Strobes for mavic air

[flightsimulation]

So guys in a effort to try and justify a price of almost $30 us dollars on a light any other DIY ideas for a light and strobe. It seems you can even build it yourself. Anyhow as mentioned price is steep for what it is.

Same goes for the mounts in the end its a piece of plastic, no offence to anyone as you may charge whatever you please.

But i cant see how a piece of styrofoam cant do the job.

Just looking for other ideas, thats all. Obviously if i have no choice ill go for the lights and mounts, but im not convinced there is no other alternatives, its impossible such a hobby and a regulation from the FAA has 2 or 3 makers in the usa and a 3d printer to make mounts. They look ok dont get me wrong but dji keeps advising against it.

Knowing its 3rd party stuff im thinking anything can do providing the weight is checked and a build in battery like a watch battery as well as a strong enough light.

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

They look ok dont get me wrong but dji keeps advising against it.

I've never seen DJI advise against installing strobes on your drone, I've seen it encouraged by them to fulfill night flight requirements here in the US. Can you post a link?

 

[flightsimulation]

Absolutely as soon as i have it i will post a link but any google search on this topic will show you dji responding to not add any 3rd party stuff on the drone. Several reasons aerodynamics or if a mount goes flying off it hits the propeller causing a potential crash. Having said that there concern is warranty purposes if its not approved by them then something happens they would not want to cover. Its legal stuff.
Im not saying they are not well made and safe but dji should of made stronger lights period.

I've never seen DJI advise against installing strobes on your drone, I've seen it encouraged by them to fulfill night flight requirements here in the US. Can you post a link?

 

[msinger]

But i cant see how a piece of styrofoam cant do the job.

Do you mean tape? Sure, you can attach the lights to your drone with anything that'll hold them. The bonus of using a removable mount is that you don't have to semi-permanently attach anything to your drone.

its impossible such a hobby and a regulation from the FAA has 2 or 3 makers in the usa and a 3d printer to make mounts

You will likely find other mounts if you search eBay. I know Firehouse Technology 3D prints some mounts too.

They look ok dont get me wrong but dji keeps advising against it.

Yes, DJI does advise against using all 3rd party accessories (even those sold in the DJI Store). That's mentioned here in the DJI Warranty:

 

[Sd80mac]

Only up to 1500 ft??? Then its disappears???

Yes, I have a pair. Very visible at up to 400-500 yards in bright sunlight and much further in darker conditions or against a treeline.

 

[Thomas B]

Only up to 1500 ft??? Then its disappears???

@Sd80mac ...He said 400-500 yards i.e. 1200-1500 feet and as was posted a bit farther in low light conditions. Distance will vary with strobe color, whit being the most visible distance-wise.

Also I might mention, regarding the other discussion above about warranty concerns, that DJI has no way of finding out you have them on the drone unless you tell them or send them a picture of the drone. I crashed my MPP with strobes in @Aerial-Pixel mounts on all four legs and had zero difficulty with my DJICare claim on the drone. So don't let that concern slow you down. If you want to fly farther away legally aftermarket strobes are the answer. Just my $0.02

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

@Sd80mac ...He said 400-500 yards i.e. 1200-1500 feet and as was posted a bit farther in low light conditions. Distance will vary with strobe color, whit being the most visible distance-wise.

Also I might mention, regarding the other discussion above about warranty concerns, that DJI has no way of finding out you have them on the drone unless you tell them or send them a picture of the drone. I crashed my MPP with strobes in @Aerial-Pixel mounts on all four legs and had zero difficulty with my DJICare claim on the drone. So don't let that concern slow you down. If you want to fly farther away legally aftermarket strobes are the answer. Just my $0.02

Another reason we use a rubbery TPU for our mounts, they don't mar the surface of your arms like some hard plastic accessories can. DJI wouldn't even know you mounted strobes on your bird. A few years ago when we started making strobe mounts I designed them with a hard plastic, I noticed after installing and removing them a dozen times or so you could see slight wear marks, that's when I dumped the hard plastic design and have been using TPU ever since. I'm way too particular with my drones and don't want to see anything like that on them, another reason I don't use velcro or foam tape.

 

[msinger]

DJI wouldn't even know you mounted strobes on your bird

FWIW, if the mounts released mid-flight and caused a crash (never heard of this happening BTW), DJI would likely be able to tell by looking at the DAT flight log. Promoting that you could remove the remaining mounts, send your drone in, and pretend you didn't know what happened is pretty dishonest. I hope nobody would actually ever do this. If anyone is really concerned about this, it would be best to just not use them.

 

[Sd80mac]

@Sd80mac ...He said 400-500 yards i.e. 1200-1500 feet and as was posted a bit farther in low light conditions. Distance will vary with strobe color, whit being the most visible distance-wise.

Also I might mention, regarding the other discussion above about warranty concerns, that DJI has no way of finding out you have them on the drone unless you tell them or send them a picture of the drone. I crashed my MPP with strobes in @Aerial-Pixel mounts on all four legs and had zero difficulty with my DJICare claim on the drone. So don't let that concern slow you down. If you want to fly farther away legally aftermarket strobes are the answer. Just my $0.02

Im double checking that its only 1500 ft visualable thats between 2/10 to 3/10 miles away... it defeat the purpose of buying them since a lot if us fly in daylight and way much further than 3/10..

And by putting them on legs, itll be a lot less than that since legs arent perpendicular to m2p body.

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Agreed, and I haven't heard of this happening either.

FWIW, if the mounts released mid-flight and caused a crash (never heard of this happening BTW), DJI would likely be able to tell by looking at the DAT flight log. Promoting that you could remove the remaining mounts, send your drone in, and pretend you didn't know what happened is pretty dishonest. I hope nobody would actually ever do this. If anyone is really concerned about this, it would be best to just not use them.

 

[Ray&Paula]

Wondering if any of these strobes when mounted on the front interferes with video? I'm sure it would at night but, how much? Thanks, Ray

 

[flightsimulation]

Wondering if any of these strobes when mounted on the front interferes with video? I'm sure it would at night but, how much? Thanks, Ray

Others say only if foggy moisture in the air. Having said i decided i wont put anything on the front arms near antennas due to exactly that light capture and possible (small) interference. I will point them backwards or downward.

 

[Ray&Paula]

Others say only if foggy moisture in the air. Having said i decided i wont put anything on the front arms near antennas due to exactly that light capture and possible (small) interference. I will point them backwards or downward.

Great advice....... pointing them downwards or backwards. Thanks. Ray ??

 

[Vash]

For the Mavic Air I actually recommend Firehouse Dual Cree strobes over the bigger ARC or ARC II strobes as they are quite a bit smaller and still extremely bright. You can get them for $45 US per pair right now on Firehouse's site, they do however charge a $14 additional shipping fee to Canada. Below is their International shipping note:
"Shipping is flat rate to all US locations only! Canada orders there will be a surcharge added and billed before it will be shipped. Usually 14.00 US for priority mail. We usually ship via usps Priority Mail with Tracking. We do not send signature required unless requested. If tracking states it was delivered and you don't have a secure address we will not be responsible for lost or stolen orders."

You can find the Dual Cree strobes on their site HERE When ordering the strobe mounts just make sure you select the Firehouse Tech Dual option in the pull down menu on our site.

So just to clarify, you're saying one set would cover the front and another the back, if I wanted one on both sides?

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Yes, one on the front and back will cover it.

So just to clarify, you're saying one set would cover the front and another the back, if I wanted one on both sides?

 

[Red Baron]

Others say only if foggy moisture in the air. Having said i decided i wont put anything on the front arms near antennas due to exactly that light capture and possible (small) interference. I will point them backwards or downward.

On the mavic air putting on the front arm makes the video worthless I tried everything. So I put one on the back and it helps a lot- I like Mike Singer's mounts as they are easy on and easy off

 

[RobW01]

Only up to 1500 ft??? Then its disappears???

It’s winter down here in Oz. Very clear, bright skies mostly, with the sun lower in the sky. Makes it harder to see a small drone (with or without strobes) than in summer, when the sun is higher. Didn’t have them in summer, but would imagine the visible distance would be better. In any case, it would be extremely difficult to see a small drone more than 1500ft away with the eye (with or without spectacles). The real value of such strobes, IMO, is that you always know which way it’s headed—required here under VLOS rules.