How are you guys and gals mounting strobes?
- Thread starter swimpmeister
- Start date
I don't mount ANYTHING on top....
A) GPS issues
B) If something comes loose way to close to props and since each one is a Single Failure Point I make sure to not add anything to that equation.
Several of our members and vendors off Phantom Strobe mounting options for the legs which is where, IMHO, they need to be mounted.
A) GPS issues
B) If something comes loose way to close to props and since each one is a Single Failure Point I make sure to not add anything to that equation.
Several of our members and vendors off Phantom Strobe mounting options for the legs which is where, IMHO, they need to be mounted.
To clarify strobes are only useful for night flying correct? Who should consider buying this?
While strobes give best performance in lower-light situations they do have the potential to increase "visibility" in more than just night environments. When we are operating near other aircraft or new traffic patterns we utilize them to help (hopefully) other aircraft see ours.
I use one of the very small 4 LED CREE strobes and I mount it on top of my P4P with velcro. I know it isn't going to accidentally dislodge because it is difficult to peel it off whenever I remove it. And I consistently connect to a minimum of 14 satellites with no GPS problems. The reason I use it during the day is to deter birds. I've had a couple of crows veer off course to check out my drone, only to flap as though startled when they got close and flew away. I have to believe the super bright strobe must mess with a bird's vision and throw them off because I usually have a difficult time, myself, just finding the off button because of flash spots in my eyes. So I generally recommend using strobes as a bird deterrent during daylight hours.
With velchro at the end and underside of an arm. The velchro patch covers up the screws, but I can certainly pull the velchro off the day I need to get at the screws. The strobe helps me see the AC better on cloudy days.
Agree just help others and myself not lose sight of it,,I use bright red on bottom,,carefull when trying to mount on front or you will see prop flash ,camera cant be directly forward or you'll get this in top of your clips,,now gets mounted on thin strip with hole in ends cable tied to each leg between the cam and vps so no flash gets in shot,,,I've stuck lights everwhere,,as well as strobes you can also buy phantom 4 head light set which is 2 mini led torches which just clip into clear plastic tags on front and rear arms,,bit pricey now but they work well too,,very bright and have strobe option or on,,they can be angled any position for flight ,,straight down or straight up into props which looks cool,,here's my first p4 which 2 sets of p4 headlights sets and 2 lumb cube mounts on side of landing gear,,weight was no issue, looked awsome in flight but with all good things this drone freefalled to its death as I watched in disbelief,,battery error was the cause,anyway dont have them to bright either or you get blinded when drone comes to land and trust me its dangerous lol,,good luck with lights
Thanks for your input. I agree with the risk but if it can be mph yes securely I really want a way to have the strobe visible from the top of the drone to be more visible to aircraft. Thanks!!
Thanks for bringing this up. I have 4 of the Firehouse Technology strobes (which I use in daytime flying and can see for close to 1000 ft more clearly than without them), and have the plastic 'leg-mount' brackets that FT also sells, but have been very disappointed in the brackets.
I tried mounting the strobe to the brackets with stick-on velcro first so that I could more easily take them off for recharging, but found the 'squishyness' of the mount disconcerting (as in, making me want to push hard to make sure it was secure, but afraid of damaging the circuits of the very fragile looking strobe). So, I switched to the supplied 2-sided foam tape which attaches them more securely. I tried attaching them directly to the sides of the P4 body, but due to the curve only about 70% of the strobe back is actually attached to the frame, which seems insufficient--and its too hard to charge the strobes when they're attached to the AC. So then I used the 2-sided tape to attach to the plastic brackets (as intended). this is more secure, BUT, the point of attachment to the strobe is still just the thin plastic wrapping around the strobe circuit board, which can easily tear--so I've still been afraid of losing them. And now, the brackets have cracked and so don't attach firmly at all........(the P4 landing gear are too wide up high, and too narrow down low).
I've also had "obstacle detected' warnings that seem to be caused by certain positions of the brackets....
I wish there were 4 flat spots' on the P4 sides that could accept these strobes, and that FT provided a more secure mounting system!...
hoping to hear of better solutions!
I tried mounting the strobe to the brackets with stick-on velcro first so that I could more easily take them off for recharging, but found the 'squishyness' of the mount disconcerting (as in, making me want to push hard to make sure it was secure, but afraid of damaging the circuits of the very fragile looking strobe). So, I switched to the supplied 2-sided foam tape which attaches them more securely. I tried attaching them directly to the sides of the P4 body, but due to the curve only about 70% of the strobe back is actually attached to the frame, which seems insufficient--and its too hard to charge the strobes when they're attached to the AC. So then I used the 2-sided tape to attach to the plastic brackets (as intended). this is more secure, BUT, the point of attachment to the strobe is still just the thin plastic wrapping around the strobe circuit board, which can easily tear--so I've still been afraid of losing them. And now, the brackets have cracked and so don't attach firmly at all........(the P4 landing gear are too wide up high, and too narrow down low).
I've also had "obstacle detected' warnings that seem to be caused by certain positions of the brackets....
I wish there were 4 flat spots' on the P4 sides that could accept these strobes, and that FT provided a more secure mounting system!...
hoping to hear of better solutions!
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2016
- Messages
- 1,612
- Reaction score
- 973
I have two of those small Firehouse strobes and I put them onto the front side of the shell side by side. I fixed them with the same sized patches of double sided adhesive tape and have no issues.
I brought a Ulanzi DR-01 Anti-collision lights on Amazon. The strobe comes with 3M Dual lock Velcro mounts one attached to the drone and 2 pieces for mounting on a drone.
I put one on my MM and the other on my Phantom. I have decals on my drones so I cut out an area to attach the Velcro piece to.
So far so good flying in twilight with the strobe attached.
Technically with the strobe on the MM you now fall into the weight class where the drone must be registered with the FAA. I already had them both registered so no big deal for me.
I put one on my MM and the other on my Phantom. I have decals on my drones so I cut out an area to attach the Velcro piece to.
So far so good flying in twilight with the strobe attached.
Technically with the strobe on the MM you now fall into the weight class where the drone must be registered with the FAA. I already had them both registered so no big deal for me.
Smack in the middle. Doesn't interfere with my GPS, but I wouldn't mount anything larger. I found some clear velcro (hook side) that holds really well. The eye decals had been previously added also as a bird deterrent, since most birds that I have observed in nature prefer to attack from the rear and above -- mainly when their prey isn't looking at them. My work sometimes takes me to remote locations, so I need my drone to be as bird deterrent as possible. I agree the P4P has very limited locations to mount a strobe that doesn't interfere with the vision system.
I know someone is probably going to ask where I got the eye decals. I happen to be a graphic artist for an environmental firm (hence the drone flying) and had some clear peel-off sheets that can be put through a color copier/printer. I found those menacing hawk eyes via a Google image search, printed them on a peel-off sheet, and applied them as a decal to give my P4P a "Don't even THINK about it!" look.
For some reason I starting singing this song chorus in my head after reading your post LOL
I'm attaching my strobes to the legs using D-WINGS CORD CONTROL from Staples. These are designed to use as cord control. The strobe is glued to the flat side and then attached to the leg.
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2016
- Messages
- 1,612
- Reaction score
- 973
Does it help? I mean by the reactions of birds when they see your drone.
Good point,,it be a 30 min staredown lol,,a slow circling staredown since they cant hover
I mount mine on the top of the Parazero SafeAir system top cover. Neither interfere with GPS operation.
I'd like to say they work because no bird has attacked my drone since I started using them, but that would be a pretty weak conclusion -- unless I had been attacked often prior to that. The only instance I can relate would be those two crows that I mentioned above. They had been flying on a definite straight path when both intentionally veered off course and headed for my drone. Crows are very intelligent and curious birds, so I don't believe they intended to attack it, but they definitely showed an interest. At about 20 ft from my drone they suddenly acted startled and flew off -- again in the direction they had originally been flying. Unfortunately, the camera was pointing forward and didn't capture the encounter as I watched the crows. So I believe it was either the eye decals or the super bright strobe. I suspect it was the strobe that was screwing up their vision which they didn't like. Probably didn't know what to make of the resulting flash spots in their eyes.
Last edited:
Similar threads
