Quad Copter Fpv

[SWWASAS]

My aerial recon yesterday did not last long.    There was a strong wind at altitude from the East.     When I got near the interesting part I got into some severe turbulence.     Got out of there as quick as I could, but it was not fun for a while.    My favorite mountain has been extensively logged.     Has to have driven BF away from the area as there is no cover left to move from place to place.     There has been a BF sighting and vocalization history there going back into the mid 90s.      A crying shame for me because I could leave home and be here in about 45 minutes.   Now that makes me need to go further away and I have not found a good active area yet.      

[norseman]

Sorry bud.

If I pay for gas what would it cost me to do some flying in the Selkirks?

[David NC]

Great pictures Norse, That is some beautiful forest.  Has anyone thought of a quadcopter tripod.  Put a light weight tripod on the quadcopter to fly say into a meadow a distance away from you. Set the craft down in said meadow and then it becomes a remote viewing platform with a remote control on the camera. You would have the sound of the vehicle going in but you would not have the sound of a person going thru the woods or the smell of a person between you and where you set the copter down. Need to attach thermal camera for night time.

[gigantor]

Norse, the radio range of the controller of these quad copters and other flying drones is about 2000ft.

The higher end are preprogrammed to return to the launch gps coordinates when they loose the signal. I stand by my conclusion that the civilian models are not useful to spot a BF or even survey the landscape. Just a distraction.

If you want to survey the land, google earth is a much more practical tool.

Edited December 1, 2014 by gigantor

[SWWASAS]

Once I found what looks like a BF on a Goggle Earth picture. Since then have lost the coordinates. It was somewhere in Western WA. You have to be in an area where there is high resolution pictures. Many rural areas are not high resolution. In the military I had access to military grade high resolution satellite pictures. If a BF has been in the open and imaged with those satellite cameras, military analysts have seen them and know they are there. The pictures at the time (before 1989) were good enough that you could almost read license plate numbers from orbit. That is not good enough to differentiate between human in good costume and real BF but if the area is remote, a costumed human is unlikely.

Sorry bud.

If I pay for gas what would it cost me to do some flying in the Selkirks?

Where are the Selkirks? The paying for gas amounts to compensation and although I have an Airline Transport rating, I do not keep up the appropriate class medical for commercial flying. Might do it just because I do that anyway now and then.

[norseman]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selkirk_Mountains

[norseman]

Norse, the radio range of the controller of these quad copters and other flying drones is about 2000ft.

The higher end are preprogrammed to return to the launch gps coordinates when they loose the signal. I stand by my conclusion that the civilian models are not useful to spot a BF or even survey the landscape. Just a distraction.

If you want to survey the land, google earth is a much more practical tool.

 

It's not if you want to the minute intelligence. I.e. Is a trail or road still impassable by snow pack? Fly your quad copter up the hill. Easy. Google earth is a great resource to us, but it has some weaknesses.

[gigantor]

Oh, I see how you're thinking of using it... 

 

I thought you wanted to fly it around looking for BF with a video feed.

[norseman]

Oh, I see how you're thinking of using it... 

 

I thought you wanted to fly it around looking for BF with a video feed.

 

Well, if I saw a giant fur ball running down the road on my video feed, I'd haul butt up the hill

 

But you know how I feel about video.........

[norseman]

Very impressive!!

 

 

Edited December 3, 2014 by norseman

[NCBFr]

I believe the key to using them for recon in remote areas is programmable GPS.  Something like this should do the trick:

 

http://www.gizmag.com/3d-robotics-iris-gps-guided-quadcopter-drone/28818/

 

You plan your hunt from your living room with preplanned routes and then just hit the go button when you are in position.

[BobbyO]

Just saw this..

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/field-notes/idaho-hunters-fined-for-using-powered-parachute-to-find-deer?src=SOC&dom=fb

Edited December 6, 2014 by BobbyO

[bipedalist]

Funny, ain't against the code when they are shooting wolves.  *Laughs*

[norseman]

Idaho state government hates wolves.....a while back they stated they would not prosecute wolf poachers.

Basically telling the Feds off.....

[Airdale]

This might be an interesting alternative to the quadcopters. It's a Hubsan Spy Hawk FPV, an RC fixed wing powered glider with nose mounted 720p video camera that displays on a screen on the control pad or through optional goggles, records to an onboard SD card and incorporates gyroscopic stabilization. The motor can be throttled back to zero to eliminate noise and extend battery life when conditions allow for gliding. Right now Ebay seems to be the only source with pricing for a complete package just under $300.00.

 

People seem to be getting some significant range and altitude out of these. One of the linked videos is of an altitude trial that reached 3034' (925 m) above ground level. There are quite a number of review videos detailing assembly (which is simple) and providing details on the electronics which I have not included.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viv53DhiTgY

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk7vyNg5XF4