Strobes and power banks...

[akdrone]

"when it comes to filming wildlife ,there is much less chance of disturbance" That's true in that the Mini 3 is quiet but any wildlife images or videos I shoot are done with the Mav3 because of the tele lens. It's not great but it's better than having a tiny duck in the middle of an image. Even with the quietness of the Mini 3, if you get close enough to somewhat fill the frame for virtually any animal you will be much more likely to spook something than with a Mav3 from a distance with a Tele lens in use. That's my take on it

 

[@Rip]

"when it comes to filming wildlife ,there is much less chance of disturbance" That's true in that the Mini 3 is quiet but any wildlife images or videos I shoot are done with the Mav3 because of the tele lens. It's not great but it's better than having a tiny duck in the middle of an image. Even with the quietness of the Mini 3, if you get close enough to somewhat fill the frame for virtually any animal you will be much more likely to spook something than with a Mav3 from a distance with a Tele lens in use. That's my take on it

So that's your take... I'm looking for anther drone to back up my M2 pro. The wildlife and birds, etc are my concern. I did a search and rescue for another pilot that lost his drone and the seagulls were HATING the M2. Thought i would loose it. Fortunately not. So I am looking for a drone that has the least impact on SeaBirds and the like. Are you saying the M3 pro is a solution? I thought a mini would suffice but I am not sure yet.... Please advise.
Thanks (I liked your "ants" vid)

 

[PeteGSW]

Thanks folks. Gives me some pointers. For now I will wait and try and adjust my flying. But i may go for it as I could live with a few grams over for sake of better safety.

 

[Cymru]

The drone uses 28w to charge via It USB-C PD so any power bank rated at that or higher works perfectly.

 

[PeteGSW]

The drone uses 28w to charge via It USB-C PD so any power bank rated at that or higher works perfectly.

Thanks - I thought anything above 18w would work?...

 

[Mike107]

Hi. I have a couple of questions from a newbie.. 1. Can I charge a Mini 3 pro battery with a power bank? (I am thinking whilst I am hiking it could charge in my pack - plus spare batteries are impossible to get right now) Any recommendations? 2. VLOS - A few flights in and I see how easy it is to lose visual contact, this happened touch today when flying from a viewpoint near me, yes i can bring it back closer and did - but I'd rather have it easier to spot over trees and fields etc - do strobes help and would that put it over 250g? Thanks!

Strobes: I have two Firehouse Arc V on my Mini 3 Pro. On sits on top, on one the bottom. I did this because the aircraft is too much the color of the sky in SE Michigan and I was startled how easily it can be lost in the sky. (The aircraft is also smaller than most of the floaters in my eyes once it is very far away, ha ha) The strobes help tremendously but are not foolproof in bright midday sun or with the sun behind the aircraft, and the orientation of the bird makes them more or less visible at anytime. They are incredible, just incredible at twilights.*

Question for anyone else--Where are the radio antennae located in the MP3? Where is the GPS unit? Where should one avoid mounting the strobes?

Power banks: I headed the same direction as you. I wanted power banks. Then I realized how substantial the Plus batteries are and decided to get extra batteries and have Them available to either fly or charge up other stuff. My DJI Plus batteries are going to be the power banks. Buck per Watt they don't seem like a bad choice at all.

Mike107

* Suggestion: I am so concerned about being able to look up from my controller and quickly find the aircraft, that it is the main objective of each flight when I go to test fly for firmware/software malfunctions (all of my flights since updating to 1.6.8 are testing "what is wrong now"). I go out knowing I need to test the software, but my flight is planned around doing exercises for locating the aircraft at distance and altitude. That's really it--fly-find, repeat. In a sort of programmed way I am learning what the M3P looks like at 100'/200'/300' high at preset distances like at 1,000', 500', 50'...and so on. I also learned that at 1000' away and 300' high, the aircraft will be about 3 fists above the horizon, I think..,I need to test that more.

 

[PeteGSW]

Strobes: I have two Firehouse Arc V on my Mini 3 Pro. On sits on top, on one the bottom. I did this because the aircraft is too much the color of the sky in SE Michigan and I was startled how easily it can be lost in the sky. (The aircraft is also smaller than most of the floaters in my eyes once it is very far away, ha ha) The strobes help tremendously but are not foolproof in bright midday sun or with the sun behind the aircraft, and the orientation of the bird makes them more or less visible at anytime. They are incredible, just incredible at twilights.*

Question for anyone else--Where are the radio antennae located in the MP3? Where is the GPS unit? Where should one avoid mounting the strobes?

Power banks: I headed the same direction as you. I wanted power banks. Then I realized how substantial the Plus batteries are and decided to get extra batteries and have Them available to either fly or charge up other stuff. My DJI Plus batteries are going to be the power banks. Buck per Watt they don't seem like a bad choice at all.

Mike107

* Suggestion: I am so concerned about being able to look up from my controller and quickly find the aircraft, that it is the main objective of each flight when I go to test fly for firmware/software malfunctions (all of my flights since updating to 1.6.8 are testing "what is wrong now"). I go out knowing I need to test the software, but my flight is planned around doing exercises for locating the aircraft at distance and altitude. That's really it--fly-find, repeat. In a sort of programmed way I am learning what the M3P looks like at 100'/200'/300' high at preset distances like at 1,000', 500', 50'...and so on. I also learned that at 1000' away and 300' high, the aircraft will be about 3 fists above the horizon, I think..,I need to test that more.

Thanks - super helpful. I lost to again today! grey drone on a grey background!. Used the map to fly it back well enough and could see obstacles. We have strict rules for the over 250g here but I may put on a strobe if this keeps happening! Appreciate the fly-find-repeat mantra - that will help also.

 

[Donas]

@old man mavic, is the noise reduction really that significant compared to say the Mavic Mini or Mini 2?
Being deaf I am in no position to judge and had regarded any youtube comments/noise tests with sceptisism, your post makes me wonder.

I don't have any scientific equipment to back up my statements, but to mine and my wife's ears, the mini 3 is substantially quieter than the Mini 2 that it replaced.

 

[Mike107]

I don't have any scientific equipment to back up my statements, but to mine and my wife's ears, the mini 3 is substantially quieter than the Mini 2 that it replaced.

Greg at PilotInstitute.com measured them both at 70dB.

He thought the M3P was quieter as well, and attributes the subjective sensation to longer props and slower turning speed on the M3P giving it a lower pitched noise. I find the sound completely not bothersome and that it is not far from me when I can't hear it.

My M#P was crazy noisy today. It was several hundred feet away and all the sudden I could hear it. Wait...What!?
I looked up and saw that another drone had come out to play!View attachment Drone Pal.jpg

 

[Cymru]

Thanks - I thought anything above 18w would work?...

It'll work but slower.
30w allows maximum speed charging.

 

[vindibona1]

2. VLOS - A few flights in and I see how easy it is to lose visual contact, this happened touch today when flying from a viewpoint near me, yes i can bring it back closer and did - but I'd rather have it easier to spot over trees and fields etc - do strobes help and would that put it over 250g? Thanks!

I almost ALWAYS fly with strobes. Yes they do make it easier to spot your light gray drone. But keep in mind that a teeny drone moving around in the sky, strobes or not, if you lose sight of it, it can be very difficult to re-spot even if it's very close to you and in direct line of sight. Bright sky makes it super difficult. I cannot tell you how many times I've got my drone within a few hundred feet of me and really plays a game of hide-n-seek in the sky. At night strobes can let you see it really far out if there aren't any visual obstructions.

If you're going to put strobes on your aircraft I suggest colored ones (red front and green rear) and one clear one on the bottom during the day or both top and bottom at night. Which lights you choose will depend on your total in-flight weight limit and how much weight "headroom" you have for accessories.

Skip the firehouse.
You won’t be disappointed. And skip the mount products. Velcro works fine.

ViFly Strobe Anti Collision Drone Light

VIFLY Strobe uses 5 3W Hi-intensity LED which provides the greatest range available for a mini strobe. 360º 3+ mile visibility satisfies all FAA guidelines, a must-have accessory for your safe flying at night. Each color has 3 modes, strobe, slow flash, and solid. You can use 3 white LEDs for...

www.racedayquads.com

For a Mini I would agree. I am now a fan of Vifly strobes. And yes, about 6 grams each. While they are two grams heavier than the Firehouse smallest strobe they have a versatility in that you can select white, red or green on each strobe as well as the 3 differnt duratiion times per "flash". $15 USD here. While the ARC V is one "Fstop" brighter than the Vifly or the Firehouse Arc II it has been my experience (I own 4 Vifly strobes now) that the Vifly tend to be a bit brighter than all the Firehouse strobes other than the ARC V. Let's just say I own a bunch of strobes and speak from experience. Velcro works... But don't use the provided velcro from Firehouse. It loses its holding power in a short while. I've lost 2 ArcV's with his velcro. I think the best hold is with 3M dual-lock. Second best is heavy duty velcro. To attach strobes to the arms of my drones I use elastic hair bands that I buy for $2.50 USD for 300 bands. Sometimes I'll use both bands and velcro. The loss of 2 Arc V's set me back $70 to replace.

If you put a strobe on the bottom of a Mini 3 you'll need to get something to lift it off the ground. The current options don't look as elegant as the optiosn for the Mini 2.

 

[saltydrone]

Strobes: I have two Firehouse Arc V on my Mini 3 Pro. On sits on top, on one the bottom. I did this because the aircraft is too much the color of the sky in SE Michigan and I was startled how easily it can be lost in the sky.

Where do you mount the bottom strobe? Have a pic?

 

[Mike107]

 

[Mike107]

View attachment 151367View attachment 151368View attachment 151369View attachment 151370

Hope that helps. The landing gear and light work well together. The top and bottom lights seem to balance each other out better than one or the other alone. The top light goes in a little flat hollow at the head of the drone nicely.
Mike107.

 

[Starz]

My solution to getting every bit of lumens out of the Vifly. And it does make a difference!
Look closely and you can see the heat shrink material has been removed from over the three white LED’s. Tool used was an exacto knife with a new blade. Remember, you are working over a circuit board that can be damaged if you aren’t careful.
The heat shrink material, even though it’s clear material, does diffuse some of the available light.

 

[saltydrone]

Hope that helps. The landing gear and light work well together. The top and bottom lights seem to balance each other out better than one or the other alone. The top light goes in a little flat hollow at the head of the drone nicely.
Mike107.

Thanks for this. The gear seems to make this all work out. Is that gear generally pretty light?

I have an ARC V and put it on the back of my battery door, due to lack of any better option. I experimented with the top placement which was okay, but the bottom would certainly be better.

 

[vindibona1]

I found an old write up I did some time ago and thought it appropriate to repost it…


I wanted to see if I could measure the different strobes I have (photo attached) and measured them all the best way I could. I charged up the batteries on multiple strobes and set them all to the continuous light mode, then took them in a dark closet, insuring that the light position and meter position (calibrated Minolta Flash Meter IV- ambient mode, round disc dome) were the same throughout all the tests. The settings on the meter were: ISO 1600, 1/4sec, distance 81.5" light to meter.
Here are the results of the test:
ViFly- f 8.03
Arc II- f 11.0
Arc V (a)- f 11
Arv V (b)- f 11.2
Arc V (c)- f 11.1

It is worth noting that one of my ARC V’s now is just slightly brighter than the Vifly and there is some variance between individual units, but on a practical only makes a small difference.

 

[Starz]

Now try cutting the heat shrink away on the Vifly and re-measure.

 

[vindibona1]

Now try cutting the heat shrink away on the Vifly and re-measure.

Have you done this? One of the things the heat shrink does is hold the battery to the circuit board and provide some sort of protection against water. You would probably need to add a drop of hot glue to hold it all together. I've had the shrink harden and peel off of one or two FH strobes. I don't think you can get Vifly below 4 grams and probably only -1 gram.

 

[Starz]

Yes I have. Look closely at the pic in post #35.
Then look at your Vifly. The shrink is not sealed at either end and certainly not waterproof. It is there primarily for battery containment.
As i said, take your time with the knife.
This does make a difference with regards to increasing the light.