New Pilot - need advice on lights to use on drone so I can more easily spot it in the sky

[nisdude]

I live in the Pacific Northwest (aka cloudy alot) and I find it difficult to spot the Mavic Air 2 in the sky when I'm flying until it gets closer to me. It's a grey drone against a grey sky so I struggle to see it well.

I'm wondering if anyone has this issue, and if so, what kind of light(s) you've installed on the MA2 so that it's easier to spot when it's a few hundred feet up in the air. I'd love to hear how you've solved this, what kinds of lights you've used, and where you installed them on the drone.

Thanks much,
PNW flyer.

 

[MA2 317]

Hello from the Hoosier Heartland nisdude.

A Vendor here sell these mounts for the strobes. They also have the strobes.

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Good luck and welcome to the Forum.

 

[Skybuyer]

I would recomment the Arc V strobe from Firehouse Technology. Arc V strobe from Firehouse
It's rated at 1000 lumens, which is twice the rating of Lume Cube's 500 lumens. But I have other strobes that are 500 lumens and it doesn't make that much difference on a practical level. If only using one light I also recommend mounting on the bottom as it is difficult to see top mounted strobes from below when the drone is at altitude and distance. I fly with strobes in all conditions 99.9% of the time. I think there was one time after purchase when I didn't- and wouldn't fly without them unless there was a good reason.

I have actually done some VLOS tests with a bottom mounted strobe and I have found that if I keep my eye on the drone I can see the flash in daylight (overcast) to be about 1250-1600 feet. At night I have personally been able to keep visual track of my drone up to 8000' and could have pushed it further had it not been for concern over my phone's battery giving me low battery warning. One note of observation (actually just yesterday), while I was able to see my drone over 1200' straight out, if I took my eye off of it and looked away for a few seconds I couldn't reacquire it until it was much closer. However, some time ago I did a test with my Mini and it disappeared in the sky much much earlier in flight.

 

[nisdude]

Thanks for your reply. So, (dumb questions), if I mount on the bottom of the drone (that part makes sense to me), do I use a piece of velcro to do it? also will it interfere (being on the bottom) with any of the radar on the drone?

 

[nisdude]

thanks all, I figured it out. Ordered the firehouse tech Arc V strobe and velcro mounts.

 

[Skybuyer]

I wasn't familiar with the configuration of the MA2's bottom, but there appears to be plenty of real estate behind the gimbal ahead of the sensor for velcro. I prefer to use the female velcro on the drone and the male counterpart on the devices. You may find that you may want a bit more clearance with the bottom mount, and leg extensions/"landing gear" I think can be helpful in many situations which help keep your drone from becoming a weed-whacker if you should land or take off from grassy areas. I have a Mavic 2, but I'll post a photo or two to illustrate. I also have a velcro strip across the top as well as I have multiple strobes and will often fly with two whites, top and bottom and red/green, left right arms to better spot orientation. Perhaps a bit of overkill, but they have their purpose.

 

[msinger]

Here are the most commonly used strobe lights:

• Firehouse ARC
• Firehouse ARC XL
• Firehouse ARC V
• Firehouse Dual Cree
• Flytron STROBON Cree
• TOPSUN

I make mounts for many of those lights. You can find them in my store here.

 

[Starz]

The topsun mentioned in the above post are far brighter than any of the others.

 

[Skybuyer]

The topsun mentioned in the above post are far brighter than any of the others.

Check the weight on the Topsun. Heavier than the others.
EDIT: I think I was incorrect in my above statement. The weight provided on Amazon was 40 grams and didn't differentiate between the strobe itself of the PACKAGED weight. I believe that I have seen it now listed somewhere as 10 grams. However it does not appear to be available for sale anwhere I can find, at least in the US.

 

[Starz]

Heavier than the others.

Grams verses visibility.
Your choice.

 

[MA2 317]

Thanks for your reply. So, (dumb questions), if I mount on the bottom of the drone (that part makes sense to me), do I use a piece of velcro to do it? also will it interfere (being on the bottom) with any of the radar on the drone?

Be cautious when mounting on the bottom near the VPS camera(s).

When I mounted a strobe on the bottom of the SPARK, I had a very erratic 30 second flight under twenty feet due to the intense flashing affecting the VPS.

The Spark bounced up and down in the air like a pogo stick until I had a hard landing.

I moved the strobe and no problems since.

The Mavics may not be as sensitive as the Spark.

Of course there's not a lot of room on the Spark to begin with to be mounting stuff.

 

[msinger]

The topsun mentioned in the above post are far brighter than any of the others.

Yeah, TOPSUN lights are highly underrated. They appear to be a little brighter than ARC lights (to my eye).

 

[DaveS]

I like Lume Cube strobes: Lume Cube, Inc.

 

[zeusfl]

@Aerial-Pixel has it in the website.

irehouse Technology ARC V Strobe - White​

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[Skybuyer]

Grams verses visibility.
Your choice.

I'm not so sure that's a practical way of looking at it with the modest weight differences of the top contenders. I suppose if saving 1 or 2 or even 5 grams is important, then the Arc II is the obvious choice, especially because it is one of the thinnest strobes available and can be mounted on the bottom of most DJI drones.

The Arc V strobe weighs only 13 grams and puts out 1000 lumen. Dimensions are 25mm x 38mm x 14.4mm D (with velcro attached) [ 1" x 1.5" x 0.6 D w/velcro]. Not that it matters a ton, the velcro itself weights .7 grams (get the pun?). I'm not aware of any of the Arc V's competitors that throw 1000 lumens (pls correct me if I'm mistaken).

The Arc V's main competitor, Lume Cube (or should it be vice versa?) is rated at 500 lumens, and at this moment on sale for $32. Lume Cube's published weight is 10 grams w/o velcro and is about the same length as the Arc V, looks like it might be a little tougher build but looks "thicker" though no depth measurements are readily available. For some depth might be important if mounting on the bottom as we have to consider bottom clearance.

@msinger said: "Yeah, TOPSUN lights are highly underrated. They appear to be a little brighter than ARC lights (to my eye)."
Topsun has done a terrible job of marketing. I doubt that they are brighter than the Arc V at 1000 lumens. The difference between 500 and 1000 lumens is noticeable, but to the eye only slightly so. Back in June I had ordered a Topsun but cancelled the order because I couldn't find the specification and thought it might be larger and heavier than it actually is. they only stated visible distance, not rated lumens as the other companies had. They had advertised the PACKAGE weight, but not the strobe's weight and until today could not find the dimensions of it. I've now found those, but even now they don't state rated lumens, nor do the dimensions they provide (see photo below) include the height of the dome. As I wanted to mount the strobe on the bottom of my Mini 1.

So my first strobe was a Firehouse Arc II strobe, 500 lumens- only *8* grams with velcro attached 23mm x 30mm x 11mm D w/velcro [ 0.9" x 1.17" x 0.4" D w/velcro ]. On this purchase I opted for a separate "headlight" mount, but have not used the mount much, but is handy as the Arc II (and Arc V) have a continous output mode.


Note: Strobes were personally weighed on a jewelry scale that displays in grams plus two decimals.

 

[MA2 317]

I'm going to purchase some Arc V's and holders for them.

I've had the single and double lights on the circuit board which have slowly failed with the repeated installations / removals of the lights using the Velcro type fastener.

I suspect the board is flexed and breaks the circuit somewhere on the board.

With the Arc V's being in a plastic case, I would think the board may not flex and ultimately last longer than my other strobes wrapped in shrink wrap. ?

 

[Starz]

Visibility is, I believe, the goal. If you have not tried the topsun, you’re missing out.

 

[Skybuyer]

I'm going to purchase some Arc V's and holders for them.

I've had the single and double lights on the circuit board which have slowly failed with the repeated installations / removals of the lights using the Velcro type fastener.

I suspect the board is flexed and breaks the circuit somewhere on the board.

With the Arc V's being in a plastic case, I would think the board may not flex and ultimately last longer than my other strobes wrapped in shrink wrap. ?

Yes the Arc V is completely enclosed with silicone seals at the charging port and switch for moisture resistance. Just be gentle with the switch. I received one with a broken switch and upon dissection discovered that the switch is held in place by two thin solder joints with "support backing" of the battery itself.

As for the Topsun, it doesn't appear for sale anywhere that I could find with cursory Google search. Certainly no longer on Amazon.

 

[miker570]

For a very cheap DIY light I found one of those headband type LED lights and just strap it on when needed. Uses one AAA battery for power. I think I got a set of 2 for about $5. It’s very bright but I don’t have the specs on it.

 

[MA2 317]

As for the Topsun, it doesn't appear for sale anywhere that I could find with cursory Google search. Certainly no longer on Amazon.

Click the TOPSUN link from msinger post # 12 above.

Currently in stock for $30 from Amazon.