thinking about a goPro

wow those quadcoptor things are pretty expensive. the cheaper $900 ones are sold out as well, oh well...

still on the fence about the goPro but if i had one i would prolly get a head strap mount and just wear a hat as well as using a mount to connect it to the TI. 720 sounds like the easiest way to go, and with some quick burts of video instead of constant recording, plus with some simple editing software,, sorry no Mapple products here...

thanks for the tips and advice, but i'm still not sold one way or the other

Possibly a DJI Phantom. Get the new v2 with gimbal mount for <AU$1000. Drooooool...

But remember that if it goes in the water - just possibly since we're around kayaks?! - at best you'll get the gopro back (if it has the case on).

It seems possible to use a quadcopter on a Hobie Island, if you can fasten a helicopter platform on top of the mast and then have a security line from the platform to the quadcopter which reassures that the quadcopter can't go down in the water.

Of course the quadcopter can't go far from the boat if it is fastened to the mast with a five meter long line, but it could still take a lot of good pictures.

I also think you can develop the concept. Probably you can have some technique which gives the quadcopter more line as long as it is at a high level. As soon as the quadcopter sinks closer to the water the line winds in.

It just takes a good engineer. Most probably someone has already constructed something like this, which just has to be adapted to the Hobie Islands.

Most probably you can also construct a quadcopter which is floating, waterproof and endures salt water.

Got a DJI Phantom last December. Great for taking aerial footage. Stress levels do go up flying over water though.
The basic Phantom has a bracket for attaching the Gopro in the waterproof housing. However the footage will most likely be poor due to the quadcopter moving about (pitching and rolling) . The answer to that problem is to add a stabilized gimbal system to hold the camera.

I tried without a gimbal at first and I'm glad I ended up getting one. Makes a huge difference. However, the Gopro cannot be in it's waterproof housing. Weight is everything. The motors have to move the camera to stabilize it. More weight, the bigger the motors. All ends up costing flight time.

Not sure I'd want to be tying anything to the quad. Think you'd end up plucking it out of the sky or tangling it in a rotor.

Most of the quads of this size contain a flight controller of some sort. They use GPS and accelerometers to stabilize the quad during flight.

If I had to get another one I'd consider the DJI Phantom 2 with Zenmuse gimbal. I've also seen people coat the whole thing in some kind of "waterproofing" coating and crash them into the surf. While the did seem to survive I've no idea how long for...

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Cool shots CGM. TheFlyingNorthman hold one of the World Records but I'm sure there are many more up for grabs.

at the bottom of the page here......viewtopic.php?f=71&t=46705&hilit=RC&start=60

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

awesome info CGM and thanks for that link ^ ^ ^

about how much real world flying time have you been able to get out of yours on a full charge rigged up with the stabilizer and goPro?

Went from about 13 minutes down to 9 with the gimbal and Gopro. Will also depend on style of flying (aggressive or smooth) and to some extent the mode (GPS or attitude). In GPS mode the flight controller will be constantly correcting and therefore using a little more power. Wind will cause it to fight to maintain position too.

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Rusty,

The GoPro 3+ Black is an amazing little package, and I am very happy that I bought one a few months ago. Having said that, I realized immediately that I needed a small video camera with a significant zoom capability. I purchased a Canon Vixia HF R400. The Vixia is not waterproof, but I carry it in "safe" locations in my paddle jacket on camping trips. Just like going from any non-zoom camera to a zoom camera, the Vixia gets shots that I can't realistically get with a GoPro. But, the GoPro has incredible capabilities that the Vixia does not. The combo is great for me. My problem is having too many clips and too little time to properly edit them.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

What about feeding the quadrocopter via an electric line connected to a big battery or a solar panel on the boat? It could fly for hours!

If you fasten a long fishing rod in the top of the mast you could have a 20 meters long electric line and the quadrocopter could go 20 meters up in the air with little risk of falling into the water, unless the cable is too weak.

Without a fishing rod you could still take the quadrocopter 10 meters up in the sky, which could be good enough. But the flexibility of the fishing rod certainly lessens the risk for breaking the cable.

Aircraft and tethers are a certain recipe for disaster. In addition, unless the tether was shorter than the mast, it could not prevent the aircraft submerging. Instead it would increase the chances of the rotors slashing into the furled sail. RC choppers, even multicopters, can be very dangerous.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

"Aircraft and tethers are a certain recipe for disaster."

Perhaps not if you have a quadrocopter with shielded rotors. And a little flexibility in the connections.

"In addition, unless the tether was shorter than the mast, it could not prevent the aircraft submerging."

It should be shorter. That was my idea.

"Instead it would increase the chances of the rotors slashing into the furled sail. RC choppers, even multicopters, can be very dangerous."

Quadrocopters with shielded rotors are probably safe for the sails. I wouldn't buy a quadrocopter without shielded rotors.

I note that you are now reducing the length of the tether from twenty metres to five, after my post.

Do you have any experience with radio controlled helicopters? I can assure you that simply adding guards to the many propellers would not overcome the difficulties of trying to fly with a tether. This possibility has been discussed at length and dismissed on http://www.aplanding.com, a forum for RC AP, as one of the many potential ways around the ongoing FAA ban on commercial RC aerial photography.

I switched from aircraft to giant kites for this reason. (see my website at http://www.scenefromabove.com.au)

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

Even if the line only is five meter long the quadrocopter can get ten meters above the water if the line is fastened in the top of the mast. As we were talking about electricity from a battery or a solar panel I am now however rather talking about the length of the line from the boat, up to the top of the mast and then down to the boat again.

If you have a line that goes up to the top of the mast and then five meters more it can get ten meters above the water, without a risk of touching the water if it goes downwards.

If you have a line that goes to the top of a five meter long fishing rod that stands on the top of the mast it can be twenty meters long without a risk of touching the water. The quadrocopter can get ten meters higher up than the top of the fishing rod (that is, 20 meters above the water) and still not being able to touch the water if it goes downwards, unless the fishing rod bends a lot.

"This possibility has been discussed at length and dismissed on http://www.aplanding.com, a forum for RC AP, as one of the many potential ways around the ongoing FAA ban on commercial RC aerial photography."

I am sure you can't fool the authorities with this kind of arrangement, but that certainly isn't my intention or goal!

Kites are also useable, but they mainly go in the same direction as the wind and doesn't work when there is no wind.

Want to see the Adventure Island drone in action? Just ask the guys with the money, the time and the talent to burn.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9A7dCkbUMM&feature=em-uploademail[/youtube]