Are there any strobes that will keep the weight under 250g now that the Mini 2 has a few extra grams to play with?

[Flypic]

STROBON Cree® Standalone - Drone Night Light Strobe - Genuine Flytron UK Product | eBay

Powerful Cree® Standalone LED. The battery includes its own PCM module. DJI (Phantom, Inspire, Mavic, Spark, Mavic Air and others). Colour Selection. This product is compatible with latest FAA and CAA anti-collision lights rules for drones.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Two Seam]

Just curious what’s the purpose for a strobe on a drone?

For me, I live near a small airport and it seems like the smart thing to do.

 

[Flypic]

I fitted to my Typhoon H a few years ago when gaining my Night flying permissions.
VERY bright.
Ideal if the light is fading. I had it on top so any other aircraft would see it a mile away.
Just added safety precaution.
3D printed my own holder which I glued in place.

 

[howardK]

I bought some strobes for my M1P's. I just put one on a scale and it was 3.69 grams. Obviously my M1P's are clearly over the 250g limit and they are registered with the FAA. i just wanted them for visibility. I got them on Amazon

Strobon CREE - 3 Pack for Drones - Part 107 Night Waiver Compliant (White) - - Amazon.com

here and they were 3/$79.00 USD. They are attached with velcro and they hold a charge for a decent amount of time. They do not come with charging cable but the same cable to charge my controllers is the same fit. Hope this helps

 

[Mario McFly]

The Firehouse Strobes are very small and very bright; Firehouse Technology ARC High Intensity Drone Strobe Light

Waiting for two firehouse ARC after watching comparaison i oredered those . Still waiting for them.

 

[vindibona1]

Firehouse Technology Arc II strobe. 500 lumens, same as Lume Cube. If you want to cheat 3 grams, you can go with the ARC V which has 1000 lumens, cheaper than the Lume Cube. Weighed on a jewelry scale, accurate with in 2 decimals of a gram.

But seeing as you're in Florida, I don't see a big deal in going over the weight limit with a few extra grams. To stay legal you pay your $5 and register (one register for all your drones as the registration is really registering you (they don't ask for models or serials). You're going to want a set of leg extensions because, (IMO) you're going to want to mount the strobe on the bottom so you can see it and the drone better. Once you're up over 100' a drone on the top during the daylight is virtually useless.

I did a mid-day test yesterday to see how far I could actually see my drone as if flew away. With the Arc II strobe on the bottom I could see is clearly up to around 1650'. At night you can see it much farther.

 

[Modra]

@Meta4 you don't say where you're living but there are a lot of countries that have an under 250 gram UAV classification. Some that permits flying without registration and pilot certification and relaxed flying rules. In Canada under 250 grams has one rule, the "Don't do anything stupid rule", basically don't endanger people or aircraft. In my area I can fly almost anywhere as a hobby whereas I couldn't if the mini was over 250g.

Meta4, why are you so antagonistic? If someone does not want to register a drone and still be legal; it's their business.
I'm sure it's not the $5.00. And I am sure that people come here for answers to questions not to be called cheap.

Id slow your roll Mr Wildman Meta4 Was merely giving a simple solution. If anyone is being a **** its you. If you dont like the answers and opinions of the Group go elsewhere.

 

[NG Wildman]

I was simply pointing out how pointless it is to want to add accessories but want to avoid pushing the weight past 250 grams, just to avoid a 5$ fee.
But if it's not about the $5, I can't imagine what the issue might be.

I live in upstate NY. I have several drones. I registered all but the Mini and Mini2.
Speaking for many of us in this state I can understand not wanting to register everything. We are just sick and tired of our moron Governor acting like he is God and taking things from us and dictating what we can and can not do. It's a mind set.
But if people want to keep under the limit and fly at night legally, I can get behind that. As for adding other accessories, I think that is a futile effort...and maybe they should just upgrade to a larger drone and pay the fee and have more options.
I don't plan to register my minis (until they close that loop hole...and I'm sure they will). I fly AEE and DJIs a lot and they are all registered. My understanding is that they want to make registration/re-registration mandatory every 3 years and an additional fee per drone in the future. I think that's ridiculous, even though it would still be under $60.00 every 3 years for me.
Have you heard anything about this?

 

[tryt53]

They really help to identify the location of the drone in low light flying. If you fly at dusk, 30 mins before sunset, or dawn 30 mins before sunrise, it is a requirement that your aircraft(drone) has at least 3 miles of visibility. During daylight flight, it helps increase the visibility further than you can see without them.

OK, Now I see. Thanks!

 

[JTZ]

This one out my MINI 2 at 249g. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083Y4RQS2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[karlblessing]

When I weigh my Firehouse Arc "V" on the Mavic Mini (with the velcro) it seems to come right at about 247g -ish, I know the drone itself is actually 242g, and the Arc "V" is listed as weighing 4 grams.

So it's still under 250, on the original Mini though it would put it over.

 

[hiflyer201]

I just can't see the objection if you're living in the U.S the FAA has made it even easier than reading a post on this forum. Pay your fiver, print out the registration number, size it, print it on mailing label, print out your registration card and size it so it fits in your wallet...stick the label some where it doesn't take away from the beauty of your flying machine and ..you're good to go. .. if you lose your drone heck.....you might even get it back. How good is that

 

[karlblessing]

I just can't see the objection if you're living in the U.S the FAA has made it even easier than reading a post on this forum. Pay your fiver, print out the registration number, size it, print it on mailing label, print out your registration card and size it so it fits in your wallet...stick the label some where it doesn't take away from the beauty of your flying machine and ..you're good to go. .. if you lose your drone heck.....you might even get it back. How good is that

Agreed, I already pay it for my drones, but I can see it being more of an issue in other countries. The only additional inconvenience is that you have to have your # written or affixed to the outside of the drone.

 

[Crouching Leopard]

I use the strobon standalone and the much brighter strobon Cree. They are both available from Flytron RC Model & Drone Electronics. I like them because they make it easier to spot the drone even during the daytime in vlos. At dusk, they are even better and also look pretty cool. They weigh in at 4 grams each including the velcro sticky strips I use to attach them. I attach the Cree to a front leg and the standalone to the underbelly as here in Australia we don't have to register anything under 2 kilos for rec use (although that is changing). I use them both on every flight as they can also help find the drone if it comes down in long grass, you end up in a tree, or get into a forced landing. Not needed for that very often but when it happens, anything that helps see/find such a small drone is a time and stress-saving godsend. For added security, I put an elastic band around them to hold them in as lost one once when a tree got in the way of my experimenting with one of the autopilot modes in the litchi app. The one occasion I didn't turn it on! Never found it despite looking every day on my walks.

Also, checking photos/videos I can't see any sign of strobe flash. Kind of important if you are a bit of a photo/video perfectionist.

 

[Meta4]

I live in upstate NY. ... Speaking for many of us in this state I can understand not wanting to register everything. We are just sick and tired of our moron Governor acting like he is God and taking things from us and dictating what we can and can not do. It's a mind set.

Your beef with the start governor has no bearing on the topic, but provides some context.

I have several drones. I registered all but the Mini and Mini2. .... I don't plan to register my minis (until they close that loop hole...and I'm sure they will). I fly AEE and DJIs a lot and they are all registered.

That sounds like you don't realise that for recreational flying, you don't actually register any drones.
The registration is for you as a drone owner and one registration is good for as many drones as you might own.

My understanding is that they want to make registration/re-registration mandatory every 3 years and an additional fee per drone in the future. I think that's ridiculous, even though it would still be under $60.00 every 3 years for me.
Have you heard anything about this?

No-one has.
It's just an unfounded conspiracy theory rumour.

 

[vindibona1]

I live in upstate NY. I have several drones. I registered all but the Mini and Mini2.
Speaking for many of us in this state I can understand not wanting to register everything. We are just sick and tired of our moron Governor acting like he is God and taking things from us and dictating what we can and can not do. It's a mind set.
But if people want to keep under the limit and fly at night legally, I can get behind that. As for adding other accessories, I think that is a futile effort...and maybe they should just upgrade to a larger drone and pay the fee and have more options.
I don't plan to register my minis (until they close that loop hole...and I'm sure they will). I fly AEE and DJIs a lot and they are all registered. My understanding is that they want to make registration/re-registration mandatory every 3 years and an additional fee per drone in the future. I think that's ridiculous, even though it would still be under $60.00 every 3 years for me.
Have you heard anything about this?

I agree with you on several points. So far (at least so far) the US has not gone so far as to completely emulate some of the idiocracy that has swept other countries (at least until now... but we're creeping in that direction on so many levels). I find it a bit arbitrary, as so many regulations are, that they (who are these Gods anyway?) selected 250 grams as the final arbiter of hobbiest drones.

But I'd like to correct you on one thing. You said "I have several drones. I registered all but the Mini and Mini2." Is this a NY State thing? The FAA only requires one registration for as many drones as you own. Since you went through the process you might have noticed that it didn't ask you for your model or serial numbers. Only YOUR information. I suspect the reason for the registration is to identify you as the owner should any incident occur. And while I appreciate your effort to bring down the national debt with $5 contributions I'm sure you could find an accessory or two that you could spend that money on.

 

[vindibona1]

Your beef with the start governor has no bearing on the topic, but provides some context.

That sounds like you don't realise that for recreational flying, you don't actually register any drones.
The registration is for you as a drone owner and one registration is good for as many drones as you might own.

No-one has.
It's just an unfounded conspiracy theory rumour.

After January 20th Beto O'Rourke is coming after any of your drones that can shoot more than 10fps.

 

[Tony McDrone]

After January 20th Beto O'Rourke is coming after any of your drones that can shoot more than 10fps.

Wow...international smack talk. I never that coming. You never know where the forum will take you, just enjoy the ride(flight)!

 

[flycaster1]

@Meta4 you don't say where you're living but there are a lot of countries that have an under 250 gram UAV classification. Some that permits flying without registration and pilot certification and relaxed flying rules. In Canada under 250 grams has one rule, the "Don't do anything stupid rule", basically don't endanger people or aircraft. In my area I can fly almost anywhere as a hobby whereas I couldn't if the mini was over 250g.

Well, thats not exactly true. You don't have to have your drone pilot license, nor do you have to register the drone. ALL OTHER rules apply regardless of weight. Line of sight, altitude restrictions, distances from people, buildings, no fly zones, they all apply. But thats okay! Canada is an awesome wide open country to fly a drone. I'm in BC and am still truly amazed at how beautiful this country is, especially from the drones point of view.
Happy flying!

 

[JAW]

Just curious what’s the purpose for a strobe on a drone?

Better chance to see where it crashed when flying BVLOS
?