A little drone footage of our R-29CB

S

spierp

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C-30 CB
Had my son, my dad, and my grandpa on our ranger last September, four generations on one boat for the day. The DJI Spark is such an amazing little piece of technology for ~$500. Anyone else getting any fun drone footage from their boat?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RutwX_gKKE[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RutwX_gKKE
 
First... your R-29CB looks absolutely awesome...

Drone use is Very very cool indeed.

My only concern with deploying a drone from a boat when on the water is retrieving it without mishaps... if you know what I mean. I have the Mavic (a big brother to the Spark I suppose) and am still learning its ropes so to speak.

I will also be taking 'drone footage' soon of some of our exploits, such a crabbing but would hesitate doing this when our vR-27/OB is going at speed, although I'm told the Mavic could keep up with me... :lol: The only issue with deploying the drone while the boat is moving just a bit or even more than a bit is the 'homing' feature of the Mavic.... will it detect that 'home' has changed positions ?????

No matter, more and more of us will be using drones for all sorts of things and it sure makes taking drone footage of our boats as a new feature/challenge for us and lots of fun.

I'm amazed at how steady the drone holds the camera to avoid shaking.... great technology.

BTW... when you pan slow it down a tad as it's hard on the eyes to watch.... 😉
 
baz":3swsb2w6 said:
The only issue with deploying the drone while the boat is moving just a bit or even more than a bit is the 'homing' feature of the Mavic.... will it detect that 'home' has changed positions ?????
Click to expand...

The "Return to Home" feature that drones use is GPS based, and will mark the location wherever Home was set, usually the place you turned it on and it locked onto the satellites. You definitely don't want to use this feature if the boat is going to move. It will go to a watery grave exactly where the boat used to be.
 
Yes..... but surely it would be useful feature to be able to alter/change the Home GPS location by using the controller's GPS location and transmitting that to the drone for it to update its Home Location data.
 
All the drones I have flown have the GPS receiver in the drone, not in the controller. The drone needs the GPS to know where it is for all its locating, tracking, speed and distance functions etc. There is no way for the drone to know where the controller is unless the controller had a second GPS (or connection to your boat's GPS) and ability to send co-ordinates. I don't know of any that work that way.
If you hit the Return to Home switch it goes back to the GPS co-ordinates it memorized as Home. This is why you must always get a good satellite lock before you take off. If it gains a satellite fix somewhere on route after take-off; that spot becomes Home. Likely in mid-air someplace. Not a good place to return to.
 
YukonRon":1fdcrld2 said:
All the drones I have flown have the GPS receiver in the drone, not in the controller. The drone needs the GPS to know where it is for all its locating, tracking, speed and distance functions etc. There is no way for the drone to know where the controller is unless the controller had a second GPS (or connection to your boat's GPS) and ability to send co-ordinates. I don't know of any that work that way.
If you hit the Return to Home switch it goes back to the GPS co-ordinates it memorized as Home. This is why you must always get a good satellite lock before you take off. If it gains a satellite fix somewhere on route after take-off; that spot becomes Home. Likely in mid-air someplace. Not a good place to return to.
Click to expand...

Ron: What I'm saying is that a feature be added so that the drone can be told to change its recorded Home GPS location.

  • The controller already sends commands to the drone
    The controller already has its own GPS location
    ...So why not allow the controller to send its GPS location to the drone so that the Home GPS can be updated.
 
Dont want to turn into a drone conversation but with DJI drones, it is possible to update home point to where the controller is. If boat is still moving then getting it close to boat and then flying back on deck manually. I have the drone just not the boat yet. I am going to trawler fest in March--I'm hoping that we will meet some nice folks who can convince my wife on the virtues of the the Ranger Tug.
 
Well, if the DJI drone controller has GPS in the controller, then I stand corrected. Learn something new every day.
I build and fly the little racing drones, not the camera platforms, so my experience is apparently different.
 
I've already lost one drone (my first DJI Spark). The 'find my drone' feature was excellent and allowed me to pinpoint its last known location, luckily this was in a lake and it was just shallow enough that I was able to dive down and retrieve it.

The hardware was shot but I had DJI Care Refresh, a very worthwhile insurance policy if you ask me. The only issue is you have to return the damaged unit in order to get a replacement. This is great when you're flying over land, good luck over water. Drones + boats is not for the faint of heart.

Regarding the homepoint, yes you can update it to the location of your controller, but it is a static one time update, so if you're moving at any speed it's not practical.
 
--------Regarding the homepoint, yes you can update it to the location of your controller, but it is a static one time update, so if you're moving at any speed it's not practical------

Not quite correct, you can update the new homeport as many times as you like, simply push to get a new location. Also, to clear up a previous post the controllers don't have gps in them, they use the smart phone or tablet for the gps location. Final item, is a insurance plan for the loss of drone is better through some homeowner's insurance, if it goes to Davey Jones locker not a problem, they pay for it. Cheaper than DJI insurance too. I suspect this great deal may go away as it is being abused, I hear.
 
yes, true, thanks for clarifying, you can update the home point as many times as you like. However, I still don't think this is a practical approach if your boat is in gear, considering you're idling at minimum 3mph ~ 4 feet per second. that's quite the moving target!
 
timdelta":1mfz3sie said:
--------Regarding the homepoint, yes you can update it to the location of your controller, but it is a static one time update, so if you're moving at any speed it's not practical------

Not quite correct, you can update the new homeport as many times as you like, simply push to get a new location. Also, to clear up a previous post the controllers don't have gps in them, they use the smart phone or tablet for the gps location. Final item, is a insurance plan for the loss of drone is better through some homeowner's insurance, if it goes to Davey Jones locker not a problem, they pay for it. Cheaper than DJI insurance too. I suspect this great deal may go away as it is being abused, I hear.
Click to expand...


Fair enough.... what I called the "controller" was in fact the smart phone having GPS or at least a close proximity to having one as it can always provide its GPS co-ords as proof of this.
 
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