[TowerTalk] the future of antenna and tower inspection

[David Robbins]

the parrot got my attention because of a couple factors...
1. ready to fly out of the box
2. control from ipod/ipad/android with free app
3. comes with hd camera built in
4. streams video from camera to controller screen
5. records video either on controlling device or to usb stick on board
6. cheap... less than half the price of the one linked below and available from amazon
7. easily replaceable hulls, one that is meant for indoors use protects the propellers from hitting stuff
8. one button takeoff and landing

they also have some kind of sdk available, though that might just be for the controller side...  i haven't really looked into that yet.

the obvious down side is the wifi control link is limited in distance, i think mostly by the antenna in the controller.


Apr 14, 2013 04:29:11 PM, rthorne at rthorne.net wrote:

If you want to get real serious using a muli rotor, here is one example.

http://www.atlantahobby.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=17125&idcategory=

They can get very fancy with the ability to program in way-points and go 
home and land if you happen to lose control.

I've often thought about adding one to my r/c collection specifically 
for what Dave is using his parrot for.


Rich - N5ZC

On 4/14/2013 3:18 PM, K1TTT wrote:
> So far I have avoided trees, lots of clear space around my towers by design.
> And yes, the wifi range is a big limiting factor. The only controller I
> have is an ipod touch which gets me about 200' or so. I wonder if there
> are android devices that have external wifi capability? It does have a usb
> plug, with a bit of software and an sdr plugged into it you could probably
> add a field strength reading to the telemetry or have it recorded on board.
> They do have a gps plugin for it so it could probably be programmed to fly
> circles around a tower at some specified height and record coordinates along
> with field strength.
>
> David Robbins K1TTT
> e-mail: mailto:k1ttt at arrl.net
> web: http://wiki.k1ttt.net
> AR-Cluster node: 145.69MHz or telnet://k1ttt.net
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Lux [mailto:jimlux at earthlink.net]
> Sent: Sunday, April 14, 2013 19:44
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] the future of antenna and tower inspection
>
> On 4/14/13 12:12 PM, K1TTT wrote:
>> Well, except for the part where I chase the dog around the yard that is.
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIfhRzGo8uI
>>
> As long as it's not too windy, these work well.. The other issue I've had
> is that the WiFi range isn't as good as I would like, but I think that's
> more of an interference issue (with the zillions of home access points
> around me). I haven't figured out yet how to put a directional antenna in
> the system (not like my iPad has a antenna connector)
>
>
> I'd love to figure out a way to put a very low mass field strength receiver
> on one and send the output back to the ground. Measure the pattern
> in-situ...
>
>
> (and I'll bet you've had the experience of hitting a tree branch or leaves)
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