I'm looking to do some night work, so I want to be FAA compliant with anti-collision lights. I went with the Firehouse Arc V since it had good reviews.


My original thought on the mounting location was to keep it over the aircraft's center of gravity, so I measured it in the fore/aft direction with the battery installed (blue line). After mounting, I took it for a test flight and everthing seemed to be fine.

Center of gravity

Mounted

I then started wondering about the GPS, where it is located in the Mavic Mini and Mini 2, and if/how the Arc V might cause interference. I looked at a web site that did a Mavic Mini breakdown, and it seems that I mounted the Arc V right over the GPS. I had signal from 12–15 GPS sats during my test flight. This seemed slighly less than usual (16–21), so I'm planning on another test flight. It could have just been that particular day, or my location.

GPS position

I'd like to keep it mounted where it is in order to stay near the CG, as opposed to moving it forward towards the front. Has anyone else mounted an Arc V to a Mavic Mini or Mini 2? I'd like to hear some other thoughts and experiences. Thx!  

I chose the Firehouse Dual strobe for my Mini 2.  It is much smaller and lighter and very bright.  I mount it either on the front, or when I use my landing gear, I mount it on the bottom.

wow, you mounted a strobe light that is bigger than the drone itself specifically to warn aircraft that a tiny drone (now twice it's size) might be in your path when it's not even required for recreational pilots and there has never been a drone collision at night or an aircraft that said they prevented a collision by spotting a strobe-laden drone underneath them at night.  /s /s /s

The center of gravity is at the intersection of the lines with the engines. Mount it on the front above the gimbal. I install flash there and everything is fine.

On my Mini 2 I went with two Firehouse dual strobes.
One is white and as far forward on top as I could get it and the second is red and mounted in back on the battery cover.
I installed them for visibility on bright Arizona days where you can lose sight of it at fairly short distances. They are only 4 grams each but combined with the Mini 2s 242 grams puts me right at the 250 gram limit so I went ahead and spent the $5 to register it.

Hello there Skatin_Tater. Good day and thank you for these information that you have given. Just a reminder that since this is a 3rd party accessory f( strobe light ) on your DJI drone. These 3rd party accessories might affect the said DJI drone when in use and we cannot guaranteed the stability of the said 3rd party accessory if it will work all the time with no issues and might void the warranty of the said DJI product. Thank you and have a safe flight always.

I have the same light mounted in the identical location and have never had an issue with GPS interference.  

DJI Stephen Posted at 7-25 18:24
Hello there Skatin_Tater. Good day and thank you for these information that you have given. Just a reminder that since this is a 3rd party accessory f( strobe light ) on your DJI drone. These 3rd party accessories might affect the said DJI drone when in use and we cannot guaranteed the stability of the said 3rd party accessory if it will work all the time with no issues and might void the warranty of the said DJI product. Thank you and have a safe flight always.

Hi Stephen,
No problem. I'm going slow with lots of testing. I tried the Mini 2, and had no interference with the GPS signals.

Skatin_Tater Posted at 7-26 07:53
Hi Stephen,
No problem. I'm going slow with lots of testing. I tried the Mini 2, and had no interference with the GPS signals.

Edit: doh, replied to myself. #fail

djiuser_oQKEvZiGY0mN Posted at 7-25 16:02
On my Mini 2 I went with two Firehouse dual strobes.
One is white and as far forward on top as I could get it and the second is red and mounted in back on the battery cover.
I installed them for visibility on bright Arizona days where you can lose sight of it at fairly short distances. They are only 4 grams each but combined with the Mini 2s 242 grams puts me right at the 250 gram limit so I went ahead and spent the $5 to register it.

They are pretty amazing, aren't they? I made the mistake of accidentally hitting the power button when first taking the Arc V out of its package. Instant 5 dots in my vision for awhile. Funny part is, when you see it strobe once, it's kind of hard to look away.

DowntownRDB Posted at 7-26 04:25
I have the same light mounted in the identical location and have never had an issue with GPS interference.

Glad to hear! Thanks for the reply. I tried it on a Mini 2 this morning, and everything went well. It's registered under 107 here in the US, so I figured I should get my anti-collision light game moving forward...

Skatin_Tater Posted at 7-26 08:00
Glad to hear! Thanks for the reply. I tried it on a Mini 2 this morning, and everything went well. It's registered under 107 here in the US, so I figured I should get my anti-collision light game moving forward...

You're very welcome.     As you are a Part 107 flyer you definitely want to be sure you are fully compliant.  Fly safe and enjoy the Mini 2.  

Skatin_Tater Posted at 7-26 07:53
Hi Stephen,
No problem. I'm going slow with lots of testing. I tried the Mini 2, and had no interference with the GPS signals.

Hi there Skatin_Tater. Thank you for the reply and for these information that you have given. Have a safe and a happy flying always.

I mounted my two strobe firehouse arc just In front of  my rear information light. It’s so small it fits between the light and down sensor.
Why.   Because I’m always below the height of the drone and if I’m flying away from me I can see it better but even if I rotate it 360* I can still see it. It is really bright.
Just my way of doing it.    Most strobe are to big to fit in that area.
If I was flying into a valley I can please it on top.
Doug

On Strobes, I see no problem with using them if you realize that they do add weight to the craft, and effect the aerodynamics.  I have used the FireHouse strobes on the Mavic Platinum
that I used to have, for keeping the craft in sight in daytime, never flew at night.  Have not put them on the Mini-2 yet.  *Note: I was told by one of the folks at FireHouse to NEVER run the battery way down.  I forgot why?  I have never picked up one yet where it did not have at least a reasonable charge.  I NEVER look directly at the lights.  One push on the button to check the charge - two flashes meen good.
Happy flying

The Saint Posted at 2021-7-25 11:56
wow, you mounted a strobe light that is bigger than the drone itself specifically to warn aircraft that a tiny drone (now twice it's size) might be in your path when it's not even required for recreational pilots and there has never been a drone collision at night or an aircraft that said they prevented a collision by spotting a strobe-laden drone underneath them at night.  /s /s /s

Assinine reply

In my experience, placing something exactly where it affects the radio waves reduces the number of satellites recorded. Even the Solas reflective sticker reduced the number of satellites from 21 to 15. Leave this space as per the manufacturer's design and choose a different LED mounting location.