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Need A Long Range Surveillance Drone
- Thread starter p2skater1
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No one else has said it, so.... "Surveillance" would indicate non-hobby. Beyond visual line of sight is not allowed by the FAA (US), unless you have a VLOS waiver. But you did not mention what country you wish to fly in, or which terrorist camp you wish to fly from. 
Does this make you really smile?which terrorist camp you wish to fly from.
I'm just curious which 3 letter agency you might work for.
If he worked for a 3-letter agency & price was no object I doubt he'd be asking for advice in a public forum. Those agencies have specialists to help obtain what he might need while spending our tax dollars.
My son works for a 3 letter agency & while they don't use drones (but they'll hire a helo if needed) some of his co-workers pull in $125k to monitor things that are vital to our collective comforts. Then again, if you're required to be on call 24/7/365 you're probably entitled to that kind of salary.
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I am mentioning the obvious but you can't do it legally in any country. You must maintain line of sight with the UAS at all times. Personally, I find that to be onerous and I cannot see mine after roughly 300 meters and I have on occasion used autonomous flights where I have no ability to see the drone.
However, I can think of 2 other solutions. One is a balloon kite which uses helium to keep it aloft in weak winds and you can mount a gimbal and wireless controller to it. Thi probably won't give you your 8 mile range unless you use high powered lenses which are very heavy. You can do pretty much anything you want with a kite as long as it stays below 500 feet as per Part 101 for a kite weighing more than 5 pounds.
The other solution is to use a radio controlled glider flying autonomously using the Ardupilot based controller and arduplane software. An electric motorglider can stay aloft for a very long time and can carry loads. The glider will not be very stable in moderate winds so a plane would be better but then battery life is lower. You can program it to orbit at altitude over your target then return to home. This is also illegal by the way. Personally, I would be afraid to mount an IR camera (extremely expensive) onto a plane or drone flying out of visual range.
As other readers have mentioned I am very curious as to why you would want to do this?
However, I can think of 2 other solutions. One is a balloon kite which uses helium to keep it aloft in weak winds and you can mount a gimbal and wireless controller to it. Thi probably won't give you your 8 mile range unless you use high powered lenses which are very heavy. You can do pretty much anything you want with a kite as long as it stays below 500 feet as per Part 101 for a kite weighing more than 5 pounds.
The other solution is to use a radio controlled glider flying autonomously using the Ardupilot based controller and arduplane software. An electric motorglider can stay aloft for a very long time and can carry loads. The glider will not be very stable in moderate winds so a plane would be better but then battery life is lower. You can program it to orbit at altitude over your target then return to home. This is also illegal by the way. Personally, I would be afraid to mount an IR camera (extremely expensive) onto a plane or drone flying out of visual range.
As other readers have mentioned I am very curious as to why you would want to do this?
I'm with higherperspective: What are you using this for? This forum deals with line of sight drones. They can be flown at distances beyond this (sometimes I do) but legally aren't supposed to. Why, or how DJI is able to sell these is another question but I'm glad they do.
That said, 8 miles is a LONG way out and way beyond the legal limit. I think we should be careful giving blind advise to this individual.
That said, 8 miles is a LONG way out and way beyond the legal limit. I think we should be careful giving blind advise to this individual.
How do you handle the VLOS requirement? Where are you flying? Without proper authorization/waiver you may not need to buy a long range drone.
The best way (legal) to survey something 8 miles away is to drive 7.9 miles then VLOS the rest. Get a cheap bird and buy lots of batteries and bring a lunch.
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I would consider possibly a satellite with a really nice camera.
Or a North Korean rocket. It seems may be in abundance over US territory shortly.
If you need extended fight times and ability to carry weight, a multirotor platform should not be the first sensible choice. A fixed wing platform can stay aloft for hours upon hours if set up correctly and can be fitted with reliable autonomous flight cheaply. It can also be set up to not be obnoxiously noisy if stealth is of importance. If less distance was required (half), I would choose a multi platform, but 8 miles carrying load is just pushing it.
You're going to need a 433 or 900mhz control system, a 1.3ghz or 900mhz video system, good antennas at each end with a high gain (or 2) on the receiving end. Then you're going to need enough battery to reliably carry you 16 miles with hover surveillance time in between. Maybe when battery technology gets better something like that can work, but as it stands now, the increase in weight necessary to give you the distance is going to reduce performance on a linear scale and you're going to run into a cycle where you're going to need to increase the output of your power system to compensate for the increase in weight, which will draw more current and necessitate an increase in battery power - repeat.
If you need extended fight times and ability to carry weight, a multirotor platform should not be the first sensible choice. A fixed wing platform can stay aloft for hours upon hours if set up correctly and can be fitted with reliable autonomous flight cheaply. It can also be set up to not be obnoxiously noisy if stealth is of importance. If less distance was required (half), I would choose a multi platform, but 8 miles carrying load is just pushing it.
You're going to need a 433 or 900mhz control system, a 1.3ghz or 900mhz video system, good antennas at each end with a high gain (or 2) on the receiving end. Then you're going to need enough battery to reliably carry you 16 miles with hover surveillance time in between. Maybe when battery technology gets better something like that can work, but as it stands now, the increase in weight necessary to give you the distance is going to reduce performance on a linear scale and you're going to run into a cycle where you're going to need to increase the output of your power system to compensate for the increase in weight, which will draw more current and necessitate an increase in battery power - repeat.
Or 7.5 miles and duct tape a thermal camera to a tricopter that you can build for a few bucks and go the extra few steps.
The only reasons I can come up with for needing to go 8 miles would be a) you can't leave your position, which would indicate you not being in a safe territory. Since US forces have plenty of their own surveillance capabilities and agents from our intelligence sources have access to incredible tech, they wouldn't be on forums asking for advice to build something... So, are you a bad guy? Or b) you don't want to leave your position or want to remain far away from some type of activity. In this day and age, especially with crap like what happened last night in Vegas, I'm apprehensive about giving advice now...
Or you think you can make it all the way in to area 51 from the nearest accessible mountain peak and want to make a run for it...
So yeah, how about you let us in on exactly what you're trying to accomplish?
The only reasons I can come up with for needing to go 8 miles would be a) you can't leave your position, which would indicate you not being in a safe territory. Since US forces have plenty of their own surveillance capabilities and agents from our intelligence sources have access to incredible tech, they wouldn't be on forums asking for advice to build something... So, are you a bad guy? Or b) you don't want to leave your position or want to remain far away from some type of activity. In this day and age, especially with crap like what happened last night in Vegas, I'm apprehensive about giving advice now...
Or you think you can make it all the way in to area 51 from the nearest accessible mountain peak and want to make a run for it...
So yeah, how about you let us in on exactly what you're trying to accomplish?
Cbolam be careful he may take you up on the Challenge this guy may work for special forces in iraq or Afghanistan and maybe wanting to use this drone stuff for that purpose so if you're willing to go travel he might be able to utilize you. you would be a lot cheaper and expendable LOL
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
The S1000 is an antique in drone terms. If you are looking for range, it is not likely to be a DJI product.
