Drone

JAFO92
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JAFO92
Looking to buy a drone to check cows with, but I know nothing about them.

Can yooze guys who have them give me the Cliffs Notes on this topic and tell me what is the best bang for the buck. I could sit thru hours of Youtube vids but figured I ask you smart fellars first.

Thanks in advance for helping an ignernt Texakin.
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Boxvan446
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Boxvan446 7/25/2020 8:23pm
7/25/2020 8:23pm
I just bought a mavic mini on amazon for just under $500. Had great results with it. East to fly, good battery life (15-20 min) great picture quality. Comes with 3 extra batteries. Very small and compact. About the size of a dinner plate. Uses a smart phone or tablet for viewing screen to fly.
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500guy
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500guy 7/25/2020 8:25pm
7/25/2020 8:25pm
I bought a 3D Solo from Guy-b , it's really cool but I hardly use it. I don't have experience with anything else.

Chance1216
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Chance1216 7/25/2020 8:48pm
7/25/2020 8:48pm Edited Date/Time 7/26/2020 8:51am
DJI Mavic 2 zoom is what is being used by our builders for surveying job sites and also being used for photography by real estate agents in the Seattle area. They’re about $1300. The reviews on it seem to be very decent as well.
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AJ565
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AJ565 7/26/2020 1:55pm
7/26/2020 1:55pm
I have one that I’ve flown once that I’d sell you if you’re interested. It’s still in the box. Pairs with your phone so you can see everything and is really easy to fly.

The Shop

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SEE ARE125 7/26/2020 2:37pm
7/26/2020 2:37pm
I don’t have one, but have looked into them a bit. There’s some features I’d think are a must have. One feature is where you can just hit a “return to home” button and the thing will fly itself back and land exactly where it took off. Another is obstacle avoidance, which makes it almost impossible to fly into to something. Not sure how finely tuned that is and if it’ll work with power lines, small tree branches, etc or if it’s just bigger obstacles like walls. Maybe those features are standard on most drones now, I dunno. I want one, but I feel like it’s something I’ll use 5 times before it starts collecting dust in the garage.
OG725
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OG725 7/26/2020 3:07pm
7/26/2020 3:07pm
JAFO92 wrote:
Looking to buy a drone to check cows with, but I know nothing about them. Can yooze guys who have them give me the Cliffs Notes...
Looking to buy a drone to check cows with, but I know nothing about them.

Can yooze guys who have them give me the Cliffs Notes on this topic and tell me what is the best bang for the buck. I could sit thru hours of Youtube vids but figured I ask you smart fellars first.

Thanks in advance for helping an ignernt Texakin.
Calf table, four wheelers, and drones! SAVE THE COWBOY!
Tiki
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Tiki 7/26/2020 4:18pm
7/26/2020 4:18pm
The Mavic Mini is a really good entry level Drone. Also you won't get hassled it in public. Its below the FAA weight requirements.

"part 107 all drones must be registered (regardless of weight). For the Exception for Recreational Flyers drones must be registered if they weigh 0.55 pounds (250 grams) or more. Registrations cannot be transferred between Part 107 and Recreational."
APLMAN99
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APLMAN99 7/26/2020 7:51pm
7/26/2020 7:51pm
I "use" (not very often now) a DJI Phantom 4 Pro.

I've probably figured out about 3.5% of the features that it has, maybe less. It allegedly has obstacle avoidance, target following, etc, but I haven't pressed it close enough to things to find out how good the avoidance is, nor have I used the following functions. It's pretty much overkill for me. I've mostly used it in conjunction with photo stitching programs to look at crop health from an aerial perspective. It's been more of a tool than a toy for me.

The Phantoms are big and sturdy, but the batteries only last between 20-30 minutes if they are fighting even a light breeze. My biggest pet peeve with it is that it seems like 2 out of every 3 times that I go to use it, I have to update the software for it. PITA.

If you do go with one of the Phantoms and you have a lot of ground to cover, I'd suggest getting a combo pack with as many batteries as you can find if the batteries are less than retail. They are expensive MFers.

The take off on these things is easy, and the "return to home" feature is fantastic. Even as big as these things are, it's very easy to lose them in the sky so the return button is a godsend.
FLmxer
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FLmxer 7/26/2020 8:49pm
7/26/2020 8:49pm
I have the Yuncee typhoon H. Was used for all airial xgames footage and other pro sports like surf, nfl, skate but there is new models faster than bikes. Check out this video at the 2 minute mark and how mine can follow you though a mountain bike trail and avoid obstacles. I can fly it out to say a sailboat and click on the boat on my screen and pick a auto flight configuration and it with stay 4k focused on the object and has return home button. It will automatically return to exactly where it took off it you lose connection or a remote fails so very safe. I have crashed mine a few times being wide open racing them and the company repaired no worries even if submerged.
https://youtu.be/feZ7yRpg4UE
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GuyB
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GuyB 7/28/2020 8:16am
7/28/2020 8:16am
Testing.

I think there was something about the photo in FLmxer's last post that was causing problems in here. I deleted that reply, and it seems to be working now.
JAFO92
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JAFO92 7/28/2020 9:04am
7/28/2020 9:04am
GuyB wrote:
Testing. I think there was something about the photo in FLmxer's last post that was causing problems in here. I deleted that reply, and it seems...
Testing.

I think there was something about the photo in FLmxer's last post that was causing problems in here. I deleted that reply, and it seems to be working now.
Thank you sir.

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JAFO92
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JAFO92 7/28/2020 9:04am
7/28/2020 9:04am Edited Date/Time 7/28/2020 9:09am
So let me recap so far:

Mavic-Mini -
https://www.amazon.com/DJI-Mavic-Mini-FlyCam-Quadcopter/dp/B07RQJHG8M

Mavic-Zoom -
https://www.amazon.com/DJI-Quadcopter-Hasselblad-Adjustable-Aperture/dp…

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
https://www.amazon.com/DJI-Professional-Quadcopter-Multirotor-CP-PT-000…

Yuncee Typhoon H
https://www.amazon.com/Yuneec-Typhoon-H3-Hexacopter-Groundstation/dp/B0…

3D Solo
https://www.amazon.com/3DR-Solo-Aerial-Drone-Black/dp/B0194HAY2S/

JAFO92
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JAFO92 7/28/2020 9:09am
7/28/2020 9:09am Edited Date/Time 7/28/2020 9:10am
So can a person fly a drone by the display screen alone? In all those videos Ive seen, it seems the drone is always in sight of the operator, Im wanting to check stuff that is away from line of sight. Can that be done, can you fly by the display screen?

There are many times I have a cow ready to calve and need to just put eyes on her, but it would be nice to do that without having to go get out the Ranger (or horse) and go out, especially when its cold AF or mega muddy. Or at times to check and see if I need to put out more round bales. I also have electric fence ran all over creation (for rotational grazing), but many times deer run thru the fence and/or hit the strands causing them to pop off the insulator and ground out on the steel post. Being able to check electric fence remotely would be very nice as well.
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early
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early 7/28/2020 9:21am
7/28/2020 9:21am Edited Date/Time 7/28/2020 9:25am
JAFO92 wrote:
So can a person fly a drone by the display screen alone? In all those videos Ive seen, it seems the drone is always in sight...
So can a person fly a drone by the display screen alone? In all those videos Ive seen, it seems the drone is always in sight of the operator, Im wanting to check stuff that is away from line of sight. Can that be done, can you fly by the display screen?

There are many times I have a cow ready to calve and need to just put eyes on her, but it would be nice to do that without having to go get out the Ranger (or horse) and go out, especially when its cold AF or mega muddy. Or at times to check and see if I need to put out more round bales. I also have electric fence ran all over creation (for rotational grazing), but many times deer run thru the fence and/or hit the strands causing them to pop off the insulator and ground out on the steel post. Being able to check electric fence remotely would be very nice as well.
You can fly by camera only, although that might not be technically legal according to the FAA I doubt that will be a problem for you. How far are you planning on flying out to check on your livestock? Check the ranges of video both in stats and real YouTube reviews. I would go with a dji product. They have the easiest user experience and these things can be very frustrating when things don't go well. Also if considering the magic mini, get the fly more bundle with batteries and controller, flying off your phone is going to really suck
JAFO92
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JAFO92 7/28/2020 10:16am
7/28/2020 10:16am
early wrote:
You can fly by camera only, although that might not be technically legal according to the FAA I doubt that will be a problem for you...
You can fly by camera only, although that might not be technically legal according to the FAA I doubt that will be a problem for you. How far are you planning on flying out to check on your livestock? Check the ranges of video both in stats and real YouTube reviews. I would go with a dji product. They have the easiest user experience and these things can be very frustrating when things don't go well. Also if considering the magic mini, get the fly more bundle with batteries and controller, flying off your phone is going to really suck
I dont think it would be further than 1800' to 2000' away at the furthest point.
FLmxer
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FLmxer 7/28/2020 10:43am
7/28/2020 10:43am
GuyB wrote:
Testing. I think there was something about the photo in FLmxer's last post that was causing problems in here. I deleted that reply, and it seems...
Testing.

I think there was something about the photo in FLmxer's last post that was causing problems in here. I deleted that reply, and it seems to be working now.
Yes that was odd. It started on my previous post. I was trying to edit a to an in a sentence and no option to save would ever come up. Then I tried to just post a new pic and it magnified it and no option to save edit. My apologies.
APLMAN99
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APLMAN99 7/28/2020 10:43am
7/28/2020 10:43am
JAFO92 wrote:
So let me recap so far:

Mavic-Mini -
https://www.amazon.com/DJI-Mavic-Mini-FlyCam-Quadcopter/dp/B07RQJHG8M

Mavic-Zoom -
https://www.amazon.com/DJI-Quadcopter-Hasselblad-Adjustable-Aperture/dp…

DJI Phantom 4 Pro
https://www.amazon.com/DJI-Professional-Quadcopter-Multirotor-CP-PT-000…

Yuncee Typhoon H
https://www.amazon.com/Yuneec-Typhoon-H3-Hexacopter-Groundstation/dp/B0…

3D Solo
https://www.amazon.com/3DR-Solo-Aerial-Drone-Black/dp/B0194HAY2S/

I'd say that is the bare bones for the Phantom 4 Pro.

3 batteries would be the minimum, the more the better. I don't think it will do quite what you are describing when it comes to checking fences and such. You 'could' get that close, but if it is out of line-of-sight you lose a lot of ability to maneuver. I would have a difficult time going over a warehouse to look at the side by the railroad tracks if I were standing on the opposite side. Perhaps with a gentle rolling hill it wouldn't be as bad.

Most of my photos are from the FAA max height.
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FLmxer
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FLmxer 7/28/2020 10:47am
7/28/2020 10:47am Edited Date/Time 7/28/2020 10:50am
I flew mine a few miles away to deliver my wifes credit card to publix for her a few years back. I have used it to find new fishing spots way in the mangrove islands. Lol I think there is new limits by law now.
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Chance1216
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Chance1216 7/28/2020 12:01pm
7/28/2020 12:01pm
FLmxer wrote:
I flew mine a few miles away to deliver my wifes credit card to publix for her a few years back. I have used it to...
I flew mine a few miles away to deliver my wifes credit card to publix for her a few years back. I have used it to find new fishing spots way in the mangrove islands. Lol I think there is new limits by law now.
You just made me want one. Didn’t even think of scoping out fishing spots. My Christmas list just got longer. Woohoo
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JAFO92
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JAFO92 7/28/2020 12:11pm
7/28/2020 12:11pm
Lots of good info here guys, sure appreciate it.
Sunhouse
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Sunhouse 7/28/2020 12:38pm
7/28/2020 12:38pm
I have the Mavic Mini, it´s a great entry drone, and quite cheap if you buy the "Fly More Combo" with extra batteries. It´s also a cheaper option in case you find out that you won´t be using your drone a much as you thought. The only issue is the light weight makes it unstable in wind. Worst case it can crash or drift off. Best case it uses a lot more battery to stabilize and compensate for the wind. I think this is less of an issue with heavier and more expensive drones. But the cost difference was a big point for me. I don´t need to pay an extra $1000 to get tracking etc when I wasn´t sure how much I would be using it. And with Covid19, it turns out I haven´t been able to travel anywhere to use it anyways.
The range is pretty good and not too far off the more expensive models. But a good rule of thumb is to only fly far if there is nothing in the way blocking the signal.
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500guy
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500guy 7/28/2020 5:45pm
7/28/2020 5:45pm
JAFO92 wrote:
Lots of good info here guys, sure appreciate it.
You want to try mine? I will ship it out to you

Read the online manual and watch the user videos and you will be flying it no problem
Boxvan446
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Boxvan446 7/28/2020 7:34pm
7/28/2020 7:34pm
early wrote:
You can fly by camera only, although that might not be technically legal according to the FAA I doubt that will be a problem for you...
You can fly by camera only, although that might not be technically legal according to the FAA I doubt that will be a problem for you. How far are you planning on flying out to check on your livestock? Check the ranges of video both in stats and real YouTube reviews. I would go with a dji product. They have the easiest user experience and these things can be very frustrating when things don't go well. Also if considering the magic mini, get the fly more bundle with batteries and controller, flying off your phone is going to really suck
JAFO92 wrote:
I dont think it would be further than 1800' to 2000' away at the furthest point.
I've had the mavic mini out about 2000' before. If you are obstructed with hills it may lose signal. If you can maintain line of site, no issue at all.

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