Lighting and downward recording

[W.D.M.T.L.B.B.?!]

Hello fellow terminally-thrifty pilots!

I got the Tello as a camera platform. Great recording tips here, remove the prop guards, upgrade the app, get an extender and the Gamesir controller. But after 2 absolute greenhorn crashes in the bushes, it was time to get lit!

Embarrassingly cheap drone lighting –

Dual button cell holder - $1.25 ea with 6v output

Amazon.com: LAMPVPATH (Pack of 6) cr2032 Battery Holder Coin Cell Holder, CR2032 Battery Holder with Switch, 2 x 3V CR2032 Button Coin Cell Battery Holder with Leads On Off Switch : Electronics

Amazon.com: LAMPVPATH (Pack of 6) cr2032 Battery Holder Coin Cell Holder, CR2032 Battery Holder with Switch, 2 x 3V CR2032 Button Coin Cell Battery Holder with Leads On Off Switch : Electronics

www.amazon.com

wish.com –

a handful of cr2032 button batteries-- $3

Cr2032 | Wish

LEDs – free with $2 shipping. get 3v - 6v -

Wish | Shop and Save

Discover affordable items for your home and life needs. Enjoy our money back guarantee, frequent discounts, flat rate shipping (select markets), and more.

www.wish.com

I'm waiting for these slow flashing ones from Amazon –

Amazon.com

This incredibly cheap-*** engineering marvel has run over 24 hours on one LED and still going as you see here but I was thinking of adding two since the battery life is that good. I'll post when it dies.
-----------------------

$1 Downward facing camera -

paperclip, hot glue, Velcro to attach it to the drone and a piece of dollar tree makeup mirror.

I also have this yet to try - $7 here but better ones are available. Velcro it to the bottom of the drone. The onboard DVR should make for uninterrupted video. Battery is supposed to be 100 minutes. Wish they made a GoPro the size of a sugar cube! And under the price of a Bugatti while we're at it!

Wish | Shop and Save

Discover affordable items for your home and life needs. Enjoy our money back guarantee, frequent discounts, flat rate shipping (select markets), and more.

www.wish.com

cheers,

W.D.M.T.L.B.B

(why-does- my-Tello-love-bramble-bushes?!) : -)


.?!

 

[W.D.M.T.L.B.B.?!]

Hello fellow terminally-thrifty pilots!

I got the Tello as a camera platform. Great recording tips here, remove the prop guards, upgrade the app, get an extender and the Gamesir controller. But after 2 absolute greenhorn crashes in the bushes, it was time to get lit!

Embarrassingly cheap drone lighting –

Dual button cell holder - $1.25 ea with 6v output

Amazon.com: LAMPVPATH (Pack of 6) cr2032 Battery Holder Coin Cell Holder, CR2032 Battery Holder with Switch, 2 x 3V CR2032 Button Coin Cell Battery Holder with Leads On Off Switch : Electronics

Amazon.com: LAMPVPATH (Pack of 6) cr2032 Battery Holder Coin Cell Holder, CR2032 Battery Holder with Switch, 2 x 3V CR2032 Button Coin Cell Battery Holder with Leads On Off Switch : Electronics

www.amazon.com

wish.com –

a handful of cr2032 button batteries-- $3

Cr2032 | Wish

LEDs – free with $2 shipping. get 3v - 6v -

Wish | Shop and Save

Discover affordable items for your home and life needs. Enjoy our money back guarantee, frequent discounts, flat rate shipping (select markets), and more.

www.wish.com

I'm waiting for these slow flashing ones from Amazon –

Amazon.com

This incredibly cheap-*** engineering marvel has run over 24 hours on one LED and still going as you see here but I was thinking of adding two since the battery life is that good. I'll post when it dies.
-----------------------

$1 Downward facing camera -

paperclip, hot glue, Velcro to attach it to the drone and a piece of dollar tree makeup mirror.

I also have this yet to try - $7 here but better ones are available. Velcro it to the bottom of the drone. The onboard DVR should make for uninterrupted video. Battery is supposed to be 100 minutes. Wish they made a GoPro the size of a sugar cube! And under the price of a Bugatti while we're at it!

Wish | Shop and Save

Discover affordable items for your home and life needs. Enjoy our money back guarantee, frequent discounts, flat rate shipping (select markets), and more.

www.wish.com

cheers,

W.D.M.T.L.B.B

(why-does- my-Tello-love-bramble-bushes?!) : -)


View attachment 3486View attachment 3487View attachment 3488.?!

Update -so yeah, the lighting set up ran for 36 usable hours!! I was quite impressed! Next I'll try it with 2 LEDs which I had thought of arranging on the ends of a little rod to sit crosswise on the underbody. 2 lights give more visibility but I also wondered if this little outrigger arrangement would work as a vibration damper? Anybody had any experience with this? All in the quest for better video and photos. Even if the mini spy cam has optical stabilization, a steadier body would still be helpful. If I have any luck testing these ideas, I'll post an update. But any guidance would be golden!

This is my 1st drone ever, so I'll believe anything you say. Hack a mini-warp drive and circle Saturn? Fill my boots! Circle the earth backwards like Superman and go back to the sixties? Oh yeah. That'd be wizard. Unless you never left.



And what a start to photographic dronology! Is this darling little iBat the bees knees or what!? I've seen bigger fat-butt mice!

All my life I've long dreamed for better high angle shots, if only to get above the dog dang telephone wires, but this new dimension is sooooo much more! I'm so grateful for such nifty technology! And for this form! I mean for this tiny little electronic dragonfly there's a whole ZIP Code for y'all. Mil gracias.

 

[SleepyRobo]

I used the LED bar 4pcb soldered from a portable DVD player backlight connected to a 150mah 3.7v battery and had it facing forward and then used a 3 led push button closet light taken apart and used that over the heatsink to give donward light for position hold camera. It works but only at about 4-6 inches above the ground. It's a flood light after all. Same result for forward camera.

I would suggest a flood light type pcb LED to keep weight down. And use a focusing lens for front two lights. Some you can buy with the lens attached already to PCB.

If you are having vibration problems it's more or less because of bent and or chip props resulting in unbalanced props. Most new ones on this small of a drone have bad quality standards so you may have to buy some new sets and mox and match till the vibrations go away

 

[SleepyRobo]

But becareful what you attach to the bottom since it's the drones only cooling surface. And you don't want to block the IR LED height sensors. They have a wide light pattern