The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: mojocafa on March 20, 2017, 07:50:24 pm

Title: Drone
Post by: mojocafa on March 20, 2017, 07:50:24 pm
Does anyone own a drone?
 
I am thinking of getting one, any recommendations?

Title: Re: Drone
Post by: doganjo on March 21, 2017, 11:20:37 pm
What for? what are you going to do with it?
Title: Re: Dron
Post by: mojocafa on March 22, 2017, 02:38:59 am
 :wave: hi doganjo

I am on the move  :excited:

Just got myself a delapidated property with no neighbours  :relief: and it comes with an overgrown wilderness.

So I am thinking of filming the transformation !
Title: Re: Drone
Post by: Steph Hen on March 22, 2017, 07:51:07 am
Wow!!! Well done! Where is it? Sorry, I know nothing of drones, although a friend of a friend filmed this on our farm:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m3jOCRn-qrc
R & N Cessford Whanland Farm Harvest 2015
Title: Re: Drone
Post by: Womble on March 22, 2017, 08:07:23 am
What for? what are you going to do with it?

That's what I thought too. Have you fallen out with the neighbours?

The usual course of action is to shout at them over the fence or cover their car in something unpleasant. Dropping cluster bombs seems a bit extreme, no?  ;)
Title: Re: Drone
Post by: pgkevet on March 22, 2017, 08:23:51 am
I have been into flying r/c helicopters for some years albeit the enthusiasm has dropped somewhat of late. Drones = aerial photography and are relatively simple to use. If you want to play with drones then fine.. go get one But realise that quality of video or stills really comes down to quality of camera and editing ability.
There are some realities to consider... how often are you going to be re-watching those videos? Would you be just aswel off with a few still images that could be hung as pictures on the wall to show progress? Or both. Meaningful changes in the land don't happen overnight so how often are you going to be shooting repeat vids?
If you have nearby hills then occasional aerial shots from those with a decent camera may give a more consistent diary of change. You might even get just as good to better pics with an old fashioned box kite and a good camera that shoots timed exposures.
What drones excel at is things like checking the gutters and factory roofs for damage or doing promotional vids for rural retreats, golf courses etc Oh, and looking for lost drones.

If you do get one then please check the regs on using them.

I'm on the wrong PC for my full library of pics but this image was taken just with a phone camera from the top of far field a couple of years ago. I don't think a video would say much more:
(http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t361/Peter_Knapp/CAM00245_zpsxalk7ix9.jpg)
Title: Re: Drone
Post by: Fleecewife on March 22, 2017, 12:45:27 pm
Drones are apparently quite good for exercising tigers too, until they catch and maul it - wot, no tiger icon  :huff:
Title: Re: Drone
Post by: Penninehillbilly on March 22, 2017, 03:34:32 pm
Drones are apparently quite good for exercising tigers too, until they catch and maul it - wot, no tiger icon  :huff:
LOL
On the news some time ago they were using drones to exercise dogs.
Have to admit, I'd love one to 'play' with, and maybe could check the sheep without traipsing over wet fields  ;D.
Title: Re: Drone
Post by: pgkevet on March 22, 2017, 04:41:33 pm
CAA regulations apply to drones too (subsets for r/c models in differing wt categories) . Essentially your drone is supposed to be in sight at all times and below 400ft. So sending it over to check the livestock depends on how far, how well you can keep visual with it etc. Amateur r/c has a limited range UK (more powerful sets allowed US). It's line of sight too and the commonly used modern channels in the 2.4MHz bandwidth are affected by humidity and may well be affected by proximity to cellphone towers and the like.

With my r/c helis I wouldn't dream of flying one without a good airframe check and range check before the first flight of a session. But then again the thought of my bigger one with a pair of 700mm blades at 1800 rpm and weighing some 4kg going off on it's own is terrifying.