
The underground world of drone racing in Australia - jwblackwell
http://mashable.com/2015/06/11/drone-racing-australia/
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zobzu
For i do quad races its not underground and you dont need much except spare
money to get started. Theres no programming soldering or what not involved if
you buy a ready to fly mini quad for 500 usd.

Learning to fly takes a bit of time and there will be broken propellers but i
know good racers that learned to fly very well in 2 month, flying on weekends.

Lets not make it sound like this elite, hard, highly skilled, contact us first
because you suck kind of stuff. Its not like that. Its fun and no more
difficult than video games - except you dont get instant respawn... Most of
the time.

We fly up to 16 here.

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suvelx
I suspect the 'underground' nature is down to the radio spectrum they can use,
vs the spectrum they do use.

    
    
      "The technology allows for eight people to be in the air at the one time racing against each other, however the Australian laws limit frequencies we can use only really allowing four people to be in the air at once."
    
    

That said, I suspect given the Tx power, I suspect nobody _really_ gives a
shit.

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bliti
The commonly used legal spectrum is in the 2.4 ghz. It's probably underground
due to them not participating in any sanctioned or officially regulated
events.

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bliti
We do the same thing here. Pretty fun and challenging hobby. Recommend it to
anyone who enjoys tinkering with tech. Be aware of the costs, because it's not
cheap. A good setup will run a thousand dollars.

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pacofvf
I wonder if you need a camera that stabilizes the image or it's not needed or
you simply get used to the motion. I said this because on of my projects at
University was doing this same thing but for RC cars, and ooh boy!, we can't
drive more than 10 minutes without getting dizzy.

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bliti
I've done both and have used a rubber mount for the camera. it absorbs
vibration pretty well. Though fatigue does start to kick in at the 10 minute
mark. Were you standing up by any chance? Sitting down makes way more
comfortable. First time I did it almost puked.

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SagelyGuru
Any computer controlled autonomous flyers races, yet?

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bliti
yes but it's currently not that fun. it's like watching cars on the highway.
it relies on beacons and rf for sensing the track. like watching those sumo
robot videos on youtube. fun for a short time

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JoeAltmaier
Need to add an open class, with firearms and flamethrowers and acid shooters.
That would make it fun longer.

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wumbernang
When I was at school we were supposed to build a robot that put out a candle.
Basically an LDR guided squirter.

Mine used an aerosol and a lighter until I got told off. Someone had to
relight the candles.

So that idea is right up my street :)

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bliti
those are fun and done inside a maze. which makes super cool. though the
candle is stationary. including a moving target is like playing tag as a blind
person (wi th the current affordable tech).

