Modification to improve visibility

[Dr. Ifly Drones]

Here are some pictures and a couple of short videos of an easy modification to improve visibility at distance. I attached 4 Lezyne hi intensity LED lamps made for bicycles to mi I1. They are made to attach to round tubing so they work perfect on the carbon fibre arms and attach and detach with ease.

PS: I will attach the videos shortly, for whatever reason the website doesn't seem to support .mov files...

 

[Dr. Ifly Drones]

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Here are some pictures and a couple of short videos of an easy modification to improve visibility at distance. I attached 4 Lezyne hi intensity LED lamps made for bicycles to mi I1. They are made to attach to round tubing so they work perfect on the carbon fibre arms and attach and detach with ease.

PS: I will attach the videos shortly, for whatever reason the website doesn't seem to support .mov files...

And here is the movie:

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[licensed pilot]

I've tried lights on before but found none bright enough to make a difference in daytime. How are these in bright sunlight?

 

[damoncooper]

I went through a dozen sets of strobes (another old thread here) but none were bright enough to be seen at 1000yards in bright daylight.

This one however is. I have two, one for front, one for back, angled slightly down and they are rechargeable.

I haven't used them in a while since I found with all the hysteria out there it's actually better in many cases to be as unseen as possible.

Had one crazy lady storm up and nearly start beating on me screaming "I saw you!!! I saw you!!! I saw you and your F@#**G DRONE!!!"

So now, I generally hope they DON'T see me OR my f-ing drone.

Anyway....

If you WANT visibility this is your light. You'll look like a manned aircraft up there:

Lezyne Zecto Drive Pro Light Black/Hi Gloss, One Size Lezyne Zecto Drive Pro, Black | Amazon.com

 

[licensed pilot]

As a 333 operator I want visibility. Thanks.

 

[damoncooper]

As a 333 operator I want visibility. Thanks.

333 or not, don't say I didn't warn ya .

Lots of crazies out there glued to CNN and reading tabloid stories of peeping drones. You are Satan for holding that RC to this special group

 

[licensed pilot]

retired cop, 32 years, dealing with nutjobs is second nature.

 

[damoncooper]

retired cop, 32 years, dealing with nutjobs is second nature.

Maybe I'll take you out with me sometime

 

[Dr. Ifly Drones]

They are very visible in full daylight and that's no surprise, they are made for cyclist use in both day and night. They are rated for 60 hours of use before the batteries need to be replaced and you have the choice of 5 different modes of lighting from slow flash to continuously on. There have been many times when I've been flying and could see the craft but, not easily determine orientation. With these there isn't any question. I will try to capture a live demonstration today and post.

 

[damoncooper]

They are very visible in full daylight and that's no surprise, they are made for cyclist use in both day and night. They are rated for 60 hours of use before the batteries need to be replaced and you have the choice of 5 different modes of lighting from slow flash to continuously on. There have been many times when I've been flying and could see the craft but, not easily determine orientation. With these there isn't any question. I will try to capture a live demonstration today and post.

Yeah I started a thread about 6 months ago with these bicycle lights here (search for "LED Strobe"). Like I said, once you get it up in the air in bright sunlight 1,000 yards out there's no way to see them.

The thread was quite involved if you want to read up more on these and other candidate lights I attempted to use but the bottom line is (and all on that thread were in agreement) that the ones I posted above (found originally by David B) were the only ones bright enough to be seen at 1,000 yard distance in bright sunlight.

 

[Dr. Ifly Drones]

Yeah I started a thread about 6 months ago with these bicycle lights here (search for "LED Strobe"). Like I said, once you get it up in the air in bright sunlight 1,000 yards out there's no way to see them.

The thread was quite involved if you want to read up more on these and other candidate lights I attempted to use but the bottom line is (and all on that thread were in agreement) that the ones I posted above (found originally by David B) were the only ones bright enough to be seen at 1,000 yard distance in bright sunlight.

1,000 yards out is not something I do commonly. Most of my work and all of my recreational flying is much closer than that but, if the weather holds out I will give it a real world test at my favorite flight zone today. Here in Nashville we have a large park with a steeple chase grounds that has a nice viewing bluff on the north west side and it provides good visibility for close to 1 mile. I'll take it there and see if I can't superimpose some shots of the I1 in the tree line. That's when I usually have the greatest challenge.

 

[damoncooper]

1,000 yards out is not something I do commonly. Most of my work and all of my recreational flying is much closer than that but, if the weather holds out I will give it a real world test at my favorite flight zone today. Here in Nashville we have a large park with a steeple chase grounds that has a nice viewing bluff on the north west side and it provides good visibility for close to 1 mile. I'll take it there and see if I can't superimpose some shots of the I1 in the tree line. That's when I usually have the greatest challenge.

Here is the original thread, FWIW.

Battery powered LED dome strobe?

Just trying to save you some time. Some mods are like sex, every generation thinks they discovered it

 

[Phil-RCGeeks]

Pretty neat! And cheap too! Cheers for sharing this

 

[licensed pilot]

I went through a dozen sets of strobes (another old thread here) but none were bright enough to be seen at 1000yards in bright daylight.

This one however is. I have two, one for front, one for back, angled slightly down and they are rechargeable.

I haven't used them in a while since I found with all the hysteria out there it's actually better in many cases to be as unseen as possible.

Had one crazy lady storm up and nearly start beating on me screaming "I saw you!!! I saw you!!! I saw you and your F@#**G DRONE!!!"

So now, I generally hope they DON'T see me OR my f-ing drone.

Anyway....

If you WANT visibility this is your light. You'll look like a manned aircraft up there:

Lezyne Zecto Drive Pro Light Black/Hi Gloss, One Size Lezyne Zecto Drive Pro, Black | Amazon.com

View attachment 6400
View attachment 6401

Excellent. How did you mount it to the I1? Many thanks for sharing.

 

[damoncooper]

Excellent. How did you mount it to the I1? Many thanks for sharing.

3M dual lock, the duct tape of the drone world

I got rid of the heavy metal ring and snapped off the belt loop as well

 

[licensed pilot]

3M dual lock, the duct tape of the drone world

I got rid of the heavy metal ring and snapped off the belt loop as well

Thanks.

 

[MacDyver]

Any history buffs here? Especially WWII?
Pilots mounted lights on the front of their aircraft to render them invisible to submarines traveling on the surface.
Submarine kills increased dramatically.
I use white prop guard on the front and black on the back not only does it increase my visibility but also aids in identifying craft orientation.

 

[damoncooper]

Sub hunting. Another use for drones! Count me in.

 

[MacDyver]

Sub hunting. Another use for drones! Count me in.

I'm sure that will be in the next round of FAA regulations "Thou shalt not hunt or otherwise molest submarines with thine aerial drones ".

 

[licensed pilot]

I went through a dozen sets of strobes (another old thread here) but none were bright enough to be seen at 1000yards in bright daylight.

This one however is. I have two, one for front, one for back, angled slightly down and they are rechargeable.

I haven't used them in a while since I found with all the hysteria out there it's actually better in many cases to be as unseen as possible.

Had one crazy lady storm up and nearly start beating on me screaming "I saw you!!! I saw you!!! I saw you and your F@#**G DRONE!!!"

So now, I generally hope they DON'T see me OR my f-ing drone.

Anyway....

If you WANT visibility this is your light. You'll look like a manned aircraft up there:

Lezyne Zecto Drive Pro Light Black/Hi Gloss, One Size Lezyne Zecto Drive Pro, Black | Amazon.com

View attachment 6400
View attachment 6401

Holy Crap!!!! Just got my LEZYNE ZECTO PRO part number71788 and it had a charge, just looked at it head on for a second and am still blind, seeing spots!!! Can't wait to get this sob in the air in a bright sunlight...