Need Advice

[Leed1315]

I'm new to drones and was considering getting a thermal drone. He told me it is a Macic Pro Dual Thermal Enterprise. I can't find that exact model and so he may not have it listed right. The drone looks like it was crashed and has a few issues. The 1st is it has a vision system error. He says that has to do with its ability to land. He said the camera is at a slight angle. He sent me a couple videos of the controller powering up and all and says it still flies. I can see the Flir label on the cam so it is a thermal drone. The price is fair but I really don't know what I'm getting into. Whats an estimate of getting everything straightened out and where would I normally take it for something like that. Thanks for any help.

 

[GFields]

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama USA, welcome to the forum! We look forward to hearing from you!

Thermal cameras are expensive and expensive to repair. I would suggest contacting DJI repair services

 

[Leed1315]

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama USA, welcome to the forum! We look forward to hearing from you!

Thermal cameras are expensive and expensive to repair. I would suggest contacting DJI repair services

Thanks, is there a certain location that i should call or just their general contact? Can you identify the model that it is from the pics to have a little more information available?

 

[GFields]

Thanks, is there a certain location that i should call or just their general contact? Can you identify the model that it is from the pics to have a little more information available?

Look inside the battery compartment. The SN should be there. Then use that when contacting support

 

[msinger]

Can you identify the model

It's a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual.

 

[Starz]

Looks to be a hard knock. Look elsewhere.

Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual

Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual features a three-axis gimbal stabilized camera housing a side-by-side 4K sensor for capturing visible light and a FLIR imaging sensor for capturing thermal data. Together, thes...

dronetrader.com

 

[msinger]

Look elsewhere

Or maybe start with something less expensive. There are lots of great options if thermal is not a hard requirement.

 

[KB9Radio]

I think what they were referring to was probably a Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual. The "dual" term refers to the fact that it has both a regular and an IR thermal camera. Despite being somewhat dated, these are some beautiful drones for sure. They usually come in a case kit along with a strobe, speaker, and a spotlight (searchlight) that easily mount on it via thumb screws. I have seen a few here in the classified section over time that were complete packages and pretty reasonably priced.

 

[Leed1315]

Or maybe start with something less expensive. There are lots of great options if thermal is not a hard requirement.

I'm only interested in thermal at the moment. i plan to use it for scouting animals mainly

I think what they were referring to was probably a Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual. The "dual" term refers to the fact that it has both a regular and an IR thermal camera. Despite being somewhat dated, these are some beautiful drones for sure. They usually come in a case kit along with a strobe, speaker, and a spotlight (searchlight) that easily mount on it via thumb screws. I have seen a few here in the classified section over time that were complete packages and pretty reasonably priced.

What do you consider reasonably priced?

Looks to be a hard knock. Look elsewhere.

Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual

Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual features a three-axis gimbal stabilized camera housing a side-by-side 4K sensor for capturing visible light and a FLIR imaging sensor for capturing thermal data. Together, thes...

dronetrader.com

Even at $1000-1200 ?

 

[KB9Radio]

I'm only interested in thermal at the moment. i plan to use it for scouting animals mainly




What do you consider reasonably priced?

Even at $1000-1200 ?

I think that price on the link is kinda crazy. I believe when I looked at them new back around 2020, they were about $3500-$4000 or so new. I think seen them in the past for around $2000-$2200 range, which I thought was quite reasonable, however that was a few months ago and long gone I'm sure. If you know that is what you want, just keep an eye out for it.

 

[Bob in Savannah]

Are you getting the entire OEM package with everything it was included with? If you mentioned this already I missed it. Sorry.

And, the drone itself looks quite abused. Not just uncared for but abused.

The only way I'd pay $1200 for that was if it came with everything AND I was instantly planning to ship it back to DJI for entire overhaul and prepared to pay for that. That would be fine then and yud literally be getting back a drone that's as good as brand new.

That would put you near the 2k mark at most I would assume. With that investment you would want the included accessories. Just my opinion..

 

[Leed1315]

Are you getting the entire OEM package with everything it was included with? If you mentioned this already I missed it. Sorry.

And, the drone itself looks quite abused. Not just uncared for but abused.

The only way I'd pay $1200 for that was if it came with everything AND I was instantly planning to ship it back to DJI for entire overhaul and prepared to pay for that. That would be fine then and yud literally be getting back a drone that's as good as brand new.

That would put you near the 2k mark at most I would assume. With that investment you would want the included accessories. Just my opinion..

I'm not sure on everything included. He was asking $1600 and I asked if he would take $1000. I contacted DJI and they could not give me any quote on price but said I needed to send it in. My plan was to send it to them as soon as I got it. I'm with you though its going to have to have everything that came with it or I'll just keep looking. I figured if I could stay under $2000 even if I didn't end up using it as much or decide it wasn't worth it I could get my money out of it. I've found some foreign sellers that pop up on Ebay with very good prices but it scares me. Ebay is normally safe but there so many scammers and they are always coming up with something new.

 

[Bob in Savannah]

I think you're right. At least you can have faith that DJI can fix anything and return it practically brand new. I'd keep close to 1k aside for worst case scenarios..
Other than that you better see what came with this originally and see what's being offered. Good luck.

 

[Starz]

I have noticed in the past that items found on Drone trader can be higher priced than what the real world brings.
If sent to DJI, you would possibly get back a new unit. Could also be a refurb which should be as new as you could find. I didn’t keep the one I had very long simply because I wasn’t using it as much as I thought I would. It certainly can be a useful tool.

 

[Leed1315]

I have noticed in the past that items found on Drone trader can be higher priced than what the real world brings.
If sent to DJI, you would possibly get back a new unit. Could also be a refurb which should be as new as you could find. I didn’t keep the one I had very long simply because I wasn’t using it as much as I thought I would. It certainly can be a useful tool.

I have been looking at 2 different thermal drones. The Anafi Parrot and the DJI. The Anafi sold in the $1900-2500 new and the DJI $2600-3700. I think both are sold out as far as new goes but people are asking prices that are higher than they were new. I'm trying to make sure that I'm comparing the right models because I know that makes a big difference but on sites like what you're referring to and Ebay they are selling them at or above what they were new. I'm not sure if there is a shortage or the newer models have seen big price hikes which are pushing used models up or what.

 

[shawgod]

Just curious as a new drone flyer. What is the use of a thermal drone? Search and Rescue?

 

[msinger]

What is the use of a thermal drone? Search and Rescue?

Thermal cameras allow drones to detect and capture images of heat signatures emitted by objects and living things. This can be useful in a variety of applications, such as search and rescue, surveillance, and agriculture. For example, thermal cameras can be used to locate missing persons, detect heat loss in buildings, and identify areas of crop stress. Additionally, thermal cameras can be used in low-light or nighttime conditions, which can be challenging for traditional cameras.

 

[Leed1315]

Thermal cameras allow drones to detect and capture images of heat signatures emitted by objects and living things. This can be useful in a variety of applications, such as search and rescue, surveillance, and agriculture. For example, thermal cameras can be used to locate missing persons, detect heat loss in buildings, and identify areas of crop stress. Additionally, thermal cameras can be used in low-light or nighttime conditions, which can be challenging for traditional cameras.

Personally I was going to use it in hunting applications. I was going to use it lo locate animal locations and animal numbers. I feel like there could also be a market for helping to find downed animals or deer density estimates in the future.

 

[shawgod]

Thermal cameras allow drones to detect and capture images of heat signatures emitted by objects and living things. This can be useful in a variety of applications, such as search and rescue, surveillance, and agriculture. For example, thermal cameras can be used to locate missing persons, detect heat loss in buildings, and identify areas of crop stress. Additionally, thermal cameras can be used in low-light or nighttime conditions, which can be challenging for traditional cameras.

Thank you for the information

 

[jaja6009]

OP and others looking at thermal solutions.

The DJi Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual and Parrot Anafi Thermal use a low resolution thermal sensor at 160x120.

To view a human sized target you will need to be within 100 ft and even then the person will be more blob than person.
Also factor in that the low resolution introduces noise to the image at distance or when there is not a lot of temperature difference in your field of view.

Do yourself a favor, save up enough funds to buy the correct solution. For animal scouting a 640 resolution thermal sensor is what you will need to have an enjoyable experience.

As newer and newer options become available, buy a used one from a person/company that always upgrades to the latest/greatest. There are deals out there right now both new and used for DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advances, and Autel Evo 2 Duals, Dual Rs, 640T's.

Don't settle now for something that will not be very usable and where you end up in the future just making another purchase for the correct tool.