How will RID be Utilized by Law Enforcement?

[Don Testme]

I know police, if behind you, autoscan your plates, but not always. If the computer says a driver has outstanding tickets you can be disciplined, ie ticketed or warned. Police can also sit on the side of the road to give speeding tickets. They also will drive with traffic to look for people driving in a drunk or wreckless manner or even speeding. And more.

Will RID simply be used when law enforcement sees a drone doing something wrong. or will they actively lock onto your drone's RID signal and see how far, how high, how fast, how you are flying and where you are flying your drone simply if they pick up your RID signal accidentally or purposefully?

How Far will RID transmit from your drone in feet? Suppose you are illegally flying way above the 400 ft limit. Will RID be picked up at the 1600ft limit of DJI drones?

ETC ETC.

If anyone has any answers or other ideas please add to the thread. Please be mature and simply factual. Do0n't harass each other or nitpick.

Thanks Everyone

Don

 

[retiredNH]

I suspect very few regular law enforcement agencies will give a hill of beans about random drone flights. They have much bigger issues to address, and to imply otherwise is just paranoid.

To use an example: fly a drone into a crowd. How many folks will be hurt before the drone self destructs? Drive a car into a crowd...where would you spend your time if you were a LEO?

 

[edfrombama]

Good morning to all-
In my humble opinion, LEO won't give a hoot in hades about recreational drone fliers, folks who think that "big brother" is coming after them and their little flying machines- well, they're just a little bit paranoid, in my opinion.

The police have much more pressing things to deal with compared to us and our drones.

you all be safe and keep well- Ed

 

[mobilehomer]

They will probably be around correctional facilities, other than that, probably not much attention.
I did a test yesterday using the wifi signature of my drone. Air 2S, Galaxy S21 Ultra(wifi 6) and at around 500" distance at 400" altitude, it lost signal.

 

[retiredNH]

They will probably be around correctional facilities, other than that, probably not much attention.
I did a test yesterday using the wifi signature of my drone. Air 2S, Galaxy S21 Ultra(wifi 6) and at around 500" distance at 400" altitude, it lost signal.

This makes sense. I can also see time invested in monitoring in places where there's been problems, like sports stadiums, key National Parks and other no-fly zones. Fortunately, the days of nuts flying near airports seem to be behind us, but maybe there, too.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

RID (to my eyes) seems to be just for local law enforcement (where they have been trained to use it !) to find a drone pilot that's been reported (for some supposed rule / law breach) by a concerned member of the public.
Police might be front line, first contact, investigators / evidence gatherers, not sure they would )or be able to) cite someone for drone rule / law breaches, but get all the info and report to the FAA ??

The FAA won't have people chasing such calls, quite possible local law enforcement simply won't put too much time into such calls either, due to other matters they have to attend to.
Most likely, both authorities don't have enough feet on the ground for current responsibilities.

Airports, prisons, other such critical infrastructure will probably be using systems like Aeroscope, rather than very crude, low distance apps that can track RID signals.
They might use RID type apps for TNFZs, stadium events, concerts, etc.

 

[DARKSeifer]

Aeroscope has been used to hunt down hobbyist indiscriminately in Spain since February of 2020. Both in big cities like Barcelona or Madrid with fixed Aeroscope antennas and on the run with the Aeroscope briefcases.

It was one of first countries to adopt an aggressive approach to drone hobbyist, but France Germany, UK, etc have started to catch up. Drones are not strictly forbidden, but are so over regulated and the fines are so high that almost no one flies.

RID (which is basically Aeroscope for free and for anyone) means that you are going to have those classic "drone confrontations" every single time you fly. You already had confrontations nearly every time you flew exposed with the drone nearby with people at around 200m from the takeoff point, but with RID transmitting at more than 1Km you are screwed even if you "hide in the bushes" or keep a low profile.

On the long run, ad nauseam is the only approach available to us. That is, comply with everything, limit the drone to assure the flight is 100% legal and fly exposed till all the karens/kens and cops around have at least confronted with you once and lost.

On the short run don't update the firmware and cross your fingers for a hack to appear, like the one on github but more consolidated and for recent firmware/app.

In the meantime, just pick some popcorn because YouTube is going to get filled with drone confrontation videos even before Sept 2023.

 

[Starz]

don't update the firmware

It would be interesting to find out how many people would be in this same thought process. Anti-rollback updates are ones I tend to ignore.

 

[DARKSeifer]

It would be interesting to find out how many people would be in this same thought process. Anti-rollback updates are ones I tend to ignore.

Currently, I have the Mini 2 and the Mavic 3, I left the Mini 2 in 1.03.something because I have the DH permanent FCC hack and don't want to lose it, and on the M3 I'll just comfortably stay in the 01.00.0800 because I don't want it to broadcast RID/eID to the public (I use the DH companion to get it to transmit in FCC).

I can anticipate to Aeroscope, wich is only available to purchase to law enforcement, because they tend to be in congested areas or near airports, prisions, strategic locations, or in events that get massificated, so if you are flying in the "open" areas designated by the official map there is not much trouble to be expected, even if you are flying long range.

But the thing is, you can't anticipate to whoever is listening to your drone RID/eID and his intentions with you and your drone, and that will probably be either to harass you, or rob you.

It's just nuts, photographers tend to rip off or cover with tape their "Lowepro" tags from the bags because it's eye candy to burglars. Everybody knows that inside that bag there are at least 1.000€ in equipment. Now you have that same expensive equipment screaming all around at more than 1Km "COME AND ROB ME, HERE IS WHERE I STAND ALONE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, I'M AN EASY CATCH, COME ASAP!!!!"

 

[Don Testme]

I have an Autel Lite+ that doesn't have RID already installed. I'll use that if I find it necessary.

1) AM I RIGHT, doesn't the RID transmission only come from the drone????

2) DARKSeifer (post #7) says "...but with RID transmitting at 1km, you are screwed...". Does RID really transmit that far????

 

[Vic Moss]

LEOs will use these apps to track drone when they have a call out by a concerned citizen. Other than that you'll likely see it's use around large events where security and safety would be an issue.

There is the legitimate fear that nefarious folks will use that to track drones and look for possible opportunities to steal equipments. It's something we're addressing with the DOT and FAA.

 

[mobilehomer]

I have an Autel Lite+ that doesn't have RID already installed. I'll use that if I find it necessary.

1) AM I RIGHT, doesn't the RID transmission only come from the drone????

2) DARKSeifer (post #7) says "...but with RID transmitting at 1km, you are screwed...". Does RID really transmit that far????

In my tests, range is in feet more than kilometers. I lose signal at around 500' at 400'AGL.

 

[Fort Pierce Pilot]

Wonder what happens if you launch, move to a slightly different vantage point, and update home only if needed.

 

[rgarjr]

Wonder what happens if you launch, move to a slightly different vantage point, and update home only if needed.

once the home point has been set, you actually move the home point to anywhere by using the map. Wonder if it will broadcast the new location. Controller has GNSS as well, don't know if it will use those coordinates.

 

[Blairsville]

I can tell you from past LEO experience that local and state organizations will only invest for 1 or 2 monitors just to be used for special occasions such as fairs, professional sports events where large crowds are expected. Our department has a take home car program with over 1,200 marked units, of those about 25 have the ability to run Radar, 12 with laser + Radar and 3 able to scan license plates.
The homicide rates has required departments in some areas to spend more for undercover, shot spotter equipment purchases along with just hiring and training more personnel just to fill poorly staffed departments.
Retired, Jacksonville Florida JSO.

 

[karlblessing]

Wonder what happens if you launch, move to a slightly different vantage point, and update home only if needed.

Far as tracking. If you're using remote id standard built into the Drone, it will continue to broadcast the pilots actual location.

If you're using a module attached to the drone, it will only broadcast the take off point.

 

[KB9Radio]

Chances are good most LEO's know very little about drone laws unless they have dealt with it for some reason. If RID helps keep folks operating within the rules, I personally don't see it as a bad thing. I always figure that folks who worry about IRS agents, are probably cheating on their taxes in some way. People who worry about red light cameras, are probably the ones running the red lights, and so on. So, I know there's been lots of discussion on RID, but I don't LEO's going out of their way unless they are alerted in some way.

 

[karlblessing]

Chances are good most LEO's know very little about drone laws unless they have dealt with it for some reason. If RID helps keep folks operating within the rules, I personally don't see it as a bad thing. I always figure that folks who worry about IRS agents, are probably cheating on their taxes in some way. People who worry about red light cameras, are probably the ones running the red lights, and so on. So, I know there's been lots of discussion on RID, but I don't LEO's going out of their way unless they are alerted in some way.

Seems like you'd be lucky if one of them is part 107 certified themselves.

 

[mobilehomer]

Wonder what happens if you launch, move to a slightly different vantage point, and update home only if needed.

It records launch point, controller position and current flight location.

 

[wardtom084]

This makes sense. I can also see time invested in monitoring in places where there's been problems, like sports stadiums, key National Parks and other no-fly zones. Fortunately, the days of nuts flying near airports seem to be behind us, but maybe there, too.

Depends on the class of airport, not all under one blanket you might say. I fly AT my local one class E