Do you get excited when you see a drone?

[Bad Santa]

Yesterday I was at a kite festival. I was having too much fun flying my kites and had left my drone in the car rather than taking it into the sand.

Anyhow.

After the festival, I was back at my car a few blocks from the beach when I hear a familiar sound. At first I thought it sounded just like my Mini 4 but realized it had a slight deeper tone. I looked up just to see a drone flying by at about 20mph and 50-75 feet off the ground. It was making a bee line for the beach.

It was a larger drone than the mini.

I was a little excited because they're kind of silent after they get to 100 feet or so. I imagine more fly around than we know because we never hear them.

Still it was a little exciting to see a random drone in the wild.

 

[mavic3usa]

Yeah because I don't see them very often around here. Maybe one every couple two or three months.

 

[jaja6009]

I don't know if excited is the word for me, but definitely interested.

Ever since I got the Drone Tag RIDER Remote ID receiver, it opened my eyes up to the large number of drones flying everyday.

Almost all DJI and an interesting mix of models.

Minis, Mavics 2,3 and 4, Matrice 30's, Matrice 400, Airs 2,3, Avatas. Interestingly very few Autels. Also a Ruko and Holy Stone.

Most seem to be recreational but some are definitely commercial with easy to recognize mapping flights over properties.

Also most seem to fly within regulation, although the most violated reg seems to be over people and moving vehicles along with some obviously BVLOS. I have not seen too many altitude violations.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I get more excited seeing them in moives , the mavic 3 and Mavic 2 are Rock Stars. But no wind of the Mini drones anywhere in the movies or TV , sadly there was the Skyido used in this thriller of a movie.



Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Tower. lol

 

[mavic3usa]

I get more excited seeing them in moives , the mavic 3 and Mavic 2 are Rock Stars. But no wind of the Mini drones anywhere in the movies or TV , sadly there was the Skyido used in this thriller of a movie.

View attachment 184630

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Tower. lol

Loved that movie!

 

[AeroJ]

I get excited seeing them fly over volcanos and up massive mountains. I hardly ever see any around me tho (drones that aren't mine, OR volcanos !

 

[GadgetGuy]

Ever since I got the Drone Tag RIDER Remote ID receiver, it opened my eyes up to the large number of drones flying everyday.

Almost all DJI and an interesting mix of models.

Minis, Mavics 2,3 and 4, Matrice 30's, Matrice 400, Airs 2,3, Avatas. Interestingly very few Autels. Also a Ruko and Holy Stone.

Most seem to be recreational but some are definitely commercial with easy to recognize mapping flights over properties.

Also most seem to fly within regulation, although the most violated reg seems to be over people and moving vehicles along with some obviously BVLOS. I have not seen too many altitude violations.

Curious to know more about the Drone Tag RIDER remote ID receiver.
I'm thinking of purchasing one.
Did you buy directly from them, and did you have to pay any import fees or tariffs on the purchase? Any Promo codes?
Specs say it can only detect 2.4Ghz transmission.
By using only the 5.8 Ghz band, can someone escape detection by it, or is the RID transmission always on 2.4Ghz only?
Do you just have the basic $1099 unit? Did you get the directional and omnidirectional antenna accessories?
What is the detection range you have experienced?
How is the app for storing and analyzing the data on iOS?
It says it includes a SIM card and there is some kind of Cloud service.
Are there any additional monthly costs beyond the purchase price?
How do you use it? Where do you mount it, or do you just hand carry it?

Sounds like a terrific little device!

 

[jaja6009]

The RIDER is decent enough and can give you insight into what is flying around you.

We purchased it from Drone Nerds. No extra fees.

I am unsure of how the lack of 5.8 hurts the system since I don't have access to the ASTM standard that outlines the frequencies for Remote ID. The MOC refers to an ASTM standard and ASTM standards usually cost money to view unless you can find where someone posted it somewhere.

THe RIDER could not see a Skydio X10 and here is the response from Dronetag:

"Thanks for reaching out! You’re absolutely right, RIDER currently doesn’t support receiving the 5.8 GHz Remote ID messages transmitted by Skydio. However, we're actively working on resolving this limitation."

We also bought the big flat antenna, but there is a car mount kit too.

For monitoring:

• You can just use an app linked via Bluetooth for free
• You can purchase a year subscription for LTE for around $250 (Internal SIM comes inside and cannot be changed)

The LTE connection is the way to go. You can carry or place the RIDER and it sends all info to the cloud where anyone on an app or browser can view all information.

It stores records for review and you can export records as KML, JSON, CSV.


I have detected drones 3 miles away. If you install it up high the range will increase. I am going to test installing it on a drone soon and go up to 400 feet or maybe use 400 feet above our tallest building to get me to 1100 feet.

I have Android so I cannot offer anything on iOS. There is a browser based interface in the cloud though.

The additional cost is to use the LTE function and is around $250 per year, but again you can also just Bluetooth it to your phone for free.


I hangit from my rearview mirror. I walk around with it. I place it on a pole and mount it for the day with velcro and a small battery pack (It also has a 5 to 10 hour internal battery).

It truly opened my eyes to the large amount of drones that are flying everyday. Even around my house I get alerts and then am shocked to see a drone that I would not otherwise have even noticed.

The LTE with its added annual cost is the way to go. You don't need to be near the RIDER and anyone can log into a browser and get their information.


Screenshots of Detections in given time period



Screenshot of flight track of drone violating an emergency response/structure fire

 

[djwak59]

Yesterday I was at a kite festival. I was having too much fun flying my kites and had left my drone in the car rather than taking it into the sand.

Anyhow.

After the festival, I was back at my car a few blocks from the beach when I hear a familiar sound. At first I thought it sounded just like my Mini 4 but realized it had a slight deeper tone. I looked up just to see a drone flying by at about 20mph and 50-75 feet off the ground. It was making a bee line for the beach.

It was a larger drone than the mini.

I was a little excited because they're kind of silent after they get to 100 feet or so. I imagine more fly around than we know because we never hear them.

Still it was a little exciting to see a random drone in the wild.

I hardly ever see any around me, and if I do it’s far between. The latest was a guy with a Matrice who has a small company and was doing some mapping for the town. Met him at the same park where I fly.
It was kinda neat to actually see one up close and in person. I know that sounds “geeky” but wth ?

 

[GadgetGuy]

The RIDER is decent enough and can give you insight into what is flying around you.

We purchased it from Drone Nerds. No extra fees.

I am unsure of how the lack of 5.8 hurts the system since I don't have access to the ASTM standard that outlines the frequencies for Remote ID. The MOC refers to an ASTM standard and ASTM standards usually cost money to view unless you can find where someone posted it somewhere.

THe RIDER could not see a Skydio X10 and here is the response from Dronetag:

"Thanks for reaching out! You’re absolutely right, RIDER currently doesn’t support receiving the 5.8 GHz Remote ID messages transmitted by Skydio. However, we're actively working on resolving this limitation."

We also bought the big flat antenna, but there is a car mount kit too.

For monitoring:

• You can just use an app linked via Bluetooth for free
• You can purchase a year subscription for LTE for around $250 (Internal SIM comes inside and cannot be changed)

The LTE connection is the way to go. You can carry or place the RIDER and it sends all info to the cloud where anyone on an app or browser can view all information.

It stores records for review and you can export records as KML, JSON, CSV.


I have detected drones 3 miles away. If you install it up high the range will increase. I am going to test installing it on a drone soon and go up to 400 feet or maybe use 400 feet above our tallest building to get me to 1100 feet.

I have Android so I cannot offer anything on iOS. There is a browser based interface in the cloud though.

The additional cost is to use the LTE function and is around $250 per year, but again you can also just Bluetooth it to your phone for free.


I hangit from my rearview mirror. I walk around with it. I place it on a pole and mount it for the day with velcro and a small battery pack (It also has a 5 to 10 hour internal battery).

It truly opened my eyes to the large amount of drones that are flying everyday. Even around my house I get alerts and then am shocked to see a drone that I would not otherwise have even noticed.

The LTE with its added annual cost is the way to go. You don't need to be near the RIDER and anyone can log into a browser and get their information.


Screenshots of Detections in given time period

View attachment 184636

Screenshot of flight track of drone violating an emergency response/structure fire

View attachment 184638

Absolutely awesome!
Thank you so much!
I'll have to get one now!
Did Drone Nerds also have the big flat antenna and the car mount kit available, or, if not, from where did you purchase big flat antenna?

 

[Rchawks]

I’ve seen a drone fly over my neighborhood 3 times total and yes I was excited but it was because I wanted to follow them home, lol. I have no idea where they launched from. But I could tell one was a Neo and the other a Mavic pro 3. Other than that that’s all I could tell ya.

 

[jaja6009]

Absolutely awesome!
Thank you so much!
I'll have to get one now!
Did Drone Nerds also have the big flat antenna and the car mount kit available, or, if not, from where did you purchase big flat antenna?

I bought the directional antenna from Dronetag. It was an international shipment and I was charged $40 for shipping. I am not sure if this shipping covered any tariffs or the like. The date was June 23, 2025 so I can't state if your experience will differ.

I do not see the antenna or belt clip on Drone Nerds, but you could always call or email them.
You will recieve a free LTE account for I think 30 or 60 days. After using it and then losing it, I bought the subscription for a year since I love being able to leave it on a roof or similar location and then being anywhere to view what it sees in the cloud.

The free connection is bluetooth and you will obviously have to be nearby to get your alerts.

A thing to note on the LTE subscription, you get an allotted hours per month. You can add your drone as a known drone that it won't track so you don't waste your minutes.

Today I saw some federal LEO's using Skydio X10s and I could not see them. But even weirder was that when using the app from Drone Tag that uses the phones Wifi and Bluetooth (with limited range) I could not see the Skydios where before it did work at a convention demo.

It might be possible that federal LEO's were able to get Skydio to turn off the Remote ID. The FAA has stated that with a proper use case, LEO may get a waiver for RID.

 

[horsesrear]

Every time I see another drone I have pee running down both legs.

 

[Digitized Life]

every time!

 

[horsesrear]

yep

 

[GadgetGuy]

I bought the directional antenna from Dronetag. It was an international shipment and I was charged $40 for shipping. I am not sure if this shipping covered any tariffs or the like. The date was June 23, 2025 so I can't state if your experience will differ.

I do not see the antenna or belt clip on Drone Nerds, but you could always call or email them.
You will recieve a free LTE account for I think 30 or 60 days. After using it and then losing it, I bought the subscription for a year since I love being able to leave it on a roof or similar location and then being anywhere to view what it sees in the cloud.

The free connection is bluetooth and you will obviously have to be nearby to get your alerts.

A thing to note on the LTE subscription, you get an allotted hours per month. You can add your drone as a known drone that it won't track so you don't waste your minutes.

Today I saw some federal LEO's using Skydio X10s and I could not see them. But even weirder was that when using the app from Drone Tag that uses the phones Wifi and Bluetooth (with limited range) I could not see the Skydios where before it did work at a convention demo.

It might be possible that federal LEO's were able to get Skydio to turn off the Remote ID. The FAA has stated that with a proper use case, LEO may get a waiver for RID.

Appreciate all the detailed information!

DroneTag's shipping on the $50 accessories is expensive at $40. There are now also un-included tariffs of 15% on top of all their prices, including on the $1099 DroneTag Rider, so I just bought the DroneTag Rider from Adorama with free 2 day shipping, using my $50 points credit from buying my Mavic 4 Pro Creator Combo from them, and also paid sales tax that DroneTag does not charge. It arrived today.

I also realized that I still have multiple older RC external 2.4GHz antennas from the Phantom 3 and 4 days with amplifiers, some with magnetic mounts for use on a car, that should outperform DroneTag's passive external antennas. One side was transmit and the other was receive, so I only need the receiving side.
The connectors match! We'll see!

 

[jaja6009]

Appreciate all the detailed information!

DroneTag's shipping on the $50 accessories is expensive at $40. There are now also un-included tariffs of 15% on top of all their prices, including on the $1099 DroneTag Rider, so I just bought the DroneTag Rider from Adorama with free 2 day shipping, using my $50 points credit from buying my Mavic 4 Pro Creator Combo from them, and also paid sales tax that DroneTag does not charge. It arrived today.

I also realized that I still have multiple older RC external 2.4GHz antennas from the Phantom 3 and 4 days with amplifiers, some with magnetic mounts for use on a car, that should outperform DroneTag's passive external antennas. One side was transmit and the other was receive, so I only need the receiving side.
The connectors match! We'll see!

Congrats. I think you will like it and may be surprised on what is flying around and never noticed (depending on where you live).

It works best elevated. I live in a townhome and cannot mount anything to my roof (HOA), but I place it on a pole and stick it out the back window facing the city. On 4th of July the skies of Atlantic City were chaos. I picked up 10 drones most likely filming the fireworks and drone light show (Drones in light show were not picked up, could of had a waiver to Part 89).

 

[jaja6009]

Today the RIDER was pretty good.
It picked up a drone 2 miles away that was blocked by urban landscape, a Mavic 3 Thermal.
It also picked up our beach patrol monitoring the beach.

Dronetag has a contest each month and the person with the longest detection wins. I think you win free LTE connectivity for 6 months.
I keep forgetting to attach it to our Matrice 300 RTK and getting it up to 1100 feet (Within 400 feet of our tallest building of 700 feet) and then going out and seeing how far away it can pick up another drone.

Here are some screenshots showing how good the flight tracks are it records.

RIDER flight track of my Matrice 4 E





Flight Record from Matrice 4 E

 

[mavic3usa]

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[paulhackerllc]

The RIDER is decent enough and can give you insight into what is flying around you.

We purchased it from Drone Nerds. No extra fees.

I am unsure of how the lack of 5.8 hurts the system since I don't have access to the ASTM standard that outlines the frequencies for Remote ID. The MOC refers to an ASTM standard and ASTM standards usually cost money to view unless you can find where someone posted it somewhere.

THe RIDER could not see a Skydio X10 and here is the response from Dronetag:

"Thanks for reaching out! You’re absolutely right, RIDER currently doesn’t support receiving the 5.8 GHz Remote ID messages transmitted by Skydio. However, we're actively working on resolving this limitation."

We also bought the big flat antenna, but there is a car mount kit too.

For monitoring:

• You can just use an app linked via Bluetooth for free
• You can purchase a year subscription for LTE for around $250 (Internal SIM comes inside and cannot be changed)

The LTE connection is the way to go. You can carry or place the RIDER and it sends all info to the cloud where anyone on an app or browser can view all information.

It stores records for review and you can export records as KML, JSON, CSV.


I have detected drones 3 miles away. If you install it up high the range will increase. I am going to test installing it on a drone soon and go up to 400 feet or maybe use 400 feet above our tallest building to get me to 1100 feet.

I have Android so I cannot offer anything on iOS. There is a browser based interface in the cloud though.

The additional cost is to use the LTE function and is around $250 per year, but again you can also just Bluetooth it to your phone for free.


I hangit from my rearview mirror. I walk around with it. I place it on a pole and mount it for the day with velcro and a small battery pack (It also has a 5 to 10 hour internal battery).

It truly opened my eyes to the large amount of drones that are flying everyday. Even around my house I get alerts and then am shocked to see a drone that I would not otherwise have even noticed.

The LTE with its added annual cost is the way to go. You don't need to be near the RIDER and anyone can log into a browser and get their information.


Screenshots of Detections in given time period

View attachment 184636

Screenshot of flight track of drone violating an emergency response/structure fire

View attachment 184638

Other than curiosity, which would be fun (not sure about $1000 worth of fun), but is there a business application I’m not thinking about to use the Drone Tag RIDER Remote ID receiver?