New No Fly Zones

bmwbob · Sep 24, 2021

I went fly fishing in Norther California last year and during a break I flew the drone over some fly fisherman after asking permission. I went back this year and went to fly in the same area and DJI GEO fence is in place and asked for my phone number to ask permission to fly except there's no cell reception in any of the are I wanted to fly

the only thing I can figure is the area is also home to PG&E power plants and homeland security decided it was protected infrastructure! I'm thinking that will become more prevalent!

Phantomrain.org · Sep 24, 2021

What is really more bewildering is the the Autel Evo can negotiate these Geo Fences and DJI cannot , I really cannot wrap my head around anything more the the US denying them that access.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.

eEridani · Sep 24, 2021

The US really has no authority over what DJI does with their proprietary Geofence tech. While the US may not want a Chinese company collecting the amount of information they are collecting using DJI drones not much they can do until they outlaw them. After all, every Chinese company must open their doors to the government watchdogs when asked. No such thing as privacy over there.

So using a DJI drone and flying all over the place is like being a Chinese spy... lol.

Does the EVO even have anything like Geofencing? Wait - update:

Autel EVO II gets compulsory No-Fly Zone geofencing database with latest firmware update

A lack of geofencing has often been a selling point for Autel. But now, Autel drones are getting a compulsory No-Fly Zone database in the US.

dronedj.com

db4476 · Sep 24, 2021

When DJI refuses to launch, I'll grab the EVO2 and happily fly. DJI will often ground the Mavic even though I have a LAANC authorization. Sure, you can usually (but not always) unlock it IF YOU HAVE A VIABLE connection, which doesn't happen when you're out in the mountainous wild west. The DJI GeoFencing method is a PITA, they need a better solution IMO.

Cheers!

MarkusAtHome · Sep 25, 2021

eEridani said:
The US really has no authority over what DJI does with their proprietary Geofence tech. While the US may not want a Chinese company collecting the amount of information they are collecting using DJI drones not much they can do until they outlaw them. After all, every Chinese company must open their doors to the government watchdogs when asked. No such thing as privacy over there.

So using a DJI drone and flying all over the place is like being a Chinese spy... lol.

Does the EVO even have anything like Geofencing? Wait - update:

Autel EVO II gets compulsory No-Fly Zone geofencing database with latest firmware update

A lack of geofencing has often been a selling point for Autel. But now, Autel drones are getting a compulsory No-Fly Zone database in the US.

dronedj.com

Why is it ok when the US-of-A is spying, but not ok when the Chinese do the same thing? ;-)

NDWildBill · Sep 25, 2021

If someone wants to spy and gather information, they can gain much more from your cell phone than your drone.

eEridani · Sep 25, 2021

Satellites can only gather so much data - drones simply see more and have better resolution at the surface.

As for spying being ok or not - lol - or who is doing it: All nations spy. I only said the US may not like the details the Chinese are scooping up. Normal counter-intelligence reaction is to know what info the other guys have and do what you can to minimize it. You don't really thing all these flight limitations on DJI are random, do you? < inserted for the paranoids here >

hiflyer201 · Sep 25, 2021

bmwbob said:
I went back this year and went to fly in the same area and DJI GEO fence is in place and asked for my phone number to ask permission to fly except there's no cell reception in any of the are I wanted to fly the only thing I can figure is the area is also home to PG&E power plants and homeland security decided it was protected infrastructure! I'm thinking that will become more prevalent!

Are you sure it wasn't a TFR? DJI put a larger fence around fire TFR's because they can move. Northern California is loaded with TFR's at the present time.