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Small drone with camera hovering outside my window today.

#245
NWB said:
I wonder what would happen if someone flew one these camera drones over a military installation?
Click to expand...
There's an old saying that 'tracers work both ways.'
RC-controlled anything has a transmitter somewhere. Simple RDF will point to it.

Now - an autonomous pre-programmed drone with a GPS (or better but more expensive, inertial) guidance would be very hard to trace if it loitered little and took off fast.

OTOH - if there's anything interesting happening at the military installation, everyone who really cares already has a satellite tasked to watch...

Before the F-117 was officially revealed there were many stories of military transport jets flying into and from BUR (home of the Lockheed Skunk Works) headed in the general direction of Edwards and Nellis in the dark of the night...
 
#246
ArtechnikA said:
There's an old saying that 'tracers work both ways.'
RC-controlled anything has a transmitter somewhere. Simple RDF will point to it.

Now - an autonomous pre-programmed drone with a GPS (or better but more expensive, inertial) guidance would be very hard to trace if it loitered little and took off fast.

OTOH - if there's anything interesting happening at the military installation, everyone who really cares already has a satellite tasked to watch...

Before the F-117 was officially revealed there were many stories of military transport jets flying into and from BUR (home of the Lockheed Skunk Works) headed in the general direction of Edwards and Nellis in the dark of the night...
Click to expand...

AFAIK, satellites don't work especially well through thick clouds. A cluster of autonomous pre-programmed UAVs could be a serious security threat.
 
#248
To be completely honest I think it would be really fun to fly an RC aircraft with live streaming video around. Maybe he was just checking out the sights and happened to point toward your house at some point in his voyage? I would totally rig one of those up and fly it around the neighbourhood just to look around with a bird's eye view, it would be cool!
 
#254
Sav'nBass said:
I was thinking the same thing.. in fact if I didn't own one I would get one [paintball gun] expressly for that purpose..
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Lived in Kalifornia for 30+ years, Lost Angeles for 8 of those.
Rule #1: If it's interesting to you, it's prohibited in Kalifornia.
Rule #2: If it's interesting to anyone, it's prohibited in Lost Angeles.

Having said that, I believe it's legal to own a paintball gun - unlike many interesting items you may not even possess... - in Lost Angeles, But you certainly can't discharge it. The fact that it is not technically a 'firearm' is of no consequence. Even in my own township here in PA, an airgun is defined as a 'firearm' as pertaining to anything you'd want to do with it. However, there is a broad exception for the purpose of 'pest control.' As it is an older ordinance, no distinction is made between 'animal pest' and 'mechanical pest' ...
 
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#257
I have read all the post on this thread on the different methods to bring down an unwelcome drone. I must say some of your ideas are very creative. I think the best solution, and most fun too, is to buy a cheap RC fighter and try to ram the drone's rotor blades Kamikaze style. Like I said earlier, I have had only one encounter with the drone but if it shows up again I will try to take it down. I just ordered this RC fighter off Amazon.com. It was only $55.95 so it is a pretty small investment. If the offending camera drone does not show up again, then I still win by having the fun of leaning how to fly this thing.
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#260
I realize I'm a little late on the conversation here BUT..

My field of work is currently Unmanned Aerial Systems. I graduated from the University of North Dakota with that degree and am currently working on research with the University to get Unmanned Aerial Systems integrated safely into the national airspace.

If ANYONE has any questions or concerns, feel free to ask. Some information is also here: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

To make a long story short, nobody should be peering in your windows with this technology. It's a classic tale of the technology is trying to be used for good, but anyone can get their hands on it and use it however they'd like. I myself built a "drone" with a Go-Pro mounted on it but I'm using it purely to fly around cool locations as a hobby. I would never use it to peer in windows or invade anyones privacy. Here's an example of what I and most hobbyists that have these use them for:

What I would suggest you do about this guy flying it near your house is just to open a dialogue with him. He does have the right to fly it around the area, but shouldn't be invading your privacy with it. Just express your concern about where the thing is looking, not necessarily where it's flying unless its a danger to your property or yourself. There isn't a lot legally that you or the FAA can do to stop him but hopefully he's not an A-hole and will respect your privacy.
 

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