Has anyone ever flown in snow when snow fall is lightly coming down? im scared to risk my drone to do anything stupid with is. any suggestions?

Too much Snow might be too much, I have flown in light snow with no issues.

As long as its only light - I'm out there flying. Snow is not the problem people think it is. Snow is actually water vapour that has frozen before it condenses to water drops and that is why the actual water content is so low compared to the flake size. It is also fresh water which is virtually harmless.

The motors used are nothing special compared to other models and they are fine with fresh water ... its salt water that is the killer.

Ask any of the water plane ... all terrain flyers .... boat boys .... car boys .....

There's a lot of paranoid rubbish spread about on this subject ... be sensible about it ... and fine. Give model and gear a nice soft cloth wipe down after ...

Your biggest concern in fact is having your battery warm for flight ... you can have in pocket for body warmth or use as I do - a heated LiPo bag specially for the job.

You may find that the display says Aircraft Warming Up when you start up ... thats fine ... just wait a little then go for it !



Just to show I actually do !!

Nigel

Nice video Nigel, looks to me you need a mole trap or 3

MerlinL14 Posted at 2017-1-6 12:13
Nice video Nigel, looks to me you need a mole trap or 3

Actually about a thousand !!

During summer - its fine because the Lawn Tractor is cutting grass so often - it keeps them at bay. But once we stop cutting grass - up the 'hills' come !

At times we also get wild boar digging up areas at the side of the estate ... now that is a mess ! Last time I had to get my old Belarus tractor out to level it all off !

Have another video just uploading ...



Nigel

solentlife Any issue with camera after use nice video I enjoyed the pilot radio

Just stick to light snow, you don't want any getting into your vents and shorting anything out. Don't tape over or cover the vents either, things can quickly heat up in there and potentially cause issues.  

No issues at all .... remember - the props are blowing stuff away all the time .... plus snow is not actually a good conductor of electricity ... the motors and electronics are running warm so they dry quick if anything gets there.

I have model aircraft years old that fly every winter --- landing they get buried into snow ... brush off - fly again. You can drop a full charged lipo into snow and nothing will happen ....

Nigel

OK im going to give it try in the next few days. right now its -20 so ill wait till it get a little warmer i know flight time will be shorter do to cold. what about you is it as cold there at this time and battery time has it been shorten because of it.

We are having a range of -8 down to -17C at moment .............

I don't notice a shorter flight time because I have a warming regime based on many years of LiPo's .... warm 'cooler' bag etc.

Nigel

it should be fine its rain, sleet, and freezing rain you should worry about

thank you for responding ok well cant wait till spring so up she will go i only have 1 battery but ill make sure it warm before i put it in and ill time the flight at see
thnk you guys

Just remember after session to leave model out of case etc.  Give it chance to 'air dry' before packing away.

Some people talk about wrapping it up in cloth when taking inside from the cold .... whatever turns them on !  You can - but generally it doesnt make difference because you've likely just driven back in a warm car from flying .....

Living in Baltic - if I did not fly in winter - a large part of the year would be lost !!!!!

I'm flying today - fixed wing and P3S - hope to have some vids.....

Go enjoy !

Nigel

I noticed your flying with the argtek (correct me if I'm wrong) what are your thoughts?

For $40 and ease of fitting - yes I like it.

The control antenna I'm using is the stick omnidirectional - I think better to know I have all direction control even if less range than the plate option.

I also have Icarus installed to give max power of 27dbm.
Video is rock solid even if control is breaking up.

Nigel

During flight was intermittent light snow showers ...

Nigel

Light snow is no problem

The camera is the part I am most concerned with in the snow. Granted the props are blowing anything away from it, but it seems that you guys have figured it out already.

Just make sure that spot on ground you use - the camera doesn't go into the snow. I have a heavy rubber mat I carry rolled up ... car mat would be fine ... I lay down ... or just as you see in above videos - carefully clear a patch of ground ...

I land manually so I can make sure she lands in the cleared patch.

The only thought I have sometimes is whether to add a touch of Clingfilm over the SD card slot ... its no weight, sticks by itself etc.

nigel

solentlife Posted at 2017-1-8 22:46
For $40 and ease of fitting - yes I like it.

The control antenna I'm using is the stick omnidirectional - I think better to know I have all direction control even if less range than the plate option.

Nigel can you explain the I also have Icarus installed to give max power of 27dbm.
I would like to read up on it and were did you purchase it
I cant go out yet its -26 today waiting on warmer day
Ken

Icarus is software to change power settings on 2.4Ghz Video feeds of Aircraft and Controller. It is available for Android on Play Store or direct from Icarus.

Basically the Phantom comes with two power versions ... FCC which is countries like USA who allow 27dbm power transmission where the standard is then rated for 1000m range and the other which is CE at 17dbm giving rated range of 500m. (Ranges in good conditions of course).

The power setting is triggered by location. In the aircraft and controller FW - the GPS data is used to set power accordingly to regulations of that locale. If you are in EU - then you are CE ... if USA for example - you get to use FCC level.

Icarus software over-rides the FW's use of GPS location and sets the power to user determined level. You can choose any dbm level up to 30dbm in fact ... but its generally accepted that 27dbm is max.

The use of Icarus is NOT supported by DJI and infringes on Regulations of the country ... so user is responsible.

I chose Icarus because it does not need to keep correcting the FW use of GPS locale ... as some others do. Once Icarus sets the power level - its fixed ...

You can revert to factory setting at any time. The beauty of Icarus vs Magic Power - is that Icarus program can stay on your Android ready at any time to revert to Factory or change power settings. It also provides diagnostic function if you want. Magic Power and others like it are PC based and mean you need a PC and swapping WiFi connection etc.

Hope the above helps ... and I can say that Icarus has in no way damaged my model ... its excellent and easy to use.

Nigel

Nigel can you please put up a link i get some sort of game

Horus Posted at 2017-1-9 10:28
Nigel can you please put up a link i get some sort of game

https://play.google.com/store/ap ... ine.icarusphantom3s

Control Phantom 3 Standard/4K 2.4 GHz transmission power and WiFi channel; provide feedback on the current transmission power level (dBm). Remote Controller and Aircraft can be safely customized; modification provides a stable output power level (from 17 to 30 dBm) and do not rely on periodic re-adjustment mechanisms (cron or similar tricks) that can ultimately damage your equipement.

Icarus for Phantom 3S provides a simple and effective tool to apply a stable range mod using your android smartphone/tablet. No need to deal with ftp, unix tools or any technical issue, just apply it and enjoy !
Phantom 3S Tx Power will be rock solid at the level you choose and moreover absolutely stable in time.
(for experts: avoid the stress on the 2.4 GHz module due to going back and forth periodically in "region set" and "tx limit", as others do !)

Features:
- full control of 2.4 GHz Tx Power for Remote Control and Aircraft (17 to 30 dBm for CE/FCC, fixed/limit)
- set WiFi channel (1 to 13 for CE/FCC)
- works on P3 Standard and P3 4K
- works with any firmware version (1.07.0090 included)

Two patch strategies available:

1) Basic (no telnet access)
You choose the desired Tx Power level (17-30 dBm) and type (fixed/limit *NEW!)
Apply, reboot and forget
You can modify your setup if needed; reboot is always required for changes to take effect

2) Advanced (enabling telnet access):
You choose the desired Tx Power level (17-30 dBm) and type (fixed/limit *NEW)
Apply and reboot
Check actual device status
Change WiFi channel (1-13 CE, 1-11 FCC, 12-13 FCC *NEW!)
Modify your setup on the fly, no reboot needed (*NEW!)

Visit www.icasoft-online.com/products for more details

ok ill look into that sound a little complicated for beginner if you live in the north america fcc has more range the ce i live in canada will this help me get more range under fcc ?

Believe me just follow the text file instructions - it cannot be easier ....

The benefit is the video range as the control range is usually good enough.

I would like to see if there is any software mod for the 5.8 ... but so far nothing found.

Nigel

OK im reading up on this have you had problems with your android device can you tell me android device  your using im thinking on geting an android tablet with noting in like just for flying
Thanks

im looking into this here 6.5 inch phone tablet  
Android 4.2.2 os  
MTK8312 Dual-Core,ARM Cortex A7, 1.3Ghz  
Dual camers, RAM 512MB DDR3/ROM 4GB  
2G Phone call,Dual sim card,Bluetooth,GPS,WIFI,FM  

I bought a refurb Nexus 7 Version 2 with 16Gb ........................... really love it. Cost about $150 on eBay.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201566 ... =STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I also bought a replacement tablet mount ... eBay ... for 7.9" tablet ... plenty on ebay - just search.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/381474 ... =STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I noticed today that I had just under 20mins with the battery - with 30% still left ..... weather was -1C with wind chill of maybe 1 or 2C added ...

Nigel

Nigel does it have cell capability  hows the real time flight with it im not sure if i should get one with cell , people saying that you need to have cell to be able to get gps maping stuff like that i never notice because i was using my iphone

Cell is not necessary. You cache the maps via home WiFi to the tablet - then when you fly, the Go app picks up the cached map.

What you do need if you want follow me / poi function is GPS in the tablet.

I had 2 different mobile phones on my P3S both with full cell / GPS capability - the Nexus beats both easily.
The Nexus has more than enough battery to fly all day !

Nigel

ok ill look into that for sure

when I had my phantom 3 standard I used furnace filte,r since it could breath very well, but yet keep snow from getting in and melting and shorting out the main board. I just cut small pieces of it just big enough to take a tiny flat head screw driver and press them in the upper vents. never had an issue even in mixed rain snow conditions.