Anyone using Drones from the Mac

[Mac26Mpaul]

I wanted to improve our family videos with a bit of drone footage.

After a 6 month break from the boat, we finally used it again last weekend and tried launching from the boat for the first time.

Something odd happened, the camera was all jittery and the horizon not level which you can see in the first 3 or 4 drone shots used. Most of the footage I couldnt use. The later footage where I launched from the shore and cliffs was all fine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThVdsbQ3Qiw

Is the rigging the likely cause of interference? I had no problems with control of the drone itself, not that I noticed anyway.

Plan was to put it up under sail on the way home, but I chickened out this time...

Anybody else been launching from the boat?

[yukonbob]

On our northern Mac roundup a few weeks back a guest on Flightfollowing's boat launched and retrieved a drone multiple times at anchor, drifting and moving. He had mentioned having a hard time calibrating it in swells? Don't know much about those things but maybe that will shed some light on it?

[Mac26Mpaul]

Yes , initially had an error calibrating it, I was holding it well up and away from the boat too (all the metal stuff not good for compass calibration) but it seemed to work fine the second time and showed no errors.

mmm this is a concern then...

[Jimmyt]

Great video! Thanks for sharing.

[kadet]

Hey Paul I have been doing a fair bit of research into a cheap drone so if it crashes I won't feel the 1 boat buck loss as much

I know you have a DJI Phantom so this may not apply but with some of the less well know Chinese cheapies you calibrate the compass by doing the spinning and rotating dance. Most do this several times by flipping the drone in the one spot hand over hand. However I have read that is is quicker and more accurate to pick the drone up and spin on the spot with drone at arms length so it rotates around a 2 metre circumference instead of it's own circumference. The bigger arc being better for the calibration. I know when I reset my gyro-compass for my autopilot it is quicker to calibrate with a couple of large circles than lots of small ones. Just some ideas may not apply to the DJI. But even a small drift while calibrating at anchor could upset it's calibration.

[Wind Chime]

Something odd happened, the camera was all jittery and the horizon not level which you can see in the first 3 or 4 drone shots used. Most of the footage I couldnt use. The later footage where I launched from the shore and cliffs was all fine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThVdsbQ3Qiw

Is the rigging the likely cause of interference? I had no problems with control of the drone itself, not that I noticed anyway.

Did you have full ballast in the drone

[Mac26Mpaul]

Kadet,

Yes, I always do the "DJI dance" and spin around before flying. I did it and the lights were all flashing which usually means compass era and then I held it up as high (as far away from the boat) as possible and it worked fine. (but obviously not that fine as I still had the issues in flight).

I'm guessing all the metal is too much for it, but I will give it another go on the weekend, maybe try standing in a different spot in the cockpit to calibrate.

Are you talking the one or two hundred dollar cheapies you are intending to buy? If yes, dont waste your money, the cameras are rubbish and if they dont have decent GPS they are useless, and much harder to fly ( I have a $135 one which I wouldn't dare use from the boat!). Also with a lot of cheapie ones, when you go out of range, the motors just all stop

I have flown this in 25 knots without issue! Actually, the up and down drafts over those cliffs at Point lookout in the video were probably that too.

The good thing with the DJI ones, is lightbridge which gives you much better range than all the others. I figure it will come in real handy for exploring islands in the Whitsundays while relaxing in the cockpit with a sundowner
I did a range test until I lost signal here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNKdcSo0a6U

If you aren't worried about range, you can get a Phantom 3 standard with all the other features pretty cheaply. You can use them with the Litchi software and have a constantly updating homepoint which is a must for using them with the boat if there is any issues. But I have to tell you, I was SO glad I bought the Advanced with lightbridge as I was having a blast with that range the second day I flew it and would of got bored pretty quick with a 4 or 500 meter range I think...

[kadet]

Not that cheap Been looking at the Hubsan h501s or the UPair One, just missed an UPair One on ebay for $359

[Mac26Mpaul]

Kadet, I am not familiar with them, but it looks like its a similar size to my wltoys 686g that came with monitor (which I only used twice). I would not launch it from the boat as it just cant handle any wind without blowing backwards. I was flying the Phantom and my son tried to fly the 686 and it blew back right accross the oval, and it really wasnt very windy at all! The phantom flew as as there was no wind!


I was pestering my wife to let me have a Phantom, just two weeks after I bought the 686!

I see the Hubsan has GPS, but.. You can just let go of the sticks with the phantom even in 25 knots - , and it will just sit there in the sky where you leave it, in fact you can put the controller down and go take a leak and its still sitting there in the sky when you get back - very nice having that kind of stability if using over water. Think about spending a couple more hundred on a Phantom 3 Standard, far more capable and you can use a decent sized screen with it with a sunhood so you can actually see the screen in the sun - sort of..

Mind you, over water, you will want/need more range in no time - get a P3A!

[Catigale]

I've got the anti drone Phalanx system installed on my bow. I expect to be harvesting many pieces of drones soon

[Gazmn]

Mind you, I haven't flown my drones yet & much. I've been touting the Swellpro Splash Drone the Auto model in particular. I got a great deal on a used- unused one for a boat buck. keep your eye out or take the plunge. It should rival the DJIs which I also have - & haven't used- too busy

& you can land them in the water camera & all.

Paul great family pics & memories, Keep up the good work

[Mac26Mpaul]

Thanks Gaz

Yes, the splash drone looks to be a great option for us boaties, expensive though.

Cat, yes, agreed, its going to be annoying when these things are buzzing all over a nice Anchorage! Unfortunately, there's no stopping this tech now though, so if you cant beat em, join em I reckon - great footage to be had from our boats

[kadet]

Yep have looked at the Splash, the QuadH2O and the Mariner all either way over priced or lack features, though they all have the one feature I think I need they will still work if they fail to make it back to the boat and land .

I think I could stomach losing under $500 but not over $1000 just a psychological barrier I suppose

2016 is suppose to be the year of the camera drone so might hold off till next year and see what new things appear seeing as I now have to delay the big trip

[Mac26Mpaul]

As to making it back to the boat, I did mess about with making floats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yai704vWl8
At first I was very fearful of flying over water, but once i started doing it more and more I just lost the fear.
Now I just stand at the boatramp and send it out to nearby islands without thinking. Here is a panorama I took above an island near where I live. I am back on the mainland in the distance


I took this panorama above my house


This is done with the litchi app for phantoms, The phantom just sits there taking layers of photos by itself at the push of a button. The litchi app really does let you do some amazing stuff, like the follow me function with orbit (DJI app does not have orbit in the follow me mode) which means you could get it to just fly circles around you filming you while you sailed along.

There is a guy on the trailer sailer forum who made moulds and then fibreglass pods and has made some very effective floats for his phantom.

Mostly, if it drops out of the sky, land or water, it will be trashed, floats or no floats

Another thing I like about the phantom is that there are accessories like backpacks. Trust me, You need a backpack or some way to carry the gear safety, if you are going to be doing any trips ashore (like climbing some of those bush walking trails on islands in the whitsundays etc )

[Mac26Mpaul]