As long as we are on the fascinating
topic of light, I thought I would share a possibly very helpful device. A tiny scratch
built strobe light to place on your quad.
This little gem was built from
plans by a RC flying colleague and given to me for testing.
Originally, the dual LED
strobe was designed to hook up with the Phantom’s internal power. That would
work fine but I have battery drain challenges given the fact that I need power
for my gimbal, the GoPro and the FPV transmitter. I decided to attach a very
small 3 cell battery making the strobe completely independent. I attach it to
Tommy with Velcro. (Velcro, tie wraps and gaffers tape are my go to fasteners these days.) BTW,
the strobe weighs only 27g with battery.
This strobe is very bright and its
usefulness varies. One challenge is placement of the strobe on the quad. If
placed on top, it cannot be seen from the ground. If placed on the bottom, it
cannot be seen if Tommy is flying below me as is the case flying from a cliff.
Also, the DJI Phantom has pretty good lighting anyway but other brands do not. In the
case of scratch built quads, there are no lights at all. The strobe is indispensable
for some quads. (I suggest not placing anything directly on top of a Phantom.
That is where the GPS antenna is placed inside the shell.)
For me, when needed, I place the
strobe in the rear and above the protruding battery compartment. This is
terrific when Tommy is hundreds of yards out to sea and below me.
Here is a great write up on how
you can build this strobe.
http://www.eastbayrc.org/index.php/tims-tips/116-visual-beacon-on-pcb
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