Strobe placement

[Viper62]

Yes another one of these. Has anyone placed the strobe on the led lights on the bottom.

 

[parkgt]

Maybe someone has. Not much room down there. Don't know how that would help with anti-collision either. My four are on the arms.

 

[Viper62]

I’m looking to o see my drone better during the day

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

An obvious way is to obtain or make mounts that can position the leds facing down under the arm(s) . . . but I have never seen this format, may be something a clear 3D printer can do and grab a share of markets for this in the M2P and other sensor heavy drones.

If you find a spot on the bady between sensors, obviously source suitable size led units . . check sizes thoroughly.
I've seem bulky units that might even interfere with sensors lately, if placed too close to one . . . like the Lumecube strobes.
Eg. while FHT ARDII are probably the very best VLOS leds available, they are almost double the size of the FHT Dual led units, which may well be more than enough visibility for many people.

You could use velcro tabs under the arms or legs (provided they will still fold up ok), maybe even consider a set of leg extenders to mount them to, then just attach these before flight, extra advantage of ground clearance . . . just make sure they are well stuck.
When mine come, I'm going to use the sticky to hold in place while several dobs of black urethane adhesive set, on both the drone positions, and the FHT duals ordered.

 

[Viper62]

Ill try that. I was concerned the strobe would affect the sensors. Thank you for the response

 

[parkgt]

Unless you spend most of your flying time with the drone high above you, mounting the strobes facing down is of little benefit compared to facing horizontally as far a improving visibility.

Very seldom when flying, filming or taking photos is my drone above a 45 degree up angle from me. I don't like craning my neck and staring into the sun or bright sky is no fun.

My biggest problem is usually losing it against a dark background and that only occurs at relatively shallow angles where horizontal mounting would clearly be a better choice. YMMV.

 

[Viper62]

i See your point. Ill mount it that way. Does mounting one on the front arm cause any issues with video or pictures

 

[parkgt]

I have one on each front arm and the only time they might cause an issue with video would be at night when very close to an object at the same level.

This guy makes some nice mounts. I even had him custom make two for the front legs that point the strobes out at a 45% angle to help with visibility when the drone is in a side-on orientation.

3d printed

Products by drone pilots for drone pilots. In 2013 we started Aerial-Pixel as a drone photography and videography service. Since then we have grown to also provide vinyl graphics, apparel and 3D printed products for the drone industry.

www.aerial-pixel.com

 

[THE CYBORG]

I have them mounted on the rear arms with Velcro & they fold OK, helps with orientation at distance.

 

[msinger]

Has anyone placed the strobe on the led lights on the bottom

I made some downward facing mounts for the Mavic Pro (see the photo below), but they are far less popular than forward/backward facing mounts. Unless you're often flying directly overhead, I don't think they'd be more visible than side mounted lights that are always facing toward you (assuming you mount them in the front and rear).




If you're also considering forward/backward facing mounts, I make these mounts for the Mavic 2 (also available in gray & black):

Mavic 2 STROBON Cree Mounts (for Flytron STROBON lights)






Mavic 2 Firehouse Dual Mounts (for Firehouse Dual lights)






Mavic 2 Firehouse ARC Mounts (for Firehouse ARC lights)

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I've seen these and like the design, particularly for angling the front lights a little out (straight ahead) and not pointing in towards the camera area . . .
This could be a good thing in some cases when filming in low light conditions (dusk), if there is any fog or cloud, or at night (where legal etc).
The ARCII lights for example are bright as, the usual green / red on the front arms might alleviate any issue somewhat.

It's probably not quite as important for the rear lights.

This image is from the FHT website, not sure whose they are.

 

[msinger]

This image is from the FHT website, not sure whose they are

They are made by FHT. The angle is definitely unique, but that would likely not prevent them from reflecting off of fog or other obstacles in front of the aircraft since the lights aren't directional (like a flashlight beam).

 

[Thomas B]

I have the LEDs on my M2P, Firehouse ARC2s in Aerial Pixel mounts on the front legs and rear arm with red, green, and white in aircraft fashion. No interference with imaging and visibility is 2-3 miles at dawn & dusk... maybe farther.

Fit right over my PolarPro landing gear. Still work great after 8 months of flying about 9-12 batteries a week.

 

[parkgt]

I have the LEDs on my M2P, Firehouse ARC2s in Aerial Pixel mounts on the front legs and rear arm with red, green, and white in aircraft fashion. No interference with imaging and visibility is 2-4 miles at dawn & dusk... maybe farther.
View attachment 80575
Fit right over my PolarPro landing gear. Still work great after 8 months of flying about 9-12 batteries a week.

Mine are similar. I had the front two made to angle out at 45 degrees, really helps with determining orientation and visibility from the side. I also had mine made in the clear/opaque.

 

[Mike4884]

I have the LEDs on my M2P, Firehouse ARC2s in Aerial Pixel mounts on the front legs and rear arm with red, green, and white in aircraft fashion. No interference with imaging and visibility is 2-4 miles at dawn & dusk... maybe farther.
View attachment 80575
Fit right over my PolarPro landing gear. Still work great after 8 months of flying about 9-12 batteries a week.

I like your placement the best looks like ill be picking up a set of those pp legs....right now for my 3 arc 2 strobes i have one on each front leg and right in between the back sensors on very back.... He still works great as far as VPS etc and can still fold drone but it looks a little ugly lol

 

[parkgt]

I like your placement the best looks like ill be picking up a set of those pp legs....right now for my 3 arc 2 strobes i have one on each front leg and right in between the back sensors on very back.... He still works great as far as VPS etc and can still fold drone but it looks a little ugly lol

Once my drone is 20 feet away I can't even see the mounts, looks good to me.

 

[Brettric]

I have the LEDs on my M2P, Firehouse ARC2s in Aerial Pixel mounts on the front legs and rear arm with red, green, and white in aircraft fashion. No interference with imaging and visibility is 2-3 miles at dawn & dusk... maybe farther.
View attachment 80575
Fit right over my PolarPro landing gear. Still work great after 8 months of flying about 9-12 batteries a week.

Do you have to remove them before folding up?

 

[Thomas B]

Do you have to remove them before folding up?

Yes, that adds 10 seconds to my post flight routine.

 

[25Vettes]

I have the LEDs on my M2P, Firehouse ARC2s in Aerial Pixel mounts on the front legs and rear arm with red, green, and white in aircraft fashion. No interference with imaging and visibility is 2-3 miles at dawn & dusk... maybe farther.
View attachment 80575
Fit right over my PolarPro landing gear. Still work great after 8 months of flying about 9-12 batteries a week.

Will these affect flight if I use one on the rear and one on the front in opposing corners?

 

[parkgt]

Will these affect flight if I use one on the rear and one on the front in opposing corners?

You will notice no difference.