I had the Spark out today flying with a bunch of ham radio operators in an empty parking lot. I was trying to show how precise the RTH works and had something sort of funny happen.

The parking lot had white painted lines and there was an area where there were two rows of cars head to head like this:


That's not the lot--the real one the lines were much more faded and the surface was a lot less smooth. I put the Spark right at the intersection (the cross) and launched. Then I climbed to 25 feet to make the precision landing work.

I flew off a bit and then engaged auto home. It landed about 3 feet away from the starting point but right on the other cross. So as far as I can tell, it "saw" the cross and decided it was the one.

Perfectly understandable, but interesting, I thought. It did hover over the spot asking me to confirm if I wanted to land, so had it been a bad place I could have corrected it.

unique structure on the ground looks a bit different! ;-)

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-4-28 20:13
unique structure on the ground looks a bit different! ;-)

I just realized I have the perfect picture of the area: https://kuula.co/post/7lSJN

If you start from the gaggle of old men, you'll see two crosses. Took off from the first one and landed on the second one. You can also see the Spark's shadow which may mean two more weeks of winter.

wd5gnr Posted at 2018-4-28 20:24
I just realized I have the perfect picture of the area: https://kuula.co/post/7lSJN

If you start from the gaggle of old men, you'll see two crosses. Took off from the first one and landed on the second one. You can also see the Spark's shadow which may mean two more weeks of winter.

I just can repeat:

unique structure on the ground looks a bit different! ;-)

You could have used the shade of the 'lantern' or put the box a meter aside the cross, to show off

LOL it all looked the same to it but should have had gps to help it.  but .... BTW CQ,CQ.. de N7kkj

I use RTH quite frequently and it is normally a little bit off, but not the distance you mention. Maybe it got a little confused with the lines,,

nmac Posted at 2018-4-28 21:43
LOL it all looked the same to it but should have had gps to help it.  but .... BTW CQ,CQ.. de N7kkj

Are you Nelson? KA0RLB right back atcha Bob here

Interesting de ZR6RC
73

I was not aware the spark had this feture and just found it on my mavic pro.  tried it for the first time taking off on a tire burn out mark... landed dead on it. ha

My Spark recognizes the swirls of my palm print so it is never confused when using precision landing.  No two are alike  

rolling56 Posted at 2018-8-10 06:52
Are you Nelson? KA0RLB right back atcha Bob here

Yes I am and see that your also have a gen ticket.

nmac Posted at 2018-8-11 13:33
Yes I am and see that your also have a gen ticket.

yup that's me plus i would never have thought there would be 3 HAM's in the same thread here lol Hi Albert WD5GNR and also 73's to all I might go for Extra but really no need at this time.

Just wondering if recording of Hp before take off compared to recording in the air makes any difference. Yes the precise you need to raise it up for it to work but think it got somewhat confused after so many markings.


73

rolling56 Posted at 2018-8-11 13:38
yup that's me plus i would never have thought there would be 3 HAM's in the same thread here lol Hi Albert WD5GNR and also 73's to all  I might go for Extra but really no need at this time.

LOL, I wonder how many more of us are on this board that does not know.  many around hear are into trains and I messed up as I just checked and need to renew ticket. Also thinking of getting the old Halicrafters out SX-101A and  HT-32A... sweet tone on cw.

nmac Posted at 2018-8-11 13:55
LOL, I wonder how many more of us are on this board that does not know.  many around hear are into trains and I messed up as I just checked and need to renew ticket. Also thinking of getting the old Halicrafters out SX-101A and  HT-32A... sweet tone on cw.

I've talked to a few HAMs here so there are more than you think. We are out there lol

I have talked to 3 clubs near me and no one is a drone pilot. One of them is in my old town 125 miles away that i am still a member of. I'm hoping a small HAM fest coming up on Veterans day near me will be a good spot for sUAS pilots at that one. So we'll see in November

rolling56 Posted at 2018-8-11 14:18
I've talked to a few HAMs here so there are more than you think. We are out there lol

I have talked to 3 clubs near me and no one is a drone pilot. One of them is in my old town 125 miles away that i am still a member of. I'm hoping a small HAM fest coming up on Veterans day near me will be a good spot for sUAS pilots at that one. So we'll see in November

Many years ago N3LLL and I started a mailing list with the local ham club for homebrewers and we asked "Which Saturday this month can you make breakfast?" Whichever date got the most votes won. We've been doing that now every month for about 25 years. We've been through 2 mailing lists and about 6 eateries. We have a lot of EEs, some math/physics types, programmers, pilots, 3d printers, etc. etc. etc. We sometimes help students or have them come present their projects to us and do other things like that. No dues, no officers. I just ask every month and we figure out which Saturday works and we meet. The only prerequisite is you like to make something. People frequently bring a project or a new toy (as I did) or a book. Many times someone will get a good deal on something in bulk and give them away there.

It is a great way to get activity in  your area.