Drone wars , Amateur drone builders

[Glass]

I had wondered, why the Govt is allowed to have drones and is building a network of them everywhere, why we can't have them as well. Is there a movement for the people to deploy their own drones. I was watching some other video someone posted here and on of the next videos was a DIY drone test. I did a bit of watching and then spent a bit of time reading about what people are doing with them.

You might have seen the iPhone controlled toy ones that are based on the quadracopter. Well these are not all toys and some are very advanced. Impressive. Not the cheapest thing to get into but a real DIYer can probably manufacture a lot of the parts themselves. The Europeans are right in to it. There are helicopters, multi engined copters 4, 5 or 6 blades, planes and ground units. Flight programming software. Camera attachments, heavy lifters.

Newbs guide (http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/a-newbies-guide-to-uavs)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syPKxudyNrg&feature=plcp
This is kind of funny because the copter is supposed to fly on a set route between several points 3000m apart. It disappears because 3 kilometres is a fairly long way. Then he wonders if he typed in 30000m or 30 kilometres instead of 3000.

Lots of stuff on the goog (http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&biw=1280&bih=668&sclient=psy-ab&q=drones+diy&oq=drones+diy&gs_l=hp.3..0j0i8l3.1369.7294.0.7699.12.11.1.0.0.0. 481.3942.3-8j3.11.0...0.0...1c.1.nizqq66iMVs&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=ba5c8ce449a37641).

If you look around the store at the newbs link there is some very tecky geek stuff, like tiny radio transmitters so a couple of these things could share telemetry and coordinate better, not crash into each other etc. They guy has a video of two flying together but it is not sure if they are communicating together or just following same flight plan.

And of course since I've been thinking about this. its in the news here and the Govt wants to ban them. Of course.


Sophisticated unmanned aerial drones are moving from the battlefield into civilian life, triggering safety investigations at major airports and prompting warnings that the air safety regulator is ill-equipped to manage their use.

Fairfax Media is aware of safety breaches at two Australian airports involving unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, best known for their use in warfare.
http://images.theage.com.au/2012/09/11/3625252/CM-wide-drones2-20120911101356279025-620x349.jpg

In the first case, the Australian Federal Police investigated a drone found "inside the perimeter fence" at Sydney Airport in February, but was unable to identify the owner.

In the second, Australian and International Pilots Association vice-president Richard Woodward, an A380 captain, said a hobby drone buzzed around planes and took photos at Perth Airport in 2009.

Mr Woodward said hobbyist drones - which can be navigated using video goggles or remote control, or can be programmed to fly autonomously using GPS and in some cases reach the heights of passenger aircraft - had become a threat to the travelling public, comparing the risk to that of laser pointers.

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/here-comes-the-drone-age-20120910-25o6p.html

[Serpo]

The drones that deliver your mail are OK ,its the ones that have all the high tech ,meaning they can see ,hear,people and they could be used as a control system.Meaning they may have the potential to zap you or read your mind or whatever they invent from their filthy cesspit.

[Glass]

At some point it will be a drone battle field up there. I look at that image and wonder what the red arm is for. It's carrying a bit payload. The camera and 2 batteries. Maybe 15 minutes fly time. Less payload more fly time but less capability. I don't get the SLR camera. Seems a bit of overkill. Must be a good reason.

They can clearly travel large distances and go high enough that you cannot see them. We have seen them at some demonstrations. It might find a use scanning a larger property or going out to scope something suspicious. Perhaps doing a recce.

[JohnQPublic]

19-Year-Old Captures Stunning Images of Earth from Space Using Homemade Spacecraft (http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/19-old-captures-stunning-images-earth-space-using-164924607.html)


"For most of us, the coolest pictures we've ever taken were shot somewhere here on Earth. Few of us will ever have the opportunity to venture into space and snap pictures. But British teen Adam Cudworth (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/10/adam-cudworth-british-tee_n_1871502.html?utm_hp_ref=teen&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009#slide=more249634) has gotten a head start on changing that. Cudworth decided to make his own spacecraft, one just big enough to house his camera, a GPS tracking device, a radio transmitter and a microprocessor in an insulated weather-protected box. His homemade spacecraft, attached to a large helium balloon, launched more than 20 miles into the sky and captured some incredible images and video for 2.5 hours."

Where he got instructions:

UK High Altitude Society (http://ukhas.org.uk/)

Maybe you cannot beat the drones, but you may be able to track them! How about an internet agglomerating site for amateur high altitude balloons, amateur drones, and other methodologies (sort of like a web cam site, but dedicated to spying on the domestic spies).