1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:07,919 I mean, sure, you might not get to blow things up in RL like the US military 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:11,840 does with their unmanned aircraft, but if simply flying things around for the 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:16,160 fun of it sounds good to you, you may just want to look into picking up a 4 00:00:13,519 --> 00:00:22,320 consumer drone, a product category that has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity 5 00:00:19,199 --> 00:00:24,080 recently. But what exactly is a drone? 6 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:29,920 How exactly do drones work? And what do you need to know before taking off? 7 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:33,600 We'll start by fixing your terminology. Although the words are often used 8 00:00:31,519 --> 00:00:38,399 interchangeably, most of the drones that you see on the market are actually just 9 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:42,559 quadcopters. And as that name suggests, that means that they have four spinning 10 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:47,760 rotors arranged in a square or diamond pattern. Now, quadcopters work by 11 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:51,360 varying how fast each individual rotor is spinning. So, if all the blades are 12 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:55,760 spinning at the same speed, then it'll either go straight up or down or just 13 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:59,520 hang in the air in one spot. But when some of the blades are told by an 14 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:04,720 onboard controller to rotate faster than others, it can cause the drone or quad 15 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:10,159 to dive, bank, strafe, or even do stunts, like flips. But while most 16 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:14,000 drones function fairly similarly due to the actual physics of the usual 17 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:19,920 four-rotor arrangement, they certainly aren't all created equal. And you can 18 00:01:16,479 --> 00:01:23,360 get anything from tiny low-powered quads 19 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:25,439 for beginners for under $50 to heavyduty 20 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:30,000 drones with powerful batteries and crystal clearar cameras that will run 21 00:01:27,439 --> 00:01:34,000 you over $1,000 and could probably take over Luxembourg if you had enough of 22 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:37,840 them. But let's say that that's not your goal. Or I mean, who knows, maybe it is. 23 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:42,000 How do you shop for a drone? What exactly should you be looking for? That 24 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:45,920 all depends on what capabilities you require, your flying and technical 25 00:01:43,759 --> 00:01:50,479 skills, and of course, your budget. There are plenty of readyto-fly or RTF 26 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:54,479 drones that come fully assembled and include a handheld remote transmitter. 27 00:01:52,799 --> 00:01:59,119 Just charge up the battery and you're pretty much ready to rock. Cheaper 28 00:01:56,320 --> 00:02:02,560 models will typically not fly as long on a single charge thanks to their low 29 00:02:00,719 --> 00:02:07,840 capacity batteries, with some lasting as little as 5 minutes or so, and usually 30 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:12,560 feature very lowquality cameras, if they have one at all. As you go up the price 31 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:16,879 ladder, you'll find drones that can fly around half an hour on just a single 32 00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:21,440 charge with cameras that can capture greatl looking stabilized HD video. 33 00:02:19,599 --> 00:02:25,360 Other features might include longer range, the ability to mount your own 34 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:30,480 camera, with GoPros being a popular choice, but some even accepting popular 35 00:02:27,599 --> 00:02:35,680 DSLR cameras, the ability to live stream video directly to a smartphone or tablet 36 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:37,280 for firsterson control, or even the 37 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:42,080 ability to use the aforementioned tablet or other device to control the drone's 38 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:45,760 flight. But pre-builts aren't for everyone. And if you're a tinkerer, the 39 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:49,120 drone hobbyist community might be what you are after. There are a number of 40 00:02:47,519 --> 00:02:53,680 build-it-yourself drone kits available in many different price ranges, as well 41 00:02:51,519 --> 00:02:58,160 as individual parts that you can buy, such as high-capacity batteries, 42 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:04,800 advanced remote transmitters, and even autopilots that turn a quadcopter into 43 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:06,640 an actual bonafide self-piloting drone. 44 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:09,840 Also, as you become more and more experienced, you may even want to try 45 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:13,760 out different flight controllers. These are the PCBs that control the rotors, 46 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:18,480 kind of like a drone's motherboard, that respond differently to control inputs. 47 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:22,879 um with some sort of more specialized for smooth flying and thus capturing 48 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:26,239 prettier videos, while others might be a bit more challenging to fly, but will 49 00:03:24,879 --> 00:03:30,319 allow you to pull off much more impressive maneuvers. So, if you're 50 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:34,239 interested in going the DIY route, there's a lot of information available 51 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:38,480 on selecting parts for your particular skill level and needs. But before you 52 00:03:36,799 --> 00:03:42,720 jump into it, remember that just like anything else that's fun, there are some 53 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:46,400 rules you have to follow. Both the American and Canadian governments have 54 00:03:44,319 --> 00:03:50,239 outlined regulations for flying drones for fun as they are technically 55 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:53,280 aircraft. These include, but are not limited to, not flying too close to 56 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:57,599 airports, getting the proper certifications if your drone is over a 57 00:03:55,599 --> 00:04:00,799 certain weight or size limit or if you're flying for commercial gain, 58 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:05,280 keeping your drone within sight, not flying near an actual plane for what we 59 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:09,120 hope are obvious reasons. And this should go without saying, not using your 60 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:14,959 drone to spy on your attractive neighbor or to harass that troll who told you to 61 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:17,199 fight me IRL. Besides, if drone owners 62 00:04:14,959 --> 00:04:20,560 start misbehaving too much, how will the drone industry ever get to the point 63 00:04:18,639 --> 00:04:26,320 where we get things like quadcopter pizza delivery? Would be 64 00:04:22,919 --> 00:04:29,199 awesome. Drone pizza. Speaking of drone 65 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:33,520 pizza, linda.com. linda.com is one of our favorite partners around here 66 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:36,880 because they're like freaking awesome. You learn stuff online and that's like 67 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:40,479 great. In fact, there are people here at Linus Media Group who learned things 68 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:44,160 that they use in their jobs on linda.com and it's used by millions of people 69 00:04:41,919 --> 00:04:46,960 around the world who are also cool and interesting people. Although, you know, 70 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:50,560 Lance Media Group employees are like the best, you know, stuff. 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