnY
Apr 2, 2003

Corky Romanovsky posted:

Happy with the Jumper T16. My stock version of firmware might have an intermittent signal loss with dsmx, which likely was addressed in an update. Only had a near miss with a long flight that I'm not convinced wasn't an antenna alignment issue. Zero issues with fhss and D8/D16. Sounds like a tossup between the latest Jumper T16 variant and the aforementioned Radiomaster (they are the same radio except for fairly minor differences but likely game breakers depending on your personal use cases).
The original T16's have the lovely ribbons which I wouldn't want. Ask you dealer to check the later ones come with actual wires.

Martytoof posted:

Interesting! Are there any decent radios that can take an HDMI or other video output for on-controller FPV? I've got a HMD coming in the mail but if I could replace my 9x with something that I didn't have to frankenstein a screen onto that would be aces. Not that I'm looking to get rid of my 9x right now -- suits my limited use.

Bumble Dong posted:

I don’t know of any radios that have a built in FPV screen
https://www.getfpv.com/topsky-2-fpv-watch-w-48ch-5-8ghz-receiver.html
There's a good reason the new Tango 2 doesn't come with a VRx/screen like the original. The VRx watch seems great, partly because you can also toss it to someone as a ridealong screen.

evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 20:31 on May 20, 2020

Prefect Six
Mar 27, 2009

Spoke Lee posted:

Distance is about 1,200 ft to the ocean. That video looks so fun. There are a ton of little islands and passageways in the marshes in the half mile radius around my house.

That Anafi was the other one I was looking at. I have it between that and the Mavic Air 2 depending on what can do what I'm looking for. Is Flight Plan the equivalent to the Ground Station software from DJI? Although I don't think it's compatible with the Air 2.

My gf helps me with anything I need and usually gets invested in whatever I've got going on, so having someone to help launch it isn't a problem.

DJI Fly is the app that the Air 2 uses exclusively as far as I know. If you want to see what authorization zones exist around you, you can go to DJI's website here: https://www.dji.com/flysafe/self-unlock

Type in your address and you'll see what restrictions exist. You can self-unlock a blue zone, but not a red zone.

rage-saq
Mar 21, 2001

Thats so ninja...
Got my Mavic Air 2, charged a battery up to 70%, did the updates, registered with the FAA, and took it for a quick 10 minute spin. The only other drone I've briefly flown like this was my brothers Phantom 3 Standard.
This thing is crazy, so effortless to fly around and when this thing is sport mode it accelerates fast, I love it!
I bought a tile sticker tracker I intended on sticking on this thing to help find it in the event it gets stuck somewhere I can't quite see but I actually can't find anywhere that has a flat surface except for the top which I think is where the antennae live? I could stick it on a leg but not much adhesive will be hitting it, I guess I could add a ziptie?

Beve Stuscemi
Jun 6, 2001




Tiles are only good to like 150 feet which will be pretty useless on a lost drone. The only way to really track them is one of two ways:

1) Go off the last GPS signal it managed to send before it crashed/ran out of battery/whatever. It will be somewhere around there. This doesn't always work or happen though

2) Get one of the LTE cellular trackers that can report their location back over the cellular network. This is really the only foolproof way, barring a crash so bad that it takes the tracker out too

rage-saq
Mar 21, 2001

Thats so ninja...

Jim Silly-Balls posted:

Tiles are only good to like 150 feet which will be pretty useless on a lost drone. The only way to really track them is one of two ways:

1) Go off the last GPS signal it managed to send before it crashed/ran out of battery/whatever. It will be somewhere around there. This doesn't always work or happen though

2) Get one of the LTE cellular trackers that can report their location back over the cellular network. This is really the only foolproof way, barring a crash so bad that it takes the tracker out too

Yeah, I've looked at some of the LTE stuff and they are a little expensive and have ongoing costs, maybe I'll grab one later. The tile sticker is cheap and better than literally nothing as with the Tile network there is help from other peoples phones nearby. I certainly don't plan on relying it or altering my behavior because of it.
It's a little intimidating how much power this thing has and how easily it can just *go*, I'll be babying it a while getting a feel for the controls and making adjustments in the software.

some kinda jackal
Feb 25, 2003

 
 
I got my EV-800D in the mail today.

Impression timeline:

- Oh this box looks chintzy
- Oh this unit looks super cheap
*puts on*
- Oh wow this is super clear I LOVE it

I think I'm going to enjoy this. Now need to make time to get outside.

Warbird
May 23, 2012

America's Favorite Dumbass

Would it be worth the hassle of getting a part 107 if I’m only going to be doing revenue generating activities occasionally? My wife’s got it in her head that we should do a side hustle of photography (drone and regular) and I can’t see any series of events that would balance out the additional insurance and other assorted joys I’d licensed flying.

Captain Toasted
Jan 3, 2009

Warbird posted:

Would it be worth the hassle of getting a part 107 if I’m only going to be doing revenue generating activities occasionally? My wife’s got it in her head that we should do a side hustle of photography (drone and regular) and I can’t see any series of events that would balance out the additional insurance and other assorted joys I’d licensed flying.

If you’re going to make money off of it you have to have your part 107 as far as I’m aware. You only get to fly for free if it’s for hobby purposes

rage-saq
Mar 21, 2001

Thats so ninja...
I'm pretty quickly getting the feel that my Iphone 11 Pro is too small while flying and I'm thinking of a cheap android tablet. I'd get a used iPad mini but honestly its a bit overkill for this.
Anyone have a favorite that is worth it? The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 seems to hit a sweet spot of specs/price/size. The Asus Zenpad Z8s also looks decent as well.

mobby_6kl
Aug 9, 2009

Has anyone tried both the Mavic Air and Air 2? I've seen the specs of course, but IRL, how do they compare? I first thought I could do with the Mini, but then a used Air seemed like a good idea. Now presumably the OG Air would be cheaper but there's also the shiny new ones...


rage-saq posted:

I'm pretty quickly getting the feel that my Iphone 11 Pro is too small while flying and I'm thinking of a cheap android tablet. I'd get a used iPad mini but honestly its a bit overkill for this.
Anyone have a favorite that is worth it? The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 seems to hit a sweet spot of specs/price/size. The Asus Zenpad Z8s also looks decent as well.
Haven't tried either myself but maybe the Fire HD or Walmart's 8" Onn? If that's really what it's going to be used for, you probably don't need anything more than that.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/05/walmarts-99-android-tablet-actually-looks-pretty-good/

Elendil004
Mar 22, 2003

The prognosis
is not good.


Bumble Dong posted:

If you’re going to make money off of it you have to have your part 107 as far as I’m aware. You only get to fly for free if it’s for hobby purposes

Correct, any commercial use requires a 107 (or one of the other more complex solutions)

Leandros
Dec 14, 2008

More issues :smith:
While waiting for my trashcan replacement parts I decided to give my big quad another try. I made some circles and it went fine, but then I crashed into a net behind a playing field and got it stuck in there. I disarmed it immediately and went to fetch it, but ever since then it's got seemingly multiple issues:
-The FC (Holybro Kakute F7) won't connect over USB, even when completely removed from all other components. I tried 2 computers and multiple cables that I have just used for other data work. When connecting it, the processor gets hot to the touch very rapidly
-When powered on, the ESC (Holybro Tekko32 4in1) will give the first 3 beeps as usual but anything following that being wholly unpredictable. After a while it might randomly spin motors, with no TX involved. Checked continuity between battery terminals and ESC outputs, and it seemed fine, no shorts.
-When everything is hooked up and powered over battery, the RX (FlySky x6b) LED will at shine normal brightness for a second or 2 and send over battery telemetry to my TX, and then fade and flicker, and stop transmitting telemetry. When just connecting it over the USB cable, the FC will still power up the RX and it'll work fine, giving back battery telemetry (none being connected, but it still transmits it properly)
What did I break now? :saddowns:

aunt jenkins
Jan 12, 2001

Sounds like FC (at least) is megaborked, sorry friend

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Beve Stuscemi
Jun 6, 2001




Sometimes in a sudden motor stop the current rush can cry seemingly unrelated things depending on how the current is routed.

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