Anyone else use hi-vis tape?

[Chefinthesky]

What is the deal with skins anyways? How do they go on and how durable are they? Can you buy the stuff skins are made of?
Speaking of which I've seen lots of amazing videos about that glue that you cure with a light pen. Multiple people have tested it on broken props and it seems beyond too good to be true. Comments on it please.

If you click the video you will see a very in-depth demonstration of installing them.

 

[PatR]

You folks thinking about blue or grey coloring might want to reconsider. Both colors are extremely hard to see in the sky. Both absorb visible light wavelengths and provide little visibility contrast. It’s why the military uses variations of those colors on their aircraft. They are very hard to isolate and see in the sky.

 

[DCH]

What is the deal with skins anyways? How do they go on and how durable are they?

Thought someone else might answer this, I'll give you what I know.
They are self adhesive and removable. They are very durable and won't come off with normal use. There are a bazillion different designs that will cover most popular drone models, including the Q500, just not for the TH yet. I usually paint mine when I want something different, but I have used a skin on my Blade 200QX since day one. It has survived more crashes that I am willing to ever admit and it still looks great, hasn't pealed or faded.

 

[Dougcjohn]

Thought someone else might answer this, I'll give you what I know.
They are self adhesive and removable. They are very durable and won't come off with normal use. There are a bazillion different designs that will cover most popular drone models, including the Q500, just not for the TH yet. I usually paint mine when I want something different, but I have used a skin on my Blade 200QX since day one. It has survived more crashes that I am willing to ever admit and it still looks great, hasn't pealed or faded.

I too purchased a full H body and CGO case to paint... got them all nicely painted, wet sanded and glossed... and later discovered this skin in early Summer. I ordered and applied, compared to other skins it applies nice but isn't as tacky as other brands; a few of the motors or nose pieces lifted up at first... In a few days the adhesive cures and pieces all stay down. I actually like it better than my solid paint job... the areas of black provide a nice contrast to the orange. My kit at least, came with minimal guide so some pieces took a little examination to determine location.

On the lights... I use a various sets of CREE lights... have several sets of single CREE and dual CREE LED's. For the H, I use 6 to 8... booms & legs. Originally it was indicated the single CREE's meet the FAA's night visibility requirements... that now is up for debate but the dual CREE's easily meet the FAA's night visibility requirements. They are intense and also serve nicely during daylight in contrast areas: buildings, tree lines, or down in river beds with trees. I have White, Red and Blue... the White & Red are good in daylight and excellent in dark, the Blue is more visible in darker situations. There are a few that make the CREE mounts for H480, H520 & H920 boom diameters for a quick on & off operation which allows the CREE's to be easily moved between AC's.

Multiple sites for both single & dual, here's just one example:
Drone Dual CREE LED Strobe Light 2-Pack For DJI Inspire 1 2 Mavic Pro Phantom Spark Quadcopters RC Plane

I've used these Mounts on multiple birds... nice and flexible and firm grip on expensive CREE lights.
3D PRINTED

 

[TyphoonPete]

I almost ponied up for the fluoro orange full body kit from Germany (Or Italy Ebay only 15euros ???) as against Germany for 35euros ??
But I knew that I would not be able to apply with the quality finish I wanted and it would eventually start to peel.
SO... I got a roll of fluoro orange tape for motorcycle wheel rims and wrapped a couple of turns around various parts and across the front that I thought would help with visibility.
I also today ponied up for red and white strobes with the clip on mounts, from carolina dronz, to give me guaranteed visibility as, at the moment, I am flying on a football ground with a lot of trees in the back and I noticed the other day on my first flight that I was having difficulty spotting the bird.
Crappy non-flying weather for the next week or so by the looks. Hopefully they will arrive b4 christmas.
Cheers and Seasons Greetings to all
Pete

 

[DCH]

I was eying the orange wrap too, until I realized a new H520 body from Vertigo Drones is about $10 bucks cheaper than the stick-on wrap from Germany. Since the H520 body will never peal, and the wrap installation is tedious and time consuming, I thought the new body was a far better choice.

 

[TyphoonPete]

I was eying the orange wrap too, until I realized a new H520 body from Vertigo Drones is about $10 bucks cheaper than the stick-on wrap from Germany. Since the H520 body will never peal, and the wrap installation is tedious and time consuming, I thought the new body was a far better choice.

Hi DCH.
Can you confirm that the H520 upper and lower body shells will fit onto the 480 pro chassis without any alterations.
i see in a video on ootoob that the upper shell comes off easy enough, what about the lower??
Any info much appreciated
Cheers
Pete
PS...Olympic peninsula...Washington or Oregon State????
Beautiful area apart from the wildfires and occasional volcano eruption.....!!!

 

[DCH]

Can you confirm that the H520 upper and lower body shells will fit onto the 480 pro chassis without any alterations.
i see in a video on ootoob that the upper shell comes off easy enough, what about the lower??

It will be a few days before I get the H520 body to verify the fit. However after close examination of the H480 and the H Plus, the shells seem to be identical in every way on the outside. Based on that, and the assumption that the H520 and H Plus share the shell layout, I feel confident the 520 shell will fit the Plus.

However, this assumption may not apply to the H480, there is one possible caveat for fitting the H520 shell (or an H Plus) shell on an H480. I have not had the Plus cover off yet, so I do not know if the H520 and H Plus mount the GPS board to the top cover like the H480 does (verification please). If not, I am guessing that there would be no screw post in the 520/Plus top cover to mount the 480 GPS board. This could be a problem if my guess is correct. Need someone with an H520/Plus to chime in on the GPS location.

The lower shell is more involved than the upper. You will need to remove the landing gear, the gimbal mount, and RealSense module/LED Lamp Shade whichever you have. None of this is difficult or complicated, just a little more time is all that is needed.

I will follow up as soon as I have the parts in hand.

 

[DCH]

an you confirm that the H520 upper and lower body shells will fit onto the 480 pro chassis without any alterations.

Yes I can confirm the H520 body shell fits the H480, top and bottom. They are identical in every way but color. The H520 shell even has the GPS board mounting posts, so it is a straight forward swap.

 

[TyphoonPete]

Thanks DCH,
Found that info from Vertigo (NY State) and ordered an upper and lower.
Was advised that installation is a snap.
Got email this morning advising shipped.
Hopefully will arrive before Christmas but not holding any real expectations. Probably New Year!!!
Stuff I ordered from SC (LED's etc) did the roundabout across the US (USPS ...SC to Atlanta to Miami to ???) and I THINK the package has left the US, so may arrive this coming week.
Let me know how the instal goes.
I know the top comes off with 10 screws but not so sure about the lower.
I think I saw a vid on utube about dismantling the bird .
I'll have to try and find it again.
Cheers and Seasonal Greetings to all.
Pete

 

[Peggy]

My version of night identification for the H520

Skip to 1:32 for in flight video

 

[DCH]

My version of night identification for the H520

I just love how the orange of the H520 pops out, no mater what the background. I am so tired of the adrenaline rush every time I need to glance down at the controller then look up and it's gone! The sky is my background less than half of the time, much of my flying is done with trees or hills as my backdrop, so I am really looking forward to getting this shell on my Plus.

Now all I need so some of those LEDs! Are these the same ones @Chefinthesky uses?

 

[Peggy]

I just love how the orange of the H520 pops out, no mater what the background. I am so tired of the adrenaline rush every time I need to glance down at the controller then look up and it's gone! The sky is my background less than half of the time, much of my flying is done with trees or hills as my backdrop, so I am really looking forward to getting this shell on my Plus.

Now all I need so some of those LEDs! Are these the same ones @Chefinthesky uses?

They do look the same yes. Bicycle 4 flash led from eBay, also built in battery usb charge. Uk price £2.39 each

 

[Chefinthesky]

Working on making all of my drones more visible without adding too much additional weight, etc. I added 3M hi-vis reflective blue tape and now I'm treating the props with a product I found that comes out of Finland - Permanent - it was created to prevent deadly encounters between huge reindeer and cars. Pretty interesting product, basically highly reflective spray solvent but it has some pretty unique properties. It doesn't react too much to direct lighting, but in flashes, strobes, headlights, camera flashes etc. It is crazy bright. I used a 3M masking tape and a thin layer on the tips of my props. I didn't want to apply a thick heavy layer for risk of an imbalance and it doesn't take much at all anyway. I made wider stripes on the tips at the front and double stripes at the middle and back props so I will always know the orientation if I am every flying after dark and lose signal, etc. etc. It also increase LOS a bit with the add-on LED strobes I use. Every time the strobes blink the props light up like mad from below and it increases the visibility from above. I love cheap upgrades.

 

[TyphoonPete]

I just love how the orange of the H520 pops out, no mater what the background. I am so tired of the adrenaline rush every time I need to glance down at the controller then look up and it's gone! The sky is my background less than half of the time, much of my flying is done with trees or hills as my backdrop, so I am really looking forward to getting this shell on my Plus.

Now all I need so some of those LEDs! Are these the same ones @Chefinthesky uses?

Hi DCH,
I have just received and fitted the H520 body shells to my H.
Did you have any problems after install?
I can't get my landing gear to cycle.
I don't know if that's a bird positioning problem or if I have done something wrong!!
I turned it on and held it up and tried to cycle the gear to no effect.
Then I tried to hover and the bird went crazy, like tried to launch skyward at max velocity and then spun out of control.
Luckily it was under the roof line of my patio and shattered one blade and bruised a couple of others while trying to escape.
Do I need to recalibrate the compass/GPS after disconnecting from the bird???
What set of circumstances need to be in play for the gear to cycle??

ANY info much appreciated from yourself or any one else
Cheers
Pete

 

[pixelzombie]

I need to do this with some reflective tape as I hear it will minimize a strike for predator birds.

 

[DCH]

Hi DCH,
I have just received and fitted the H520 body shells to my H.
Did you have any problems after install?
I can't get my landing gear to cycle.
I don't know if that's a bird positioning problem or if I have done something wrong!!
I turned it on and held it up and tried to cycle the gear to no effect.
Then I tried to hover and the bird went crazy, like tried to launch skyward at max velocity and then spun out of control.
Luckily it was under the roof line of my patio and shattered one blade and bruised a couple of others while trying to escape.
Do I need to recalibrate the compass/GPS after disconnecting from the bird???
What set of circumstances need to be in play for the gear to cycle??

ANY info much appreciated from yourself or any one else.
Cheers
Pete

Sorry you're havin trouble mate, that is very unfortunate. I'm not sure how changing the shell could give you all those symptoms, unless you accidentally disturbed something. Forgive the dumb question but did you install the new copper shield in the lid (or is it called bonnet down unda?)?

I would calibrate the compass/GPS anytime I disconnected it just to be sure. Try that before you do anything anything else. Otherwise you might need to go back in there an check your work and look for any gremlins or wombats hiding in the shadows.

Actuating the landing gear is a little different depending on whether you have an H 480, or an H Plus
If you have an H480, power on the ST16 wait for boot-up, power up the H480 and as soon as the RC link is connected, invert the craft and actuate the landing gear switch to retract or extend.
If you have a Plus see this post for the procedure:

H Plus Beta Testers Needed!

 

[TyphoonPete]

Sorry you're havin trouble mate, that is very unfortunate. I'm not sure how changing the shell could give you all those symptoms, unless you accidentally disturbed something. Forgive the dumb question but did you install the new copper shield in the lid (or is it called bonnet down unda?)?

I would calibrate the compass/GPS anytime I disconnected it just to be sure. Try that before you do anything anything else. Otherwise you might need to go back in there an check your work and look for any gremlins or wombats hiding in the shadows.

Actuating the landing gear is a little different depending on whether you have an H 480, or an H Plus
If you have an H480, power on the ST16 wait for boot-up, power up the H480 and as soon as the RC link is connected, invert the craft and actuate the landing gear switch to retract or extend.
If you have a Plus see this post for the procedure:

H Plus Beta Testers Needed!

Thanx for that.
Inverting the bird resolved the landing gear "problem".
I had a full purple light (with difficulty) when I was attempting to launch to hover in the yard. Not enough sats due to being a somewhat enclosed space.
I fear I may have lost GPS lock immediately after take off.
I think that would have caused the crazy antics, although why it would have gone to full throttle I don't know!!
All I could do was kill the motors as I had no control over anything at all. It was trying to drill a hole thru the ceiling of the patio and then rolled and buried itself in a wire mesh fence which destroyed the blades
All seems to be good with the bird .
Is the "copper shield" you refer to the black stick on cutout...if so...yes I did..although mine did not come with a square cutout foam piece to go over the chip (top center on the motherboard)...would that have any effect??
I just have ordered a new batch of props
As temps are expected to be in high 30's for the next few days to low 40's celsius later next week, plus I'm not keen on the look of the other 4 props (minor chipping and scrapes) I won't be attempting to fly anytime soon until the new batch arrives.
Cheers and thanks again
Pete

 

[TyphoonPete]

Sorry, my bad.
These were supposed to attach to the previous, but created their own post!!???

 

[DCH]

I love cheap upgrades.

WoW! Just exactly what a chef needs! You could slice six sausages paper thin simultaneously with that setup! Or six fingers, whichever that super slicer hits first!