While doing a basic drone automation task for a college club, I realized that I don't fully understand how drones communicate with the base station.

I have questions about how the networking is usually setup for autonomous drones with a companion computer. I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to radio equipment or network theory so please let me know if any of my questions don't make sense.

Is there a difference between the radio transceivers on the drone and the radio in something like a phone? Can this transceiver be used to transmit data between the ground station and the companion computer? Is there a technical limitation like the radio not being fast enough?

How do drones currently communicate between the companion computer and the ground station. How does something like a live video stream of what the camera sees get sent back to the drone pilot? Does it happen using the radio using protocols like mavlink?

If it is possible for the companion computer to talk over the radio, how would one go about setting up something like this? I was thinking of exploring an architecture where the companion computer has a radio attached to it and the program on the companion computer would send instructions to the Flight Controller as and when instructions came in from the ground station.

https://preview.redd.it/cy02fold41tc1.png?width=3840&format=png&auto=webp&s=1b806dbbb5aeedf891dbf856434f898bf5b62b3d

Hey all,

I recently stumbled across an idea for a platform where drone pilots could discuss and potentially challenge specific FAA regulations. The idea being to create a community space for pilots to share experiences, identify potentially outdated rules, and advocate for changes.

Here's the thing: While I get the frustration with some FAA regulations, I'm worried such a platform could be misused to spread misinformation or encourage unsafe flying practices.

So, what do you guys think?

• Would a platform for challenging FAA regulations be helpful for the drone community?
• How could we ensure responsible discussions and avoid promoting unsafe flying?
• Are there alternative approaches for advocating for changes to FAA regulations?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this!

I was approached by a tennis club to fly my drone during their summer pickleball tournament. They want me to take videos and photos of the crowd and matches using my drone. I am certified pet 107 pilot, but will be flying my magic air 2s. Do I need a waiver to fly over ppl at this event? If I get permission by all participants is that something I don’t need a waiver for. Other things how to wedding photographer get away flying over ppl at weddings. I am considering getting a DJI mini to be under the .5lb weight limit. Any advice and clarity would be great

As the title says: There are now the cheap DJI clones for $50-$75 bucks that actually have GPS which, I would think, leads to better stabilization with wind, return-to-base, and waypoint route flying like their more expensive DJI brethren.

Has anyone tried one of these not-quite-bottom-end-but not-DJI-Mini priced drones and how they handled some of the more advanced feature set GPS brings?

Any suggestions on some entry level drones? I've seen people with those googles, haven't done much research on those, but that seems pretty awesome, what's a good one for that type?

I have a Mini 2 which has a 400m max ceiling

Say for example on a full a charge, I'm at a cliff that's 800m high, I fly off and go down to the bottom so I'm technically -750m from my starting location. Can the drone then fly back up to me?

I am visiting Serbia in the summer. The rules and regulations I can find on the Serbian CAD website are only in Serbian and I only speak English, unfortunately. I've contacted them requesting information/assistance but had no response.

Is anyone able to help me understand the rules and requirements there?

For reference, I'll be visiting from the UK and I'd like to fly around Belgrade, Novi Sad, and possibly Niš. I'll be flying a DJI Mini 3 Pro (so under 250g), and I have both a UK and EU Operator ID and Flyer ID. (I am aware Serbia isn't part of the EU, but it seems they may follow EASA rules.)

I got a mini se sometime last week and today I got a samsung a05 only to discover its a type c port and doesnt work with the drone's controller because that comes with a normal usb. Now I feel stranded, is there a way to connect my phone to the drone or controller without using cables?

Hello, folks! I have a small drone (DJI Air 2S) which I use for my civil engineering projects. I work with road and drainage construction, so I use photogrammetry to make orthomosaics and point clouds to make DEM. But, the problem is: my projects are often in rural roads which has too much vegetation and high trees near the road, so my DEM are usually not as good as I wanted it to be. Is there any LiDAR scanner that can be attached to any small drone like the Air 2S? I know there are the Matrice line that can attach LiDAR, but it's extremely expensive in my country, so it's not an option for me.

Hello everybody,

I am looking into buying my first drone. I watched a comparison between the most popular drones, most of them from DJI. And I think the decision will be whether it is going to be a DJI Mini 3 Pro or a DJI Mavic 3 Classic. The most notable difference between these two seems to be the sensor, with the sensor of the Mavic 3 Classic being able to record a higher color spectrum. I watched a comparison of both drone footages and I think I was able to spot the color difference. However, this might just have been luck, as I watched this comparison on my full HD monitor which is said to be unable to display HDR (sorry for being a noob. I have just started getting into this). Correct me if I'm wrong here. Though I would be able to afford a Mavic 3 Classic I just don't want to spend hundreds of dollars more for a device where I might not even be able to see a difference in the end.

Also, I informed myself about drone accessories und wanted to ask you all, what accessories do you find to be essential. So far, ND filters, extra batteries, spare propellors, a drone case and a fast microSD card seem to be the most essential accessories in my opinion.

What would be the best choice of drone for a beginner like me? And what accessories do you recommend?

https://youtu.be/rPhkFBLxZV0

Just bought a TSRC Q7 as my first drone, primarily for checking on damage to my home's roof line each Spring. I was surprised to find that it doesn't support slow lateral movement; rather, it jukes hard in a given direction, no matter how slowly I move the control sticks.

Is this normal? How big/expensive of a drone does one need to have more degrees of control?

Ireland by drone | DJI Mini 2 in 4K https://youtu.be/8MNwgWNRRfA

What would you guys buy now in 2024? Is the 2se newer tech? And are there major difference from 2.7 to 4k? Dont know how long before they suspend the mini 2

Hey, I have got a fine from AESA for flying my drone in Spain last year , and I am just wondering if anybody in maybe the same position or who just knows the Spanish laws or is from Spain can tell me how much time do I have to pay it ? As I am going on holidays to Spain in a few weeks and I would prefer to pay it when I get back as it will be easier on the wallet .

Thanks.

There is a lot of talk on the part 107 test about being able to monitor communications with ATC and incoming from aircraft in the area around airports etc. Just wondering if any of the licensed drone pilots here can recommend radios they have purchased and had good experiences with or would recommend for this purpose? Preferably things that seem like a good value for a drone operator mainly using it just for that purpose.

I work as a tower technician and having a drone to go up and look at the tower will save me a climb so I've been looking to get one. But this will be a personal drone so I'll be using it for fun as well. It seems like "work" drones are like 2-6k. I was looking at the skydio2+ but read it isn't great for manual control. Is there something in that 500-1500 range that would suit me?

I have a dji mavic 2 pro I got some years back and I always have trouble deciding if I should take and shots or not. I dont really travel much so i havent used it much maybe 10 to 20 flights and those are mostly just learning to fly. When I do travel I take it and have taken a few pictures and video but they are far from worthy to post, and at home it's not all that interesting. Does anyone else ever feel like that about home or local area photography, I mean I see it all the time so to me it's not much of a picture to me. I'd like to use it more but I dont have a great eye for good pictures.

On a side note is and jods that can be done with the mavic 2 pro? I have been thinking about it more lately.

So basically I was going to buy the avata but found out avata 2 is coming out as well. Long story short is that I live in India where DJI drones are unregulated and basically smuggled, so I can either wait for 2-3 months for the Avata 2 while also not being sure if I can afford the price hike or I can buy the avata 1 fly more combo with a remote and total of 3 batteries for considerably less amount of money. What should I of?