Drone Novice
- Thread starter yottie
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My sister in law works for a roofing firm and they use one for roof inspections/quotes. She says her boss has got very good at using one now and takes professional movies/pictures of roofs that they would have had to use ladders and towers in the past to carry out an inspection. Says he started off with one just above toy level at first but has since moved on to a more professional setup.
Back on drones. Any other 'droners' out there? I sort of got fed up with the one my son gave me and only played with it for a few weeks, my main grief with it was that it lost WiFi video transmission over distances of a couple of hundred meters plus it has a fixed camera but with my birthday coming up in less than two weeks, Mrs Mottie is pestering me to tell her what I want. There’s nothing I really want but to keep her happy I'm thinking of asking for another drone. I’ve seen one that is supposed to give good video transmission up to 10kms and has a three way gimble on a 4K camera so might ask for that. It’s still a beginner drone though which fits well with my limit of competence. It’s the DJI mini 4K and I was going to get the full kit with three batteries. Anyone got one or can add anything to this?
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I use a DJI Mini 4 Pro. Video transmission of up to 10kms does not mean that you can fly the drone that far away as you are required to maintain Visual Line of Sight to your drone at all times. You are very unlikely to be able to see the drone more than a few hundred meters away. Read the Drone & Model Aircraft Code from https://www.caa.co.uk/drones/rules-...ntroduction-to-drone-flying-and-the-uk-rules/ for all of the rules that you need to comply with.
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Thanks. Yeah, I will never fly it out of my sight but I’m assuming that because it has a supposed 10km range for video transmission, it should give me good clear video wherever I can see the drone from.
Is this a half decent model for a beginner? I doubt if I’ll ever trade up to something that you have but I’m hoping I won’t get fed up with it too quickly if the camera is pretty useable.
Agreed. The 10km range does enable good signal transmission where signals are noisy. As the drone transmission is on the WiFi 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands it helps in built up areas where those bands might already be saturated.
The Mini 4k model is a very good drone, fine for a beginner and more experienced users, it wasn't available when I bought mine. The camera is very good for video and perfectly acceptable for stills.
Dug my old drone out yesterday, charged it up and had a play with it in the garden. Decided I liked the idea of a better one so Mrs Mottie has ordered me the DJI mini 4K flymore kit (extra batteries, carry case and multi battery charger), it’s coming tomorrow but I can’t have it until my birthday at the end of the month. 
It’s here! I can't believe how small it is. Just charging the batteries up and reading up on it. I'm allowed one test flight before it is wrapped up for my birthday. It's dark now and I’m out all day tomorrow so I might try it out on Sunday. I’ve taken out the DJI insurance in case I lose or smash it up!
For your test flight pick a nice big open space outdoors with good GPS coverage (the screen will tell you how many satellites it can see). Sunday might be a bit windy for a first go. Remember that those propellers will cut skin so keep it away from yourself and others (and the dog). If you get into any difficulty during the flight you can let go of both sticks and it will just hover in place while you think about what you want to do next. Enjoy!
Remember that those propellers will cut skin so keep it away from yourself and others (and the dog). If you get into any difficulty during the flight you can let go of both sticks and it will just hover in place while you think about what you want to do next. Enjoy!
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I look forward to your video channel on Youtube, where you go out and fly your drone.
Don't forget to get an action cam that you keep recording to caprute the annoyed idiots that don't know that your allowed to fly it.
Plenty on the tube showing this.
The DJI mini is a damn good drone.
Don't forget to get an action cam that you keep recording to caprute the annoyed idiots that don't know that your allowed to fly it.
Plenty on the tube showing this.
The DJI mini is a damn good drone.
Out all day so didn’t get home until dark so couldn’t try it out outside so I thought I’d give it a go indoors. Held on to it and started the motors up then somehow increased the revs somewhat and it tried to fly out of my hands but I held on and somehow managed to shut it down with one hand (I didn’t have the joysticks in at this point so was just using my thumb on the rollers). When my heartbeat had got back to near normal, I tried it again starting from the floor. Bloody easy! Took it up to about 5 feet high. Backwards, forwards, sideways, rotated it 360°, played with the gimbal, took a few snaps and a video and then landed it. It was rock steady and the movements were so precise. I had a bit of trouble getting it to land on the floor and shut down - it wouldn’t go the final foot or so but by keeping the left joystick held down, it landed and switched off. That’s enough for tonight.
Well done for not crashing it indoors. They are much easier to crash when they don't have a good GPS signal. Indoors you have things to hit in every direction.
I've got a mavic mini (older 2.7k version) and a mavic 2 pro.
The pro has more features, but to be honest the mini is more fun and great for travel as you can easily put it in a backpack.
Although not so good as the pro if a bit too windy.
Just a few tips.
Get yourself a small strobe light and attach it with velcro.
They are very bright and good for extra visibility even in day time.
And get a sun shield for your screen.
Plus landing struts to help avoid rotor damage.
And beware of winter flying when it's cold and damp.
The frost in the air can play havoc with the rotors, but that's when the insurance kicks in!
Although normally they give you a refurb replacement.
You do still actually need a licence for a 249gm model, but it's a joke.
Since you are allowed to crib the answers when doing the test from the PDF the CAA provide!
Oh, and avoid those 360 degree shots.
There's a reason why the pros normally only do level or up/down shots!
Edit: And pcaouolte is quite right about getting cuts off the rotors especially if you get it wrong if you decide to hand land from the hover position!
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Yeah, apparently I needed an operator ID as it has a camera, £11.13 a year so I have that but I although I didn't need a flyer ID, I got one as it was free, lasts 5 years and the answers were just common sense. Only need 30 out of 40 and I got 36. Apparently if you don't pass, you can take it again and again until you do!
Actually you do need both Operator and Flyer ID.
In theory the Operator ID should be attached to your drone.
But then mrs mottie can get the free Flyer licence and fly it with your permission as you are the operator
Oh and one more thing.
It is quite easy at first to forget to take off the gimbal protector before flying the drone.
Sometimes another insurance job!
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