About

Gender

Male


Location

Hamilton, Ontario


About Me:

My interest is in aerial or elevated photography, and imaging (MW, infra-red and UV). I am project, mission, fund-raising and team-building oriented. I have neither the skills nor the interest do delve into the guts of UAV technology, or even imaging for that matter. I am an almost-RTF end-user. However, I relish the opportunity to provide feed-back and work with people who do have the technical and programming skills needed to develop UAV appliances & applications. -peter


Please tell us a bit about your UAV interest

Using quadricopters to obtain elevated video and still imagery for a wide variety of community projects. Interested in methods that extend the range and reliability of the Parrot AR Drone 2.0, and the iPAD and Android-based tablets, for flight control and video; either by boosting the native Wifi radio interface without frying the Parrot or the Android tablets on-board circuitry, or hacking the Parrot's Wifi hardware so it will operate as 4G-LTE mode, and be compatible with the iPAD or Android-based tablets native 4G-LTE. I realize that the DIY Drone community considers the Parrot AR Drone 2.0 a toy. The current AR Drone 2.0/tablet control platform lacks the more robust systems, mechanics and radio interface that you would find in a true, hobby-grade quadcopter. Soon to switch from the AR Drone to the DJI Phantom, and seriously considering the Gaui 500x. -------------------------------------------------------------- Also, just starting to explore the use of High Altitude Balloons and lifting-body type payload-gliders as a more efficient and productive way to obtain near-space video and scientific measurements, and then "glide" the payload back to the launch area. -peter


Hometown:

Hamilton, Ontario CANADA


Activity Feed

Hamilton From Above replied to Patrick Poirier's discussion Is it legal to use a cellular modem 3G-4G LTE in a UAV in Canada ? in Canada
"Legal Aspects Aside ....for the moment.

The idea of using the 3G/4G network for UAV control and FPV flight monitoring has been an exciting prospect for drone teams since I started in 2008.

Then and now, there is a shortcoming in the 3G/4G/LTE…"
Feb 9, 2016
Hamilton From Above replied to Hugh Hemington's discussion QGroundControl with AR Drone 2.0 (w/Flight Recorder)?
"I hope you are right. I would like to eventually be able to get some proper use out of my $150 Parrot Flight Recorder and GPS waypoint guidance system."
Jul 20, 2014
Hamilton From Above replied to Hugh Hemington's discussion QGroundControl with AR Drone 2.0 (w/Flight Recorder)?
"Given that Parrot is charging $150 for its GPS "Flight Recorder," I would expect Parrot to provide better firmware and software support for this unit, at some point. After all, it is a common industry practice to ship hardware with no software, or,…"
Jul 19, 2014
Hamilton From Above replied to Hugh Hemington's discussion QGroundControl with AR Drone 2.0 (w/Flight Recorder)?
"I don't think jury-rigging the AR Drone 2.0 for extra flight range is worthwhile anymore because Parrot has already announced a 1-2 kilometre-range FPV solution for the Bebop (aka AR Drone 3.0) for later in 2014. And I agree; flying the AR Drone…"
Jul 19, 2014
Hamilton From Above replied to Hugh Hemington's discussion QGroundControl with AR Drone 2.0 (w/Flight Recorder)?
"I bought the Parrot Flight recorder for the AR Drone 2.0, and I now realize that the software support for this product "is not ready for prime time;" even a year after it was released. With the Parrot "BeBop" 3.0 Drone coming on to the market later…"
Jul 18, 2014
Hamilton From Above commented on Chris Anderson's blog post FAQ: Confusing terms explained
""Fly-By-Wire" is an archaic, aviation term from the 1980's.
But, it is still useful in describing the difference between
the direct control of a conventional, RC aircraft and a
RC aircraft that is computer-controlled, with direction
from a pilot.…"
May 20, 2014
Hamilton From Above replied to Scotty's discussion Aluminum struts in place of carbon fiber
"GREAT "how-to" video, Scotty. I am particularly interested
in how you separated the carbon fiber tube from the stock,
motor-mount landing legs. One of my landing legs broke
when the AR Drone "landed" in a tree. It needs to be replaced.

Can you buy…"
May 20, 2014
Hamilton From Above replied to Scotty's discussion Aluminum struts in place of carbon fiber
"Nice indoor workshop seen in your video, Scotty. More windows and natural light would make it PERFECT. Another advantage of aluminum struts is that they can act as a "heat sink" for the motors ...IF Parrot re-designs the assembly so the aluminum…"
Apr 23, 2014
Hamilton From Above posted a discussion
Everyone is familiar with smartphones and other smart devices. We need to create a vision, or industry standard, for high-performancebattery technologies, like Lithium Polymer, that includes a thin-film chip-setthat fully and automatically manages…
Jan 3, 2014
Hamilton From Above replied to Rick D's discussion parrot ar drone 2.0 mod (autonomous drone with live OSD)
"Hi Rick,The easiest way to get started is with the Parrot AR Drone 2.0 with almost any 1500 mAh
battery that will fit. Try it before you fly it. Having said that, the DJI Phantom (family of products)
is the best way to get started...more and bigger…"
Dec 29, 2013
Hamilton From Above replied to Tim Adams's discussion Multi-view AR.Drone 2.0?
"I looked into the same idea almost two years ago. I wanted to fly the AR Drone inside a hockey area and have the mobile truck feed the video from the drone tothe video scoreboard in the arena. Parrot said the WiFi video is fed directly fromthe drone…"
Dec 16, 2013
Hamilton From Above replied to Andrew Chapman's discussion Thermal cameras in Canada? in Canada
"FLIR in Burlington, Ontario is a good place to start. They are high-end, but,for some reason, their cameras have really low resolutions. They are very well known.They are accustomed to dealing with commercial and government interests, and are…"
Sep 24, 2013
Hamilton From Above replied to Hamilton From Above's discussion Apple or Android: which platform, tablet and "hacks" works best with the Parrot AR Drone 2.0?
"Spektrum and Futuba, where are you?It's only a matter of time before radio control unit manufactures, like Spektrum and Futuba, et al., begin to incorporate FPV screens, and video control uplinks, and video steaming and telemetry downlinksinto some…"
Jun 26, 2013
Hamilton From Above left a comment for Blake Aly
"What's your area of interest?"
Jun 22, 2013
Hamilton From Above replied to Ali Mazi's discussion Hooking up APM on a Drone 2.0 and PUMPING it with mods
"I'm in the same "boat" as you are, Ali. I bought two Parrot AR Drone 2.0's. The WiFi radio interface of theAR Drone 2.0 is just too dam flaky for reliable, safe flying and aerial photography work: limited range, intermittent loss of signal, etc.I'm…"
May 7, 2013
Hamilton From Above replied to Ian's discussion downlinks in Canada
"Hi Ian,Some builders record video onto a on-board SD or micro-SD, or USB drive. For FPV, my AR Drone creates an ad hoc WiFi down link for video and telemetry.
The Ardurio-based drones use some implementation of 2.4 ghz....but, there isa growing use…"
Mar 3, 2013
More…