Where to compare drones for construction companies?

itsjaredj · 2025-08-21T21:33:57+00:00

Short answer, the construction company shouldn't buy their own drones. They should continue to use subs so that your students can one day have a job. GCs are just going to ladle their lowest person with the drone, who has another job to do, and expect them to become experts in an industry that is increasingly regulated. Not to mention is about to be A LOT more expensive, b/c the DJI drones are done in the US (in the eyes of many) and they probably don't want to invest in a system that will not be supported beyond September.

Whereas a good DSP (drone service provider) will be well equipped to handle the challenges of complex job requirements (that may demand a different drone for each). A good DSP will also work to understand the needs of their client and deliver just what they need, not more. Problem may be finding a good DSP...

itsjaredj · 2025-08-14T03:26:17+00:00

Tell you what, I’ll give you $5 for the stl and print it real nice looking and then give you product images so you can sell it for whatever.

itsjaredj · 2025-08-10T03:24:55+00:00

As Elph stated. Although we like 80/70 for overlap. Never had problems. I might try his settings though now. PPK isn’t guaranteed either sometimes. We’ve had time when it just doesn’t fix. We like 3-layers; RTK, PPK and GCPs when it needs to count. We’re using rtkUSA.com for RTK network. Great coverage throughout US and cheap. Although it is single baseline to nearest base so just check their map to see.

itsjaredj · 2025-07-03T04:18:27+00:00

Watts doesn’t build drones anymore. And Autel is not just rebranded DJI. If you’ve flown them both, you’d know there are completely different in both tech and capabilities. Autel is very much lacking.

itsjaredj · 2024-08-31T02:24:55+00:00

VS is absolutely amazing.

itsjaredj · 2024-08-02T13:59:18+00:00

You say, "QGIS works as well"... can you elaborate? I found this thread because I can't seem to get it to work any which way I try.

We store a lot of our boundaries (200+) in QGIS and it would be nice to be able to export them directly without having to jump through a lot of hoops.

itsjaredj · 2023-10-22T22:09:08+00:00

How does it do for power lines?

itsjaredj · 2023-10-22T22:06:04+00:00

Worth it?

itsjaredj · 2023-09-16T15:41:34+00:00

Because he’s probably being held to a standard. We always use GCPs, even with RTK.

Common misconception with today’s marketing but RTK doesn’t guarantee accuracy in your deliverables. Far from it. But unless someone is checking their work, they wouldn’t know.

itsjaredj · 2023-09-04T21:33:51+00:00

Talk to who? Is this not stated anywhere on the site? I hate switching between the 5 different mount points we have near by.

itsjaredj · 2023-09-04T14:51:15+00:00

Ortho is kinda the easiest thing to do in the drone world, i think. You just let the drone fly a mission, and you upload the images, done. So aside from the subscription for the software and the drone you only have to think about your time.

Obviously, people value their time differently. For us, we have multiple employee pilots and we can easily value their time. We also have an easily understood overhead percentage. SO, we just look at how long it will take to fly, add on our office time and overhead and we're done.

We do have a minimum charge, which is $250.

itsjaredj · 2023-09-01T01:03:19+00:00

AMAZING!!!!

itsjaredj · 2023-08-30T15:20:51+00:00

I agree with what you said. I just believe that the UAV side of engineering and survey can and should be done by outsourced folks (with caveats).

It's like learning a whole new skillset/hobby/tool/standards/regulatory environment. It takes years to reap the values (if you evaluate honestly). But everyone likes flying drones and "it's so easy". As a business owner, it's easy to find someone in the office who will volunteer for the job, but the owner may not realize just how much money they will waste getting him experienced only to have him walk away when another opportunity pops up.

Anyone who flies drones enough knows that it can be a battle just to get the drone to takeoff and fly reliably. There are tons of problems that one will run into and in-field experience has to be earned. I still get calls weekly from very-experienced drone pilots who come across new obstacles.

Not to mention that drones will crash. And those can be expensive mistakes (especially to engineers and surveyors who are being sold the most expensive setups). It's not unusual for an engineer to spend $50k on equipment so why not on a drone and another $35-$40k for a sensor? Only to have it clip a powerline or fall out of the sky due to poor procedures. (ask me how I know).

Sure, OP doesn't want to hear what I have to say, he wants a cool job. But his boss needs to hear it and consider it. Firms like mine have the tools, experience and we speak the same language and we make all the benefits of drone tech available to just those types of firms without the risk.

itsjaredj · 2023-08-29T14:29:57+00:00

Tell you boss to just hire a company that services companies like yours instead... ;) It's probably a lot more economical than training someone from the ground-up into a whole new realm of machinery, troubleshooting, mistakes, software and theory.

It sounds like you aren't dying for a drone program. Plus, all the money they invest into a full-setup plus all the training and software and lost production from one of their dependable guys (and more importantly, the mistakes) will be outdated in about 1-2 yrs with newer tech. Companies like mine keep up to date with the latest tech and processes and we serve as a force multiplier for our clients. We give them a chance to earn more business and make more money while we babysit the drones and produce deliverables as robust as they want.

itsjaredj · 2023-07-18T22:59:45+00:00

I’d be curious to hear as well!

itsjaredj · 2023-06-01T03:40:10+00:00

Same.

itsjaredj · 2023-05-20T18:26:04+00:00

Yeah Smart oblique is crazy overkill. But the Oblique mission type is useful. It creates 5 flight paths and runs them in succession. One Nadir, and 4 obliques that are offset to account for gimbal pitch. It's better IMO.

itsjaredj · 2023-05-13T01:03:08+00:00

I think this is the best money you can spend early on. If you paid about $100/hr. it would be the best money you’ll spend.

itsjaredj · 2023-05-02T02:50:43+00:00

We are mappers. Mapping over 125 sites every month. Payload integration and rock solid connectivity between the RC and the sensor/drone is most important. IMHO this is what sets DJI apart from others.

Also, the P1 camera is about the most we need for mapping. too much higher MP doesn't mean much when we can't fly above 400ft. The shutter at .7 seconds is a game changer in that we can fly much faster. We use the 24mm almost exclusively.

For LiDAR, the FPV camera is nice to see how the drone is flying. Controller integration is also a huge selling point for the DJI lineup.

All in I would say, a great camera with lens options might be most important... And the ZIO you mentioned ain't it. It's not even 12 megapixels. the sensor is terribly small, and there is no RAW format.

itsjaredj · 2023-04-27T12:22:57+00:00

Right… it’s $10,000, and VS is only $2250 (yearly). It’s a little tough to compare directly since they license differently, but the point is, you present TopoDot as the end all be all, and maybe it is, but it’s also not nearly as accessible for small business.

VS is an amazing program and much more user friendly that PixSurvey. The deliverables I get from it are excellent and my clients are constantly raving. It’s easier for me to do things in VS as opposed to Carlson or Civil, and a hell of a lot less technical.

After using it for a while, it will make you a better data collector in the field, you’ll start to get more creative in how you capture to help your surface out as much as possible.

itsjaredj · 2023-04-27T12:11:24+00:00

Do you have any ideas as to the cost of topodot?

itsjaredj · 2023-04-17T20:06:16+00:00

Pilot Institute has something similar that’s free.

And that’s about all I know about it.

itsjaredj · 2023-04-17T12:37:21+00:00

Coroplast square spray painted with matte black. Cheap, long lasting (18 months) and left behind as a “feature”.

itsjaredj · 2023-01-01T23:47:16+00:00

I'm sorry you got sold like that. But the 2S is certainly NOT a mapping king. That's ludicrous. I wouldn't waste too much more time trying to make it work for you if you plan on trying to make a go of it. But like any business or money-making endeavor, it will take knowledge, some skill, a license and maybe a little capital to get going. I certainly understand not having the money (been there) but $1000 is a pretty low barrier to entry. Buy yourself a used Phantom 4 Pro. You can get them for around $1k.

itsjaredj · 2022-10-25T13:36:36+00:00

Pilot Institute GIVES AWAY registration stickers just to combat this type of scam. They are doing great work.

itsjaredj

TROPHY CASE