Flying out my window

Flyelectric · Apr 23, 2018

Well, along that line of a “fake Owl”, a Mylar balloon could do the trick as it’s shiny and moves around . Getting it into position could be interesting... wish the MVA had a remote controlled solenoid..

thebigbaddan · Apr 23, 2018

@Flyelectric also, he posted this on... april 1...

FEMit · Apr 23, 2018

Flyelectric said:
Okay, an update, last things first:
1. Idle mode, what is the battery drain rate when the drone is setup, powered on, connected to controller and ready to fly?
This turns out to be about 1%/minute drain rate with 4K video enabled and obstinate avoidence turned off but gps on and using 2.4ghz comm link.
2. The point of my drone purchase, chase off a woodpecker. Well, a bit of a let down. Due to this being norther Oregon and very rainy, the woodpecker has only come around 3 times since my drone purchase. The first time he raddled the vent, (6:15am ) I kept from the bed, grabbed the drone on my way down the stairs and powered it up, quietly placed it on the back (cold/wet) deck ran in and plopped myself down on the couch, fired up the controller, plugged in my phone, accessed the DJI app and... was greeted with a software update. The pecker was long gone after my update.
On the 2nd day (5 days after the first), I swear I had the drone powered up and placed on the back porch within 45 sec of his pecking, connected my iPhone and powered up the controller and... nothing, he had stopped.. he normally pecks for at least a minute...but not today. 3rd day, a week of rain between today and latest attempt. This time I got up at 6:00am, drone on the back deck “waiting” ( this is when I was doing a battery drain check). By the time 6:30 came up, the drone was at 59% bat life, and no wooodpecker. He was a no show. Maybe after 4 weeks he found a girl bird that was giving him some “feather”? Yes, the whole point was to scare him off so I could sleep, but now, I’m wide awake waiting ( in frustration).
So, that’s it for this endeavore for now, I’ll let you all know if there are any events.
On the plus side, I REALLY like this drone, a very well thought out design, I plan on buying an iPad adapter for it soon, just to get a bigger picture and to be able to answer my phone when flying the drone if I need to. My only wish is to have real-time stereo vision as I fly through the air view a nice headset.

Amazing.

drone_video · Apr 23, 2018

Lake_Flyer said:
You'd better first tried it with a cheap camera drone without GPS. Wouldn't have cost you more than 75 -100 bucks. A Tello would probably be ok for this.

Tello is limited to 10m above take off height. That could be a limit in this case.

drone_video · Apr 23, 2018

Flyelectric said:
I bought a MA for one purposes, Chase off a woodpecker that likes riddling my metal fireplace vents at 6:15AM, want to chase him off. My response would be to open my 2nd story window and fly my MA out the window up to the roof ( just the bee buzzing sound should scare the bird off . Just bought the drone today but due to never operating one before, I’m guessing there would be a bit of a learning curve? I would need to fly in a “manual mode”, no gps inside the house and transitioning through the window (2 1/2 ft wide ) where the ground would drop instantly away, (could be a sensor challenge?) as well as the return. Lastly, Is there an idle mode for the drone where I could charge it and park it on the roof the night before and then fire it up when the bird comes knocking the next morning?
Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated.

I can share with you my experience of flying through a window (it was with my Mavic pro) but I suspect it works the same way with the Air.... I am not going to try this again...

We tried this shot a few times, the goal, while not chasing a wood pecker, was to fly into the house to setup a shot we were doing inside. Thought it wise to fly it backwards because it was easy to align going out then then climb up to the height we wanted. the OA was an issue so we turned that all off, but forget to turn off the downward sensor / landing protection. As we flew through the window the drone pushed it self up into the window and above video was the result.

So if your flying through a window, probably should turn off all the sensors, practice it on the ground like others have said. Btw, your GPS fix might be okay on the second floor of your house - but this could be a false lock. Often times the signal will echo and despite looking like a lock, when you exit outside and get a clear lock, the position will dramatically change (like 10-30 meters) and your drone could relocate itself. I would not suggest trusting the signal lock inside a building if you can avoid it.

Classic flyer · Apr 23, 2018

A slingshot would be cheaper, quieter, and easier to maneuver... just a suggestion

Flyelectric · Apr 23, 2018

2 story house is on a hill with the roof and the vent pipes out of view at the sloping away ground level, also, he comes by at around 6 :15 am so, I’d have to run out in my robe and down a hill to see him for the shot. BB gun( rifle with a scope) would be best, but death of the bird so I can sleep in seems cruel, I’d be guilt ridden for the rest of my life.... it it were a crow, well, no guilt there.

s2seyecle · Apr 23, 2018

The heck with a Tello... Get the Parrot Mambo Mission package... comes with a 'canon' that shoots 6 pellets, and a grabber... you can either pop it out of the sky or grab it by it's little itty bitty crest and drag it away!

FWIW, I've lived in the country for nearly 30 years in a house with wooden siding (cedar). My neighbor has aluminum siding. We both have been terrorized by woodpeckers over the decades. All species here are protected. All we are allowed to do is scare them away, and in-between, fill the holes...pop the dents. Owls don't work, neither does "Kiss" played at 120 dbs.

Classic flyer · Apr 23, 2018

s2seyecle said:
The heck with a Tello... Get the Parrot Mambo Mission package... comes with a 'canon' that shoots 6 pellets, and a grabber... you can either pop it out of the sky or grab it by it's little itty bitty crest and drag it away!

FWIW, I've lived in the country for nearly 30 years in a house with wooden siding (cedar). My neighbor has aluminum siding. We both have been terrorized by woodpeckers over the decades. All species here are protected. All we are allowed to do is scare them away, and in-between, fill the holes...pop the dents. Owls don't work, neither does "Kiss" played at 120 abs.

You're preaching to the choir here bro... I feel your pain