Marc Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 Bought one last Friday with the intention of using it for roof inspections that are too steep/high to be safe. Bringing it back to the store today. Cons 1) Navigation is to imprecise to get it into position to examine and take a photo although if you can, the photo quality seems adequate. 2) If you get out of range, it drops, no matter where it is. Over an inaccessible roof, over a building, anywhere, it just drops. 3) If you hit something, it cancels flight and, again, just drops without warning. 4) Programming automatically counters the effects of wind when it's hovering but still gets blown around. When you switch hover-mode off to navigate it, the auto-countering switches off. It's entirely manual from there and nearly impossible to control if there's even a small wind. Nice toy but navigation/control is too imprecise for HI work. Training cost me two breaks in the foam accessory that's used to stabilize the craft and protect the blades. I'll have to pay for a new one for sure. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Thanks, Marc. I thought of that, too. (What to do when it crashes on the high roof you couldn't reach with a ladder?) [] But tell us you had some fun playing with the new toy. Click to Enlarge 51.18 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 A little fun but only a little because I was focused on using it for a business application and that went sour, even more so when the store refused to take it back. Thinking of giving it to my neighbor who'll love it. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Thinking of giving it to my neighbor who'll love it. Oh stop. Keep it and mess with the neighbor's dog/cat/wife/whatever. Fly it in the yard everyday while mumbling "I have to make these bombs lighter." or "wait'll they see what happens if xxxxxxx wins the election." There's a lot of fun packaged in that toy- go play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Yeah, forget HI stuff....this opens up entire new worlds for messing with cats and neighbors dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islander238 Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Sorry to hear. At least you can write it off and you had a little fun with it. You are ahead of your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Use it to buzz a realtor. It's a way more amusing business expense than toll receipts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 I didn' t think you were going to have much luck getting close to a roof with that. When I went through ground school years ago I learned that one doesn't fly close in on the leeward side of mountains because the air currents there are unpredictably dangerous. As the wind passes over the top of the mountain it tumbles and curles downward and inward. How much depends on the speed of the wind. Now put a tiny little craft on the leeward side of a roof, trying to get close enough to take a picture and what do you suppose is going to happen? People see a photo of a helicopter hovering off the side of a mountain, even picking folks up and they think it's easy for the experienced pilot. It's actually his worst nightmare, very very difficult and the most dangerous thing he can try to do. Was there a live video feed with that thing so you can line it up on a defect; or are you expected to start a video or something and then hope that you catch the thing you want to catch in frame? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 It's a live feed. I'm not sure if there's a still camera or if it's done by picking out a frame. I'll post a video taken, if that's possible on TIJ, so you can see what I mean by 'imprecise navigation'. It's just too crude. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Post it to YouTube, then link to YouTube. Use the You Tube link at the upper right of the tool bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 By "live feed" do you mean that you are seeing stuff on your iphone at the same time the camera in the little gizmocopter sees it? Sorry, I'm not very well versed in gizmoeze. I've been trying to find a way of following an inspector and communicating with him while he's in crawlspaces and attics. I think it would be ideal for training someone to be able to see what they see, when they see it, and to be able to communicate with them real time. Last year when I was convelesciing I called at least a dozen companies and couldn't find anyone making anything like that. Maybe times have changed. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 By "live feed" do you mean that you are seeing stuff on your iphone at the same time the camera in the little gizmocopter sees it? Sorry, I'm not very well versed in gizmoeze. I've been trying to find a way of following an inspector and communicating with him while he's in crawlspaces and attics. I think it would be ideal for training someone to be able to see what they see, when they see it, and to be able to communicate with them real time. Last year when I was convelesciing I called at least a dozen companies and couldn't find anyone making anything like that. Maybe times have changed. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Yes. Once it's airborne, it's driven by looking at your android so you can see through the camera. You'd need an awful high crawlspace, at least 5', for it to work or it'll be banging into everything. The battery is good for less than 2 minutes of flight. Charges in an hour or so. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 You misunderstand. I was looking for a camera that an inspector could wear while doing an inspection. Maybe aon a head band or something. One where he could communicate with another inspector or even talk to the client as the client watched him do the inspection on a monitor somewhere else. That way, clients would get a better understanding of what's going on under the home and a senior inspector could guide a new inspector through the process. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted November 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 You misunderstand. I was looking for a camera that an inspector could wear while doing an inspection. Maybe aon a head band or something. One where he could communicate with another inspector or even talk to the client as the client watched him do the inspection on a monitor somewhere else. That way, clients would get a better understanding of what's going on under the home and a senior inspector could guide a new inspector through the process. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Ok. Well, my Parrot is wearing such a camera so the technology is there. Maybe when one of the motors goes out, I'll send this thing to you and you can find a way to strap the camera to a headband. Range is 200' or so they say. Camera is very small/light. Should run long since the motors no longer draw on the battery. It's an 8 amp battery, 12 Volt. All you need is an android phone or pad. The app download is free. It tells you how much charge is left on the camera battery. The toy has a few fine points. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dguthrie Posted April 11, 2014 Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 Yeah - besides FAA entanglements, drones, in practice can't do high-precision work like hail damage analysis. Need robotics for that...several on the market. Look at roofrover for example... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted April 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 I visited the site and requested more info but couldn't get the capcha to work. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kibbel Posted April 11, 2014 Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 I might be interested if Roof Rover could get up and inside chimney flues too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dguthrie Posted April 11, 2014 Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 I went to the site also and there is indeed a broken contact page. But The phone number is good. A told the rep about the link. Anyway, in case you want to contact them, his name is Mike Slawinski and his email is mikeslawinski@yahoo.com. They are located in Atlanta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted April 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 I went to the site also and there is indeed a broken contact page. But The phone number is good. A told the rep about the link. Anyway, in case you want to contact them, his name is Mike Slawinski and his email is mikeslawinski@yahoo.com. They are located in Atlanta. Email administrator reports that Email address as 'invalid recipient'. I'll have someone call. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghentjr Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 You misunderstand. I was looking for a camera that an inspector could wear while doing an inspection. Maybe aon a head band or something. One where he could communicate with another inspector or even talk to the client as the client watched him do the inspection on a monitor somewhere else. That way, clients would get a better understanding of what's going on under the home and a senior inspector could guide a new inspector through the process. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike http://gopro.com/products?gclid=CNOBu-G ... MwodxGYA-Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghentjr Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 You misunderstand. I was looking for a camera that an inspector could wear while doing an inspection. Maybe aon a head band or something. One where he could communicate with another inspector or even talk to the client as the client watched him do the inspection on a monitor somewhere else. That way, clients would get a better understanding of what's going on under the home and a senior inspector could guide a new inspector through the process. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike http://gopro.com/products?gclid=CNOBu-G ... MwodxGYA-Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghentjr Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 Try this to carry the camera http://www.amazon.com/DJI-Phantom-Aeria ... helicopter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 You misunderstand. I was looking for a camera that an inspector could wear while doing an inspection. Maybe on a head band or something. One where he could communicate with another inspector or even talk to the client as the client watched him do the inspection on a monitor somewhere else. That way, clients would get a better understanding of what's going on under the home and a senior inspector could guide a new inspector through the process. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike A helmet camera, no problem. Then you will need a 12-year-old kid that will work cheap to wear it and go fetch the info, while you sit in the shade and monitor his progress. [] Mike, your comment about flying the lee side of a ridge is right on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkenney Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 Helmet camera: http://www.amazon.com/Ion-Wi-Fi-Bike-He ... B007WZTMVE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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