Strobe Placement on Mini 2 and Potential to Damage Engines if Placed on Battery Door???

[DroneSolutions]

I just got the StartRC Strobe Light for Mini 2 and many others. It was reviewed by another member of this forum who indicated it didn't get the advertised visibility. I only need to maintain visibility to 600' VLOS. It claims 1.8 Miles. I just know it almost blinded me when I hit the on button accidently! It has 4 colors and 3 modes, 2 flash, and 1 solid. Claims 1.4 hour charge time. Four hours run time. I don't know what color strobe the other member selected. Visibility depends on which color strobe you are using. The human eye sees green the best. See link below. This is why some gun owners use green lasers for use during the day.

At 6 grams, which I verified with my sensitive powder scale, it is one of the lightest strobes on the market. Actually is weighs 6.6g (0.233 oz) with velcro. I have added a white, low adhering velcro on top of the black velcro provided to test placement and interference. Strobe does not protrude that far. There are 2 extra black velcro sets and charging cord in box. High quality Velcro. The rubber bands and tabs on the strobe to hold them for temporary attachment to a drone do not work well at all. I will grind them off.

I have been given permission by the farmer next to my subdivision to film an old 1850's cabin on a little lake right in the middle of his field. He doesn't want me on his property unless my drone goes down but says the drone is welcome in exchange for some services. I can fly from my backyard. I also agree with BigA107. There is no FAA reg against strobes enhancing VLOS.

My concern is strobe placement. I want it on the back battery door for better visibility @ 600' distance. I don’t think I will be able to see the strobe at my working altitude due to trees around the cabin if I place the strobe on top. But I will try both ways. Battery door placement doesn't interfere with props, opening/closing battery door, or with drone legs opened or closed.

Obviously, the DJI engineer’s designed and determined the Center of Gravity & Balance for optimal performance and drone longevity. Do you think 6.6g (0.233 oz) on battery door will cause causing excess heat, wear, or damage to the rear engines as IMU tries to compensate leveraged weight or effect drone control? Software guy...not an engineer.

I only need to make about 10-15 flights for a video editing course I am taking. It requires a subject of 'creative interest' not a tree in a field. Amazon: $23. It does not meet FAA regs for flying during evening and morning twilight or @ night.

"The human eye uses special photoreceptors to characterize light in terms of intensity and color. These photoreceptors are very sensitive to green wavelengths and much less sensitive to blue and red waves" Link: Human Eye Sees Green Best Thx!

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I had a strobe on the battery door (Mavic Mini), it causes no harm, the rear motors might have to turn slightly faster but their entire usage is based around variable speeds and speed control.
If the drone was struggling it will probably warn you with either a max power reached or max motor speed reached warning just as the Mavic Mini does with deformed props.

 

[SethB]

All I can tell you is that a Firehouse Dual (Cree) at 4g has worked perfectly well on the battery door of my Mini 2. I do feel that I need to be careful that the velcro has really grabbed.

The AI in the esc seems super adaptable to this kind of thing!

 

[old man mavic]

@DroneSolutions ,the one thing i will say with regards to fitting the strobe light to your drone
in very overcast conditions ,or flying down into a valley with dark contrast behind the drone ,then the strobes can be very helpful in seeing the drone and working out its orientation as you fly
but to be really honest with you ,in bright sunny conditions ,the strobe will not really extend your visible distance capabilities to be able to see it ,regardless of what colour it is by very much ,that is my experience when using them on my MPP two on the front arms and one at the rear

 

[vindibona1]

I think the best placement for one strobe is mounted on the bottom. Red/Green lights help with orientation, so I usuallly have R/G mounted on the arms or front and back with a bright clear light mounted on the bottom. Bottom mounting will usually require leg extension. As you can see from my attached photo the strobe on the bottom I have a Firehouse ARC II mounted with velcro on top of the on/off switch. Obviously I have to turn the drone on before mounting the strobe, but it's no big deal.

@DroneSolutions ,the one thing i will say with regards to fitting the strobe light to your drone
in very overcast conditions ,or flying down into a valley with dark contrast behind the drone ,then the strobes can be very helpful in seeing the drone and working out its orientation as you fly
but to be really honest with you ,in bright sunny conditions ,the strobe will not really extend your visible distance capabilities to be able to see it ,regardless of what colour it is by very much ,that is my experience when using them on my MPP two on the front arms and one at the rear

OMM- I have to strongly disagree with your statement regarding "in bright sunny conditions ,the strobe will not really extend your visible distance capabilities" In my experience that is untrue. I've done a ton of testing in daylight and can say that in daylight without strobe I can see my Mini 2 about 400'-600". With a strobe that extends to 1600'-1800', a three-fold increase in distance visibility. At night, over a lake I've been able to spot my drone out to 10,000'.

 

[old man mavic]

@vindibona1 i do not doubt for one moment what you are saying ,i am only going by my visual capabilities as i stated in my post ,with my old eyes ,perhaps i should have added" by much" to the line you wrote in bold on my post

 

[ThatBeardedDroneGuy]

:: flame suit on ::

There is no FAA reg against strobes enhancing VLOS.

Others may interpret this differently, but:

§ 107.31 Visual line of sight aircraft operation.
(a) With vision that is unaided by any device other than corrective lenses...

appears to say otherwise.

:: flame suit off ::

Is the FAA going to come after you? Probably not.

 

[vindibona1]

@vindibona1 i do not doubt for one moment what you are saying ,i am only going by my visual capabilities as i stated in my post ,with my old eyes ,perhaps i should have added" by much" to the line you wrote in bold on my post

I understand.
I for one almost never fly without strobes because of the visual advantage strobes bring in all conditions. I guess I'm lucky being in the US where with drone registration I don't have to concern myself having to stick to <250gm with all gear on board. 50 more grams can add a lot of functionality that you have to give up if your country is a stickler for strict weight compliance.

 

[SethB]

:: flame suit on ::



Others may interpret this differently, but:

§ 107.31 Visual line of sight aircraft operation.
(a) With vision that is unaided by any device other than corrective lenses...

appears to say otherwise.

:: flame suit off ::

Is the FAA going to come after you? Probably not.

I’ve always understood that to mean “no binoculars, spotting scopes, etc.” To me the key words are unaided vision.

 

[ThatBeardedDroneGuy]

Unfortunately, I think it's subjective. I'd be inclined to accept your definition, but how does the FAA define "any device"? This is the government we're talking about.

And for the record, I'm not against it personally.

 

[Slawaw]

I used a gps beacon weighing 28 grams for long-distance flights. No problems for the engines, of course, no.

 

[SethB]

Unfortunately, I think it's subjective. I'd be inclined to accept your definition, but how does the FAA define "any device"? This is the government we're talking about.

And for the record, I'm not against it personally.

Perhaps one of the experts like @BigAl07 or @Vic Moss can clarify how FAA may interpret this. I’ve definitely heard a focus on no binoculars for RPICs and VOs in formal trainings in reference to the reg you quoted; strobes weren’t mentioned.

 

[ThatBeardedDroneGuy]

I'd be happy to be wrong.

 

[BigAl07]

:: flame suit on ::



Others may interpret this differently, but:

§ 107.31 Visual line of sight aircraft operation.
(a) With vision that is unaided by any device other than corrective lenses...

appears to say otherwise.

:: flame suit off ::

Is the FAA going to come after you? Probably not.

Whew we, as a society, can't help but try and find/create confusion....

Strobe Lights are not "Vision Enhancing Devices". They do aide in locating your UAS at longer distances but it's in my interpretation that Strobes are not the point of that wording. But. . . .

If you're utilizing strobes to help locate your UAS at a distance, and the strobe fails, and you have an incident because of this "Freak set of circumstances", you are at fault for NOT Maintaining VLOS... PERIOD!!

 

[BigAl07]

Keep in mind that the FAA has written the Regulations very loosely so that the final interpretation could lean one way or another. It's not Black & White and that's not by chance. If there is an incident and you're relying on Strobe to allow you to fly further than you could otherwise you are going to suffer at the extreme side of the equation.

They have given you just enough rope to hang yourself so don't go down that rabbit hole. You shouldn't fly any further WITH strobes than you safely can WITHOUT strobes. They help enhance visual acquisition but they are designed and intended as Anti-Collision or Collision Avoidance devices not to help you fly higher and further than you could otherwise.

 

[ThatBeardedDroneGuy]

Excellent points.

 

[vindibona1]

Whew we, as a society, can't help but try and find/create confusion....

Strobe Lights are not "Vision Enhancing Devices". They do aide in locating your UAS at longer distances but it's in my interpretation that Strobes are not the point of that wording. But. . . .

If you're utilizing strobes to help locate your UAS at a distance, and the strobe fails, and you have an incident because of this "Freak set of circumstances", you are at fault for NOT Maintaining VLOS... PERIOD!!

Solution: Use more than one strobe.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

:: flame suit on ::



Others may interpret this differently, but:

§ 107.31 Visual line of sight aircraft operation.
(a) With vision that is unaided by any device other than corrective lenses...

appears to say otherwise.

:: flame suit off ::

Is the FAA going to come after you? Probably not.

Would not their use of the words "corrective lenses" imply that the regulation relates to the use of other optical instruments.
If it meant the use of the likes of strobes why would strobe lighting by a necessary condition for some of the USA regulations i.e. the visible at 3 mile thing?

 

[DroneSolutions]

I appreciate all the feedback. Excellent points all around. I will test out my configuration below at my RC flying field 1st. While I tend to agree that strobes do not violate the FAA VLOS regs, BigA107 has a good point also. You don't want to rely on technology the failure of which puts you outside of FAA regs. I value my Part 107 too dearly. If this wasn't a farm mapping job and farms all around for miles, I would not be doing this.

Goal: Increase Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) Distance: Via Strobes & Skin Decals
Chose: ViFly Strobes for FAA 3+ Miles, 4 hr run time, 6gr. Wt., USB-C (Will see if marketing is accurate)

Strobe Color/Function Options: Red, Green, White w/ Quick Flash, Slow Flash, & Solid. Once Color/Functions are chosen, strobe remembers settings. Just turn them on and off. Strobes are shrink wrapped in thick plastic to protect circuit board. ‘ViFlydrone.com’.

Decal Skin: I chose orange colored decal skin for Increased visibility over DJI gray. I bought skin decal from ‘DecalGirl.com’, the only vendor I found after a lot of research that provides UV stable skins with easy application, and repositioning misalignment before max adherence. But the skin can still be removed/replaced without adhesive residue remaining. Skins for 17 DJI Drones, Parrot, Autel, and more… standard off the shelf skin designs or your own custom drone skin decal designs available.

Strobe Attachments:
I was totally dissatisfied with Velcro w/ViFly Strobes & industrial grade velcro to attach the strobes. I used double sided Alien Tape (AT) from Amazon...$12. It is fantastic for attaching strobes directly to the drone & in my case attaching the strobe between the epoxy coated balsa wood and the drone as described below. You will find some complaints about applying AT with your fingers. But my procedure below works and eliminates finger complaint.

Procedure:
You need sharp scissors for AT. I used Westscott Titanium Non-Stick bought on Amazon. You attach AT to strobe battery, cut to battery size or slightly less. Then, like carpet tape, it is difficult to remove the plastic 2nd side to reveal the adhesive. You can’t use your fingers.

I used an Xacto Knife to peel back the plastic covering on the AT so it could be applied to drone. Fingers just don't get the job done. With AT these strobes aren’t coming off. AT is thinner and is transparent unlike Velcro. Adherence is incredible. But it can still be pulled off by hand being careful to support arm or place where strobe is applied so as not to damage the drone.

You will also need the Xacto Knife to accurately place the skin decals by placing decal on the blade tip to position and then smooth out with fingers. Misaligned? No problem… use Xacto Knife to raise decal edge and reposition.

Forward Strobe Placement:
I also placed two strobes on forward landing gear with USB-C charging port down. I will use landing pad only…not grass…1/8”+ clearance between USB-C port and end of landing gear. I will have to modify the foam in my drone case as drone legs do not completely close due to the addition of the strobes.

Pictures of my Mini 2 with orange skin shown below from all sides:
See rear strobe attachment design with triangular balsa wood for light weight: Used two coats of 5 min, 2-part epoxy so AT would bond to balsa. The triangular balsa was angled down approximately 15° to compensate for approximate 15° downward pitch of drone nose in forward flight for max strobe visibility. I used excess orange decal material to cover the epoxy coated balsa wood for appearance.

I will update the forum on VLOS distance during bright sunlight, early morning, and later evening when some good pics/video can be taken. I still have some Dronelink automated flight work to do and test at my flying field before heading to the farm.

Again, I appreciate all the responses and perspectives. Seven pics attached.

 

[old man mavic]

the issue with any colour of skin ,is the fact that once you go up a hundred feet + then visually it makes no difference against a bright sunny sky,where the skins colour really comes into its own ,is flying with a dark background such as hills or mountains and when flying low under the tree line,also the skin helps differentiate your drone from others, when you are flying at fairly close range with other pilots,,for me personally the main advantage of having a skin on my drone ,is the protection it gives to the surface of the drone from bug splatter so much easier to wipe those marks off ,after nearly 4 years of flying my MPP i recently fancied a change of skin ,and after i had removed the previous one ,the old girl looked just like it did when i first unpacked it
with strobes at different points points on the aircraft ,in dull overcast conditions they do help orientate the drones direction depending on whether you see ,in my case on my MPP two white lights one one each front arm ,or the one at the rear of the drone ,and using different colours of strobe has a similar function
the negative side of having several strobes on a small drone such as a mini 2 is the increased drag plus reduced flight time ,and taking the drone over the sub 250g weight rules
its all down to personal choice ,at the end of the day