Anyone experienced in Quadcopters?

[Thunderbolt]

That seems to be the correct term.  Thinking I want to try one.  My grandson bought a small one with a camera and of course I want the GrandPa version.  Bigger and better.  FPV (First Person View) so I can see where I am flying and one that knows where home is would be nice.
Hoping someone has some information.  You can pm me if you like.

[Bighead]

That will make good target practice

[dreamaker]

That seems to be the correct term.  Thinking I want to try one.  My grandson bought a small one with a camera and of course I want the GrandPa version.  Bigger and better.  FPV (First Person View) so I can see where I am flying and one that knows where home is would be nice.
Hoping someone has some information.  You can pm me if you like.

Check out for info

http://www.dji.com/

Prices, check

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Shop-by-Brand-DJI/ci/4/phd/4047623981/N/4294255798/

Phantom I,  prices are reasonable.
If you want more info you cam PM me.

[hubcapsc]

My brother-in-law had one I thought was pretty cool. Controlled it
with a smart phone app. He opened it up at the family Christmas
gathering and launched it in his mother's house - the kids would
never have gotten away with that  ...

It had GPS so it could "return home" if it flew out of range of
the controller.

Then one day, while he was using it, it just flew away.

I wonder if people hack those things?

-Mike

[dreamaker]

There is an App that tracks the location by GPS of the quad, I don't know if it would, some how work after the fact. May be it didn't fly away, just ran out of juice and is sitting in a tree somewhere.

[The emperor has no clothes]

There is an App that tracks the location by GPS of the quad, I don't know is it would some how work after the fact. May be it didn't fly away, just ran out of juice and is sitting in a tree somewhere.

Or in Bigheads backyard full of buckshot 

[hubcapsc]

There is an App that tracks the location by GPS of the quad, I don't know is it would some how work after the fact. May be it didn't fly away, just ran out of juice and is sitting in a tree somewhere.

Or in Bigheads backyard full of buckshot 

I wasn't there, but I imagine him mashing away at the buttons on his
controller while watching it fly out of sight... 

-Mike

[Thunderbolt]

Thanks to Dreamaker for the links.  Still contemplating my navel.  When I buy things I tend to buy the best I can afford because if I don't I end up buying the better one later.
Yeah Mike if you search all of Craigslist and put in quad copter you will get a bunch of hits that say something like "quad copter lost in the area of such and such st. in a certain town"

[dreamaker]

Don't get the impression the Phantom is a toy, because it is not. In fact it is probably one of the more sophisticated ones on the market. They also offer many more advanced options for the their UAV's you can add.

Tip: When a UAV uses a number on the model name, it usually indicates the distance from center to center of the motors. Example: I have a Flame Wheel F-450, which means it is 450mm from center to center.  Phantoms are about 360mm FYI! Good reference for visualizing size.

[MarkT]

I have a drone hunting license.  I understand #6 shot with 3"magnum loads are the best.

[The emperor has no clothes]

I have a drone hunting license.  I understand #6 shot with 3"magnum loads are the best.

I know very little about these things. But I'm curious why an ultralight pilot would feel so strongly against them. Surely you have been above houses in your planes ? Or maybe not. We have a Hot Air Baloon weekend here and I enjoy seeing them go over our house. I haven't seen any of these drones but I don't really see much difference.

[Psychotic Bovine]

I have an early version DJI Phantom.  Amazing electronics make it an easy to fly quad.  I have attempted to fly r/c helicopters and there is no comparison.  With the DJI in gps mode you can literally take your hands off of the controls and it will hover and wait until the battery runs down.  Flyaways do happen, but a lot of times they can be traced to an improper startup and calibration.  Wait for the gps to lock onto 6 or more satellites and it's good.
As far as privacy, I have a pic of my house taken at 250 feet of altitude with a gopro camera.  I am nothing more than a white dot in the driveway.  And, trust me, there is no way to sneak up on someone with one of these; they sound like a swarm of bees, only much louder.
Responsible flying is the key.  Basically, don't do anything with it that puts lives in danger.  As far as peeping, it's no worse than a telescope in a highrise apartment (in fact, the telescope in the apartment is a far more intrusive instrument than a noisy quad with a 160 degree wide angle lens).

And to see how useful a quad can be, here is an amazing video taken at Niagara Falls (with the proper permits, of course!)

I hope someday to produce video this good with mine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfoLYTKObiU

[dreamaker]

It just won't sink in my head, why people get so intimidated, when a neighbor is playing with their new toy. I have nothing to hide, may be that is why I don't see it. By the way, the Gopro lenes are so wide angle that it would have to be nearly in you face to be worth while. They are designed to see the big picture.  
Most of you have credit/debit cards, iphones, ipad, SmartPhons, computers, paid GPS, Sync, OnStar, anything that goes online or in the air. Now unless you live in a cave, and it is your privacy you are concerned about: Man, that ship has sailed. The other thing is people that shoot guns in the air, you do understand what goes up, must come down!!! Now the lead you are shooting up in the air, that may cause damage or even human get hit with it, would you call that a responsible act. This is just my theory, based on the reactions of people on the threads concerning Drones/UAV/Quadcopters what ever you want to call them. Consensus is to shoot them out of the air. Guns = hunter + lead ammo + lead infuses meat = lead causes brain damage, now that makes sense. Look its just peoples toys, don't vapor lock over it!!!!  Just because your wife won't let you get one, doesn't mean you have to wreck it for others.

[MarkT]

I have a drone hunting license.  I understand #6 shot with 3"magnum loads are the best.

I know very little about these things. But I'm curious why an ultralight pilot would feel so strongly against them. Surely you have been above houses in your planes ? Or maybe not. We have a Hot Air Baloon weekend here and I enjoy seeing them go over our house. I haven't seen any of these drones but I don't really see much difference.

Are you talking to me?  I'm not an ultralight pilot.  Never have been.  Furthermore, IIRC FAA rules require a minimum of 1,000 ft altitude for general aviation over houses - pretty sure that may be the rule for ultralights as well.  Drones have different rules and are supposed to stay out of general aviation airspace - much lower.  I don't want to see a drone anywhere near my house or windows.  No I have nothing I'm hiding.  That's not the point.  Common facile argument the cops attempt to make when you tell them they are not allowed to search your car without probable cause.  It's privacy, bub.  And especially the 4th Amendment if it's the govt doing the snooping.  As for the bullets going up, come down - talking about bird shot.  Obviously the commenter on that has no shotgun experience - falling birdshot falls relatively slowly and feels like sleet if it hits you. Lead has also been replaced by steel for environmental reasons in many if not all states. (I haven't bird hunted for years so personal experience with birdshot is getting old) My post was actually intended as a joke but yes, any drone near my house will be shot down after one warning to the flyer.  That means within shotgun range - once again, that means pretty close like 50 yds or so - not using rifles / anti aircraft artillery.  Stupid comment on wife prohibitions - I buy anything I want to. None of your business, but I am in no way PW'd.  If I get such a toy - I won't violate other's privacy with it.  If I catch anyone violating my rights - they will at the least lose their expensive toy.  And yes I am familiar with GoPro focal lengths - I have 2 of them and was a professional photog for a decade.

[dreamaker]

I have a drone hunting license.  I understand #6 shot with 3"magnum loads are the best.

I know very little about these things. But I'm curious why an ultralight pilot would feel so strongly against them. Surely you have been above houses in your planes ? Or maybe not. We have a Hot Air Baloon weekend here and I enjoy seeing them go over our house. I haven't seen any of these drones but I don't really see much difference.

Are you talking to me?  I'm not an ultralight pilot.  Never have been.  Furthermore, IIRC FAA rules require a minimum or 1,000 ft altitude for general aviation over houses - pretty sure that may be the rule for ultralights as well.  Drones have different rules and are supposed to stay out of general aviation airspace - much lower.  I don't want to see a drone anywhere near my house or windows.  No I have nothing I'm hiding.  That's not the point.  Common facile argument the cops attempt to make when you tell them they are not allowed to search your car without probable cause.  It's privacy, bub.  And especially the 4th Amendment if it's the govt operating the drones.  As for the bullets going up, come down - talking about bird shot.  Obviously the commenter on that has no shotgun experience - falling birdshot falls relatively slowly and feels like sleet if it hits you.  My post was actually intended as a joke but yes, any drone near my house will be shot down after one warning to the flyer.  That means within shotgun range - once again, that means pretty close like 50 yds or so - not using rifles / anti aircraft artillery.

Far as Privacy, you voluntarily gave that up along time ago on you own, If you don't understand that I feel for you.  I do understand the concept of bird shot and how it works, but it does disturbs me to think that people in the neighborhood are shooting at anything in the air, and think, that is safe. You sound a bit paranoid!!  I thought the Detroit metro area was scary.

[The emperor has no clothes]

I have a drone hunting license.  I understand #6 shot with 3"magnum loads are the best.

I know very little about these things. But I'm curious why an ultralight pilot would feel so strongly against them. Surely you have been above houses in your planes ? Or maybe not. We have a Hot Air Baloon weekend here and I enjoy seeing them go over our house. I haven't seen any of these drones but I don't really see much difference.

Are you talking to me?  I'm not an ultralight pilot.  Never have been.  Furthermore, IIRC FAA rules require a minimum of 1,000 ft altitude for general aviation over houses - pretty sure that may be the rule for ultralights as well.  Drones have different rules and are supposed to stay out of general aviation airspace - much lower.  I don't want to see a drone anywhere near my house or windows.  No I have nothing I'm hiding.  That's not the point.  Common facile argument the cops attempt to make when you tell them they are not allowed to search your car without probable cause.  It's privacy, bub.  And especially the 4th Amendment if it's the govt doing the snooping.  As for the bullets going up, come down - talking about bird shot.  Obviously the commenter on that has no shotgun experience - falling birdshot falls relatively slowly and feels like sleet if it hits you. Lead has also been replaced by steel for environmental reasons in many if not all states. (I haven't bird hunted for years so personal experience with birdshot is getting old) My post was actually intended as a joke but yes, any drone near my house will be shot down after one warning to the flyer.  That means within shotgun range - once again, that means pretty close like 50 yds or so - not using rifles / anti aircraft artillery.  Stupid comment on wife prohibitions - I buy anything I want to. None of your business, but I am in no way PW'd.  If I get such a toy - I won't violate other's privacy with it.  If I catch anyone violating my rights - they will at the least lose their expensive toy.  And yes I am familiar with GoPro focal lengths - I have 2 of them and was a professional photog for a decade.

My bad. I thought you had posted some videos of flying ultralights a while back.

[MarkT]

I'm not in town pal. I can shoot here on the ranch if I want to.  I DID NOT voluntarily give up my privacy.  You are making assumptions apparently based on your own life.  I would sooner stick my hand in a meat grinder than live anywhere near Detroit.  I take steps all the time to reduce and stop privacy encroachments.  Don't use social networks.  Don't use Google.  Limit my phone.  Delete cookies.  Stop spam.  Use anti-malware software constantly. Drive an old Explorer which does not have a GPS hidden in it (though I'm sure it does have some kind of black box recorder) My GPS is a Zumo - not connected online. I am not paranoid, just will not tolerate privacy infringements I can stop.   And I can stop your drone.  And other loses of privacy in the name of "security" the liberals are so fond of.

[MarkT]

I have a drone hunting license.  I understand #6 shot with 3"magnum loads are the best.

I know very little about these things. But I'm curious why an ultralight pilot would feel so strongly against them. Surely you have been above houses in your planes ? Or maybe not. We have a Hot Air Baloon weekend here and I enjoy seeing them go over our house. I haven't seen any of these drones but I don't really see much difference.

Are you talking to me?  I'm not an ultralight pilot.  Never have been.  Furthermore, IIRC FAA rules require a minimum of 1,000 ft altitude for general aviation over houses - pretty sure that may be the rule for ultralights as well.  Drones have different rules and are supposed to stay out of general aviation airspace - much lower.  I don't want to see a drone anywhere near my house or windows.  No I have nothing I'm hiding.  That's not the point.  Common facile argument the cops attempt to make when you tell them they are not allowed to search your car without probable cause.  It's privacy, bub.  And especially the 4th Amendment if it's the govt doing the snooping.  As for the bullets going up, come down - talking about bird shot.  Obviously the commenter on that has no shotgun experience - falling birdshot falls relatively slowly and feels like sleet if it hits you. Lead has also been replaced by steel for environmental reasons in many if not all states. (I haven't bird hunted for years so personal experience with birdshot is getting old) My post was actually intended as a joke but yes, any drone near my house will be shot down after one warning to the flyer.  That means within shotgun range - once again, that means pretty close like 50 yds or so - not using rifles / anti aircraft artillery.  Stupid comment on wife prohibitions - I buy anything I want to. None of your business, but I am in no way PW'd.  If I get such a toy - I won't violate other's privacy with it.  If I catch anyone violating my rights - they will at the least lose their expensive toy.  And yes I am familiar with GoPro focal lengths - I have 2 of them and was a professional photog for a decade.

My bad. I thought you had posted some videos of flying ultralights a while back.

Hang Gliding.  And you don't fly near houses.  There's no "go-arounds" - when low to the ground you are on short final.

[saddlesore]

I've been using a kite for aerial photography.  I like the different perspective. People aren't as intimidated by it like they are drones.  People are drawn to it from miles away. It's 4'x6' and very colorful.
But the only advantages I have over the quads is it's cheaper and can fly in the wind.
Getting permission to fly some places is getting harder because of the regulations that are being put in place.
I fly 350' to 400' most of the time and details are not like the billion dollar satellites that NASA has.
I lost a couple of kites and cameras and wouldn't want to lose a quad. $
I have some slide shows on You tube if you're interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyFCU-TS1PE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWds_5vwIOM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGTIpSM0Qos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6lWz9-wfjk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuu6U10A7T4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDA-YJN_ECc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEJQ_O5n684

[dreamaker]

I'm not in town pal. I can shoot here on the ranch if I want to.  I DID NOT voluntarily give up my privacy.  You are making assumptions apparently based on your own life.  I would sooner stick my hand in a meat grinder than live anywhere near Detroit.  I take steps all the time to reduce and stop privacy encroachments.  Don't use social networks.  Don't use Google.  Limit my phone.  Delete cookies.  Stop spam.  Use anti-malware software constantly. Drive an old Explorer which does not have a GPS hidden in it (though I'm sure it does have some kind of black box recorder) My GPS is a Zumo - not connected online. I am not paranoid, just will not tolerate privacy infringements I can stop.   And I can stop your drone.  And other loses of privacy in the name of "security" the liberals are so fond of.

I agree with you on that meat grinder thing, but I have no choice at this time. Understand something, it is very basic and very true: once something is on the internet, it is there forever. You can not delete it, even though you thought you did delete it, it is there somewhere. If you use credit/bank/ debit card and any card with a strip and chip inside of it, you gave up your privacy and are being tracked. If you have a bank account, or 401, or IRA you are being tracked.  The truth is, just the fact you being on the VRCC forum, you are being tracked, do you get email, phone calls or ads on your computer browser, concerning things you have bought or are interested in. You may be tracked less than most, but you are not exempt. Also don't ever do surveys or feedback online or over the phone, they collect bits of information and consolidate it to make it whole. That is the cyber world. See people have the mentality that if they can't see it, it don't exist, well you can't see the wind, but we know what it can do!!!

[hubcapsc]

Understand something, it is very basic and very true: once something is on the internet, it is there forever.

Once you put something out on the Internet, you have released control of it. There forever? See if you can find my pictures 

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php?topic=26205.0

-Mike

[dreamaker]

Understand something, it is very basic and very true: once something is on the internet, it is there forever.

Once you put something out on the Internet, you have released control of it. There forever? See if you can find my pictures  

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php?topic=26205.0

-Mike

Just because you can't find them, it doesn't mean they are not somewhere!! Just have to know where to access it. See if you delete or format the info is still there, unless you scrub it, scrubbing it means you over write it, On occasion I reload my OS systems on my computers, but before doing that I scrub the drives three times, before reloading. Nice and fresh!!! Can't scrub the internet.

FYI; they also have Retrieval/Recovery programs, you can delete and format your hard drivers and run one of these recovery programs and get all you data back, providing it hasn't been over written. That is why they say, if the general person that have cell phones want to protect their information, throw it in a wood chipper.

[hubcapsc]

just because you can't find them, it doesn't mean they are not somewhere!!

But since you can't find them, and nobody else can either, then they are gone.

           if it is there, and you can see it, then it's real.
           If it is not there, and you can see it, then it's virtual.
           if it is not there, and you can't see it, then it's gone.

Since I released control of them when I put a URL to them here, they might
be on some backup tape somewhere, or maybe someone who looked at
them when the URL was good saved them, or...

I know for a fact the server they were on only retains backups for about 45 days.

-Mike 

[dreamaker]

What ever makes you feel good!!! 0's and 1's,  Man, 0's and 1's, switch on, switch off, that simple!!!

Anyways! Go Quadcopters!!! Another thing come to mind,  the Phantom is white and is hard to see when it gets up there, almost blends in with the sky, on a sunny day of course.

[dreamaker]

I have an early version DJI Phantom.  Amazing electronics make it an easy to fly quad.  I have attempted to fly r/c helicopters and there is no comparison.  With the DJI in gps mode you can literally take your hands off of the controls and it will hover and wait until the battery runs down.  Flyaways do happen, but a lot of times they can be traced to an improper startup and calibration.  Wait for the gps to lock onto 6 or more satellites and it's good.
As far as privacy, I have a pic of my house taken at 250 feet of altitude with a gopro camera.  I am nothing more than a white dot in the driveway.  And, trust me, there is no way to sneak up on someone with one of these; they sound like a swarm of bees, only much louder.
Responsible flying is the key.  Basically, don't do anything with it that puts lives in danger.  As far as peeping, it's no worse than a telescope in a highrise apartment (in fact, the telescope in the apartment is a far more intrusive instrument than a noisy quad with a 160 degree wide angle lens).

And to see how useful a quad can be, here is an amazing video taken at Niagara Falls (with the proper permits, of course!)

I hope someday to produce video this good with mine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfoLYTKObiU

Here are a couple of cool videos using a Dji FlameWheel F-450, basically the same as the Phantom but naked.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8KZAIL_wsk


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l6boL7iVxM

[dreamaker]

This appears to be a good deal, if you don't want to go Dji Phantom. Price seems reasonable, different models to choose from, and a nice clean radio package.


http://www.horizonhobby.com/storefronts/stores/chroma-family?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Spot1&utm_campaign=05282015_AirSurface&_bta_tid=3.cUw.B5YNHA.Fyqw.AT1ndA..AgTM0A.b..s.AjkJ.a.VWdhrw.VWdhrw.X7IZ0Q&_bta_c=5z7lgy81j2xomosbon83x3jk7ugxr

[Serk]

Understand something, it is very basic and very true: once something is on the internet, it is there forever.

Once you put something out on the Internet, you have released control of it. There forever? See if you can find my pictures 

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php?topic=26205.0

-Mike

[hubcapsc]

That's pretty cool. After hubcap.clemson.edu died last year, I stashed the backups for
all my files somewhere before the tape was reused.

Now, when I look at an old thread whose pictures are missing, I often
put the affected directory in the right place on the current web server
(clemix.clemson.edu) and use the edit feature of the vrcc forum to
change all the hubcap.clemson.edu's to clemix.clemson.edu and the
pictures come back.

The Congaree Swamp thread is one I haven't fixed, but apparently I
have put the files on clemix.

How did you find them? Guess clemix? "The Dark Web" is supposedly
all that stuff on the internet that has no links to it... did you use some
dark-web-foo to find them?

-Mike

[Serk]

Hehehe, no darkweb necromancy... I just took one of the original URLs:

http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~hubcap/congareeSwamp/sunBall.jpg

And from there started googling around on variations of unique parts of the URL (Can't remember now exactly which one worked) and had one lead me to the new server myweb.clemson.edu/ so on a whim I just manually modified the URL to one of the missing pics and voila, there it was... Then it was just grab all the old URLs into a text file and run a global search and replace to the new server and build the post...