Increasing visibility
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BlueHeeler
Well-known member
Awesome thread on the use of strobes. I purchased a FireHouse Arc a few months back and have finally experimented with it last night, mounted on the large flat bottom side of battery with velcro, but I did not have any material to fill the unused surface area, unfortunately the drone does not rest flat and level ( I have some sheets of 1/2 inch closed cell foam on the way ).
I started 15 minutes before sunset ( cloudy conditions ) but enough light to fly. I took the S2 to 400 feet vertically, then about 1000 feet laterally, that Firehouse Strobe helps alot.
Can't wait for the foam sheets to get here. I will post pics.
Nice collection of strobes you have there KenMavic !
I started 15 minutes before sunset ( cloudy conditions ) but enough light to fly. I took the S2 to 400 feet vertically, then about 1000 feet laterally, that Firehouse Strobe helps alot.
Can't wait for the foam sheets to get here. I will post pics.
Nice collection of strobes you have there KenMavic !
I've wanted to add strobes to my S2. Like others here, I have difficulty keeping VLOS once it gets more than 800-1000ft away. I previously mounted the firehouse ARCs to my Autel Evo and Parrot Anafi drones and this helped me see them much better. But was concerned the strobes might mess with the Skydio's navigation cameras so haven't tried them. Glad to hear that they don't!
FWIW I don't typically mount a strobe on the bottom of the drone because you lose visibility as it travels away and the viewing angle diminishes the strobe visibility -- see the diagram below from the Firehouse site. For example, if you mount the strobe under the battery the viewing angle is zero you get 100% of strobe output if you fly straight over your head. But if you fly 400 ft high and 1000 ft away the strobe is at a 75 degree angle wrt your position so the strobe delivers 30% output in your direction. If the same strobe is mounted on the front/back/side of the drone it's at a 15 degree angle wrt your position and delivers 90% of it's output in your.
So I've had the most success mounting a white strobe on the rear of my drones and a red strobe on the front. When the drone is flying a pattern where it's side is facing me, the strobes are less visible. But I most often find the "fly away" and "fly to me" orientation is most common. The white strobe is brightest and still quite visible in daylight hours at 1,000 ft+ distances.
I will likely mount mine to the front (red strobe) and back (white strobe) of the battery with low profile industrial velcro and do some testing.
kgilbertsen
Well-known member
So each battery gets it's own set of strobes? And I thought golf was an expensive hobby
Can you suggest a reliable reasonably priced site for the strobes?usually the firehouse strobes are sold by the single but you can buy them in multi-packs of 3 or 4 so they are @ cheaper that way. not a ton of places that discount them so it's probably easiest to get their straight from firehouse.So each battery gets it's own set of strobes? And I thought golf was an expensive hobby
kgilbertsen
Well-known member
Each battery has a piece of velcro attached to it. The strobes also have velcro on them. When you swap a battery you re-attach the strobe(s) to it. So -- one set of strobes are used with multiple batteries.So each battery gets it's own set of strobes? And I thought golf was an expensive hobby
Firehouse sells the smaller ARC strobes which are good for this application. Two for ~$60. "ARC" 2- Pack Drone LED Strobe Light For DJI, Autel, Parrot and other Quadcopters RC Plane
@kenmavic2zoom thanks for the overview and youtube video on the vifly beacon. I may get one -- I sometimes hike and fly in the mountains and my biggest concern is going down in the trees a few hundred yards away and never finding it in the brush. This would help a lot!
BTW I am re-thinking the strobe for the front of the battery. I can't find a way to mount it where it wouldn't substantially block the downward view of the front/bottom camera. The battery is clearly designed with an angle that will not disrupt the camera and adding a strobe would do that. Could add a strobe to the top of the S2 or bottom and angle it forward but would contribute to significant wind resistance and may cause other problems. Looks like a rear drone or battery mount is the best option for now unless someone has better ideas.
BTW I am re-thinking the strobe for the front of the battery. I can't find a way to mount it where it wouldn't substantially block the downward view of the front/bottom camera. The battery is clearly designed with an angle that will not disrupt the camera and adding a strobe would do that. Could add a strobe to the top of the S2 or bottom and angle it forward but would contribute to significant wind resistance and may cause other problems. Looks like a rear drone or battery mount is the best option for now unless someone has better ideas.
kgilbertsen
Well-known member
I did not get those, unfortunately. Bought a 3 pack of the V's - 2 white and 1 red. I see now that the front mount isn't really an option, so I'm counting on the V being small enough to fit the back of the battery...
kgilbertsen
Well-known member
Would still prefer to have a front-facing strobe on my S2. Strobon has some products that are smaller and if mounted facing-forward on top of the S2 (on the drone body between the front arms and behind the gimbal) might work and not stand-up as high. Won't be as bright as the ARC and nowhere as bright as the ARC V though...
Could use this: STROBON C-2 Dual Cree® Standalone Drone Strobe with USB Type-C Charging. it's 20x16x8mm. My Firehouse ARC is 28x23x6mm so the strobon would "stick-up" about 7mm less high if facing fwd.
Or make a very low profile strobe with this: Cree® XPE LEDs with Breakout Board. Can be wired to the rear-mounted strobon strobe, and mounted to the sides of the battery facing forward or on top of the drone facing fwd. It's pretty small: 15x7x3mm.
I might goof around with some 3d-printed models to see what's possible but will take me awhile if I do.
Could use this: STROBON C-2 Dual Cree® Standalone Drone Strobe with USB Type-C Charging. it's 20x16x8mm. My Firehouse ARC is 28x23x6mm so the strobon would "stick-up" about 7mm less high if facing fwd.
Or make a very low profile strobe with this: Cree® XPE LEDs with Breakout Board. Can be wired to the rear-mounted strobon strobe, and mounted to the sides of the battery facing forward or on top of the drone facing fwd. It's pretty small: 15x7x3mm.
I might goof around with some 3d-printed models to see what's possible but will take me awhile if I do.
BlueHeeler
Well-known member
I ended up doing this instead, nothing sticks to that material on the bottom, nothing.
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