I need some advice or guidance in choosing a drone setup to help me locate deer fawns in my hayfields before I harvest them. Much as I try to haze them out, I almost inevitably hit and kill at least one per season, often more. I've seen where people use drones to locate the fawns and mark their locations right before starting to harvest or even putting a sort of box around them. I think I need an thermal camera to locate them in the tall grass. So my questions are: what drones would be suitable for this task and are there drones that I could purchase w/o a thermal camera to see if I can find the fawns w/o thermal imaging but have the option to easily add later? Thanks.
I need guidance from the experts on drone choice
- Thread starter Redhorse
- Start date
There are many companies that make drones with thermal cameras. My first bit of advice is before buying any drone, make sure they have good customer service reviews and a good warranty/service program. Shipping a drone back to China is expensive and there are many potential pitfalls. I would make sure warranty service or repair service was available in the US. DJI is a rock solid drone company. They almost have a monopoly in the consumer drone market because of good customer service, good warranty and good products. The negative side of that is that DJI is expensive. Autel is another good company but even more expensive. Anzu Robotics has a DJI Mavic clone and Anzu is an American company. It will cost around $4000. Teledyne/Flr makes the Siras thermal drone. Flir is the leader in the thermal market having been one of the first thermal camera companies. Flir products are used throughout most industries in the US. You could contact a company like RC Wing. Tell them what you need and they will build, tune and test a custom drone before shipping it to you. I've purchased things from RC Wing with good results. Do your research for sure.
Also, I wouldn't waste time using a visible light camera. Fawns are well camouflaged in a hay field. You will most likely miss one or more. I speak from experience. I used my drone a couple times before hunting. I would walk through an area I thoroughly searched with the drone only for a fawn to scare the crap out of me when it bolted just a few feet away from me. I doubt you will get the functionality you need only using a visible light camera. Nearly all drones with thermal cameras also have visible light cameras as well.
Thanks for that response. I thought I saw an Autel thermal unit (640T?) for right at $4K. Lower than the DJI Mavik 3T (?). I'm unclear about some of the other properties of these units - like GPS for the return to home function.
Would you consider Anzu or FLIR to be companies with good customer service etc that you mentioned as being important?
I found the Autel thermal to be more affordable but more recent posts regarding the company make it sound like they've taken a real nose dive in quality and service. Have you heard anything about them lately? New CEO etc.
I don't know much about Anzu. The company seems to be the result of a pending DJI ban. One thing to consider is that now that Republicans are in charge, the chances of a DJI and Autel ban are much more likely. That said Brinc and Teledyne/Flir are American companies. So no concerns about issues a ban could cause. I don't know anything about Brinc either, but I am familiar with Flir. Flir is probably one of the oldest infrared camera companies in the world. I have used Flir products for years in industrial engineering. Flir has always had good customer support and service. However, neither Brinc or Teledyne/Flir are inexpensive. I may have had the price thing backwards on Anzu and DJI. Anzu drones are essential DJI drones as far as the hardware is concerned. Anzu has the electronics and some if not all assembly performed in Malaysia. Anzu claims the software is all American and secure. I'm not sure about Blue UAS certification. Recently proposed anti Chinese drone legislation has included Anzu and some versions included virtually all Chinese manufactured drones. DJI is, hands down, the most reliable brand with the best warranty and repair service. I'm afraid this post may create more questions than answers but I hope I've helped.
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I have considered Autel drones in the past but never owned one. I'm afraid I can't be much help there. I no longer buy commercial drones. I've started building my own large multirotor drones. There is an almost infinite variety of components to build any type drone you can think of. Basic technical knowledge and ability are all that's required. Lot's of research but I really enjoy it as a hobby.
