Or how to spend 300$ to the wind.
To begin with, try to figure out how it works.
You already did? Then let’s get started.
How to fly without seeing the drone?
Pilot has a special goggles that transmit video from the drone without any delays.
Do you need some kind of license?
In general, it’s country specific but in Canada you have to have Basic Drone Operator Certificate. It costs around $10 and you have to pass online test. For Advanced Certificate, there’s pilot exam, and more tests.
Can I use my laptop battery to power the drone?
Actually you can! Older models of laptop were equipped with a high current Li-Ion batteries, that can be used in DIY FPV drones.
Does it flies far, fast and for a long time?
It will fly 10 kilometers for 40 minutes at 80 km/h but choose only something one at the time.
I have only 3 propeller, can I takeoff ?
Sure, but it’s a bit like having a plate of wild mushrooms for dinner—the outcome could be… unpredictable. If you’re curious to see just how wildly your drone can spin mid-air, feel free to give it a shot.
What do you respond to friends asking, ‘Can I fly it?’
I usually respond: I’ll let you flight right after you finish reading the 100-page manual on ‘How Not to Crash Your Brand-New Drone.’ After you read it, there are drone simulators you must learn first.
P.S. I couldn’t say no, and my friend lost the drone… Are there any chances of finding it?
First of all, don’t argue with your friend and don’t block them on all messaging apps. Second, don’t panic and read this article to the end. So, there are four options:
- Be glad that you didn’t waste money on the beeper. But only if the drone fell nearby and the battery disconnected. Otherwise… you’d have been better off buying a sandwich and a coffee with that money.
- If you’ve sufficiently grieved about your wasted money, it’s time to move on.
- Press the button that you hopefully set up for locating your drone, and it will start beeping cheerfully with all four motors or an built-in beeper (if it has one).
- Don’t hear anything? Well, I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up… I knew this would happen, let’s move on:
Check the last coordinates of the drone on the controller or in your FPV goggles and feel like a pirate searching for treasure!
You are still here?
Do you have a Tbeacon? (It’s a board that is soldered in parallel to the battery and GPS module, which transmits the coordinates of your drone to the radio). Now your task is to write down the coordinates and go searching. You can also roughly determine the direction of the crash by doing a quick waltz with the radio (this way, you block 180 out of 360 possible directions, and by listening for three different tones, you can figure out where the drone fell).
What? It stuck in the tree? Damn… Have you and your friend not completely fallen out yet? Because you might need a ladder, a fishing rod, a long stick, some paracord, or another drone.