The General Drone-Related Thread

cambsno said:
Passed by A2CofC today, 97% so one question wrong and annoyingly cant think which one it was. Anyway, pretty easy with a lot of it being common sense.

Cant praise UAVHUB enough, currently £99 and great material, very helpful and overall, brilliant!
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Good to hear. I have managed to pay for mine today. Now I have got to get my computer skills up to standard to deal with it. My New Years resolution is to learn to edit video and use the computer better.
 
Also just signed up for the A2CoC course so let the learning begin :runaway:(and bought a new webcam in readiness for the exam :cool:)!
 
Active Track modes.... original Mavic Air (NOT Air2).

I managed to get the Active Track up today - but the screen changed when I tried to choose the mode (profile, trace, spotlight) Instead of being along the bottom, like in every tutorial video I have watched, they jumped to the side and it took me an age to find them because they were so camouflaged, dark blue on a dark background, who designs these layouts? I eventually found them, and got to the screen where you draw the green box again.... that wasn't so easy either, I struggled to get the box drawn on me, it was getting drawn beside me, so the camera stayed on the grass in the background instead of following me.

Another thing - ocnce you are in Active Track, how do you drop it and go back to the normal screen and use the sticks. I couldn't find out how to get out of Active Track, so the battery (my last one) died while I was poking and podding the screen trying to find the key to the way out!

Yes, I am struggling with this techy stuff.
 
Lensflare said:
Active Track modes.... original Mavic Air (NOT Air2).

I managed to get the Active Track up today - but the screen changed when I tried to choose the mode (profile, trace, spotlight) Instead of being along the bottom, like in every tutorial video I have watched, they jumped to the side and it took me an age to find them because they were so camouflaged, dark blue on a dark background, who designs these layouts? I eventually found them, and got to the screen where you draw the green box again.... that wasn't so easy either, I struggled to get the box drawn on me, it was getting drawn beside me, so the camera stayed on the grass in the background instead of following me.

Another thing - once you are in Active Track, how do you drop it and go back to the normal screen and use the sticks. I couldn't find out how to get out of Active Track, so the battery (my last one) died while I was poking and podding the screen trying to find the key to the way out!

Yes, I am struggling with this techy stuff.
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Have you read page 21 onwards in the User Manual? Tells you all about entering and exiting Active Track there.
 
Giblets said:
Have you read page 21 onwards in the User Manual? Tells you all about entering and exiting Active Track there.
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I have read and watched so much on how to use it I have become completely over saturated... bamboozled even. I shall see if I have the manual - it would be good if they provided a book manual to read. Computer manuals are not so easy, because you can't take it with you.

It would appear I don't have the manual. It must have died on my other computer. b****r... another reason why a book is so much better, if your computer dies you still have the manual.
 
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Lensflare said:
I have read and watched so much on how to use it I have become completely over saturated... bamboozled even. I shall see if I have the manual - it would be good if they provided a book manual to read. Computer manuals are not so easy, because you can't take it with you.

It would appear I don't have the manual. It must have died on my other computer. b****r... another reason why a book is so much better, if your computer dies you still have the manual.
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I HAVE FOUND IT - on the downloads losit I have saved!
 
Good idea to put your manuals and such on google drive or one drive.
 
Happy New Year all..

ive only just seen about the new rules today - I bought a magic mini in Feb 2020 and have never used it although my 17 year old son has flown it a handful of times..

I'm not clear on the rules. Do I need an operator ID for £9 as my son is under 18 ? And he doesn’t need anything ?
 
damianmkv said:
Happy New Year all..

ive only just seen about the new rules today - I bought a magic mini in Feb 2020 and have never used it although my 17 year old son has flown it a handful of times..

I'm not clear on the rules. Do I need an operator ID for £9 as my son is under 18 ? And he doesn’t need anything ?
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You need to get an operator ID and put your number on the drone, your son will need a flyer ID, as will you if you intend to fly it.
 
Anyone near Cambridge (with 20-30 mins) who can recommend places to shoot - just lacking some inspiration at the moment and bored with the local village!!
 
TCR4x4 said:
You need to get an operator ID and put your number on the drone, your son will need a flyer ID, as will you if you intend to fly it.
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The online test for this is ridiculously easy, they may as well give them away and skip the test altogether :D

at least they've made the rules clearer, all of my flying is covered under the open category :)
 
Rob 80386 said:
The online test for this is ridiculously easy, they may as well give them away and skip the test altogether :D

at least they've made the rules clearer, all of my flying is covered under the open category :)
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Yep, the a2cofc test is also as easy. I should think most people are in the open category anyway. You still the need at a2cofoc or gvc though if you are flying anything other than a Mavic mini.
Only if you are doing high end commercial shoots would you fall into the specific category.
 
TCR4x4 said:
You still the need at a2cofoc or gvc though if you are flying anything other than a Mavic mini.
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I'm still flying self builds and Mavic Pro 1

from UAVHUB

People flying drones that are between 250g-500g will need to do the Drone and Model Aircraft Registration and Education Service (DMARES) to get their Flyer ID (this is free). Once you have your Flyer ID you will then need to get an A2 Certificate of Competency (A2 CofC) from a certified company such as UAVHUB.

Once you hold an A2 CofC you will be able to fly these drones in areas used for recreational, industrial, residential and commercial purposes. You must always maintain unaided visual line of sight with the drone and you can't intentionally overfly uninvolved people (people who aren't involved with your flight!).


If you choose not to get an A2 CofC, you will need to:

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All of my flying satisfies the above, out in the sticks, so technically I don't need one, however its something I will look into for the future. :)
 
Rob 80386 said:
I'm still flying self builds and Mavic Pro 1




All of my flying satisfies the above, out in the sticks, so technically I don't need one, however its something I will look into for the future. :)
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Pretty much all my flying satisfies the same, but for the sake of it, it was just better to do it.. I can’t ever be accused of being irresponsible or whatever then.

I only fly over open forest, and there no congested areas near by. My nearest neighbour is well over 200m away.
 
My son passed the test, even though i don’t think he needs it for the Mavic Mini

So we’re all sorted
 
Google drive and (microsoft) one drive are cloud services so you could access the manual on a phone or remote computer, if you suddenly needed to look something up while away from home for example.
Plus it would still be available if the computer failed
 
Not sure how large the manual file(s) is but it will probably fit easily in a phone or tablet's memory (or on a (micro)SD card therein.)
 
Nod said:
Not sure how large the manual file(s) is but it will probably fit easily in a phone or tablet's memory (or on a (micro)SD card therein.)
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14.3 MB...:)
 
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Smaller than most photos then!
 
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4wd said:
Google drive and (microsoft) one drive are cloud services so you could access the manual on a phone or remote computer, if you suddenly needed to look something up while away from home for example.
Plus it would still be available if the computer failed
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Ah - I haven't got any of that. I don't like the idea of this cloud thing - photobucket bit people, I fully expect the 'cloud' to do similar and suddenly charge folks if they want their pictures back. I like to have something tangible in my possession. My hard drive that plugs in is pretty much hack proof - it isn't plugged in, so hack into that one then. I only plug it in to get something off, or put something on, so for a couple of minutes at a time only. Very unlikely the hackers will be able to get it.
 
Simon, if you can get the electronic manual onto your computer, you should be able to get it onto your tablet so will always have a copy with you when out in the field. It's apparently not a large file so shouldn't take up too much memory either in the tablet's own memory or on a memory card. Might be worth having a copy on your phone too so you can get at it without needing the control tablet which might be in use.
 
OK - now I am stuck trying to get back into the flying licence course. My computer just turned itself off this morning, my new one. It came up with some error or other and that was it, gone! It fired back up an hour later, but I havent saved it apparently!
 
Lensflare said:
OK - now I am stuck trying to get back into the flying licence course. My computer just turned itself off this morning, my new one. It came up with some error or other and that was it, gone! It fired back up an hour later, but I havent saved it apparently!
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Sign In - UAVHub

courses.uavhub.com courses.uavhub.com

Obviously I don’t know your login details, but that’s the page to sign into the course.
 
Anyone using the Mini 2?
I'm thinking of getting one for photography and I was wondering what the image quality is like.
 
Hi folks, looking at getting the DJI Mini 2 - it's a bit of cross between an impulse and an itch that needs scratching. Is it worth spending the extra to get the fly more kit?
 
Bristolian said:
Hi folks, looking at getting the DJI Mini 2 - it's a bit of cross between an impulse and an itch that needs scratching. Is it worth spending the extra to get the fly more kit?
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It's annoying not to have a minimum one extra battery and that charging hub is good,
Three batteries is probably the sweet spot if you bought them separately it would be more or less the same price as the kit.
The extra props are something you imagine you'd need but it's very rare they get damaged so most likely any extra ones will just sit there.
 
Bristolian said:
Hi folks, looking at getting the DJI Mini 2 - it's a bit of cross between an impulse and an itch that needs scratching. Is it worth spending the extra to get the fly more kit?
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Yes, i have mini and having spare batteries is useful, nice to have case and extra bits too.
 
Passing a lamp-post other day I cop a 'Missing' notice, thought it must be a dog or cat and had a closer look, it was for a drone! First time I've ever seen that one :D They can be pricey bits of gear I guess, and if you were to come across a stray one you would be looking for the owner [unless you're a thief of course]

Never used one myself, but have seen some fantastic video footage shot by them, some amazing talent out there. I can barely keep my bike straight but some of those guys can run/cycle/drive with the drone remotely following them, sweeping over mountains/forests etc, impressive
 
Cagey75 said:
I can barely keep my bike straight but some of those guys can run/cycle/drive with the drone remotely following them, sweeping over mountains/forests etc, impressive
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The drones can be set to do that automatically, they track what you tell them to. :)
 
Thanks for the advice folks - looks like the fly more kit is going to be the one.

I was discussing the Mini 2 with one of my neighbours yesterday (socially distanced and outside the home) and weirdly his son paid him a visit this morning to show off his new toy - the Mini 2 :) Having seen it in action now I am almost certainly going to get one.

Just off to the CAA web site to see what this license thing is all about.
 
I have a drone but hardly get it out nowadays, but the other day I watched a video of an fpv drone pilot fly across the length and height of The Matterhorn, the further he flew it the more my heart raced expecting it to go out of range. Obviously it had a GoPro stuck to it so the video quality was decent, but I would’ve been interested to see what his fpv video feed was like at that range.
 
Bristolian said:
Thanks for the advice folks - looks like the fly more kit is going to be the one.

I was discussing the Mini 2 with one of my neighbours yesterday (socially distanced and outside the home) and weirdly his son paid him a visit this morning to show off his new toy - the Mini 2 :) Having seen it in action now I am almost certainly going to get one.

Just off to the CAA web site to see what this license thing is all about.
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Not needed for the mini, but you do need to register on the DMARES..

Youll need and operator and flyer ID.

Registering a drone or model aircraft | UK Civil Aviation Authority

Overview of how to register and take the test to fly drones or model aircraft legally in the UK.
register-drones.caa.co.uk register-drones.caa.co.uk
 
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