Long Range FPV

[Hugh Hemington]

This may be closer than crowd-sourcing.

 

[DirtDiver]

Looks good but there does seem to be quite a bit of lag time between the operators movements and the drones ability to recognize those movements. I am going to love that challenge.

 

[Hugh Hemington]

The only way this can really work is if there is a tracking antenna on the quad, locked onto a signal on the ground, or a tracking antenna on the ground picking up a signal from the quad and then sending corrective instructions to the quad.

It may just be easier to put a GoPro on a long pole!

 

[John Doecliff]

It did take a few seconds but I think that if he would have kept running the quad would have eventually tracked with him.

 

[Hugh Hemington]

I think it would work better with the quad a little lower, where you'd want it to follow you while mountain biking.

 

[John Doecliff]

Hey Dirt Diver, Just did a test today with my DJI 450 running a 250ma FPV system and a gopro on board (but not powered by the quad battery) I got about 7 min with a 2200ma battery. about half and half flying/hovering. Needed some info for a video I am trying to make. The plant I used to work at closed down 2 years ago and they are going to implode it with explosives and I want to try to film it with my gopro. Gonna be tricky because I need to know about 5 minutes before so I can get up and into a stationary hover. I wont be able to fly near, I will have to stay outside the 1500' safety zone.

 

[Hugh Hemington]

Why in the hell does an unmanned vehicle need to stay a quarter of a mile away? Are they imploding it, or EXploding it? You really want to get that shot from around 500 feet. If building implosions aren't an ideal subject for a quad, I don't know what is.

I hope you're getting some footage of the building before they demolish it, and try to get some from the exact position and altitude you intend to get the explosion from. When they are ready to detonate, a lot of things will look different even before the blast.

 

[John Doecliff]

I used the term implode incorrectly. When they demo a building it's supposed to fall into itself and not explode outward. I was going to run down there tomorrow and check a few different vantage points to see how good my view would be with a gopro. I am not expecting much. Another problem I have is if I go to a police road block I will probably be able to know exactly it's going to happen ( I need a 5 minute warning) but the cop may not allow me to put my quad in the air. The 1500' thing is just over bearing safety but i'm familiar with the area and it's likely they will just go to the nearest intersection which could even put me further away. Another goal is to get someone at the plant next door or the demo contractor to give me the closeup footage which I know they will take. I have contacts with both partys. I just learned last night that the demolition has been postponed, not sure why. It's a coal fired power plant, I worked there for 22 years. The demo contractor allowed me to enter the site and film with my quad some of the pre demolition work, I am really hoping to get the implosion/explosion as well as the aftermath.

 

[Hugh Hemington]

Have a friend at the road block call you on your cell where you can launch your quad. And implode is the correct term, but that generally doesn't throw debris more than 300 feet at most, and that's tiny stuff that doesn't get far off the ground.

 

[John Doecliff]

Yeah, I hear you but i'm not exactly sure how it will go down. The foreman of the demo company thought my quad was cool and all that and he let me film the site but he's not in charge of the explosives part and I can't count on him to just give me a call at the 5 min mark. I have a couple of friends that work at the mill next door but they will shut down and evacuate their plant because they are about 300' from the unit to be imploded. I also have a friend talking to the fire marshal that issues the permit but the most I can hope for is a ball park time. I believe they will sound a warning horn at the 5 and maybe 1 min mark but I wont be close enough to hear that. Then theres my work schedule as well. I work 12 hour shifts 60 miles away so I may be at work when it happens. It was supposed to happen this saturday but they cancelled for some reason. I guess the demo contractor left the site and the whole thing is up in the air now as to when it will happen. The best i'm hoping for will to be given the video of the implosion and be allowed on the site a day or two later to film the aftermath. I will defitnitely let you guys know if I get video with my quad.