Flying close to powerlines and cell towers?
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I did some research into power line inspection and what I found out was you might be able to fly around the lines, but if you fly between them you have to have a Faraday cage on your drone or the EMF will fry your electronics
rdonson
Premium Pilot
If you have a Faraday cage on your drone how are the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz signals for telemetry and video with the controller going to work? Not to mention compass or GPS.
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I once almost flew into a power line (at least 10 kV).
I missed it by luck, @about 5 centimeters. Drone was further away then I though, in visual I thought to have another 25 meters, but the drone flew over/into the lines already. As I realized I saw something odd on the screen of the ST I stopped.... and my first reaction was backing out.... arghhh....
So just clearing the power line about 3 centimers in reverse the drone was free of obstacles again.... phewww..... Never lost an inch of control or got any nasty buzz in my controller, everything was just fine and stayed that way. I had to land asap tho, to regain control of my heartbeat (as the encounter was above a canal as well...).
This experience told me the H is not as sensitive for power lines as it is for large metal objects.... got some stories about those too...
If anyone is interested I can upload a video showing the encounter with the power line.
I missed it by luck, @about 5 centimeters. Drone was further away then I though, in visual I thought to have another 25 meters, but the drone flew over/into the lines already. As I realized I saw something odd on the screen of the ST I stopped.... and my first reaction was backing out.... arghhh....
So just clearing the power line about 3 centimers in reverse the drone was free of obstacles again.... phewww..... Never lost an inch of control or got any nasty buzz in my controller, everything was just fine and stayed that way. I had to land asap tho, to regain control of my heartbeat (as the encounter was above a canal as well...).
This experience told me the H is not as sensitive for power lines as it is for large metal objects.... got some stories about those too...
If anyone is interested I can upload a video showing the encounter with the power line.
PatR
Premium Pilot
I banged a power line with one of the props on my 920 a few weeks ago. Messed up the prop but control remained good so i finished the shoot. Power lines are normally not a problem for Yuneec systems.
High powered electric lines and cell towers ... sounds as much fun as rain. I would avoid it as Wes Watkins stated in his post. Leave it to experts.
PatR
Premium Pilot
I AM an expert but misjudged the distance..... The shoot required dropping down between multiple sets of power lines. Cell towers don't get done unless and until there is verification from the controlling outfit it is safe to do so. There's always the possibility of a perspective issue when we are standing off fairly long distances from our subjects.
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In that post he suggested he would not advise one to fly his H near a Cell or Radio Tower due to the high RF especially Verizon and T-Mobile, that is not the same as flying near Power lines as PatR points out above, and I would just note that: to find an expert in the field of commercial UAV systems and their use - on this forum, one would need to look no further than PatR. Just sayin'.
PatR
Premium Pilot
I think I was attempting to say that things can happen to anyone, and being prepared to deal with them when or as they happen is a critical part of our operational responsibility. We can mitigate as much as is humanly possible but flying carries inherent risks not encountered in other activities. Add aerial video to that and new opportunities for things to go wrong are sure to present themselves.
May all our mistakes always be small and never combine to become a big one
May all our mistakes always be small and never combine to become a big one
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rdonson
Premium Pilot
What kind of power lines?
There are some truly huge power lines around here fed from the nearby nuclear power plant. We have parks that go under some of those lines and on the nicest of days you can hear them crackling even though they have to be 100' or more above.
My father was a construction electrician on large industrial sites and I studied electrical engineering. I may be a coward but I don't fly anywhere near power lines.
There are some truly huge power lines around here fed from the nearby nuclear power plant. We have parks that go under some of those lines and on the nicest of days you can hear them crackling even though they have to be 100' or more above.
My father was a construction electrician on large industrial sites and I studied electrical engineering. I may be a coward but I don't fly anywhere near power lines.
PatR
Premium Pilot
IRRC, the big ones (caternary tower types) radiate RF somewhere in the 800MHz band. What they”leak” in electrical output is unknown to me. I’ve inspected just one but maintained about 75’ of separation from it and the wires. I know of a couple companies inspecting them using multirotors of several types.
The one I bumped into was fairly low voltage, prolly in the 440v to 880v range. Those I usually try to maintain at least 15’ to 20’ of separation but my depth perception was off on that flight. I believed I was on the opposite side of the line and didn’t know differently until I saw the wire pass though the camera view as the 920 was descending. By then it was already too late to react in time.
A water pump windmill was surrounded by power lines. Doesn’t make any sense but that’s how things were...
The one I bumped into was fairly low voltage, prolly in the 440v to 880v range. Those I usually try to maintain at least 15’ to 20’ of separation but my depth perception was off on that flight. I believed I was on the opposite side of the line and didn’t know differently until I saw the wire pass though the camera view as the 920 was descending. By then it was already too late to react in time.
A water pump windmill was surrounded by power lines. Doesn’t make any sense but that’s how things were...
I once almost flew into a power line (at least 10 kV).
I missed it by luck, @about 5 centimeters. Drone was further away then I though, in visual I thought to have another 25 meters, but the drone flew over/into the lines already. As I realized I saw something odd on the screen of the ST I stopped.... and my first reaction was backing out.... arghhh....
So just clearing the power line about 3 centimers in reverse the drone was free of obstacles again.... phewww..... Never lost an inch of control or got any nasty buzz in my controller, everything was just fine and stayed that way. I had to land asap tho, to regain control of my heartbeat (as the encounter was above a canal as well...).
This experience told me the H is not as sensitive for power lines as it is for large metal objects.... got some stories about those too...
If anyone is interested I can upload a video showing the encounter with the power line.
Lol... found a map and saw the power lines I just missed are 150 kV.
Not to worrie....
PatR
Premium Pilot
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