Bob's Random Thoughts: My New Hobby: Drones

My First Drone

A little over a month ago, I bought my first drone. It was a fairly inexpensive one, and as such did not have all of the "bells and whistles" that I would have liked.

5/26/2025

My Second Drone

While the first drone got me "hooked", it was missing a lot of features that I was looking for and that would be easier to maneuver. With the help of a friend, I made the decision to purchase the DJI Flip drone.

6/7/2025

B & O Trail Construction

Ever since we bought the house in 1996, there has been talk of extending the B & O Trail through Marion County. Finally, they started working on it behind our house earlier this year. Right now, it is just gravel, but once they get the major project done at Country Club Road, then they will pave it as the rest of it is to the west of us.

6/10/2025

Return To Home (RTH) Failure

First note that the "failure" was not the fault of the drone. It was completely mine. Even though I had watched several videos and realized that the settings for the low battery, signal loss and RTH features were important and could need to be changed according to the circumstances. I remember thinking to myself that I should remember to do this when I go back through the B & O Trail behind my house as the area has a lot of trees. I forgot to make any such adjustments and even "froze" and didn't do any cancelation steps. The result is the video below.

6/10/2025

Damaging Crash

Again, this crash was not the fault of the drone. I had not taken into account that I had the camera zoomed in and misjudged the actual location of the drone, thinking that I had a clearance above which I didn't have. The result was a crash that dislodged the camera gimbal and damaged the battery. I was able to "reattach" the camera, but the battery would end up unusable.

6/20/2025

My Drone Needs Fixed

While my DJI Flip was "somewhat" usable after the crash, it really needs to be sent off for repairs and/or replacement, especially the battery.

Due to what they called "current inventory and supply shortage of specific models or parts", they recommended holding off sending back the drone for repairs at this time.

If you go to the DJI Store from the U.S., you will find that all of their drones (and accessories for those drones) are out of stock. DJI has stopped selling its drones here.

Some have suggested that this is because of the tariffs with China. But there has been a "battle" between the U.S. and DJI for years.

No estimation of when the repairs and/or replacement will be available. I'm still flying my DJI Flip, although the positioning of the camera doesn't appear quite right.

B & O Trail Construction - Progress Update

This is a progress update of a construction section behind our house of the B & O Trail

7/3/2025

B & O Trail Construction - Progress Update

This is a progress update of a construction of the B & O Trail between Ringed Neck Drive and Country Club Road.

7/12/2025

My Third Drone

I began looking for a drone that would provide 360° Obstacle Avoidance. Unfortunately, DJI was not going to be an option any time in the near future, so I began looking at U.S. based solutions. I came across a company named Drone-Clone Xperts, Inc. and ordered the Limitless 5 drone from them. I received the new drone two days later. I put together a comparison between the Limitless 5 and the DJI Flip:

The new drone is larger and heavier than the DJI Flip and has 360° Obstacle Avoidance, built-in FAA compliance features for registration and night flying, and capable of handling Level 7 winds.

7/17/2025

B & O Trail Construction - Progress Update

This is a progress update of a construction of the B & O Trail between Ringed Neck Drive and Country Club Road. (DJI Flip drone)

7/18/2025

First Real Flight - Limitless 5

This is my first "full" flight with the Limitless 5 Drone to capture the sunset. The video was taken at approximately 390 feet. At one point in the video, I tried to use the zoom feature from the software on the phone and the screen froze. The drone continued to operate and closing the app and restarting resumed the display.

7/18/2025