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Still learning...

Talk about the advent of Drone photography and video.

Still learning...

Postby ed » Sat Feb 27, 2021 1:47 pm

I'm getting better at controlling the drone, practicing as weather permits. I went to the elementary school our kids went to yesterday, a two minute walk. Still trying to get the stabilization in the software OK without too much distortion. I have some venues planned for the Spring that will be more interesting. The little girl walking towards me is my new buddy. She's been there every time I've gone there to practice. I let her fly the drone and I didn't think she would give me back the controller.

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Re: Still learning...

Postby sidd finch » Sat Feb 27, 2021 6:17 pm

Ed That's pretty cool. Nice to see that you are able to fly in a more open space. Generous of you to let the little girl have a go at the drone. It might inspire her to ask her parents for one.

I also really like the music choice. It reminded me of the music from the old Seaburg music machines which I think makes really good background music for videos.

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Re: Still learning...

Postby ed » Sun Feb 28, 2021 9:38 am

I thought I might never see it again, but I showed her how to use the controller and said not to take it up to high. She was good at it. It made her day.

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Re: Still learning...

Postby sidd finch » Sun Feb 28, 2021 11:43 am

Bringing a small bit of joy to someone always makes my day. I am sure her parents will get an earful about buying one... lol

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Re: Still learning...

Postby ed » Wed Mar 03, 2021 6:00 pm

Took the drone out at lunch today to South Germantown Recreational Park. It's a really nice place with a lot to do. Not sure if they allow drones, but no one said anything. I made this video while running web app stress testing for work.

A weird think happened while flying. I flew the drone towards the outside tennis courts and all of the sudden it started drifting around, and I really didn't have good control of it. I managed to get it down with crashing it, and took it back up and it was fine. Do you think it lost GPS or Wifi for a moment?

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Re: Still learning...

Postby sidd finch » Wed Mar 03, 2021 6:08 pm

Ed sounds like you drifted out of wifi range which can happen. And sometimes they fly away never to be seen again. But luckily you got the drone back. There are several wifi analyzers apps that can tell you how much wifi traffic is in the area. This can be helpful to see if you are flying in a heavy traffic area which can let the drone loose connectivity.

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Re: Still learning...

Postby ed » Wed Mar 03, 2021 6:35 pm

Thanks Sidd, there are a lot of houses ringing the park. I’ll look on the App Store. I was thinking that may be it.

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Re: Still learning...

Postby ed » Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:05 pm

So, I have a question about landing. Every time I try to land the drone on a specific spot it seems extremely difficult to hover over and gently land. Granted, I've flown it less then 10 times, so it may just be practice is needed. I was wondering if the backdraft from the propellers might be making the drone drift from the landing pad? Or maybe it's trying to recover and hover at a slightly different location?

Any tips?

When I was out taking photos last weekend I brought the drone and flew it for a few minutes. In this video I did the 'Return to Home' button, which always seems to be about a few feet off, but seems reasonable to me. Then I attempted a manual land :( . I think I'll practice landing after work today.

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Re: Still learning...

Postby sidd finch » Tue Apr 13, 2021 5:13 pm

Ed here is what I found:

Another likely reason that your drone could be drifting is due to the props or the motor being damaged. Bent props occur frequently, especially when your quad takes a tumble or crashes. When the props are bent they can force the air in a different direction than they were intended to and pull your quad in one direction. A damaged motor due to possible worn out bearings or a bent shaft could also change the speed of that one propeller and pull your drone in a certain direction. This pull in a certain direction is often exaggerated when you punch the throttle. This can help you identify which motor could be the faulty one. If you are flying a Micro Drone indoors another common problem is hair getting wrapped around the motor shaft. The friction of it strangles the motor shaft from spinning as fast as it wants to and slows that motor down.

I saw your video of your drone hitting the house so maybe the props have a micro crack or could be bent. I end up replacing props quite a bit. That sounds like a good first place to inspect.

An software / internal issue. if your drone isn’t calibrated properly the flight controller or the IMU could believe the drone is perfectly level when in reality it is off a little. You can slowly take the drone up in the air and take note of what direction it pulls as soon as it lifts off. Then adjust the trim accordingly until it takes off and hovers without drifting off in any direction. It could be a connectivity issue with the GPS module to how many satellites it is connected to. Try to fly your drone in a more open space or fly it up in elevation to gain as many satellites as possible and minimize the amount your drone drifts.

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Re: Still learning...

Postby ed » Wed Apr 14, 2021 8:01 am

Thanks for your detailed response Sidd.

I don't think the drone was fatally damaged, I've inspected the props and mechanism. It's weird, I took it out yesterday after work and it hovers great, I took it to various heights, up to 300 feet (which I think is the limit in my zone outside of DC). It is steady on low speed, not so much on high speed. The GPS signal was strong according to the app. If I land 10 feet or so from the launch zone, after calibration, it is fine. I'm thinking it may be it's just an inexpensive drone and not as responsive.

Reason to upgrade!
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Re: Still learning...

Postby sidd finch » Wed Apr 14, 2021 9:30 am

I'm thinking it may be it's just an inexpensive drone and not as responsive.


If the props are fine your conclusion makes the most sense.

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Re: Still learning...

Postby ed » Wed Apr 14, 2021 10:48 am

Descending from max height allowed in my zone yesterday evening with 3-5 mile an hour wind, I think it's pretty steady. After the summer I'll work to convince a better drone :)

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Re: Still learning...

Postby sidd finch » Wed Apr 14, 2021 11:55 am

After the summer I'll work to convince a better drone


As much as I think DJI is one of the best drones made, you might consider an alternative. DJI uses geofencing on their drones. For where I live almost everything is Geofenced and it difficult to impossible to request an unlock to fly. My guess is that being so close to DC you might encounter those same issues.

For me I am interested in capturing interesting landmarks or sunrise and sunsets, but I cannot fly with DJI because its all locked out. Living within closer proximity to an airport makes it even worse. I ended up getting the Parrot Anafi which records in 4k but has no geofencing. I think my latest "please honey can I please get this" is the x-knight 360 invisible drone. That way you use the 360 camera to lineup and track your shots.

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Re: Still learning...

Postby ed » Wed Apr 14, 2021 2:53 pm

Oh my God, you are sending me down the path Sidd. I will check that drone :-8
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Re: Still learning...

Postby sidd finch » Wed Apr 14, 2021 5:59 pm

Ed no paths, mine is a solitary path down the drone front. Just want to share some of the pitfalls I experienced along the way. I should keep my aspirations to my self anyway. :ha:

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