Looking to get started

[netman86]

Hello!

I've found myself wanting to get into owning a drone.
After some light research and asking around, the DJI Phantom line is where I've been directed.

I'm looking to get a drone for a little bit of fun- but mainly for a very specific purpose.
I've got ~100 acres of private property that I've started developing, and I want areal photography of my progress! I can get some every few years from satellite imagery, but I'd like at least two sweeps a year, and I'd love to be able to live-view remote areas of the property if something seems off.

Budget isn't set yet- but I'd like to avoid going over the 1k mark for TCO on the first year.
I'm assuming I'll be buying used- ebay or forum classies? Not sure!

Hoping someone with more info is willing to provide some input.
As it stands, I almost purchased a local phantom 4 pro kit locally- but they wanted 1200 and that seemed a bit steep for a first time user.

 

[REL]

Welcome to the forum. You should easily get the drone you need for under $1K .... probably more like $500-$600. If you only need 2 sweeps a year ..... there is probably a local drone flyer who would do this for you for 0$. What is your location ?.... and I know you can't be 106 years old

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching
and stay safe.. ?

 

[netman86]

Welcome to the forum. You should easily get the drone you need for under $1K .... probably more like $500-$600. If you only need 2 sweeps a year ..... there is probably a local drone flyer who would do this for you for 0$. What is your location ?.... and I know you can't be 106 years old

Nice catch!
I'm in Southern Maine.
I've got a thing about privacy- so I tend to lie about my age... If I didn't screw up the date from memory it's got to be fairly significant though!

There are some local folks I'm sure i could pay for these services- and I even know a guy who might do it for free- but that's not the point!
I've got a thing for toys- and I've got a thing for knowing how to do stuff.

Happy to hear my first dive into this game won't run me into the 1k range- that's money I need for the projects I'm trying to document.
Last I seriously looked into drones it'd be a 10k game... I hear 3d printers got cheap since then too.

Looking forward to making my first purchase, I'm a few months late already for when I'd like my first map to have been made- and I figure I'm still six months out from figuring out what I'm doing enough to get one!

 

[REL]

Nice catch!
I'm in Southern Maine.
I've got a thing about privacy- so I tend to lie about my age... If I didn't screw up the date from memory it's got to be fairly significant though!

There are some local folks I'm sure i could pay for these services- and I even know a guy who might do it for free- but that's not the point!
I've got a thing for toys- and I've got a thing for knowing how to do stuff.

Happy to hear my first dive into this game won't run me into the 1k range- that's money I need for the projects I'm trying to document.
Last I seriously looked into drones it'd be a 10k game... I hear 3d printers got cheap since then too.

Looking forward to making my first purchase, I'm a few months late already for when I'd like my first map to have been made- and I figure I'm still six months out from figuring out what I'm doing enough to get one!

Do you have any experience with R/C airplanes ? You probably have several local AMA clubs who have members who fly drones. Have a look at this option to search for local help: Club Finder | Academy of Model Aeronautics. If you can make a local contact with someone who can give you personal help to get you started it will save you a lot of frustration. IMHO, a good used DJI drone will give you everything you stated in your message. I'm currently flying a DJI Phantom 3 Pro that I purchased new in 2016. Last year I installed a program called Litchi that opened up a whole new set of options for autonomous flight. You can set up your DJI drone to fly a waypoint mission and film your 100 acres exactly the same way ..... as often as you like ... easy as pie.

 

[netman86]

Last time I had anything "RC" it had a wire attached between the unit and the controller.
IIRC it was connected with speaker wire- father wasn't screwing around

Thanks for the link! Seems the site is down at the moment, but I'll check again tonight.
Heading up to the property shortly to start making the kind of mess I'd like to be documenting from the air!

 

[Earls Court]

As a newbie myself I recently bought a used P3S for $300 (R7000 South African Rands), bought and installed Litchi (one of my better decisions) to take 2D panorama shots of a construction site. I eventually bought and installed Map Pilot from Maps Made Easy and flew my first mapping mission successfully. Uploaded the results to Maps Made Easy who processed it overnight (at no cost) and sent me a perfect HD map of the development. Litchi is great, for so many different types of missions, but Map Pilot is a great solution for mapping. Look them up. There is other as good mapping apps, but not all support P3S. Better to go for something newer.

 

[Starz]

For what you describe, look here. I have them all, believe me, this would be a good start.

Phantom 4 Kit For sale $500 or best offer

Looking to sell my phantom 4. It’s in perfect shape. Has 2 batteries and extra set of props. I’m looking $500. Includes case iPad hood, a set of polarizing filters, cables and carrying case. Thanks ... Ed

phantompilots.com

 

[PhantomWetSuits]

I would consider looking into getting a pro plus model to make it as easy as possible with the built in controller .
This can really be a blessing when it comes to keeping it simple.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Phantom in the rain.
Coal

 

[Martin Healy]

Hi Netman. Welcome to the forum and welcome to an absorbing new hobby. I am a relative newbie having been flying a Phantom 4 for around 3 years but I am still learning something new every day and love doing so. However, if you are in a hurry to get going with your drone project then I would recommend that you try to link up with a fellow drone enthusiast in you area to be your buddy - you will probably get going and become competent and confident more quickly and with less heart ache along the way..

For the task of monitoring your property and creating a record of the changes over a number of years I would recommend that you look into Hivemapper.Com. You can pre-program missions on your PC and allow the drone to fly completely autonomously using a third party app such as Litchi. Hivemapper offers a couple of handy templates that you can use as is or adapt to meet your specific needs. These templates describe a precise 'lawn mower' pattern templates for your drone to fly back and forth over large blocks of your property during which time it is recording video. You then upload your videos to Hivemapper and they use artificial intelligence to create sections of 3D map. You can save the mission plans and re-fly the exact same area at any time in the future. The real magic happens then because you can look at your 3D maps at different points in time and even choose to see highlighted changes that have occurred between the dates you select. Best of all - Hivemapper kindly makes this service free of charge for casual private users.

I have been using Hivemapper to map a 350 acre estate over the past couple of months. It is relatively easy to get started and produce your first maps. Provided that there is sufficient 'real world' data to give high confidence in the accurracy of the data the map you produce will also be added to a global map by Hivemapper.

Others have already offered good advice on selecting a suitable drone. I would add that if you can find a DJI drone that uses Ocusync it would be an advantage. I have a Phantom 4 Standard so do not have Ocusync and very occasionally I have lost signal when standing close to tall trees and when the drone is flying autonomously at 80M (260ft) and as little as 300M (1000ft) away. The loss of signal is a little disconcerting when flying autonomously but in theory because the drone is carrying a program of waypoints for the mission it is currently engaged on it will return when the signal is regained or at the end of mission provided you have selected 'return to home'. Even so it is best to wear your brown cords if you are flying over large blocks of land that take your drone considerable distances from your 'home' position where you launch your drone. I always do my best to plan the missions so that I am standing as close to the middle of the block being flown to minimise the maximum distance to drone flies away from 'home' and hence minimise the chance of losing signal.

I wish you all the best with your project. Regards, Martin

 

[Capt KO]

Just sold a P4P (like new) no hours drone for $795. Only 1 original battery but shows great deals out there. Offered as a Pro + for $895. Could get more on eBay but not after fees.
Often available with extra batteries for additional savings. Be careful of drones that have sat for long periods as the batteries may fail. Get all history possible. I recommend the Pro but the P4standard is an awesome bird (I own one) that will serve you well at a better price. Have sold a few in the $500-$600 range. Craigslist is a good place to fly and buy. Often able to discuss better price.
Good luck.

 

[ron-ep]

I'm a Phantom guy myself but you may want to consider this Mavic Air 2. its the fly more combo for $875.

Mavic Air 2 w/ fly more combo for Sale - comes with DJI Care included $775 Houston local pickup OK-SOLD

This drone is amazing and there have been zero issues, crashes, etc.. It has airsense and is a perfect first or second drone. Comes with fly more combo and I guarantee it’s in MINT condition or your money back. Has one year of DJI Care and mobile charger included.

phantompilots.com

 

[Heckmaniac]

Just picked up a used Phantom 4 Pro - $650 with 2 OEM batteries (both under 70 cycles), 3 battery charging hub, set of ND and Polarized filters, and backpack carry case. So far so good. I also use Drone Harmony for waypoint and mapping missions (absolutely love this app, very simple and powerful tool - but limited to android). I downloaded Drone Harmony app for my DJI Spark years ago back when it was a $25 one time charge for lifetime on unlimited number of android devices and DJI drones - now think it's like $33/mo paid annually or $49/mo paid by month, so Litchi may be a better choice budget wise for mapping missions. I'm also just getting started playing around and experimenting with mapping, but not wanting to spend a small fortune on mapping software. I decided to download and try an program called "Web ODM" - very inexpensive open source app that takes my mapping mission photos and stitches them together into rather impressive 2D orthomosaics and 3D maps. Again I'm a complete novice when it comes to mapping, and found this to be the simplest and least expensive way to dip my toes in and begin learning and doing mapping - other more experienced folks in this area may have other great ideas. Sorry for the small novel I wrote here...