Bad news to everyone, RID was already active in 01.00.0800 firmware and the drone appears in OpenDroneID app.

[DARKSeifer]

Yep, you don't need 01.00.0900 in order for it to emit RID, 01.00.0800 (and probably much earlier firmwares) appear in OpenDroneID app, I've just tested it with my tablet while flying the M3, at first nothing appeared so didn't payed attention to the tablet, but when I was going to land I realized the app had picked up the drone.

Takeoff location was shared and also real time tracking of the drone, although package reception wasn't fast enough for it to be actually in real time. I always fly with GPS on the phone turned off, so it wasn't able to share my real location.

So there isn't any point in holding back the update I suppose, we are already screwed.

 

[mobilehomer]

I received this reply from DJI -
Thanks for your inquiry! At the moment, the DJI drones with FAA RID-compliant firmware are the DJI Air 2S, Mini 3 Pro, and the Mavic 3 Enterprise. Future updates may support the other DJI drones. To get more details, you may check this link: {FAA Remote ID Compliance User Guide-FAQ}. Let me know if you need further clarification. Have a nice day!

 

[Macinfo]

More than likely, it will become unavoidable, and depending on where you fly, the chances of being routinely tracked, I would think would be low.

 

[Yaros]

Does it also transmit if you're in the EU?

 

[DARKSeifer]

Does it also transmit if you're in the EU?

Yep, I'm using 01.00.0800 in Spain and it appears in the OpenDroneID app, but I was using the FCC hack. I'll try it tomorrow in CE mode and see if it also appears.

More than likely, it will become unavoidable, and depending on where you fly, the chances of being routinely tracked, I would think would be low.

Of course, emission is only local and the hobby is quite marginal, you'll only pick up drones in congested areas. The vast majority of time this will be used after the drone is seen or heared.

On the other hand this is not as expensive as Aeroscope, with a Raspberry Pi and a nice antenna anybody can make an inexpensive 24/7 receiver and check the logs weekly, or just set up an alarm when it detects something.

In fact I'll probably make one myself when things settle down, as I already have a 2.4Ghz antenna and a dual way 2.4Ghz amplifier set up on the rooftop that I used to increase the range a bit of my previous Evo Lite that didn't had any FCC hack available.

 

[kodiak]

I'm entirely on iOS and don't own any Android devices. Can someone who does please check and confirm what @DARKSeifer is reporting.

 

[spsphotos]

OpenDroneID is Android only. I tried the new Drone Scanner app on IOS but it did not seem to see my M3P. I was not actually out flying I just started in here in my office but did not ascend off the table.

 

[Cymru]

I think prior to the latest updates RID was a on/off selectable option. With the latest firmwares they've started forcing it on in specific geographical areas.

Dont forget that all DJI drones from the Phantoms onwards already sent full telemetry and locations that cant be disabled without hacks. That's how aeroscope works.
The only difference with RID is that *anyone* can access that data. Which is a bad thing for operator safety.

 

[SteveMouzon]

Yep, you don't need 01.00.0900 in order for it to emit RID, 01.00.0800 (and probably much earlier firmwares) appear in OpenDroneID app, I've just tested it with my tablet while flying the M3, at first nothing appeared so didn't payed attention to the tablet, but when I was going to land I realized the app had picked up the drone.

Takeoff location was shared and also real time tracking of the drone, although package reception wasn't fast enough for it to be actually in real time. I always fly with GPS on the phone turned off, so it wasn't able to share my real location.

So there isn't any point in holding back the update I suppose, we are already screwed.

I'm completely unaware of what's going on. Can you shed some light on what this is, and why it's a problem?

 

[JoelP]

RID is a requirement by the FAA for locating your drone and controller that will be in effect by 9/2023. The latest update for the Mavic 3 enables this feature which we will all be required to support next September. Once this firmware is installed it cannot be rolled back.

There are those who are resisting the inevitable for this in the US. Outside the US where there is no RID requirement drone owners are also resisting this as an invasion of privacy. Some worry that this information will available to anyone for free, such as with this Android app, enabling not only the FAA to detect illegal flight beyond VLOS, but also those with nefarious intent to steal their expensive drones. Many feel that this information should have been restricted to LEOs only.

I see this law a consequence of people flying in dangerous locations. The FAA has enough to do without chasing down every BVLOS violator. I am glad that that I don’t have to strap on some sort of kluge electronics to be compliant.

 

[Johnmcl7]

There are those who are resisting the inevitable for this in the US. Outside the US where there is no RID requirement drone owners are also resisting this as an invasion of privacy.

Remote ID is also a requirement under the new European classification system for C1, C2 and C3 drones:

Drone Classes explained - European Regulation 2021

With the harmonization of drone rules within Europe, the EU has divided unmanned aircraft into different drone classes. In this article, I would like to explain as simply as possible which criteria play a role in the classification and what effects the classes have on the operation of drones...

drone-traveller.com

Given there's a current topic just below here where someone didn't just completely smash the current drone rules but boasted about it here as well, it's not hard to see why authorities have been pushed into implementing these new rules.

 

[Cymru]

The correct authorities having access is fine. But they already do via Aeroscope.

Given any random member of the public who might hate drones the ability to detect there's one in the area and exactly where its being operated from causes public order and safety issues for drone operators, even those operating totally legally.

A few other scenarios - someone does a test flight or two from the garden. Now anyone within a few miles knows where that person lives to harass, burgle or anything else.
Or know the house is empty if that same drone is detected being operated from elsewhere in the area.
Or if you want to steal the drone.

All the "YOU CANT FLY OVER MY GARDEN" people who previously couldn't act can now find the operator to confront.

From a public safety point of view its a terrible idea.

I see no conceivable reason for all third parties to get access to all the data. They really have no reason or need to know. Law enforcement yes, any random person, no.

 

[DARKSeifer]

I've just tested it with both FCC and CE and here are the conclusions:

• OpenDroneID app detects Mavic 3 at 01.00.0800 and probably also on earlier firmwares, you don't need 01.00.0900 to be detected, it was already broadcasting to some degree, 01.00.0900 just makes it 100% compliant with the RID legislation in USA.
• OpenDroneID detects Mavic 3 on 01.00.0800 worldwide, it doesn't matter if you are in FCC or CE.
• OpenDroneID on a Samsung Tab A7 can receive beacons from as far as 600m if there is line of sight.
• If the GPS is engaged on the smartphone attached to the controller, OpenDroneID will show the real time coordinates of the pilot, if it's not engaged it will only show the takeoff location.
• Beacon catching is rather slow, it takes 30-60 seconds or more for the Samsung Tab A7 to pick up the drone, even at close range. There's a chance that passing by drones at high alt/high speed won't show up (I've tested a few flybys).
• The fixed data part of the beacon (pilot RID, drone take off point, serial number of the drone, etc) can be caught up rather easily, but the current location of the drone doesn't update fast enough to track it.
• The pilot location is all you need to start a confrontation, which is already broadcasting and easy to catch if the drone is at less than 400m.
• Mini 2 can't be detected at least at firmware 01.03 by OpenDroneID (<250g won't need to emit eID/RID in Europe in the future, so staying <250g will probably be the easiest way to get rid of it legally).
• On FCC mode RID beacons could not be caught past 200m, on CE they could be caught at 600m, controller/drone transmission output power was probably interfering the receive of the RID beacons, which is somewhat expected as RID was probably being transmitted at CE power.

Some pics of the test:

 

[anthonys]

Nice writeup, thank you for reporting all that. I've done some testing too and also found the time to pick up the beacon is usually 1-2 minutes, even when the drone is close. Just curious, did you do any testing with the tablet in developer mode and scan throttling disabled to see if that made a difference?

 

[rgarjr]

So does the remote controller have GNSS that broadcasts the pilots coordinates?

 

[DARKSeifer]

Nice writeup, thank you for reporting all that. I've done some testing too and also found the time to pick up the beacon is usually 1-2 minutes, even when the drone is close. Just curious, did you do any testing with the tablet in developer mode and scan throttling disabled to see if that made a difference?

Yes, I had throttling disabled and one of the times I took off with the tablet at just 5 meters, I could climb to 120m and send the drone to 300m without OpenDroneID detecting it; I had to come back closer and wait for the beacon.

A fast flying by drone will be hard to detect, but a drone doing photos or videos in a more static way can be picked up easily.

Responsiveness of RID and devices able to track the drone will improve over time, we could already see that device tha pick up beacons quite fast and can listen up to the M3 to more than 1Km.

So does the remote controller have GNSS that broadcasts the pilots coordinates?

The RC-N1 controller takes the GPS data from the mobile phone you use to fly, if you disable it on your phone it won't be shown, just the takeoff location will be.

The smart controllers have inbuilt GPS, but I don't know if in those can be deactivated or not.

 

[anthonys]

So does the remote controller have GNSS that broadcasts the pilots coordinates?

The RC Pro spec says it has GPS + Galileo + GLONASS. The OpenDroneID app reports operator location as well as the drone's location.

 

[kodiak]

Thanks for all the info guys.

I don't believe GPS can be disabled with the RC Pro. Will need to investigate that further.

 

[jephoto]

Yep, you don't need 01.00.0900 in order for it to emit RID, 01.00.0800 (and probably much earlier firmwares) appear in OpenDroneID app, I've just tested it with my tablet while flying the M3, at first nothing appeared so didn't payed attention to the tablet, but when I was going to land I realized the app had picked up the drone.

Takeoff location was shared and also real time tracking of the drone, although package reception wasn't fast enough for it to be actually in real time. I always fly with GPS on the phone turned off, so it wasn't able to share my real location.

So there isn't any point in holding back the update I suppose, we are already screwed.

Explain about the GPS on your phone and sharing our actual location?
Are you saying if we Pre/ load the map where we are flying and leave our Hotspot off on the phone we at least keep our actual location hidden?
But if our launch /Homepoint location is broadcast, doesn’t that pretty much tell people where to look?

 

[Don Testme]

OpenDroneID is Android only. I tried the new Drone Scanner app on IOS but it did not seem to see my M3P. I was not actually out flying I just started in here in my office but did not ascend off the table.

yup. I searched iphone apps. It's not available at this time.