Def Droning on again

[Grant Lamontagne]

I shot this low video over the water yesterday and I thought it was kind of cool!



I put the drone in FPV mode which means the camera moves with the drone (you "lean" into turns) rather than remaining level the whole time, and I thought that was a cool effect.

Anyways, hope you all enjoy!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yesterday was a beautiful day and a holiday here, so everyone went out on their boats.  I thought it was a great opportunity to get some filming done, and here are some of the results.





More to come.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

It was a calm morning and I was up early so I decided to see what was going on in Halifax Harbour.  I sent my Mini 2 out and caught this Coast Guard vessel sneaking back in!



I took some other shots too, but this is the best one so far.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

A couple of good shots today!

I went out specifically to shoot some footage of the two merchant ships and maybe the red Coast Guard ship today, but on my way home I noticed the float barge with another ship on it.  I decided to stop and put the drone in the air again, only to find out that the ship on the barge was the Navy's newest ship!

These ships, known as AOPS vessels are designed to patrol the Arctic region, which is seeing more traffic than ever as climate change keeps the waters free of ice for longer and longer periods.  Here is some info on the AOPS vessels if anyone is interested:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_DeWolf-class_offshore_patrol_vessel

I believe this one is the HMCS William Hall, in case anyone is keeping track!  Also, in the second photo you get to see the Coast Guard Zodiac monitoring things, the three tugs that are putting the barge into position, the pilot boat (tiny one on the left) and the Coast Guard boat and two merchant vessels from the first pic.  It was a busy day in the Bedford Basin today!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Not a bad result considering I don't get out to fly nearly as much as I would like.

Def

[Aloha]

You were busy enjoying flying.   .  Guess I can mention my partners son will be going to Army boot camp in august.  His job will be to fly UAVs. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

That's very cool!

The war in Ukraine has certainly proven the value of these things in modern warfare!  Although I am sure the drones he gets to use are going to be radically different from mine!

Def

[Aloha]

I saw some micro drones recently.  They are so neat wizzing about and nimble. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah they are very cool, as are racing drones.  Some FPV stuff is really cool too- it's amazing what can be done when you are immersed in it rather than just looking at a screen.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I got my nephews these cheap Amazon drones for Christmas.  They seemed to enjoy them!

They aren't on the same level as my DJI models, but given the number of things they were flown into, it's probably a good thing they weren't higher end models!

For $50 Amazon specials, they seemed to work well enough.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

My father is visiting for a couple of weeks and we have been out flying our drones every chance we can get!

Here is a pic of Dad with his DJI Mini 3 Pro- he upgraded from the Mini 2 after an incident with the garage.   

I thought something with obstacle avoidance would be a good thing!

Def

[Aloha]

DAD!!!   

Thats awesome. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Not bad for a guy in his 80's!

 

Def

[Outback in Idaho]

  How do you see where these are at when you are flying them?

  I bought a cheaper Holy Stone one and  we get carpy cellular service here. I doubt the iPhone 11 is going to give me a head's up video or GPS, or however y'all do it.

[Grant Lamontagne]

  How do you see where these are at when you are flying them?

  I bought a cheaper Holy Stone one and  we get carpy cellular service here. I doubt the iPhone 11 is going to give me a head's up video or GPS, or however y'all do it.

There are multiple ways to see what you are doing, and where you are doing it when flying.  I can't speak to a Holy Stone drone as I don't have one, but I do have several DJI models.  I would imagine the Holy Stone software has to have at least some of the below features?  What model do you have?  Maybe I can look up some specs and try to help a bit.

1- If you are close enough, you can see the drone itself.  Unless the drone is under 250 grams, you have to be able to see it at all times during flight, according to the FAA.

2- There is a live camera feed when you connect the remote to a phone/tablet/ipad.  You can see in real time what the drone "sees" so you can see where you are going, and if there are any obstacles etc.  This doesn't rely on cell towers, so crappy connection shouldn't matter too much.

3- The drone uses GPS to provide real time map locations on Google Maps, and includes a blue "bread crumb" line showing where you have been, a red line showing the most direct path to the home point and the drone shows up as a small chevron to show which way it is pointed.

4- Along the bottom of the screen there is speed, distance, altitude and climb rate information that tells you how far away the drone is, what height it is at (relative to the Home Point) etc.

5- Larger drones (like my Phantom 4) also have a compass to show me which direction the drone is facing, relative to the compass points.  This info is also available using the map, but my Phantom goes a bit further to provide more info.

Here are a couple of links that may help you too:

https://www.idaho.gov/driving/aircraft-drones/

https://drone-laws.com/drone-laws-in-idaho/

https://uavcoach.com/drone-laws-idaho/

I cannot speak to the accuracy of the info in those links- it's just what came up in a quick Google Search, as I am nowhere near Idaho, nor do I have any plans to fly drones there any time soon! 

A quick search of Holy Stone software in the google Play Store shows a very similar interface to the DJI software, although there does seem to be a number of different apps, likely depending on the model you have.  If you are one of those folks that has tried your drone without connecting it to your phone so you can learn to control it first, stop doing that and connect your phone! 

You are severely hampering your ability to control the drone without being connected to a screen.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I have actually added to my airfleet quite a bit on the past year, mostly due to the passing of my friend who flew drones professionally.  I have a few to add to this thread, but I'm going to start with the latest addition- the Parrot Anafi.

As the name might imply, this one was manufactured by French drone maker Parrot and was their first step towards enterprise drones and away from consumer drones.

The Anafi wasn't as polished as the offerings from DJI, but it did offer some things DJI didn't- most notably, the ability to look up.

This drone was released in July of 2018 and was able to swivel it's camera 90 degrees up and 90 degrees down.  DJI wouldn't gain the ability to look up until December 2022 when they released the Mini 3 and Mini 3 Pro, which still really can't go a full 90 degrees upwards.

Taking a shot at DJI was a huge risk, as DJI has consistently owned about 75-80 percent of the global drone market, but Parrot had another trick up their sleeve-they were French, which, by definition, meant they weren't Chinese.

When DJI products were blacklisted by the US government, Parrot attempted to swoop in with their own enterprise drones and supply the various drone using departments with Parrot models, most notably the Anafi USA.

As I mentioned though, the Anafi isn't as refined as DJI products, and this one does suffer from connection issues and a complete lack of obstacle avoidance sensors.

Still, this particular drone saved Frank's posterior at least once when the DJI software geolocked him from flying in an area that DJI felt was sensitive. 

Transport Canada, the organization that governs where we can fly in Canada, didn't actually have this area listed as a No Fly Zone, but the DJI software isn't something you can argue with.

As this was a paying job and Frank needed to fly, he put away the several DJI models he usually carried with him, he pulled this one out and did the job with it.

The controller is more like a game controller, but seems to do everything you need.  I haven't had a huge amount of time to play with this one yet.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

This one is hilarious.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SGZnEbR62FZNYayR9

I was trying to get some cool shots of various tools with the Mini 2, which is absolutely the wrong camera for the job.  I still really wanted to try, so I did.

When I noticed the drone swinging really wide, I didn't want to be in the shot so I hid.  As the drone continued to circle I filmed what appears to be my own corpse, left to rot in the woods! 

 

Def

[SteveC]

 

[powernoodle]

     

I took the first pic below with my old-school DJI Mini, which I think is no longer sold.  One of my neighbors is a mentally ill chemist and hoarder, who over the last 19 years collected a variety of chemicals including 1.5 lbs. of cyanide.  He's a good guy who would never harm a flea, but his house became such a danger to the community that the EPA came in and tore it to the ground.  Local authorities at first wanted to burn it, but wiser heads from the EPA prevailed.  Note the wall of metal containers to protect the nearby houses from explosion.  Subsequent pics were taken by a news station drone.  I did not want to fly too close while the feds are here.  My street has been blocked off intermittently for 3 months, with a 24/7 police presence.  Good times.

I'm considering upgrading to a new drone, as my current one uses my cell phone as the view screen which is cumbersome and not awesome.  A dedicated controller would be groovy.





Its a sad thing really.  In the midst of his mental illness, my neighbor was at my house earlier this year telling me how the government was after him.  We ended up calling the police so he could be evaluated.  But the irony was that his prophesy turned out to be true.  The government really did throw him in jail and tear his house down.
 

[Grant Lamontagne]

That's terrible.  Poor guy- mental illness is a horrible problem that far too many people ignore.

But back on topic, yes, the original Mavic Mini is indeed long since discontinued.  It was the first in the sub 250g series from DJI, and that is significant because everything over 250g requires a license in many countries.

The Mavic Mini was so successful that it was broken out of the Mavic line and from the Mini 2 on they were part of the Mini series and no longer carry the Mavic name.

Since the original Mini was released there has been the Mini 2, the Mini 2 SE (which has a 2.8k camera versus the standard Mini 2 which has a 4K camera), the Mini 3, Mini 3 Pro and now the Mini 4 which was just released a month or two ago.

Each iteration seems to be quite a significant leap better than the previous ones.  That's not to say you should get the latest and greatest, as there are some great deals on each of the discontinued models now.

I have a Mini 3 Pro, and my 82 year old father flies a Mini 3 Pro after crashing his Mini 2 pretty hard into the side of the garage.   

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Mini series, and I honestly see little reason to go to a higher end model unless you need something specific,  like thermal cameras, ultra super zoom lenses etc.

Def

[powernoodle]

What I want the most is a dedicated controller, so I don't have to use my cell phone as a view screen.  Its not a great setup, though it does work.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Pretty much all of the Mini series works off a dedicated controller.  There was a controller for the original Mini- I didn't know if could be controlled with just a phone.

Are you sure it's a Mini and not a Tello or Spark?

Def

[powernoodle]

It is Def-inately a DJI Mavic Mini.

 

I could be mistaken - and would like to be - but I don't think there is a stand-alone controller option for this one.  The controller that comes with it looks like the one in the link below.  It holds the cell phone with the two arms that hang down beneath it, but this is a jiggy setup which is prolly why they abandoned it.

Its all good.  I may just drop some coinage on one of the entry level DJI variants that has a view screen.  I am wholly amateur in the drone game, and just buzz it around here and there for the fun of it.

Ebay link:  https://tinyurl.com/mrxrmwkj

[pfrsantos]

This one is hilarious.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SGZnEbR62FZNYayR9

I was trying to get some cool shots of various tools with the Mini 2, which is absolutely the wrong camera for the job.  I still really wanted to try, so I did.

When I noticed the drone swinging really wide, I didn't want to be in the shot so I hid.  As the drone continued to circle I filmed what appears to be my own corpse, left to rot in the woods! 

 

Def

 

[Grant Lamontagne]

It is Def-inately a DJI Mavic Mini.

 

I could be mistaken - and would like to be - but I don't think there is a stand-alone controller option for this one.  The controller that comes with it looks like the one in the link below.  It holds the cell phone with the two arms that hang down beneath it, but this is a jiggy setup which is prolly why they abandoned it.

Its all good.  I may just drop some coinage on one of the entry level DJI variants that has a view screen.  I am wholly amateur in the drone game, and just buzz it around here and there for the fun of it.

Ebay link:  https://tinyurl.com/mrxrmwkj

Okay, I mistook your meaning.  I believe you are looking for a controller with a built in screen, which was optional on the Mini 3 and 4.

Some drones are flown entirely from your phone, with no physical controller.  The control sticks are seen on the screen.  I thought that is what you meant.

My father has the controller with the screen built in, and it has some benefits over using a phone, but using a phone has other benefits.  Personally I rarely use my phone, preferring to use a tablet or iPad instead.  It's a much bigger screen and much easier to reference the info being provided.

That controller wasn't as easy to use a tablet with, but it's not impossible.

Def

[powernoodle]

  

[Grant Lamontagne]

Some benefits of this controller are that you can snap a still image while recording video.  With mine, I prefer to use a tablet for the bigger screen, and so I have to choose picture or video.  The shutter button is the same button as the record button on mine, and it just depends on which mode you are in.

With the controller pictures here, there are seperate shutter and record buttons. That allows you to take seperate still images rather than trying to pull a still from a video.

You don't want to try and pull a still from a video of you can avoid it as videos need to have motion blur to look smooth, so pulling a still image from a video always shows a less defined image than just taking a still.

There are a few other benefits, but I have had a bit too much wine tonight to go into details.

Happy Halloween!   

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

This is the DJI Mini 3 Pro that I fly most often nowadays. 

It also belonged to Frank, and was the first piece of equipment I got from his estate.  There have been a few drones since, but I'll get to them eventually.

The Mini 3 Pro is similar to the Mini 2 in that it's a sub 250g drone (sort of, more on that in a moment) which makes it legal to fly in most areas without a license.

It has two different battery sizes, although they are indistinguishable just by looking at them.  The standard battery gives you around 30 minutes of flight time, and, with a standard battery installed, the drone is under the 250g limit.

The extended battery gives you about 40 minutes of flight time, but puts the drone just over 250g, which means that you should register it and have a license to fly it. 

I have registered it and I have a license, so not a big deal either way.

But what really differentiates it from the Mini 2 is the bulbous eyes you see mounted on top of it- those are object detection sensors, and there are actually two more pointed backwards, giving the Mini 3 the ability to detect objects, which the exceptional software then plots a course around

I haven't torture tested it myself, but I have seen videos with people walking down heavily wooded trails and the drone follows them, avoiding all of the tiny branches.  Since they torture tested it, I don't feel the need to.  It's nice to know it does that though!

It also has a few other features, like the camera switching from portrait to landscape mode (the actual, physical camera rotates 90 degrees, not just fancy software cropping)  which is handy for IG and TikTok of you are that young and cool.  I'm not, so other than flipping it up and down to show people, it's not something I do terribly often.

It's recently been replaced by the Mini 4, which adds (among other things) side to side object detection and avoidance as well, but as I'm more of an enthusiast than a business person, I don't see me getting into the Mini 4 any time soon.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I had my Parrot Anafi out yesterday for some amusement at work, and I seem to have screwed up royally.  I got better pictures OF the drone than I took WITH the drone!   

Still, here it is, doing what it does best!

Def

[powernoodle]