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Strobe Placement

Holy crap. Each unit has 5 LEDs? My unit has 4 and I thought THAT was insanely bright. Don't burn out your retina. I have to shield my unit with my hand in order to see the tiny button that turns it off. Nice setup.
Yup. Relatively inexpensive, too. This time next year we'll probably have 50 LED strobes that put out a million lumens and can be seen from the lunar surface. An American company will develop the tech, then you'll be able to buy a next-gen Chinese copy for 10 bucks, a month later. Wish my job took me flying more often, but I don't give a **** - I LOVE being an RPIC!

Happy (and safe) flying to you, brother!
 
Props Up - I'd like more info and a photo of your setup, if you have any. I'm considering 'anti-collision' lights for my Mavic Pro. But also, I think it would help when I lose the aircraft against certain backgrounds. I never fly BVLOS, but it's amazing how fast a UA can get lost in the clutter... Hoping to find something less clunky than Lume cubes and bright enough to stand out in daylight. Thanks and happy flying!
Here are some pictures on how I place my strobes:

Mavic Top View 1.jpgMavic Bottom View Marked 1.jpgMavic Front View Marked 1.jpg

I have the dual LED units from Firehouse Technology. They feel kind of flimsy, having no housing, but on the plus side, they are lightweight, and fairly small. I am careful when plugging and unplugging for charging, and when I attach them to the drone, as I am worried that I may damage the connector's solder joints or the batteries, but so far they have survived multiple flights and recharges, with no issue.
I use Velcro for mounting them to the drone, to make it easy to attach and remove them. On my very first flights I was a bit worried that they may fall off, but many-many flights later I never had an issue. And them being very lightweight, the risk of doing any kind of damage if they ever fall off is extremely small. I do make sure that they are secure before each flight, though.
I have chosen this placement to make my drone visible from all directions, and to not interfere with the camera and the obstacle-avoidance sensors. I have also avoided the heat sink on the bottom of the drone, for obvious reasons.
One thing I have not checked is whether these lights are truly visible from 3 miles away as the company claims, and as is required by the FAA. One day I'll have to set them up on a pole and have someone 3 miles away tell me if they are visible
 
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For FAA purposes, is a bottom or top mount required for 360° visibility, assuming just one strobe?
 
For FAA purposes, is a bottom or top mount required for 360° visibility, assuming just one strobe?

The issue I see is that you are required to see your drone to maintain VLOS, and other aircraft must also be able to see your drone. A single strobe would be partially blocked, unless you can set it up high on a post that you attach to your drone, to enable near 360° visibility. Best to use two or more strobes.
 
Thank you for your post, it was very helpful, I have a mavic 2 pro and I am getting into night photography.
I have one light attached to the top (flashes white), then two others that flash red, attached to the rear of the front legs so I can see them from behind and below. I will fly it this evening for a test run; my only concern is that the front legs are also the antennas to the smart controller, not sure whether the strobe lights will interfere with the signal ?
Thanks,
Robert 20211212_111205.jpg20211212_111802.jpg20211212_111829.jpg
 

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