RC aerial vehicles: because we don't have flying brooms

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > RC aerial vehicles: because we don't have flying brooms

Juando290: Apr 22, 2007; You stopped toe curlin in the hot tub cause you heard sperms stay alive in there and you have seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles enough times to know how that story ends.

The AR drone 2.0 is a great way to kill some time. I have owned a lot of rc flying toys, and the drone is the easiest to fly. The first drone is annoying, so avoid it.

One thing I will say is that the Ar Drone 2.0 does require a certain amount of upkeep. Half the time, even new out of the box, the props need leveling and balanced. I have to reshape mine about once every two weeks.

In terms of parts, it is literally cheaper to just buy a second drone. $300 and you have a replacement part for everything. If you buy parts, just replacing all 4 motors is $200 plus shipping, and you still have all the internal components to think about, so I went that route, and I have already pilfered a motor and a couple prop gears from it.

In terms of range, it is going to depend on interference if you have not done an RC mod to it. When I am in the city, I try not to go more than 100 feet away, but if you say...take a trip to the mountains with no wifi interference....

I will just let this YouTube stabilized video speak for itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kaNdQxggE8

# ¿ Aug 23, 2012 17:11

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 10, 2024 04:33

Juando290: Apr 22, 2007; You stopped toe curlin in the hot tub cause you heard sperms stay alive in there and you have seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles enough times to know how that story ends.

FEMA summer camp posted:

I've wanted a drone for a while now and got recently got myself a mini 3. I was flying it around a few weekends ago and a falcon (I think) attacked it. Fortunately it recovered and I got the drone back and also I was recording when it happened. Here's the frame with the best view of the culprit:

I guess my question for everyone is does this sort of thing happen very often? Do I need to start keeping a lookout for prowling birds of prey?

Additionally, how lucky was I that the drone recovered? Is recovery from mid-air collisions something that most drones can do to one extent or another?

I have not had my drone actually hit, but I did have a Bald Eagle let me know that my presence was not appreciated. I didn�t take any chances and landed pretty quickly after this aggressive fly-by.

# ¿ Sep 30, 2023 12:54

Juando290: Apr 22, 2007; You stopped toe curlin in the hot tub cause you heard sperms stay alive in there and you have seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles enough times to know how that story ends.

I have crashed a few drones over the years, but I think my last crash was like� 2018 and that was due to a sensor malfunction right at takeoff, just flipped over. Otherwise, it was probably 2012 or 13. Since then I am far more careful. I won�t deny that quite often I fly my current drones several miles away, but in unpopulated low fire risk areas or over open water and follow a checklist before take off and after initial takeoff (proper return to home elevations, adsbexchange flight radar check, etc) but yeah, I do love flying over oceans and lakes just because of the freedom it provides. We will see if my preferences change the day I lose one in the drink.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2024 04:51

Juando290: Apr 22, 2007; You stopped toe curlin in the hot tub cause you heard sperms stay alive in there and you have seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles enough times to know how that story ends.

LifeSunDeath posted:

there's some interesting software option edge cases that seem to make it way more likely to crash. One being if you put obstacle avoidance on bypass instead of slow down, when you do any banking the drone almost goes to 45degrees, basically does the fastest/hardest banks possible. so if you're just flying around low to the ground with that option set you'll have it do violent banks sidways (where I don't have sensors) and it is very likely to crash. It makes no sense but that's what happens.

Also I've had a new problem where once I take off, I'm stable and have gps lock everything is fine, but when I first get to altitude of like 100ft plus my drone starts drifting, then after about a minute of flying it straightens out and doesn't have the problem again. anyway, lessons to learn, you can in fact drift into stuff on accident but if you're really familiar with these dumb nuances you can avoid issues.

Well look at you with your fancy obstacle avoidance sensors, not all of us can afford pro versions of DJI products.

I kid though, I really want a mini 4 pro but can�t justify the expense when my mini 3 and parrot bebop 2 are in perfect working order.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2024 04:59

Juando290: Apr 22, 2007; You stopped toe curlin in the hot tub cause you heard sperms stay alive in there and you have seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles enough times to know how that story ends.

Beve Stuscemi posted:

No one has eclipsed the bebop�s in-app route planning and it�s frankly wild that it�s still the best all these years on.

I loved running pre-planned routes with my bebop

Part of why I have not retired it. I am always amazed at how pinpoint it is on waypoint flights on its timing. I can set a watch to its estimate of how long the flight will take and it is always within a few seconds. I was kind of annoyed that the non pro mini 3 didn�t have waypoint flight when it is many years newer and cost quite a bit more than my bebop� I didn�t research because I just assumed newer (like, 6 years + newer) name brand would get me the same or better features, so that�s on me. But the range and flight time on my mini 3 is easily 2 to almost 3 times better. The farthest I ever managed with the bebop was about two miles away under control, but my mini easily goes 5 miles away with a strong signal if I am at elevation in non inhabited places.

# ¿ Feb 22, 2024 05:03

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 10, 2024 04:33

Juando290: Apr 22, 2007; You stopped toe curlin in the hot tub cause you heard sperms stay alive in there and you have seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles enough times to know how that story ends.

Bizarro Kanyon posted:

I am now looking at a DJI mini 4 pro (thanks for the recommendation) especially for the omnidirectional obstacle sensing. I see 2 bundles on Amazon for $1,379 each. One has a �full USA warranty with a 1 year DJI refresh plan� and another has a �full USA warranty with a 2 year extended CPS warranty�.

Which one is the better option to go with?

As someone that has to deal with warranties at work on a daily basis, always go with the one from the manufacturer. The manufacturer has a vested interest in keeping you happy with their product to eventually buy more of their products. Outside warranty companies make money by selling extended warranties and then crossing their fingers that they don�t have to pay out, and they will fight like hell to minimize the outflow of money.

# ¿ Feb 23, 2024 07:03

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > RC aerial vehicles: because we don't have flying brooms