I'm curious if anyone has used a drone to fly out to the target and land? You could then use the camera to spot the target and then have the drone return to base. The reason I am wanting this is that there is way too much snow for me to drive 1600 m out to the target and set up the camera. Getting the range is possible but having the camera stay on and transmit the image is an unknown for me. Also the battery life is in question in cold weather. Would be cool if anyone can help me out...
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using a drone for target cam?
- Thread starter magoo22
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Yes. You can do this. But the battery situation will have a nasty bite to it - by the time you are almost out you can’t fly back anymore.
Most drones are challenged to get off a 3.2km trip in the cold. Altitude makes it worse..
Most drones are challenged to get off a 3.2km trip in the cold. Altitude makes it worse..
Possible yes, but most drones are designed to orient the camera down. Unless there is an elevated position from which to observe the target, you'll have a difficult time getting it in frame. Even then, limitation of battery would likely make this a poor choice. Better to invest in a decent spotting scope and dock to a video camera. Or, look at a Nikon P900 as a dedicated spotting camera. 332x total zoom is equivalent to 2,000 mm lens.
You should seriously consider the Nikon P900. The distances that camera is capable is amazing. Youtube it to see just how far it can capture images.
The Phantom 4 Pro has an advertised range of 4.3 miles. That is provided that there is no geographical obstructions and no electrical interference. So in theory if you have direct line of sight between you and your target (which you should unless you're lobbing mortars) you should be able to fly out to the target, land, put the motors in idle to conserve battery (30 mins flight time in the Phantom 4) get off a few shots and have enough juice for the return trip providing that the wind conditions aren't against you.
The camera on the Phantom 4 line of drones can pan and tilt remotely. Its not something I've ever had the need to try and implement but under the right conditions, I don't see why it wouldn't work. The brain of the drone has fail safes and algorithms in place that make it very hard to crash. For example if you lose signal, the thing goes into auto pilot and returns to home. If it senses that the battery level is critically low, goes into auto pilot and picks a safe place to land.
Not all drones are created equal but the Phantom 4 series has a lot of technology in it that makes it very user friendly.
The camera on the Phantom 4 line of drones can pan and tilt remotely. Its not something I've ever had the need to try and implement but under the right conditions, I don't see why it wouldn't work. The brain of the drone has fail safes and algorithms in place that make it very hard to crash. For example if you lose signal, the thing goes into auto pilot and returns to home. If it senses that the battery level is critically low, goes into auto pilot and picks a safe place to land.
Not all drones are created equal but the Phantom 4 series has a lot of technology in it that makes it very user friendly.
Yes, you can land near the target and orient the camera to the target. Then you can put the motors into idle while you take your shots.
Hi,
Nice video 308P...
If someone was really worried about needing longer flight time and/or being able to fly in harder winds; you could always go to the gas powered UAVs such as the Avenger G series.
Sincerely,
THEIS
Nice video 308P...
If someone was really worried about needing longer flight time and/or being able to fly in harder winds; you could always go to the gas powered UAVs such as the Avenger G series.
Sincerely,
THEIS
I have a Phantom 3 Pro and it's great! I have about 30 minutes flying time and you can tilt the camera up and down about 90*. You can land and turn off the motors for extra time and monitor your batteries charge. Perfect for long range shooting and you can take video or still shots. If it could only spray paint I wouldn't need to go to the targets.........
Hi,
It can, lolol
Here you go.... https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mvxedv/katsu-shows-you-how-to-make-a-graffiti-drone-456
Sincerely,
THEIS
The Phantom 4's camera does not pan. It only tilts, and virtually all of that tilt is downward. The camera gimble was designed to orient the camera to video/photograph below the drone. Panning is performed by turning the drone.
In the video that 308pirate posted, you can see a cardboard box near the target (about 6:25). I suspect the drone was placed on the box so the steel targets were neatly in frame. While possible, I also suspect the drone wasn't flown to the box - that would be difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. Looks like the can of spray paint and tire tracks indicate the shooter drove there, painted the steel, and placed the drone on the box then flew it back after shooting.
If you don't mind the set up, it clearly works, and makes for a cool video. I just don't think it's practical. But a great way to mix two hobbies.
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Actually, drones having the ability to point the camera straight down and their inherent stability makes landing on a cardboard box quite easy. When you release the sticks the drone hovers and stays pretty much in place. You can actually push it and it will not only resist it will return (very close) to the spot it was hovering on.
Quite easy? I'd have to disagree. I have a Phantom 4, and yes, it's easy to park above a spot and descend straight down. Getting on a box not much larger than the Phantom's landing struts is harder than it looks when the drone is beyond 20 or 30 yards let alone hundreds of yards (or the OP's 1,600 meters). Using the live video, you don't have good depth of field by the time you are a foot off the ground. Get it wrong, and you'll probably be replacing one or more props.
To the OP's question, using a drone as a target cam is possible, but if you want to fly out and back, you'll need a flat spot without grass or other vegetation that offers enough elevation that the target will be in frame. On the ground, the Phantom's camera is less than 2" off the deck. All it takes is a few blades of grass and the target will be obscured.
The OP said there was too much snow to get to the target. Landing in snow covered ground you can only scout from the air is risky. And, as someone else pointed out, if you are flying a DJI drone - below 32 F is outside it's operating envelope.
Possible, sure. Worth the risk?
I found a decent looking drone camera at SPI in Las Vegas. It should do everything I need it to do and take those issues out of the picture. I'm actually looking at their gear for a couple of work projects and they have some very unique solutions.
Landing on snow should not be a big problem as I can increase the surface area of the landing gear. Kind of like putting snow shoes on it. The battery life is the big challenge at this point from what I can gather and that might make it a no go.
If the drone can fly out to distance, set down and the camera can be controlled until it's time to come home there still might be a chance. I'll check out the long range cameras as well. Not much mirage from the snow around here.
Thanks for the ideas and feedback.
It would be Fricken cool to set that up...
Landing on snow should not be a big problem as I can increase the surface area of the landing gear. Kind of like putting snow shoes on it. The battery life is the big challenge at this point from what I can gather and that might make it a no go.
If the drone can fly out to distance, set down and the camera can be controlled until it's time to come home there still might be a chance. I'll check out the long range cameras as well. Not much mirage from the snow around here.
Thanks for the ideas and feedback.
It would be Fricken cool to set that up...
Works We use a Mavic Pro to fly up the mountain and snap pictures of targets that it would take a 40 minute round trip hike to get too. Tried to set it up to be completely automated using DJI GS Pro App, such that the drone took off, flew to target, centered target in camera, took picture and flew back home. It did work but getting the target centered was not reliable.
So have it set up with waypoints so it takes off, flys up to the target and hovers about 10 -15 yards off the target. We then end the waypoint mission so we can take control of the drone and nudge it into the target area about 12 feet off the target and and snap a picture while in a hover. For safety usually the drone is hovered 5-10 feet higher then the target and the camera gimbal tilted down about 20-30 degrees. All this is easy to control from your handheld remote. A push of the Return to Home buttons and it autonomously flies home and lands. Picture is downloaded and group stats can be done with a software program such as subMOAPro.
Took me about two weeks to get the skill to fly 1000-1500 meters up the mountain and not crash into a pinetree etc. Start with close simple runs and work up to the tougher stuff. One of the tricky issues is the altitude the drone reports is the altitude above the point of take off and not the altitude above the ground it is flying over (AGL). So if you do not understand this you can take off fly up to 200 feet and then crash halfway up a 400 foot mountain if you are not careful. Best to take off, gain lots of altitude and come in over your target and descend to it.
So have it set up with waypoints so it takes off, flys up to the target and hovers about 10 -15 yards off the target. We then end the waypoint mission so we can take control of the drone and nudge it into the target area about 12 feet off the target and and snap a picture while in a hover. For safety usually the drone is hovered 5-10 feet higher then the target and the camera gimbal tilted down about 20-30 degrees. All this is easy to control from your handheld remote. A push of the Return to Home buttons and it autonomously flies home and lands. Picture is downloaded and group stats can be done with a software program such as subMOAPro.
Took me about two weeks to get the skill to fly 1000-1500 meters up the mountain and not crash into a pinetree etc. Start with close simple runs and work up to the tougher stuff. One of the tricky issues is the altitude the drone reports is the altitude above the point of take off and not the altitude above the ground it is flying over (AGL). So if you do not understand this you can take off fly up to 200 feet and then crash halfway up a 400 foot mountain if you are not careful. Best to take off, gain lots of altitude and come in over your target and descend to it.
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I've got first person view using goggles on my phantom 4. I have checked targets on a couple of occasions. It works well. But if a guy wanted to or had a flat enough spot to land close to the target you could land and turn the blades off and sit there in standby with the camera on for a long time.
deano
deano
So if you are hovering or landing how close would you get to the target? Not sure what the danger zone would be but I assume that landed I would want to be 25yrds away and hovering I would think 15 to 20 yards would be enough to avoid shrapnel. Guess it would be a crap shoot as ricochet could go anywhere?
It you are shooting at steel hung so that it can pivot, I'd say you aren't likely to get a ricochet as much as bullet splatter. Most of the splatter should go down, and is in the same plane as the steel. As along as the drone isn't in that plane, you're probably safe. If you are shooting at a point on a rock face, engine block, or non-traditional targets - who knows. Just watch a video of tracers. Amazing where there rounds go.
Good evening.
Just bought a DJI mini 2 and made a test.. this is the result at 565 yards... I angled the drone at about 45° on the left to try to avoid ricochets.
https://1drv.ms/v/s!AqAlaELyRwLOgZV1AGcBf96rYDbFlw
with that particulat brand and model the air time is about 30 mins per battery
Just bought a DJI mini 2 and made a test.. this is the result at 565 yards... I angled the drone at about 45° on the left to try to avoid ricochets.
https://1drv.ms/v/s!AqAlaELyRwLOgZV1AGcBf96rYDbFlw
with that particulat brand and model the air time is about 30 mins per battery
Hi Rick2001
Your files or pictures are no more available...
Apparently the endurance of DJI MINI 2 with motors shut down is more than 90 minutes.
The DJI Mini 3 may be suitable with the vertical camera orientation (60° Up, 90° Down) because the drone will be on the ground and not too far from the target(numerical zoom up to 4x in 1080p)
Thanks
Habu34
Your files or pictures are no more available...
Apparently the endurance of DJI MINI 2 with motors shut down is more than 90 minutes.
The DJI Mini 3 may be suitable with the vertical camera orientation (60° Up, 90° Down) because the drone will be on the ground and not too far from the target(numerical zoom up to 4x in 1080p)
Thanks
Habu34
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