Drone suggestion

[newbury]

Does anyone know what is due to come out soon? I'd hate to drop a grand on a product only to find it outdated before I get it.
Any GOOD links to online info sources for drones? I can't yet discern the reliability of various web drone sites.

 

[5030]

The first time my Drone didn't make it home I had flown a mile away, down wind. I was a novice and didn't pay any attention to remaing battery. The monitor initiated the RTH feature. The Drone was only capable of 8mph into the head wind. Critical landed in my hayfield about 1/8 mile from my launch point. Learned a valuable lesson that day.

My constant worry as well, so I have coming a GPS locator that affixes to the drone that I can activate via my phone that will locate it for me. Just like the avalanche location devices. You can move it from one to another so you only need one.

Hayfield is much better that say a wooded area or even worse, in a body of water. I don't fly until the RTH is initiated and it's not that far away anyway.

 

[5030]

Does anyone know what is due to come out soon? I'd hate to drop a grand on a product only to find it outdated before I get it.
Any GOOD links to online info sources for drones? I can't yet discern the reliability of various web drone sites.

You buy today, it's technically obsolete tomorrow...lol

I like the Autel Pilots Forum, pretty nice site with some some very technically astute folks and some good video's made with EVO's. Same with the Tello pilots forum. You learn lots of stuff on them.

I keep wondering how politics and China and the chip makers will play out concerning drones. They all require very complex chips to operate.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
Hayfield is much better that say a wooded area or even worse, in a body of water. I don't fly until the RTH is initiated and it's not that far away anyway.

Hayfield is the subdivision where my house is located in Virginia. Google Maps Can't fly drones there.

 

[5030]

What do you consider too high of winds? I don't fly in over 15 to 20mph gusts. I know it can do better and video quality is no issue. Just don't want to be blown into a tree.

That all hinges on drone size, battery capacity and terrain plus how far your RTH is. Like my tiny Tello. It's so light that any wind blows it around like a leaf so when I fly it outside it cannot be windy or I cannot control it. When I can fly the EVO and be stable, the Tello would get blown away....:laughing:

 

[newbury]

I'm looking for my first drone for two prime purposes, both in remote northeast Mississippi.
1. Monitor my rooftops - I've 7 good sized roofs mostly not visible from the ground or adjacent buildings. All surrounded by trees which drop limbs, needles, leaves etc. BUT provide a lot of shade. I'd like to be able to get a view of the tops after storms versus getting the ladder out. So that purpose could be served easily by a small limited drone.
2. Monitor my "lots", I've 7 parcels of land that have road frontage and are over 25 acres each. I'd like to be able to look at who is clearing timber on my lots. Most lots the roads run on the ridges so if I can get up a few hundred feet I should be able to see the entire lot.
I've had one guy that cleared 1/2 acre of prime 10 yr old planted pine to set up a landing so he could haul trees out from his lots. Never asked, I discovered it on Google Earth about a year later. I think this usage might require more drone power.
So any recommendations for my first drone? (As inexpensive as possible)

Well I gave up and ordered a Mavic Mini bundle from Costco for $390.
https://www.costco.com/dji-mavic-mini-bundle---gray.product.100652321.html
With recent experiences in stuff "slowing" down at the Post Office and load getting dumped on other shippers I wanted to get that this summer.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Good price on the mini.

 

[5030]

I waited 2 months for my EVO. Worth the wait however. You'll need a cell phone with at least 2MB of RAM and and a micro SD card in the phone too. 'Cause I'm old I went with a Tablet, easier to see.

 

[ovrszd]

My constant worry as well, so I have coming a GPS locator that affixes to the drone that I can activate via my phone that will locate it for me. Just like the avalanche location devices. You can move it from one to another so you only need one.

Hayfield is much better that say a wooded area or even worse, in a body of water. I don't fly until the RTH is initiated and it's not that far away anyway.

Your Autel drone will tell you where it's landed at. The red/green lights will continue to blink until the battery is exhausted. I've used these features twice.

 

[5030]

Your Autel drone will tell you where it's landed at. The red/green lights will continue to blink until the battery is exhausted. I've used these features twice.

true but if down in tall grass they aren't visible or behind a large rock or in a dip in the ground, you still need to be almost on top of it to see the pod lights. With a GPS locator on the body, it don't matter. Your phone will take you to it.

Looking back, I probably should have waited and bought an EVO II. More expensive (couple hundred more) but lots better advanced features and you can get thermal imaging too. The camera is supposedly much better as well, not that I find the EVO camera to be lacking at all. The gimbal mount on the II is different so when flying and the gimbal is level with the horizon, there is no prop intrusion into the picture frame.

Considering it took me 2 months to get the EVO, I would imagine the II would be even longer.

Controller is the same for both but different software. The only downside I have with it is the fact that the Autel cell phone attachment bracket is limited in size so in my case I had to add a tablet holder and there is an extremely limited selection available. Lots for the DJI's but not for the Autel so I was limited to either modifying one for the DJI or getting the expensive aluminum Lifthor which is what I got. I can fly with either the cell phone or the tablet but I prefer the tablet because it's easier to see for me.

Seeing the drone itself is never an issue, it's Kubota orange so it's easy to see....

 

[PILOON]

On the 400 ft drone ceiling:
Aircraft are not legal below 500 ft in unpopulated areas so drones are technically not in their airspace.
The aircraft ceiling is 1000 ft in built up areas.
Ceilings naturally don't apply near airports but then drones are not permitted either.

LOL, guess drones should be banned in areas that crop dusting occurs as they fly at crop heights.

 

[ovrszd]

We live in the flight path for the Air National Guard unit 60 miles away when they are doing low level flights. They come over my farm a couple times a month. Usually two C-130s.

I was "playing" with my Drone one day flying over my CRP fields at 300ft height. Saw the C-130s coming. I quickly landed the Drone in my field. I'm not going to cause those guys any problems. If I'm out in the field and see them coming I wave at them. They tip their wings in return.

 

[ovrszd]

In regards to "finding" my Drone if it lands out of sight. At the top of the display screen there is a circle with a "Delta Wing" symbol in the center. It points in the direction of the drone from the launch point. A numerical display tells how far away it is. In the two cases of landing in an "unknown" spot I let the screen guide me to the Drone. That might not work if the drone goes down in a place where it gets no satellite signal.

 

[5030]

Haven't lost mine yet, don't plan on it either because I'll fly 100% LOS no matter what. I'm thinking when the FIMI shows up, I may skin it in something that stands out better.

Curious to see how the Galaxy A10 does as a viewer on the Autel and the FIMI. Don't have it yet, should be here this week sometime. Got a wicked price on it too. 69 bucks plus tax and shipping.

 

[5030]

We live in the flight path for the Air National Guard unit 60 miles away when they are doing low level flights. They come over my farm a couple times a month. Usually two C-130s.

I was "playing" with my Drone one day flying over my CRP fields at 300ft height. Saw the C-130s coming. I quickly landed the Drone in my field. I'm not going to cause those guys any problems. If I'm out in the field and see them coming I wave at them. They tip their wings in return.

So do we but it's an alternate flight path so they don't fly over often and usually over 400 feet. I suspect a drone in a turbo fan would be an issue. One of my friends, ingested a drone in the feed end of his combine. No biggie with the grain table but big issue with the input housing. Drone's battery exploded and set the combine infeed on fire. He extingushed it but not before damage was done and no one came looking for the quad copter. Probably a good thing, he was pretty miffed.

I'm beginning the think that drone batteries (LiPo) can become an issue and along those lines I've been considering the fire resistant storage sleeves for them.

I see the Autel flight battery(s), if left dormant for 30 days or more will self discharge to 60% power. Interestingly, my tablet does the same thing.

 

[BigBlue1]

So, regarding the Fimi... Is there a community somewhere that has a solid user base to judge by? Like I said earlier, the reviews on Amazon and posts on the Fimi FB page show a lot of issues. But I know sometimes those aren't the most comprehensive venues. Sometimes only unhappy people post there but there may be a huge number of happy folks. So what is the drone community consensus for the Fimi?

Rob

 

[5030]

There are some comments on Drone Pilots . com but I'd PM Alien. he has one. They all have issues of one kind or another and a lot of those 'issues' can be traced right back to the end user. They are and will always be a complex electronic and physical assemblies so issues do crop up which is why there are constant updates to the software.

My suggestion to you is 'get your feet wet' with a starter drone to see if you even like droning. Dumping a grand or more on something that will sit unused is insane, unless your liquid income flows like Niagara Falls.....

I recommend a DJI Spark or the Ryze Tello which I have. The Tello has the DJI guts (processor) but is built by another company using DJI parts minus the geofencing and it's less than 100 bucks (base unit) and 135 as a bundle with 3 batteries, spare props. prop guards, battery charging hub and a case. That way, if you don't like it, you ain't out a bundle. Not everyone likes droning.

Another nice thing about the pocket drones is you can fly them indoors, sitting in your Lazy Boy and crusing around your living room, you won't be doing that with a bigger drone like an EVO or the FIMI or a Parrot or a bigger DJI because they have to be flown outside. Too dangerous to the drone and people to fly inside.... Unless of course you have an empty airplane hangar. I don't.

 

[ovrszd]

Haven't lost mine yet, don't plan on it either because I'll fly 100% LOS no matter what. I'm thinking when the FIMI shows up, I may skin it in something that stands out better.

Curious to see how the Galaxy A10 does as a viewer on the Autel and the FIMI. Don't have it yet, should be here this week sometime. Got a wicked price on it too. 69 bucks plus tax and shipping.

If you never lose visual sight of your Drone you could have bought a much cheaper Drone.

Often within 30 seconds of launch I can no longer see my Drone.

 

[5030]

If you never lose visual sight of your Drone you could have bought a much cheaper Drone.

Often within 30 seconds of launch I can no longer see my Drone.

Hard to find one in Kubota Orange Richard. I like Autel because they are here in the USA too and you can actually talk to someone who speaks good English too.

 

[Alien]

There are 2 threads on RCGroups re the FIMI
Just remember it is the 2020 model.
Official FIMI X8-SE / X8-SE 2020 Folding Quadcopter --- Owner's Thread V2 --- - RC Groups

Official FIMI X8-SE / X8-SE 2020 Folding Quadcopter --- Owner's Thread V2 --- - RC Groups

I have a lack of range problem that FIMI are working on with me atm.
Hopefully it will be sorted. Good thing is that if there are any serious problems FIMI just replace the drone straight away.
I am uploading a vid I took this morning of my local village and surrounds. I will post the link when I can.
My only disappointment was when flying towards the sun there was a bit of prop shadow visible but most drones do that at different angles. My other ones do too.
The display on my Huawei phone is exceptional and likewise for my Samsung Tab S4 but the controller can only hold up to 8" tablets like a iPad mini. As far as everything else goes, build, finish, folding, etc It met all my expectations.