How to take off with GPS from balcony or window
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7517 47 2018-8-16
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Amjad1983
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United Arab Emirates
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Suppose i want enjoy a fly from my room or balcony , is there any way to get a GPS signak from small balcony  and fly your drone safely outside a window and let it come back ?
I am afraid to fly without GPS signal as it may get lost in windy weather .

I had seen people on youtube flying there drones selfie mode through their own balconies and windows  with full stability !
2018-8-16
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Optimus_Prime
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My suggestion is do not flight from windows or balcony, even you can have best gps signal and it can be launched to fly but when you try to retrieve it that where the problem may happens such as: not too big room for landing, obstacle avoindance may prevent it comes near you to capture and the building/balcony itself may cause compass interference...
2018-8-16
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Hellsgate
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I would only every take off from a clear open space away from any metal objects that also includes reinforced concrete
2018-8-16
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CA Mavic Pro
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Hi Amjad, Better not to take off from balcony, it is tricky and you'd be looking for trouble. I've done it a few times, if you move the drone to the very end of the balcony you might get GPS coverage (do NOT attempt to take off without GPS lock), in that case to take off from a table so that you can move the drone away quickly without having to hover around the balcony (remember to check the compass and IMU before taking off). When landing, you shouldn't try to land back on the table but instead free up as much space as you can and land quickly on the balcony (remember the drone can lose GPS quickly and even when there is GPS coverage its not 100% stable and moves +/- 1m). If you are having trouble with OA, you can consider to land it backwards.  When doing all that also remember that if you lose signal, the RTH factory settings the drone is likely to crash above your head, so make sure to set all parameters correctly. I might have missed other risks you may encounter, so again avoid flying from a balcony if you can.
2018-8-16
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GDL
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Take off from small balcony and fly outside windows. You have everything ready to crash your MA now. I can see your next post is crash of your drone.
2018-8-16
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Amjad1983
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CA Mavic Pro Posted at 2018-8-16 21:59
Hi Amjad, Better not to take off from balcony, it is tricky and you'd be looking for trouble. I've done it a few times, if you move the drone to the very end of the balcony you might get GPS coverage (do NOT attempt to take off without GPS lock), in that case to take off from a table so that you can move the drone away quickly without having to hover around the balcony (remember to check the compass and IMU before taking off). When landing, you shouldn't try to land back on the table but instead free up as much space as you can and land quickly on the balcony (remember the drone can lose GPS quickly and even when there is GPS coverage its not 100% stable and moves +/- 1m). If you are having trouble with OA, you can consider to land it backwards.  When doing all that also remember that if you lose signal, the RTH factory settings the drone is likely to crash above your head, so make sure to set all parameters correctly. I might have missed other risks you may encounter, so again avoid flying from a balcony if you can.

yeah
people think i drop this question only because i just want to enjoy crashing my drone
actually this question help me to more understanding the mechanism of DJI drones and all options there
I need opinion from those who tried to do so and what happened consequently
2018-8-16
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Amjad1983
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Optimus_Prime Posted at 2018-8-16 21:07
My suggestion is do not flight from windows or balcony, even you can have best gps signal and it can be launched to fly but when you try to retrieve it that where the problem may happens such as: not too big room for landing, obstacle avoindance may prevent it comes near you to capture and the building/balcony itself may cause compass interference...

so i can get a GPS signal in narrow space like balcony ?
How?
2018-8-16
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Optimus_Prime
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Amjad1983 Posted at 2018-8-16 22:14
so i can get a GPS signal in narrow space like balcony ?
How?

With trick you can, such as hold it on your hand that reach out of balcony/ window and hold until you get gps lock. Believe me, you never want to do that.
2018-8-16
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saviour
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Of course you can get a GPS lock when you are on the balcony. You are outside. But please do not even try flying from a balcony.
Judging by all your recent threads you seem to not really understand how your drone works and what the laws are.

Please inform yourself by reading the FULL manual of the mavic air (google it) and check out the laws in your countries before you harm your drone / others / laws and get sued.
2018-8-16
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GDL
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There are a lot of stories in this forum about crash when takeoff from balcony or fly though window. You can search and read. There are lot old threads you can learn from.
2018-8-16
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HedgeTrimmer
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Assuming you get a enough GPS satellites, and you have enough GPS bars (supposedly signal strength),
your compass is not effected by magnetic interference -
you still have issue of strong winds around building with wind going different directions (including up & down) in a short distance away from building.

Followed by possibly being in violation of local laws or building policies.
Lastly there is the issue of liability.  Should something go wrong, and your drone damages building, property below (like cars), or injures someone; you might be writing a big check.
2018-8-16
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HedgeTrimmer
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Amjad1983 Posted at 2018-8-16 22:14
so i can get a GPS signal in narrow space like balcony ?
How?

Maybe.  Maybe not.   Depends on numerous factors.

Size of opening, width and height.
How much of an overhang is above balcony.
Materials of building.
Date / Time of attempt, leading to number of and position of GPS satellites in relation to opening.

You seriously need to worry about both Magnetic Interference and Radio Frequency Interference coming from building and what is in building.   In a previous thread sometime back, it appeared that metal balcony railing caused a drone's compass to go astray, leading to drone crashing on another balcony.
2018-8-16
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Amjad1983
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saviour Posted at 2018-8-16 22:25
Of course you can get a GPS lock when you are on the balcony. You are outside. But please do not even try flying from a balcony.
Judging by all your recent threads you seem to not really understand how your drone works and what the laws are.


The problem here  that no clear rules about drones
so many dealers selling drones here without telling the customers about the rules and actually there are no rules .
We are living in conservative community  where people only care about not to break privacy rules
When i fly my drone here i feel like alien sometimes  , every body start looking at me and saying wow wow wow  
2018-8-17
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Amjad1983
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HedgeTrimmer Posted at 2018-8-16 22:49
Maybe.  Maybe not.   Depends on numerous factors.

Size of opening, width and height.

I really respect your skills , experiences  and knowledge
please do not misunderstand me when i ask question like this
Just curious sometimes to get more knowledge about  how the system inside the drone works
i hate to work on something blindly  but once i know how everything works then i will use it in more safe and peaceful way
2018-8-17
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saviour
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Amjad1983 Posted at 2018-8-17 00:18
The problem here  that no clear rules about drones
so many dealers selling drones here without telling the customers about the rules and actually there are no rules .
We are living in conservative community  where people only care about not to break privacy rules

Dealers don't have to tell you about the rules. Or does the dealer tell you about the rules in the street when you buy a car? That's exactly the same thing. You have to google / inform yourself about the laws.

In which country do you live in ?
2018-8-17
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DH_Pilot
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I was also thinking about this but what is most scary for me is that if I even get gps signal on balcony it will write down home point and then when something will happen like loosing signal drone will initiate RTH and will eventually crash to building as balcony is recessed in building.
2018-8-17
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GDL
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Yes you need to consider the landing safety including RTH mode. Even take off successfully but you will have problem when landing. MA has vision sensor and it will Keep away from objects. The result can be it landed outside the building.

I am don’t recommended you to try unless you want to crash. Even experienced pilot here crashed in the same situation. There are too many similar cases reported in the forum already.
2018-8-17
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Amjad1983
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saviour Posted at 2018-8-17 00:38
Dealers don't have to tell you about the rules. Or does the dealer tell you about the rules in the street when you buy a car? That's exactly the same thing. You have to google / inform yourself about the laws.

In which country do you live in ?

in UAE , north side   in RAK City
In Dubai they have aviation authority where they ask you to register and get a license  to fly drones
But in other cities they do not have registration authority or at least rules about this
i met some people here told me its ok to fly drones  but should avoid public areas full of community and try to fly in open spaces
2018-8-17
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Amjad1983
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DH_Pilot Posted at 2018-8-17 00:44
I was also thinking about this but what is most scary for me is that if I even get gps signal on balcony it will write down home point and then when something will happen like loosing signal drone will initiate RTH and will eventually crash to building as balcony is recessed in building.

so let us suppose the drone initiates RTH mode
can i stop it  after the drone get closer to home point and shift to manual control ?
2018-8-17
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saviour
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Amjad1983 Posted at 2018-8-17 01:20
so let us suppose the drone initiates RTH mode
can i stop it  after the drone get closer to home point and shift to manual control ?

Once again you show that you did not read the manual. Please DO IT!
It's very crucial to know how your drone behaves and what you can do in different situations!
2018-8-17
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Amjad1983
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saviour Posted at 2018-8-17 01:24
Once again you show that you did not read the manual. Please DO IT!
It's very crucial to know how your drone behaves and what you can do in different situations!

Thank for your reply
I will read the manual  , but also discussions and open questions here are good to motivate us
Do not expect all people to be interested  in reading manuals  as some manuals are really boring and do not contain the answer we are looking for .
people experience is very important , more informative  and easy to keep in mind
You cannot play a football alone ?! you need a team around you
knowing everything about MA   depending  on DJI  manual alone is not sense  so this is why they created forum  here .
I know you are advance skilled pilot  looking  at  questions as easy to answer for you but for others its not easy .
Again thanks for your kind discussion and information
2018-8-17
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alpbird
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Amjad1983 Posted at 2018-8-16 22:09
yeah
people think i drop this question only because i just want to enjoy crashing my drone
actually this question help me to more understanding the mechanism of DJI drones and all options there

I have already tried that. Below are my observations;

- I flew my MA with more than 12 sats,  however, having enough sats does not mean that you will have a safe flight.

- If you still persist in flying from windows or balcony, take off  and land in with s-mode.  But,  this is not somethimg I recommend. Believe me , when you are doing this, you do not enjoy flying, you are asking yourseld what if...

- As far as I noticed, you have not even flown more than 20 kms. I have flowm more than 250 kms and I am still afraid of doing this.

Regards

2018-8-17
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GDL
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Everyone know the manual is not fun to read. But it give you the important information you need to know. No discussion here will give all the information you need like manual. You will learn by expensive way by ignoring the manual.

We already give you the advice. It’s you to decide what to do. I just hope you won’t come here to ask why your drone crashed.
2018-8-17
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alpbird
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Amjad1983 Posted at 2018-8-17 01:20
so let us suppose the drone initiates RTH mode
can i stop it  after the drone get closer to home point and shift to manual control ?

Press pause button or switch back to S mode
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CA Mavic Pro
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Amjad1983 Posted at 2018-8-17 01:20
so let us suppose the drone initiates RTH mode
can i stop it  after the drone get closer to home point and shift to manual control ?

You can stop it with the pause button or via dji4go. But what saviour is saying is correct apart from this RTH situation you may face other situation that you won't find in this forum, only experience will help you. The majority (if not everybody) advise you not to fly it because of tricky situations that may end up in a crash. Don't forget that on your balcony wind might be contained and once your few feet away wind will start blowing and the drone will start fighting/adjusting.

Out of curiosity whats your total flight time?
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Amjad1983
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CA Mavic Pro Posted at 2018-8-17 02:14
You can stop it with the pause button or via dji4go. But what saviour is saying is correct apart from this RTH situation you may face other situation that you won't find in this forum, only experience will help you. The majority (if not everybody) advise you not to fly it because of tricky situations that may end up in a crash. Don't forget that on your balcony wind might be contained and once your few feet away wind will start blowing and the drone will start fighting/adjusting.

Out of curiosity whats your total flight time?

Thanks for your kind reply
My total flight time is very simple  4 hours  
but actually i am very interested in drones but being busy at work and  living in a country where there are conservative rules make it difficult to enjoy MA completely
I really happy and proud talking and discussing with expert people here
2018-8-17
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Amjad1983
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alpbird Posted at 2018-8-17 02:04
I have already tried that. Below are my observations;

- I flew my MA with more than 12 sats,  however, having enough sats does not mean that you will have a safe flight.

thanks my friend
I am keen and curious to fly more KMs  , just let me gain more info from the forums , buy more batteries and prepare for next vacation  where i can fly my drone freely and get beautiful footages
2018-8-17
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saviour
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The drone is not a small toy. It's expensive and you can harm others by not knowing what you are doing. I wouldn't even think of risking that because I don't want to read the manual.

But it's your choice, as somebody stated. In my opinion it's just irresposible not to read the manual which contains extremely important information about the modes and how the drone acts in specific situations. You need to understand the behaviour of the drone.

That being said, reading the manual will many standard questions from you and it will give you more flight safety.

By the way, I just googled the drone laws for the United Emirates (which took one minute and you should've done, too)

https://uavcoach.com/drone-laws-in-uae/

Some of those are:


The user and the drone must be registered with the GCAA before flying.

Drones shall not be flown near public and/or private property.

No video or image capturing devices shall be used when flying the drone.

Drones pilots shall avoid collisions with people, objects, other manned and unmanned aircraft.



Also (which I bet you also didn't do) is that you have to check for NFZ (no flight zone) when you want to fly. There are apps for that (e.g. AirMap) which show you
the zones you are not allowed to fly in.

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Far_North
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Amjad1983 Posted at 2018-8-17 01:20
so let us suppose the drone initiates RTH mode
can i stop it  after the drone get closer to home point and shift to manual control ?

Yes you can with the pause button.  It might be a good idea for you to read the manual again.
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Aardvark
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Amjad1983 Posted at 2018-8-17 00:18
The problem here  that no clear rules about drones
so many dealers selling drones here without telling the customers about the rules and actually there are no rules .
We are living in conservative community  where people only care about not to break privacy rules

There are probably some good guidelines here regarding drone rules in UAE

https://www.gcaa.gov.ae/en/pages/UASRegistration.aspx

Section 5 seems to be the guidance for recreational use.
2018-8-17
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Merced69
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This is a very high risk, there are soany things that can go wrong, and when they do, what happens to the people on the street below when your drone falls from the height where it crashed into your building.  
2018-8-17
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Lucas775
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It can be done just let your drone sit and collect GPS signals before manually taking off, but you have to be experienced and confident to do this.  Remember this is not the safest way to do it, but it could be done and FLY AT YOUR OWN RISK!
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alpbird
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GDL Posted at 2018-8-17 02:06
Everyone know the manual is not fun to read. But it give you the important information you need to know. No discussion here will give all the information you need like manual. You will learn by expensive way by ignoring the manual.

We already give you the advice. It’s you to decide what to do. I just hope you won’t come here to ask why your drone crashed.

I agree with you to a larger extent.  However, with all due respect, DJI manual does not cover all the important points.  For example, I have been able to cover most of lack of my knowledge from the experienced pilots here.

Cheers
2018-8-17
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GDL
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alpbird Posted at 2018-8-17 06:18
I agree with you to a larger extent.  However, with all due respect, DJI manual does not cover all the important points.  For example, I have been able to cover most of lack of my knowledge from the experienced pilots here.

Cheers

Yes, DJI manual is not so good and missing some important points. However, it does provided basic and critical information you should know. It will cost you if ignored.
2018-8-17
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DJI Gamora
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Hi, thanks for reaching DJI Forum. We do appreciate taking time bringing this query to us. Kindly check the video below for a better understanding about best antenna practices. We're here to help you. Thank you.

2018-8-17
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CA Mavic Pro
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DJI Gamora Posted at 2018-8-17 07:42
Hi, thanks for reaching DJI Forum. We do appreciate taking time bringing this query to us. Kindly check the video below for a better understanding about best antenna practices. We're here to help you. Thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7M9JtfVwQE

Somehow unrelated?
2018-8-17
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Bing Err
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If the drone doesn't record the correct GPS location at launch you are more prone to a fly-away. Also the structure will likely produce a compass error on your drone, which also can produce a fly-away. HOWEVER, if you absolutely have to get the shot, then I would recomend flying it out and away from the building and then having someone on the ground so you can land it in an open area and retrieve the drone. If you attempt to fly it back into the window or patio it will be tricky and could very well crash and destroy the drone.
2018-8-17
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sica
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without gps between nearby walls (like a balcony) drones will surely hit a wall! The first reason is the air turbulence produced by the propellers: the air is pushed from the top down by hitting the floor and then redirected to the walls, after which the air jet will hit back drones that will be unbalanced. Just as you blow in the wall and get back in front the air jet ... so avoid this way of flying
2018-8-18
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jacksonnai
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Be careful flying indoor
2018-8-18
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ghostrdr
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Accident waiting to happen.
2018-8-18
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