Lights on a Mavic Mini for help with orientation?

[vindibona1]

As I noted in another thread, for 2 days I had a non DJI drone for China that was defective and is going back as soon as I can get a return label [They have dragged their feet for 2 weeks and finally agreed to a refund and are dancing around paying for the return]. But one of the things I'd noticed was that when the drone was no more than 100M away I could not tell what its orientation was. I put orange reflective stickers on and it helped somewhat as it got closer, but very hard to see beyond 150 ft or so. I know that the MM has an orientation arrow in the app, but my previous experience tells me that my phone (iPhone 6sPlus) is not bright enough to really see anything when it's bright outside.

So I was thinking about installing lights on the MM, not for collision avoidance or night flying necessarily, but just to be able to visually identify which direction the drone is facing- at least in the beginning until I get used to using the screen for FPV (and will probably need a hood). I was thinking one of these two systems, one that clamps on the legs, or another where I can remove the metal clip and apply heavy duty velcro (which I have on-hand in abundance).

Again, at the moment I (think) I just want an visual orientation aid and price and weight are of course considerations. Links to possibilities below. TIA

Colored lights, 9 grams $20

Cyclops light, 14 grams to be attached via velcro $6

 

[vindibona1]

Bump...
Anyone hear using lights on their MM?

 

[lannes]

You need small leds like the Strobon white cree

STROBON Cree® Standalone

This product is compatible with the latest FAA and CAA anti-collision lights rules for drones. It can be seen from at least 3 miles at night. Strobon Cree® Standalone is the brightest navigation strobe solution for enclosed drones like: DJI (Phantom, Inspire, Mavic, Spark, Mavic Air, Mavic...

store.flytron.com

 

[vindibona1]

You need small leds like the Strobon white cree

STROBON Cree® Standalone

This product is compatible with the latest FAA and CAA anti-collision lights rules for drones. It can be seen from at least 3 miles at night. Strobon Cree® Standalone is the brightest navigation strobe solution for enclosed drones like: DJI (Phantom, Inspire, Mavic, Spark, Mavic Air, Mavic...

store.flytron.com

Thanks. That would work. They are about double the price at $28 plus sales tax in the US.
I did actually purchase and receive a micro mini LED light. It is a continuous light, weighs under 10 grams and is very bright. At this moment all I'm looking for is a visual guide to know that the drone is oriented toward me or not from a relative distance with LOS. What I found with my first Chinese drone is that once I got about 100 M out it was a speck and I couldn't identify orientation. My iPhone screen wasn't bright enough to see ANYTHING, which is a problem I anticipate (MM not arriving for two days). While the DJI-Fly app has an orientation arrow, I can't count on being able to see it in the screen. But I like your suggestion and may buy one of those strobes when they become available here.

FWIW, I also anticipate having to build a screen shade for the phone. Fortunately as a semi-retired professional commercial photographer, I have some 18" black cinefoil (black aluminum foil)) and black gaffers tape and should be able to build a decent screen shade for the phone to make it easier to see what the drone sees. I'm not sure how I'll go in that direction but will decide once I see how everything fits with the controller.

 

[CareyL]

As I noted in another thread, for 2 days I had a non DJI drone for China that was defective and is going back as soon as I can get a return label [They have dragged their feet for 2 weeks and finally agreed to a refund and are dancing around paying for the return]. But one of the things I'd noticed was that when the drone was no more than 100M away I could not tell what its orientation was. I put orange reflective stickers on and it helped somewhat as it got closer, but very hard to see beyond 150 ft or so. I know that the MM has an orientation arrow in the app, but my previous experience tells me that my phone (iPhone 6sPlus) is not bright enough to really see anything when it's bright outside.

So I was thinking about installing lights on the MM, not for collision avoidance or night flying necessarily, but just to be able to visually identify which direction the drone is facing- at least in the beginning until I get used to using the screen for FPV (and will probably need a hood). I was thinking one of these two systems, one that clamps on the legs, or another where I can remove the metal clip and apply heavy duty velcro (which I have on-hand in abundance).

Again, at the moment I (think) I just want an visual orientation aid and price and weight are of course considerations. Links to possibilities below. TIA

Colored lights, 9 grams $20

Cyclops light, 14 grams to be attached via velcro $6

I use 4 600 lumen Firehouse technology lights. Green on back, red on front and white on top & botton. In daylight they can be seen 100 meters away. (300 feet for the mono-lingual). You get what you pay for.

 

[Gebo]

I have an original Visuo Search Light, available on Amazon and Ebay mounted on the Mavic Mini. It fits perfectly, it is cheap and has no influence on flying with the drone. I made a video about it

 

[vindibona1]

Now that I've had a couple days to practice flying I am 100% certain that, for me, I want good lights on this thing. I was out shooting this evening around 6pm. Not too bright outside. Even at less than 200 feet I visually lost sighting of the drone and only because I knew the general area that it was hovering was I able to re-sight it. I did mount a "cyclops" light on it. It helps, but only to a limited extent because it has to be pointed right at you to see the LEDs. I've also added two reflector strips on the front arms which help as well. I wish there was a non-invasive way to install some LED's into the front cavities where sensors or lights should go, but won't do it because I'm sure it would void any warranties.

I liked the other suggestions, especially the Visio search light, but the Visio would come from China perhaps by AUGUST. So in the meantime I've ordered the strobe below from TopSun that's gotten good reviews and can be here tomorrow.

 

[lannes]

Now that I've had a couple days to practice flying I am 100% certain that, for me, I want good lights on this thing. I was out shooting this evening around 6pm. Not too bright outside. Even at less than 200 feet I visually lost sighting of the drone and only because I knew the general area that it was hovering was I able to re-sight it. I did mount a "cyclops" light on it. It helps, but only to a limited extent because it has to be pointed right at you to see the LEDs. I've also added two reflector strips on the front arms which help as well. I wish there was a non-invasive way to install some LED's into the front cavities where sensors or lights should go, but won't do it because I'm sure it would void any warranties.

I liked the other suggestions, especially the Visio search light, but the Visio would come from China perhaps by AUGUST. So in the meantime I've ordered the strobe below from TopSun that's gotten good reviews and can be here tomorrow.

View attachment 106263

With the Mavic Mini you have to be really careful with the weight you add to it, if there is too much weight it will automatically set "payload" mode and this has flight limits.



I think you can manually turn it off while flying , but I'm not sure if it will come on again once it senses the extra weight

 

[vindibona1]

With the Mavic Mini you have to be really careful with the weight you add to it, if there is too much weight it will automatically set "payload" mode and this has flight limits.

View attachment 106311

I think you can manually turn it off while flying , but I'm not sure if it will come on again once it senses the extra weight

Yeah... I was thinking about that and didn't realize the weight of the light that I had ordered. I put in a cancellation and will order a Firehouse Arc tomorrow. It should be much lighter.

 

[raymacke]

You might want to wait as I believe Firehouse is coming out soon with a more powerful unit. I have the 4 led strobe for my mini and honestly am disappointed in its daytime visibility.

 

[vindibona1]

You might want to wait as I believe Firehouse is coming out soon with a more powerful unit. I have the 4 led strobe for my mini and honestly am disappointed in its daytime visibility.

I understand, but have to wonder if there are any lights that are better. I recently viewed an LED strobe shoot-out (YouTube link below) and the Firehouse Arc light seemed to be the winner.
They actually have a new (?) mount for their Arc light that mounts the light vertically so you can use it as a headlight and can either be used as a strobe or as a steady light [photo and link below]. There is a catch, which hopefully I will be able to circumvent. I would like to be able to use it mounted as a headlight for orientation AND alternately a collision avoidance strobe. As shown it is shipped in its mount which I am told is difficult to remove. I am having them send me the light and the mount separately. I will modify the mount so I can install and uninstall the light, so have it mounted upright, or laying flat on the top or bottom of the drone. Firerhose ARC headlight kit for Mavic Mini

As a beginner pilot I am not used to getting orientation from the screen, particularly as I am learning to control the drone strictly LOS. Perhaps in time this will change. I'm still trying to become mentally oriented as to how to push the sticks depending on that drone's orienation toward or away from me. Even 100 yards/M away I have no clue as to where it's pointed and consequently have to get it to react to know exactly. I figure that if I have a visible headlight on the thing visible at 100-200M I can at least have a reference.

As to this particularly light, the rub comes because its an Arc (no longer Arc I and Arc II... but all Arc II designated only as "Arc") and in the "kit" it is semi-permanently mounted in the vertical mount (as shown).
At $40 it's not cheap, but if I can make it versatile hopefully it will be worth the money.

 

[miniflyer]

Adding a light to the Mini

Is the Lume Cube the best, and is it effective in daylight?

mavicpilots.com

 

[aeropic]

For 4.2 grams, the lightest and cheapest I could do was this one :

Mavic Mini night LED shield by aeropic

In order to increase night visibility I wanted a very light LEDs system for my mini that could be easily removed. Just buying some 12V LEDs strip and plugging them directly on the battery makes the job to add 12 lights to the Mini. Those strips are stuck onto a 3D printed support. The overall...

www.thingiverse.com

 

[vindibona1]

For 4.2 grams, the lightest and cheapest I could do was this one :

Mavic Mini night LED shield by aeropic

In order to increase night visibility I wanted a very light LEDs system for my mini that could be easily removed. Just buying some 12V LEDs strip and plugging them directly on the battery makes the job to add 12 lights to the Mini. Those strips are stuck onto a 3D printed support. The overall...

www.thingiverse.com

They look similar to the led's under my cabinets. Can you see them a mile away? Could they help you tell where the drone was facing at 100 yards?

 

[lannes]

For orientation purposes, you should not mount it on the top of the drone as you would normally viewing it up from below at an angle
The light should be at the extremities of the drone e.g under or near the rear motors, this would then give you an idea where the rear end it

As the MM is so small if the lights are too powerful and mounted centrally , all you will see is a ball of light without any idea what direction it is facing

 

[vindibona1]

For orientation purposes, you should not mount it on the top of the drone as you would normally viewing it up from below at an angle
The light should be at the extremities of the drone e.g under or near the rear motors, this would then give you an idea where the rear end it

As the MM is so small if the lights are too powerful and mounted centrally , all you will see is a ball of light without any idea what direction it is facing

Interesting point. I'll have to experiment. I ordered the light with the mount, but unmounted to provide flexibility in mounting.

 

[aeropic]

They look similar to the led's under my cabinets. Can you see them a mile away? Could they help you tell where the drone was facing at 100 yards?

Not sure you I can see the drone 1.8km away... Not even sure I get this range with my CE version ?
But when the drone becomes visible, yes it helps a lot for the orientation. The two rows of leds tell you the front back axis. Then, if you see the two front leds the drone is flying towards home. If you see the MM rear Led, it's flying away !

 

[maelstrom]

the "kit" it is semi-permanently mounted in the vertical mount

As it's mounted at the front, I wonder how much that would affect the performance/balance of the mini? Surely the front motors would be working harder to keep the drone level with the additional weight at the front (even if it's very light)? Would it affect its ability to hover down wind in stronger winds when the front motors would normally be working harder anyway to maintain position?