We don't call them "drones."

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mk23
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by mk23 »

silencertalk wrote:10-20 miles is so impressive. I am in awe. Antenna trackers are cool.
Once the rigs are sorted out 10~20 mile round trips seem to be very doable.

There is a guy on you tube, from one of the Nordic countries, has the current record holding flight (the whole flight) on youtube. 100 miles each way. 200 mile round trip flight!! Highly directional antennas and a lot of other gizmos, but still amazing!
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by mk23 »

Libertarian_Geek wrote:I'm building a fixed-wing FPV plane. It's been several months and given the small intervals that I get to work on it, it'll be several more months before it's airborn.

Skywalker 168 airframe
RVOSD autopilot
1.3Ghz video with circular polarized antennas
Dragonlink UHF radio for control on a modified Turnigy 9X

Skywalkers are cool!

I sent with a purpose built foamy, the Penguin V2 from ready made RC. Great plane. I'll get you my set-up next time around, I have to run out the door now! ;-)
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by 66427vette »

Some asshole is flying them all over my neighborhood . Buzzing houses and backyards . Idiots will screw up your hobby in no time.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by whiterussian1974 »

66427vette wrote:Some asshole is flying them all over my neighborhood . Buzzing houses and backyards . Idiots will screw up your hobby in no time.
Have you filed a Disorderly Conduct complaint?

Most Homeowners have "airspace" rights in an expanding cone above their property. An example: a 20story building can't go up next to your house even if they are in Commercial Zoning. Blocking Sunlight and wind/rain is prevented by most Deeds. I don't remember the name of the Deed Rights.

But DOC-Nuisence is usually punishable by up to 6months in County Jail and Fine dependant upon locale.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by 66427vette »

I am only at my Nashville,TN home few days a month . Just saw it for the first time yesterday. Waiting for it to get close again looks expensive.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by doubloon »

66427vette wrote:I am only at my Nashville,TN home few days a month . Just saw it for the first time yesterday. Waiting for it to get close again looks expensive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX5UL4idfC4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xayYzMEgWvo&t=85
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDtd2jNIwAU MUSAFAR!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-ydFMI This is Water DavidW
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We don't call them "drones."

Post by silencertalk »

Just passed four practice exams in a row without studying, so will take my license test tomorrow.

There are enough common-sense questions that you can pass even if you don't know the specific stuff.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by Fulmen »

silencertalk wrote:If you jammed the one I ordered, it will just autopilot back to me. You would have to jam the GPS also.
Good call. Jamming the GPS shouldn't be too hard though.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by Libertarian_Geek »

silencertalk wrote:Are you the only one who does FPV with a license?
Seems like it.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by Libertarian_Geek »

silencertalk wrote:Just passed four practice exams in a row without studying, so will take my license test tomorrow.

There are enough common-sense questions that you can pass even if you don't know the specific stuff.
Yeah. Ohm's law + frequency to wavelength, then hit the practice exams and tech + general are pretty easy, especially if you already know a little about electronics.
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We don't call them "drones."

Post by silencertalk »

General needs code though, which evidently I once knew as I had a Tech in 1993.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by bakerjw »

I practiced code enough to get 5 words per minute with decent copy. Before I took the code test the tester made me do 13 WPM. Amazingly, I was able to do well enough to answer 7 out of 10 questions about the conversation. The written test was the easy part. So I went in looking for a tech and came out a general. I was able to ad a /AG to my callsign for a couple of months.

but... a month later a friend was going in for his amateur extra license test and I went along. On a whim, I paid my money and too the advanced test and passed it without studying. So I used a /AA after my call while I was still waiting for my general license to arrive.

The old days were brutal though. In Illinois you had to go to Chicago to the FCC office and take tests there. And there was no question pool to study. Back then, pre 80s, hams were an elite bunch. But, the hobby started to die off so they made it easier to get licensed.

I had a friend who could run code all day long at 20+WPM. Sometimes he could even follow people doing 25 or more.

The trick to learning code is to not let your brain get fried. I'd start practicing and do well and then it starts to get to be a struggle. When it gets straining like that, walk away for a bit. Another good thing to do is run the characters at 13WPM speed but with 5wpm spacing between characters. it makes the move from 5 to 13 much easier.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by whiterussian1974 »

doubloon wrote:
66427vette wrote:I am only at my Nashville,TN home few days a month . Just saw it for the first time yesterday. Waiting for it to get close again looks expensive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX5UL4idfC4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xayYzMEgWvo&t=85
Dubs, considering the post you quoted and vids you replied with; are you suggesting that Vette shoot down the RCs w a compressed air pellet rifle?

I'm just going by context.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by whiterussian1974 »

Fulmen wrote:
silencertalk wrote:If you jammed the one I ordered, it will just autopilot back to me. You would have to jam the GPS also.
Good call. Jamming the GPS shouldn't be too hard though.
The 007 Film (was it Tomorrow Never Dies?) made it look pretty tough. Unless you had a MRAP-sized microwave emitter that could alter the timing of 4-6 different signals surrounding the craft for several meters to compensate for changes in vector.

Then I suppose that it "might" be doable. Though it's not nearly as easy as jamming Cell Phones w microwave jammers.

And if that too became common, Models would begin including magnetometers and deadreckoning software. :shock: :lol:
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by whiterussian1974 »

whiterussian1974 wrote:
Fulmen wrote:
silencertalk wrote:If you jammed the one I ordered, it will just autopilot back to me. You would have to jam the GPS also.
Good call. Jamming the GPS shouldn't be too hard though.
The 007 Film (was it Tomorrow Never Dies?) made it look pretty tough.
How about directed EMPs? They function along a similar Principle to Shaped Charge projectiles. Except instead of the Copper lining in a cone in Front of the explosive Lens, it's a type of Faraday Cage surrounding the explosive that undergoes electron dissociation and a Horn Antenae directs the plasma in a ~15* arc toward the target.

But you could probably afford 350-1000 $5000 RCs for the cost of making even an Extremely Low Yield device. Not quite practical just yet. :P
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by Libertarian_Geek »

silencertalk wrote:General needs code though, which evidently I once knew as I had a Tech in 1993.
None of them need code anymore. I got my general and tech at the same time a weekend ago.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by 66427vette »

whiterussian1974 wrote:
doubloon wrote:
66427vette wrote:I am only at my Nashville,TN home few days a month . Just saw it for the first time yesterday. Waiting for it to get close again looks expensive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX5UL4idfC4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xayYzMEgWvo&t=85
Dubs, considering the post you quoted and vids you replied with; are you suggesting that Vette shoot down the RCs w a compressed air pellet rifle?

I'm just going by context.
I would never do such a thing. That is even more dangerous than idiot behind the controls.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by ick »

20 mile radius?

I would PAY someone a consulting fee to set me up with all the equipment ready to go, training, license requirements, etc.

You know how much time that could save me in going to get photos of structures? Quite a bit. The fun you could have with it would be an extra dividend.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by doubloon »

Fulmen wrote:
silencertalk wrote:If you jammed the one I ordered, it will just autopilot back to me. You would have to jam the GPS also.
Good call. Jamming the GPS shouldn't be too hard though.
Based on the success of reported events from the past it is not.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-ydFMI This is Water DavidW
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by doubloon »

66427vette wrote:
whiterussian1974 wrote:...
Dubs, considering the post you quoted and vids you replied with; are you suggesting that Vette shoot down the RCs w a compressed air pellet rifle?

I'm just going by context.
I would never do such a thing. That is even more dangerous than idiot behind the controls.
Crap, I posted that in the wrong window. I was replying in an air gun forum in a different window. Now I wonder what I posted over there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDtd2jNIwAU MUSAFAR!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-ydFMI This is Water DavidW
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by mk23 »

silencertalk wrote:Why a GoPro and another camera?

I use the Go Pro for video recording. The other cam is the piloting camera, and it's powered off the RC batts.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by silencertalk »

mk23 wrote:
silencertalk wrote:Why a GoPro and another camera?

I use the Go Pro for video recording. The other cam is the piloting camera, and it's powered off the RC batts.
Why not use the GoPro for piloting?
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by TROOPER »

Doesn't the GoPro just internally record the video as opposed to transmitting it? I suppose it could be re-wired and re-programmed, but that's a lot of hassle for a workaround that doesn't need to exist.
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by silencertalk »

It is very easy to get live video out of a GoPro:

http://www.amazon.com/Gopro-Gopro3-Vide ... tput+cable

The other benefit to this cable is that it provides power to the GoPro. You need to convert the LiPo power to 5v with one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/HOBBYWING-SWITCH- ... ds=UBEC+5v
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Re: We don't call them "drones."

Post by mk23 »

At least 3/4 of the FPV pilots run 2 cameras.

The Go Pro fish eye is not very fun to fly. Sorta messes with depth perception.

The main problem with using a Go pro to pilot is the possibility of the video/camera freezing. Not very common, but when you have a $2.5k rig up in the air, out of visual sight, even the possibility of freezing is too much.

Streaming video of a Go pro is good when you are learning, but once become invested in the hobby, pretty much everyone uses two cams.

CCDs are much more reliable, they give you a better picture as far as the visual angle and only weigh approx 12g.

On my fixed wing, I run a Go pro with a CCD on full pan and tilt from the ground.

My Penguin v2 has a 8,000mah 4S, ImmersionRC EZ-uhf, ImmersionRC OSD (team black sheep edition), ImmersionRC Antenna tracker, 1.3Ghz 1200mah video transmitter (which is a true 1000mah), green/red strobes and UHF APRS transmitter to aid in recovery during a S&R.
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