Again, with the dji geofence...

@Capt KO Had a "dust devil" come up yesterday as I was raking hay, with my helper in the tractor with me. She nearly passed out as I drove through it, dry hay flying everywhere! Couldn't get my phone out fast enough to catch it, or her reaction! Hilarious. "OMG, OMG, OMG, We're gonna die!! We're gonna die!!!" Woman never saw a "Hay devil" I guess...
 
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@sar104
So I finally got a chance to open the go app and see what I have. The Fly Safe Geo Zone Map screenshot is what I got.
Screenshot_20190728-230345_DJI GO.jpg


This is the version the app is showing. I'm not sure how to go about updating it. Need more help!
 

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It seems to me you have a good excuse to buy a second drone that does not ground you because of a perceived geo fence. For you it would be a business expense. .... “Honey .... we need it for the farm!”
 
It seems to me you have a good excuse to buy a second drone that does not ground you because of a perceived geo fence. For you it would be a business expense. .... “Honey .... we need it for the farm!”
Tried that already... She said no. ?
 
I posted a while back on this, and got a few ideas for helping resolve the problem, but they went nowhere. The issue is this: I have a field I need to fly over that lays just outside of Ft Leonard Wood's NFZ. I have contacted FLW ATC and discussed the problem with them, and they told me to fly a kite... Ok, not literally. They said it's not THEIR problem, and that's true. It's DJI's problem, but how do I go about resolving this? There's a very valuable piece of equipment, in the neighborhood of $250k, that will be in this field in a few months, and I'd REALLY like to find the OTHER piece of valuable equipment that fell off the spray company's rig BEFORE it runs thru the combine! The field is in the neighborhood of 52 or 53 acres. I know that doesn't seem very big, but it is when you're looking for something that's about twice the length of a kitchen broom, and a little wider than your standard one gallon milk jug. And it's black, with a steel bar mounted at a right angle to its long axis, and weighs about 250lbs. And it's now in corn nearly 7 ft tall. That equals several thousand dollars damage to the combine I would very much like to avoid. I may not be able to locate it in time this year, and I've repeatedly warned the various possible operators to remember this thing they may run across, but when it's not THEIR money on the line, they're far less likely to be as diligent as the owner. I want to fix this problem in case there are issues in the future. I have a couple screenshots to show the NFZ, and the field that DJI is keeping me out of with their geofence. It actually covers the entire field plus a little. Any help on this, dealing with DJI, would be greatly appreciated!View attachment 113084View attachment 113085

Have you tried using third-party software or GS Pro instead of the Go4 App? Can you spin the props up? Have you tried taking off with NO software? SOME Geofencing is in the firmware but SOME is via the app. I need to know more about the bird's behavior before I can offer solutions.

D
 
Poor Brad, Just Can't Get No Satisfaction. I feel for you, darts flying everywhere. I already know your answer to the above question. Again
 
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Have you tried using third-party software or GS Pro instead of the Go4 App? Can you spin the props up? Have you tried taking off with NO software? SOME Geofencing is in the firmware but SOME is via the app. I need to know more about the bird's behavior before I can offer solutions.

D
Yup. Unfortunately the area in question is under the app's geo fence as well as the birds' software. I was using Litchi at the time. Switched to GO to find out the problem. All red, "NO FLY ZONE" No prop spin at all here. Waiting for the expert to give me advice on the basic Fly Safe database. Mine has not updated, and if it's a firmware update needed, I'm not doing it. Bird flies just fine everywhere else. The suggestion was given by an "anonymous friend" to use foil over the GPS antenna, and it does indeed work. My biggest concern is the closeness of a Cannon Range the A-10's use regularly. I'm not even remotely interested in destroying a multi million dollar aircraft and possibly killing/injuring civilians or pilots. The damage my equipment will suffer, not being able to fly this field, is very minor in comparison. If everything else works out, and I'm able to use LAANC to fly this particular field, then great! Otherwise I'm done trying. Not really worth the extra effort these guys are putting into it. I'll hire a bunch of high schoolers to walk the field next time I have a problem!

Brad
 
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@sar104
So I finally got a chance to open the go app and see what I have. The Fly Safe Geo Zone Map screenshot is what I got.
View attachment 113339

This is the version the app is showing. I'm not sure how to go about updating it. Need more help!

Yes - that looks correct and up to date.

113358


Your field is outside those zones - as we discussed above - unless you have another location in mind.
 
Yup. Unfortunately the area in question is under the app's geo fence as well as the birds' software. I was using Litchi at the time. Switched to GO to find out the problem. All red, "NO FLY ZONE" No prop spin at all here. Waiting for the expert to give me advice on the basic Fly Safe database. Mine has not updated, and if it's a firmware update needed, I'm not doing it. Bird flies just fine everywhere else. The suggestion was given by an "anonymous friend" to use foil over the GPS antenna, and it does indeed work. My biggest concern is the closeness of a Cannon Range the A-10's use regularly. I'm not even remotely interested in destroying a multi million dollar aircraft and possibly killing/injuring civilians or pilots. The damage my equipment will suffer, not being able to fly this field, is very minor in comparison. If everything else works out, and I'm able to use LAANC to fly this particular field, then great! Otherwise I'm done trying. Not really worth the extra effort these guys are putting into it. I'll hire a bunch of high schoolers to walk the field next time I have a problem!

Brad

The good news is that there exists a hack for manned flight that will allow you to fly unrestricted anywhere in the world. The bad news is that this does not work for Intelligent Flight Modes anywhere within 1 mile of commercial air space. The better news that a hack DOES exist for completely unrestricted flight. The worse news is that I haven't explored that hack yet. I don't know the rules regarding hack discussion in this forum and don't have time to reread the EULA right now. I'm sure somebody will inform me.

D
 
The good news is that there exists a hack for manned flight that will allow you to fly unrestricted anywhere in the world. The bad news is that this does not work for Intelligent Flight Modes anywhere within 1 mile of commercial air space. The better news that a hack DOES exist for completely unrestricted flight. The worse news is that I haven't explored that hack yet. I don't know the rules regarding hack discussion in this forum and don't have time to reread the EULA right now. I'm sure somebody will inform me.

D
In regard to unrestricted flight, I'm pretty much there already. One farm, rented, was the issue. I, personally, wouldn't even consider a hack to allow unrestricted flight anywhere. Too much liability involved for my taste. To each his own, I guess. While I don't consider myself a prude by any stretch, I have no desire to have people bust down my door in the night and haul me to jail. I'm just a few months short of my 50th birthday and I haven't been to jail yet. I'd like to keep it that way! I think @sar104 has me fixed or, at the least, to a point I can quit bothering him and all the others who've helped on this little endeavor. I'll try one more flight in that area and if it works it works. If not, I'll drop it for now.

Brad
 
Not sure if you thought about this but there are companies that rent out drones. Maybe you could rent an autel (gasp) for a few days, just to find what you are looking for?
 
Not sure if you thought about this but there are companies that rent out drones. Maybe you could rent an autel (gasp) for a few days, just to find what you are looking for?
Hadn't really given that much thought to be honest. Don't know anything about the type you mentioned. I assume they're not GPS enabled? Otherwise it's the same scenario all over again. I do have the option to "tinfoil hat" my P3 and fly atti. Not the best, but I can do it. That brings the whole "should I " back up. As mentioned before, the field in question lies right next to a very major military installation, which also is used by the Air Force to train A-10 drivers to kill tanks and stuff... How'd you like to be responsible for crashing one of those? I have no desire to be, myself. I'd rather do this legally and a$$ covered, or not at all. @sar104 thinks I'm good now, and I'll go verify asap. If not, then there'll be no flying over this field and I'll take my chances at harvest time. End of discussion. Thank you all for your input!
 
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In regard to unrestricted flight, I'm pretty much there already. One farm, rented, was the issue.

THAT is the issue I was addressing. "Unrestricted flight" doesn't mean you would fly head-first into a Class B airspace. It just means you could. I assume you have enough restraint to NOT fly into an airport, even if you could. That said...

I hope whatever solution you got works. Good luck.

D
 
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Hadn't really given that much thought to be honest. Don't know anything about the type you mentioned. I assume they're not GPS enabled?

Autels are GPS enabled, however, they do not have geofencing. Looking at some of the images of the airspace around you that sar104 posted, looks like you are at the edge of active airspace? If you are outside of that, you should be fine. Toss an Autel Evo or Autel XStar up and find that piece of equipment...IF you are not encroaching on controlled airspace. If you are, use LAANC to get authorization for the flight. Point here is that the Autels will NOT stop you from flying like the DJI's will.
 

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