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Recent content by SteveBCH

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    Mapping flight might pass over people

    I'm not clear on what is and is not allowed for a mapping flight that might pass over people. I've been asked to use my P4 RTK to photograph and topo a 10 acre site that includes a hiking trailhead and parking lot. There may or not be people using the trailhead at any give time. Can I fly...
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    Mapping a woodland area -advice sought on gimbal pitch settings

    Do the changes in shadows between the first flight pattern and the second flight pattern (both those cast onto the ground and those on the tree limbs) cause issues?
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    Terrain Mapping One Square mile ?

    I've had a lot of success doing terrain awareness flights in the 100 acre size and up to about 160 acres with my P4RTK and have been processing the images using the 3DSurvey software for a little over four years. 640 acres is certainly a much larger animal but the basics remain the same. Built...
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    "Drone pilot can't offer mapping without North Carolina surveyor's license, court says"

    I've been doing my own project-specific total station and RTK survey work for over thirty years and acquired the drone tools in more recent years. I'm not a surveyor but would be willing to become a RPLS if that were within reach. However, the requirements imposed by my State regulatory agency...
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    DJI M3M Terrain Following

    I had a similar error when doing Terrain Awareness flights with my Phantom 4 RTK so not sure if this exactly applies but might be something to look into. I thought I had set up the mission perfectly yet the drone wouldn't launch and I'd get an error message. The flight area had a lot of...
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    Mapping a Sand Pit

    To toss in another two cents. Most of the terrain I fly is hilly to mountainous but I don't fly towers, buildings or other structures. When I first started with my P4 RTK a few years ago, I flew several projects using both 2D and 3D mission planning to compare the results. I found the 2D...
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    Saving satellite images on Phantom 4 RTK controller

    The recent firmware update for the Phantom 4 RTK (with the controller with the attached small screen) brought back the ability to cache satellite images.
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    Mapping a Sand Pit

    I design a lot of ponds of various sizes (e.g. less than an acre to around seven acres so far, and typically ten to twenty feet deep) for clients wanting fish ponds and generally need to do before, during and as-built flights (Phantom 4 RTK) and use photogrammetric processing to calculate cuts...
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    Phantom 4 RTK is RID

    Yeah, I used the DJI Assist 2 as usual. However, took it out in the yard this morning to check things out and it now seems to be working normally. Not sure what I was missing. Probably operator error somewhere along the line. Having upgrade the firmware, do I need to somehow activate the P4...
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    Phantom 4 RTK is RID

    I upgraded the firmware on the Phantom 4 RTK controller, drone and D-RTK 2 base station today thinking I'd get a fresh start on everything as long as I was activating the RID. Not exactly sure how I did it, but ended up with a firmware version V03.01.0000 (with a date of 2021-11-25) on the...
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    Recommendations for which Remote ID to buy

    I've not yet had anyone in the vicinity since flying with the strobes but will give you an update the next time somebody gets curious. As blindingly bright as the strobes are, I can't imagine they'll want to get too close.
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    Recommendations for which Remote ID to buy

    I picked up a set of Ultimaxx Landing Gear Stabilizers ($8 on Amazon) and install them without the middle gimbal guard cross piece. They're a bit of a pain to put on and take off but each stabilizer leg has a flat face that points mostly up for attaching the velcro tape. Went this route...
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    Recommendations for which Remote ID to buy

    Received my DroneBeacon db120 today today as well but have a question about registering it on FAADroneZone. I have but one UAS (a P4 RTK) so have only one entry in the FAADroneZone inventory. When registering the RID module and updating the FAADroneZone info, do I simply overwrite the drone's...
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    Saving satellite images on Phantom 4 RTK controller

    Curious if anyone has come up with a work-around to save satellite images on the P4 RTK controller (with the attached screen) since DJI appears to have removed that option this spring with a firmware upgrade. Had been fishing around in the Phantom Pilots forum for info but came up empty so...