[Dazzler]

I had a relatively cheap Drone which I found quite hard to fly, It cost about $180 with a small VGA camera attachment. After several attempts to fly it without much joy over the two years I had it, I recently sold it in a garage sale for $40. It was relatively large, but made of mostly styrene foam so didn't like the wind and I couldn't monitor the camera which was cumbersome to use.

Bought one of these today for $40 from a local discount shop (Shiploads) $75.00 on Ebay.

I'll upload some video and photos if I get it working Ok. (See features on the link)

Predator Drone Wifi , Quadcopter . 2.4GHz. , Auto return, Hover.. EXPRESS POST. | eBay

[FatBoy]

Ahh, drones!!  It won't be long and one of these will cause an aircraft to crash.  Maybe not a 737 or an A380, but a little Cessna or R44.  I did see one on Cable Beach this afternoon, fortunately at low level.  It's not the professional drone operator that will cause the problem, it the the people that don't know the rules and regulations.

It does look pretty good though, Dazz.   

[CraigB]

Looks alright Dazz At 100m flying distance I think you'll be safe from planes

[John B]

Looks good. I love watching the competition ones where they fly through all the obstacles  Here you go Dazz learn to fly well and you could win  lots of money.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/19/drone-racing-is-worth-100000-in-upcoming-championship.html

[Dazzler]

Thanks for the link John... I'm not very coordinated though! 

[John B]

Me neither but the pilots are very skilled at those speeds. Could not believe the $100.000 prize money.

[The Gonz]

Cool. Come the warmer weather and some weekend free time and I'll try to match your droning, Dazz.

[Dazzler]

I've had mine three days now and haven't tried it yet! When I've been home it's been raining, might have to try it inside. ..

[The Gonz]

 
Same here. Unpacked it, charged the craft and controller, and flew it to its hover height of 1 metre above the floor and table, then landed it again. Total flight time perhaps 3 minutes.

[Dazzler]

My assembly instructions were fairly basic. It came with about 50 screws but I could only find holes for 12! So it's all charged up and batteries in the remote, I might even read the rest of the instructions and fly it in the lounge today! 

[BC]

We were up in Canberra about 2 years ago and while standing on the forecourt of Government House, were surprised to see someone fly a drone over the over the main buildings.  A couple of on police on security duty didn't seem to  notice (or care?).  The drone could be heard and the flyers could be seen nonchalantly standing a couple of hundred metres away. . . .very strange.     

[Dazzler]

We were up in Canberra about 2 years ago and while standing on the forecourt of Government House, were surprised to see someone fly a drone over the over the main buildings.  A couple of on police on security duty didn't seem to  notice (or care?).  The drone could be heard and the flyers could be seen nonchalantly standing a couple of hundred metres away. . . .very strange.   

Amazing the difference 2 years makes. I reckon if someone did the same now they would probably be arrested and the place put into shutdown. Even 2 years ago, they didn't know the potential of Drones to carry "hazards". I think laws governing their use have only really been enacted in the last year or so...

[nzenigma]

I had a play with my mate's drone. At $3800 it is bottom end professional with a 20 Meg camera, but film and photos from my place were great. It has real time picture reception , auto back to base and also wife tracking capability.

[Dazzler]

Gee, your mate was trusting. Great photos. Hope I can get mine to get up that high and take shots of my place eventually (with the .3 MP camera)

[John B]

Nice photos and lovely country views. Blew up the photos but could not see the Hyundais. 

[nzenigma]

Mate wasn't far away.
We didn't venture too far into the trees especially given the slope (about 2.8 :1) .



The movies are spectacular especially for the steady panning. As good as on a tripod.

Eventually....   

[CraigB]

I might even read the rest of the instructions and fly it in the lounge today! 

Hopefully Honey isn't like Toby, if you started up that Drone near him he'd kill it

[Dazzler]

I might even read the rest of the instructions and fly it in the lounge today! 

Hopefully Honey isn't like Toby, if you started up that Drone near him he'd kill it

Yeah Honey would too.. I won't be using it near any animals. First attempt at flying wasn't very successful but I'll keep practicing in the back room until I master it. It was easy to get the camera to talk to my phone.