Flying Around Cell Towers?
- Thread starter Ron_Dog
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I took this picture last year and didn't have a problem. All of the antennas are in the mesh part of the pole.
There was a water tower in town I wanted to take pictures of and there was a radio tower next to it about the same height.
I don't know what was on that tower but the Spark didn't like it.
At 80' high it flew ok, at 88' the signal got scrambled and RTH kicked in.
I tried multiple times with the same results.
Good luck.
There was a water tower in town I wanted to take pictures of and there was a radio tower next to it about the same height.
I don't know what was on that tower but the Spark didn't like it.
At 80' high it flew ok, at 88' the signal got scrambled and RTH kicked in.
I tried multiple times with the same results.
Good luck.
The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that it can be done! I've see a lot of video's with flights close to "wind turbines",and they have to emit a strong EMF field around them. So I went for it!
Not one problem during the flight. In Fact there is another smaller tower right by the bigger one. So I was actually flying close to 2 towers. Now the question is what kind of towers effect the drones (if any at all do),and how close can you fly to them? Can you safely fly around towers without concern? I still dunno? But it sure increases the "pucker factor" a lot while doing it! LOL!
Not one problem during the flight. In Fact there is another smaller tower right by the bigger one. So I was actually flying close to 2 towers. Now the question is what kind of towers effect the drones (if any at all do),and how close can you fly to them? Can you safely fly around towers without concern? I still dunno? But it sure increases the "pucker factor" a lot while doing it! LOL! I don't have issue around them, but I do have serious issue if my kid starts the microwave while I'm flying Spark inside lol
A while back I flew next to a water tower with several antennas of different shapes attached to the tower with no problems. I didn't fly around it because the top tank might have interfered with the signal.
Have any of you had flights close to, or around a Microwave/Cell Phone tower? If so, what were the effects?
I have. only problem I found was the Compass hates it. The on board electronics
I do fly on 5.8ghz because I'm flying in a mostly in high WiFi usage areas. Infact,I fly in 5.8ghz all the time, even out in the country. I've found no diffrence in range using it, or 2.4ghz?
Heckmaniac
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I have experienced issues flying by cell towers - well one in particular. Every time I fly past it (close by) to go to another point of interest my transmission gets interrupted (the same place everytime) and I lose signal - then within a second or two it returns and I'm still continuing my flight past the tower. Always on 5.8 MHz.
I tried landing on my car once and Spark didn't like that...I'm amazed water towers aren't more of an issue.
Rocco Germani
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I had major signal interference near a cell tower once, I lost my video feed and it didn't come back. I recommend using a OTG cable, it helps a bit.Have any of you had flights close to, or around a Microwave/Cell Phone tower? If so, what were the effects?
James Lummel
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We've done quite a few cell tower surveys professionally using the Phantom 4 Advanced (2.4g only) and Inspire 2 and while we typically don't see any problems when near the cell emitters at the top, we've noticed problems with the round microwave dishes that a lot of towers have. We also use UHF radios onsite for communicating while doing the surveys and have had failures of the radios due to interference (had to go up to the higher power to be reliable), but we've only had problems with the quad when near the microwave dishes and that resulted in some butt-clenchers while we got the craft under control.
Looking at the logs afterwards on Airdata is pretty scary though! Some site are worse than others, with the worst being the sites that gave us problems with the UHF radios. But if you pull up the Notifications highlights it's pretty scary how often control was lost and then regained when near these cell towers, and for how long! But even so, wind is our greatest challenge more than interference. We carry insurance so that if we crash into an cell emitter or a microwave dish we are covered, but it can get really hairy up there!!
You need to be careful when flying near things like cell towers and windmills as these can be classified as infrastructure and you could be entering a no-fly zone because of that. There's still a lot going on with the FAA on issues like this, but with the recent FAA re-authorization that was just signed into law they have a LOT more authority to go after recreational fliers!
James
PS- I bought the Spark to be able to do the initial scout some of the sites we fly, though we use the better equipment to do the surveys themselves as the Spark's camera is not adequate for that. But I'd rather lose a $300 spark than a $1300 P4A or $4000 Inspire 2, and the Spark is much easier to deploy for a quick look. Luckily the scouting doesn't require we get close to the tower as the signal for the Spark is only enhanced WiFi and is not Lightbridge 2 like the P4A and the I2, so is less immune to any interference near a tower.
Looking at the logs afterwards on Airdata is pretty scary though! Some site are worse than others, with the worst being the sites that gave us problems with the UHF radios. But if you pull up the Notifications highlights it's pretty scary how often control was lost and then regained when near these cell towers, and for how long! But even so, wind is our greatest challenge more than interference. We carry insurance so that if we crash into an cell emitter or a microwave dish we are covered, but it can get really hairy up there!!
You need to be careful when flying near things like cell towers and windmills as these can be classified as infrastructure and you could be entering a no-fly zone because of that. There's still a lot going on with the FAA on issues like this, but with the recent FAA re-authorization that was just signed into law they have a LOT more authority to go after recreational fliers!
James
PS- I bought the Spark to be able to do the initial scout some of the sites we fly, though we use the better equipment to do the surveys themselves as the Spark's camera is not adequate for that. But I'd rather lose a $300 spark than a $1300 P4A or $4000 Inspire 2, and the Spark is much easier to deploy for a quick look. Luckily the scouting doesn't require we get close to the tower as the signal for the Spark is only enhanced WiFi and is not Lightbridge 2 like the P4A and the I2, so is less immune to any interference near a tower.
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Locutus40
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ok im going to say it its people like this guy that make us rule followers have to get more rules from the faa dont i repeat dont fly around a cell tower or any structure you dont own just fly in the air far away from things film them etc dont zoom around its iresponsible behaviure that gets the rest of us more rules and fines etc.. and im sick of it so if you do this shame on you
Heckmaniac
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Locutus40
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um theres no rule.. but its called think... use your brain...... think bout this.. i fly my drone around your house over it in your back yard.... and im 1 mile away.. youd be pissed wouldn't you...also irresponsible....
now cell towers same thing you dont own them and they spit out tons of frequencies and power and heat.... again.. your endangering the tower your putting your drone at risk for crashing and causing a fire......
now i can see your age 52 im only 41 i follow rules and follow the unsaid rules aka common sense... just because its not a law or rule does not mean you shoulnt be an idiot....
dont fly over crowds over cell towers water towers etc over peoples homes...... go fly in a open feild or a desert or your own property.. its people like you and others that make the faa make rules and force other non rule breakers to have to pay fees to have fun....
if you think its ok to do this without permission of the tower owner then your wrong..
first if you own a drone company and or you are the cell tower or water tower or stadium owner fly all you want over your tower for inspections etc.. but the hobbies t shame on you...
fly at a distance if you want....
you just risk others and make it difficult for me to fly for fun
in my town we have 2 people id like to catch they fly drones next to the 4th of july fireworks they also flew over forest fires... i bet you think thats responsible huh.. its not so dont do it
now cell towers same thing you dont own them and they spit out tons of frequencies and power and heat.... again.. your endangering the tower your putting your drone at risk for crashing and causing a fire......
now i can see your age 52 im only 41 i follow rules and follow the unsaid rules aka common sense... just because its not a law or rule does not mean you shoulnt be an idiot....
dont fly over crowds over cell towers water towers etc over peoples homes...... go fly in a open feild or a desert or your own property.. its people like you and others that make the faa make rules and force other non rule breakers to have to pay fees to have fun....
if you think its ok to do this without permission of the tower owner then your wrong..
first if you own a drone company and or you are the cell tower or water tower or stadium owner fly all you want over your tower for inspections etc.. but the hobbies t shame on you...
fly at a distance if you want....
you just risk others and make it difficult for me to fly for fun
in my town we have 2 people id like to catch they fly drones next to the 4th of july fireworks they also flew over forest fires... i bet you think thats responsible huh.. its not so dont do it
Heckmaniac
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Wow - got a little pent up emotion do you (did someone not hug you enough today)? Common sense might mean not allowing a hair trigger like you being able to fly at all. I follow common sense and my only experience with a tower was flying within 100 ft of one and noticing it affect my signal for about a second and a half, thus my response to this topic (personally I don't care about the tower or find it interesting), but I don't appreciate your assuming you are the only one with a brain. You can go to a deserted desert to fly within a 100 yd radious around yourself, so it shouldn't matter what rules the FAA requires, I can almost guarantee your good to go - that is unless they invoke the hair trigger ruling I note above (then your screwed).
Locutus40
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wow just wow.. another person that thinks rules arent meant for them and i can do what i want mentality... its people like that and you that force the faa to make rules...
pent up yea of course because now we probably have to get ama insurance to fly thats coming folks just like car insurance was forced on us.... years ago.... yes im pent up.. stop acting like its ok to fly around structures you dont own...... us rule followers and normal casual flyers fly at feilds ones we own or open spaces.... like deserts etc... we look around first make sure theres no air craft etc.... folks like you just do what they want..... a handful of people ruined this hobby for the rest of us.... thank you.... if you think thats pent up or hair trigger your **** right it is........ at 52 years of age you outta know better......
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