Just ordered 2 ARC II lights with mounts

[MAvic_South_Oz]

well, im happy with these. Definitely more expensive, but also great as airborne lighting
could see the strobe out to as far as Ill ever fly no problem and the spotlight shots speak fro themselves
these are heavy though so i wouldnt be flying with these all the time, so the firehouse arc are still holding me interest for normal flightsView attachment 68254View attachment 68253

Great for night S&R, if part of that sort of organisation / ok'd for night flying.
Those US S&R threads on here are interesting, and looking at their youtube vids and links in the adjacent recommended vid column, there are a few people creating groups like is in the US.

Shame they can't all amalgamate.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Think I like about the firehouse arc, is if it even goes down, there's a very good chance the strobes will assist recovery, especially if it's a dusk flight.
They have a decent run time of 6+ hrs.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

FHT won't ship to Australian inquiries direct, referring Perth Drone Shop.
They were out of stock when I looked last week, but FHT sales advised Perth had just received a large-ish order, inc ARC4's.

I've emailed the Aussie shop, so will wait and see what the deal is for 2 wh, 1 red, 1 green.
The Aussie site has them at AUD$63 ea, vs AUD$38.65 ea (+ whatever post) at the special 4 price on the FHT site.

Might be a backdoor US purchase, am happy paying a bit more through supplier here, so it might work out ok.

 

[AnzacJack]

That Perth shop also charging $44 just for the mount that you want. That makes each strobe almost $110 each. That’s crazy.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

That Perth shop also charging $44 just for the mount that you want. That makes each strobe almost $110 each. That’s crazy.

Yes, while the FHT guy was sympathetic, I told him sometimes (ok, often) Aussies get slugged big margins by suppliers here, especially for cheap Chinese junk !!
(The FHT is US made I think, and I consider a great product from what I've read . forum feedback etc.)

Will give them a shot on a 4 led purchase, see how it works out.
From what I've seen, even light things like these get slugged big postage form the US, not sure why, I send products over there and other places reasonably often, I could send a small padded bag to the US for AUD$25, about US$17.80.

I think I can easily do this without mounts, I will fit rear strobe mount point to rear leg arms, and front ones to front legs, but about 45 degrees outwards, just to be sure I can avoid risk of strobing light onto the camera as much as possible.
DJI leds go off for a good reason when filming / photographing I feel.

Probably a good velcro would easily do this, urethane the pads on the bird and back of leds.

 

[TedShred]

@TedShred . . . where did the angled mounts come from, do you have a link ?

dji mavic 2 autel evo

dji mavic 2 strobe light

www.firehousetechnology.com

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

dji mavic 2 autel evo

dji mavic 2 strobe light

www.firehousetechnology.com

Thanks TedShred, that's a good idea for angle light away from camera on the front arms.
Have you done any night flying and not noticed any flashes or glare in photos or video ?

Even then I can't get them direct, and as Anzacjack mentions above the importer here sells them for AUD$44.00 a pair, about US$31.30 !!

I can't blame them too much, we had several emails back and forth between us yesterday, the shipping with FedEx (the only carrier FHT will use apparently) was horrendous, and charges to magically "get through Customs" here as a commercial order.
Perth Drone Shop is a nice fellow, feel for him a bit with the little he makes on them, but buying 4 I think I will go through relatives in the US to send to me Air Post.

 

[AnzacJack]

If I get some time, I’ll see if I can design something I can print. If I have any success I’ll throw some your way

 

[RoboticTundra]

What bugs me is that much of this capability s/b part of the drone itself. DJI should be including bright enough red, green and white lights for this purpose without our having to resort to 3rd party stuff that has to be stuck on the outside of the drone. And ideally with the ability to control brightness and flash patterns from the controller.

The FHT stuff is great but it's a royal PITA to deal with... having to stick them on, remember to charge them, etc.

DJI does some good stuff but I'll be glad when they get enough competition that they start to think about practical stuff like this.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

If I get some time, I’ll see if I can design something I can print. If I have any success I’ll throw some your way

Cheers Jack, I am definitely thinking mounted to the outer extremes of the arms would be safer with front camera at least.
The 4 led ones are larger than the others (understandably), so it would probably be the sizes on their site.

I wonder also if well attached velcro permanently on the craft would be better.
Less mucking about with attachments, mounts would have to be extra set up / dismantle time when using them, likely any longer flights (maybe 50% of what I do).
That's a pain, so just slapping them onto 4 permanent tabs might be better ?

I've got a bit of a wait now, had some big vehicle expenses recently, and got a big desert trip late May, I might have to wait until I return in June to get these, hopeful FHT sale might still be on, but will bide my time to get them now.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

What bugs me is that much of this capability s/b part of the drone itself. DJI should be including bright enough red, green and white lights for this purpose without our having to resort to 3rd party stuff that has to be stuck on the outside of the drone. And ideally with the ability to control brightness and flash patterns from the controller.

Now THAT would be great !
I could live with 1 minute less flight time and use controllable brightness where needed

 

[AnzacJack]

I’m thinking good Velcro will be best option

 

[Mike4884]

Just grabbed myself a set of the "arcs" will probably mount them on back arms as i can see the "light" from strobes interfering with pics .....we will see but i got the version 2 arcs heard they are super bright

 

[ff22]

I’m thinking good Velcro will be best option

I have the lighter/smaller Strobons but found the mounting brackets too fiddly and the drone could not be folded/packed with them on. So I opted for one of the heavier duty velcro materials. I can fold the drone and pack. I just slap the light into place with a bit of pressure to lock the velcro pieces together. DONE.

Now, the velcro does not aim the lights the way that the angled bracket does. I don't fly at night so I don't know if there's a visual impact on photos. I did place the velcro as close to the motors as possible.

 

[TedShred]

Tried the ARC II lights today.
OMG they are so nice. Easy to see!

At least one of them was. One doesn't work. Hopefully they will swap me out.

 

[TedShred]

I will add.
The company I bought these thru on Amazon is sending me out a new replacement in the morning. No return needed.
That's good customer service.
Their name is Cold Fusion Aviation.

Tried the ARC II lights today.
OMG they are so nice. Easy to see!

At least one of them was. One doesn't work. Hopefully they will swap me out.

 

[Mike4884]

I just got mine today with included mounts for mavic 2....they are very nice...crazy bright

 

[TedShred]

I just got mine today with included mounts for mavic 2....they are very nice...crazy bright

With just my one working it was very noticeable. Can't wait to try 2!
I like the white in strobe mode on the front. I just turn the bird and when the lights are visible I know it's facing me in case of loss of video feed for instance.

The light really helps with my daytime VLOS.

 

[Mike4884]

With just my one working it was very noticeable. Can't wait to try 2!
I like the white in strobe mode on the front. I just turn the bird and when the lights are visible I know it's facing me in case of loss of video feed for instance.

The light really helps with my daytime VLOS.

Yea they are so bright i have to see if it interferes with pic/video might try the back legs. We will see they look nice on the drone tho with mounts

 

[Thomas B]

Yea they are so bright i have to see if it interferes with pic/video might try the back legs. We will see they look nice on the drone tho with mounts

I use the mounts from Aerial Pixel. They fit fine on the front legs even with my PolarPro landing gear. No problems in several hours of dusk flight time, and not being invisible in my pics and videos. Use Red and green, one each front leg, and 2 whites, one on each rear arm.... this also helps visual determination of drone orientation.