Find That Perfect Spot With Your Drone

[rwidman]

A drone that is programmed to return to where it was launched from is not going to be able to do that unless the boat is stationary. Like at a dock.

[smj]

What are the chances of a drone making a successful automatic landing on a sailboat with rigging intact?

[SYNADINE]

Originally Posted by mcgann454

I was looking into a drone for other reasons as well as the ones for the cruiser. Most of the better drones are programmed to come back to the original spot they were launched from. Boats move on anchor and in channels and the recovery location seems as if it would change. Has anyone looked at ways around that? Is there one that homes in on the controller?
Thanks

If you are on the boat and lost the visual contact with the drone,you push the home button and drone returns to the boat. If the boat moved,then you can land it manualy.

[SYNADINE]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

You can likely "marinize" a drone with floatation (such as pool noodles) affixed to the landing skids. They just have to be light. You could experiment over a puddle!

FPV SPLASH DRONE MARINER 2 is the answer. It is water proof.

[HopCar]

Synadine, I've sold a couple of the Splash Drone Mariner 2 to fishermen. I decided I'd better learn to fly one so I bought one for myself. I'm sitting here in my living room watching videos and reading the manual trying to figure out how to set it up and calibrate it. I think I'm going to need to find a better instruction video or drive up to the distributor for a lesson. For an old fart like me it is not Plug and Play or Ready to Fly.

They are capable of doing amazing things and seem to have the features you'd want on a boat based drone.

It comes with a waterproof gimbaled mount for a GoPro camera and an equipment release. I'm looking forward to using the equipment release to drop bait offshore from the beach much farther than I could cast it.

They also suggest you could carry a messenger line to pull a rope across to someone instead of using a line throwing gun or rocket.

It will also carry a life jacket if you needed to get one to someone. I don't really see that happening in a real life emergency.

The Splash Drone has a "Follow Me" feature that will cause the drone to follow the controller in addition to the Return to Base function.

If you are in clear water, you can land on the water and take a look at what's under it.

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by tomfl

So if it is not capable of automatically landing how is it autonomous?

It is autonomous for normal land based operation, but not for the <1% of the population who are stupid enough to own a small moving hole in the water.

Just get a big hole in the water with a heli pad and use a second anchor to keep it stationary. And the bebop becomes autonomous even on a boat

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by SYNADINE

FPV SPLASH DRONE MARINER 2 is the answer. It is water proof.

As I posted earlier in this thread check out the Splash Drone facebook group to get an idea of how some of the owners feel about it. I have been very unhappy with mine. It runs hot and there is a great deal of interference from the video signal and the GPS and control signal which makes it very hard to control. I was never able to get the image quality from pix or vid I was expecting.

This is a much better choice, but it is more expensive.

https://www.quadh2o.com/

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by rabbi

It is autonomous for normal land based operation, but not for the <1% of the population who are stupid enough to own a small moving hole in the water.

Just get a big hole in the water with a heli pad and use a second anchor to keep it stationary. And the bebop becomes autonomous even on a boat

I doubt anyone with a boat with a helipad would ever consider a bebop.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by tomfl

As I posted earlier in this thread check out the Splash Drone facebook group to get an idea of how some of the owners feel about it. I have been very unhappy with mine. It runs hot and there is a great deal of interference from the video signal and the GPS and control signal which makes it very hard to control. I was never able to get the image quality from pix or vid I was expecting.

This is a much better choice, but it is more expensive.

https://www.quadh2o.com/

I have the original Mariner(pre-splash model) and never managed to get it flying in a manor I can be happy with. I could never get it to be stable in flight and it would never hover without drifting or changing altitude. I had built a couple of TBS drones previously and the electronics for my Splash were from my surviving TBS. The TBS would hover in one spot and would just stay there even on a windy day. Clearly an unventilated small space crammed with heat generating electronics is not a good thing

[Pelagic]

Amazing stuff....
how many years have consumer drones been on the market?

Seems like they will only get better

[SYNADINE]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Synadine, I've sold a couple of the Splash Drone Mariner 2 to fishermen. I decided I'd better learn to fly one so I bought one for myself. I'm sitting here in my living room watching videos and reading the manual trying to figure out how to set it up and calibrate it. I think I'm going to need to find a better instruction video or drive up to the distributor for a lesson. For an old fart like me it is not Plug and Play or Ready to Fly.



They are capable of doing amazing things and seem to have the features you'd want on a boat based drone.



It comes with a waterproof gimbaled mount for a GoPro camera and an equipment release. I'm looking forward to using the equipment release to drop bait offshore from the beach much farther than I could cast it.



They also suggest you could carry a messenger line to pull a rope across to someone instead of using a line throwing gun or rocket.



It will also carry a life jacket if you needed to get one to someone. I don't really see that happening in a real life emergency.



The Splash Drone has a "Follow Me" feature that will cause the drone to follow the controller in addition to the Return to Base function.



If you are in clear water, you can land on the water and take a look at what's under it.

Hello hopcar,
I am sure you will enjoy it a lot. I had DJI Phantom 4 and it is 50 meters under water in the mediterranien now I will buy for myself mariner2 but first i want to find out if the new go pro 5 fits to the gimbal. With which go pru you will use it?

[hoppy]

I just wonder if the "privacy people" have ever seen a "spy" photo from a drone?

This photo was taken by a GoPro about 14m up the mast (obviously not a drone)



This was probably shot from about 20-30m away, 10m altitude



My original TBS coming in to land. R.I.P.

[HopCar]

I'll be using the GoPro 4 because I've got a bunch of them to get rid of.
Anybody want a good price on a GoPro 4?

I'm pretty sure the GoPro 5 will fit the gimbal but I'll have to check.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by smj

What are the chances of a drone making a successful automatic landing on a sailboat with rigging intact?

None.

The new DJI Mavic, or perhaps the new DJI Phantom 4 Pro which is even newer, is currently the most advanced RTH system around. Both have an obstacle avoidance system. The Mavic has cameras in the front and below while the Phantom has cameras front, back, sides, and below.

My experience with the Mavic is obstacle avoidance works quite well; especially at slower speeds; and I have no doubt the same is true for the Phantom. I have seen videos of both avoiding branches which I would view as being similar to the rigging on a boat.

The problem is that the RTH feature does not mean the platform returns to the exact spot where it took off from. I started out with a 2' X 2' foam square with a obvious duck tape pattern on it. After several tries I switched to a 4' X4' square since the Mavic was landing half on the 2' X 2' square and half on the grass/ground. Later I went to a Goodwill store and bought a fold up poker table top (for $US1.50) with patterns and am using it with good results.

The thing is not many boats have a place where a 4' X 4' square could be placed. I will probably try putting the poker table top between the nets on my boat and use it as a landing pad. But only in calm water and most likely only at anchor. And I will be relying on my line of sight flying skills not the RTH feature. But I will be using what is called the dynamic home point which means the return to home feature is not static but follows where the controller is. So if you boat moves while at anchor or under sail the RTH point moves as well.

[Cap Erict3]

It seems an RC boat would make more sense.