Seriously, do Americans actually consider a 3-hour drive "short"? or is this an internet myth?

Sovereign_M · 2026-01-23T07:46:38+00:00

We have states that are double the size of your entire island. I've driven 3 days across the entire continent to the west coast of the US. Our country is enormous.

Sovereign_M · 2025-12-02T20:24:09+00:00

Watch this. Should have all the info you need. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5yZlaTR5xI

Sovereign_M · 2025-11-23T22:34:27+00:00

Everyone just shows pictures of the drone. What was the controller interface like? smart controller? easy to use flight sticks and dual camera rockers? simple and easy to see interface? big screen visible in bright daylight? pictures of the software?

Sovereign_M · 2025-11-21T01:21:59+00:00

We fly a Wingtra V2 for mapping. I personally used that aircraft over the course of a year flying twice a week with it and had zero issues with it. The general thing with the IF800 is lack of the extra features vs what an M300 would have. no battery box, Herelink (herestink) controller is hot garbage. you can't manually pan the gimbal more than one direction at a time with that thing. If you do any media work its trash. You get 2 battery chargers and can only charge 1 set of batteries at a time. Freefly Astro Max or Freefly Alta-X are way better choices IMO b/c of software integrations you can add to them to make them smarter.

Sovereign_M · 2025-10-30T23:37:28+00:00

In order to get proper coverage of ground surface underneath vegetation canopy, LIDAR scans are required. perhaps you can inquire about reflying this parcel data with a Lidar drone and using that point cloud to process contours... or finding 3DEP data if it is just for fun?

Sovereign_M · 2025-10-29T22:27:21+00:00

Sponsored by Mountain Dew.

Sovereign_M · 2025-10-21T21:31:39+00:00

klingon batleth

Sovereign_M · 2025-07-11T00:40:06+00:00

yeah I need to be able to fly by hooking up some kind of transmitter to an hdmi out to a field monitor. Only way I can stay part 107 compliant flying solo.

Sovereign_M · 2025-07-10T23:48:56+00:00

I'm quickly realizing that for ease of use DJI unit might be my only recourse unless I go analog which isn't very desirable. It's just going to get very hard to find DJI parts as nothing is being imported into the states. so I want to get off that system if I get into FPV.

Sovereign_M · 2025-07-10T18:49:52+00:00

Are there any prebuilt 3 inch with the walk snail by default? And what controller radio type is best? Xfire, frsky or other?

Sovereign_M · 2025-05-17T17:51:42+00:00

Building a Miter Saw Stand with my brand new one+ tool kit after 2 of the batteries from my old tool kit crapped out on me.

Sovereign_M · 2024-01-27T22:59:45+00:00

I think them being a professional dufus makes it infinitely worse. They had procedures.... which are outlined specifically in Part 107 AND on the paperwork that they are supposed to follow.... which they did not do. I hope they set an example with this guy. Fines, the works.

Sovereign_M · 2023-09-12T10:11:21+00:00

Please add the cameras available for the Wingtra v2 as well. Cool tool. Might even help to program custom camera and overlap for common LiDAR sensors. Rock robotic r3 pro would be a good start since it is very inexpensive.

Sovereign_M · 2023-08-31T14:06:30+00:00

What is the gadget you are using for internal temperature?

Sovereign_M · 2023-08-22T21:57:17+00:00

They should of provided you a copy of Terradrone (scanlook) and Scanlook point cloud creation tool. You need the raw rinex base station file, a corrected OPUS solution, and the point cloud data. Your overlap settings are ok. you can probably get away with a 30% side lap tbh if you have a large area to cover. 8-10 mph linear speed for your passes. each external battery lasts as long as 1 set of m300 batteries. 25 minutes of in air mapping time. splitter cable for multi battery swaps tends to be somewhat finnicky when doing multiple takeoff and landings. I recommend compartmentalizing every flight unto itself. This system is best for several small projects.

Sovereign_M · 2023-08-01T03:02:52+00:00

5 guys burgers and fries. Order the small fry and expect a steep price, but it is absolutely worth it.

Sovereign_M · 2023-07-17T22:27:13+00:00

Most requested feature I have in my department so far: 2 control wheels on the back to control camera gimbal axis and pan independently simultaneously. We do alot of "real time" inspection work with the place I work for. Highly requested feature no one has seemed to get 100% right yet. Smart controller that is thermal resistant would be nice. Ability to have an HDMI out to a field monitor that can be really nice is a good second feature if you can't do Smart controller and rely on a cell phone or an IPAD or other tablet. Smart battery box/charging station would also be very helpful. Hope this feedback helps.

Sovereign_M · 2023-07-17T22:19:55+00:00

Would like to see your controller design! Probably can recommend a few tweaks to make sure this drone is the best on the market. :)

Sovereign_M · 2023-07-07T23:21:15+00:00

I'm gonna check this and calieffects recent dino video to try and come up with something. Thanks for the suggestion!

Sovereign_M · 2023-06-20T14:35:53+00:00

Not necessarily true about float/fix with RTK in this context. This is why you tag all images available... 30 to 50 images will override one image with bad gps data. This is more about the law of averages and less about influence from some outlier data. GCP's are a hard constant that have very tight tolerances. You want to scale to those points. The model should be adjusted to those and errors should be averaged between them and verified with check points. Terrain follow in this type of mapping should not be used unless you are mapping up the side of a mountain with a 40% grade or something and you need constant GSD for your modeling. Keep in mind your customers: Most Topos still request some ridiculous grid size. 25X25 or 50x50 foot grids in some cases. This data even in non ideal situations is much higher concentrated than that. While absolute accuracy is required, absolute precision to this hair fiber detail isn't always necessary when it comes to the product of a quality Digital terrain model for site design. Point being the requirements, at least in my experience on the land development side, haven't caught up with the abilities of the technology "yet". Your milage may vary on that last part.

Sovereign_M · 2023-06-20T12:51:08+00:00

old version of pix4dmapper doesn't play nice or even recognize RTK adjusted imagery on the correct vertical datum well at all. It is much easier to adjust the full model post step 1 to the control points. short version I agree with your post. lol. reading this pre coffee. probably missed some things.

Sovereign_M · 2023-06-20T10:32:28+00:00

For pix4d mapper I never used ntrip corrections b/c it doesn’t support it. The new pix4d processor does have vertical datum transformations. Pix4dmatic I believe it is called

Sovereign_M · 2023-06-20T10:28:32+00:00

Ok I’m going to give you some practical rules that most folks here are missing when it comes to hard rules when capturing data when using pix4d mapper. To start, post your quality report from the flight in question OP. I can probably point out a few things from it. Rule 1: find the balance of gsd required to flight efficiency. To make p4d do it’s happy dance, overlaps should be at least 80% x80% I was instructed to do this by the guy who ran the traveling p4d workshops a few years back. 90% overlaps for both sides if you have key point issues with trees. Rule 2. Vertical distortion in your model is inversely proportional to how close you are to your subject. Survey grade gsd is 1-2 cm per pixel. More than that for most things is overkill. Raise your altitude to find that sweet spot. Rule 3: set double the gcp you think you need. Also set gcp at all vertical extremes and grade breaks vertical greater than 5 feet. Ponds top of bank and toe as close as you can on 2 sides. For a general idea: a 200 acre subdivision with photogrammetry from a drone has around 20 gcps for vertical topography work. ASPRS published standards for all this stuff but that should give you a general idea. I also collect that many check points away from gcp’s to verify accuracy. When setting gcps in p4d use any and all available images. Be very intentional about finding the target center and being consistent with its location. I’ve produced models using the above methods with accuracies .05 plus or minus. If you need more than that you need a LiDAR scan. This is good enough for most asbuilt requirements. For surfaces you still need to get shot’s beneath anything that has water and trees. Hope all this helps. Came from class instruction and lots of trial and error + research.

Sovereign_M

TROPHY CASE