WEBVTT 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 00:00:05.680 --> 00:00:11.840 does with their unmanned aircraft, but if simply flying things around for the 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 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:22.320 consumer drone, a product category that has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:24.080 recently. But what exactly is a drone? 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:29.920 How exactly do drones work? And what do you need to know before taking off? 00:00:27.680 --> 00:00:33.600 We'll start by fixing your terminology. Although the words are often used 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:38.399 interchangeably, most of the drones that you see on the market are actually just 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:42.559 quadcopters. And as that name suggests, that means that they have four spinning 00:00:40.160 --> 00:00:47.760 rotors arranged in a square or diamond pattern. Now, quadcopters work by 00:00:45.040 --> 00:00:51.360 varying how fast each individual rotor is spinning. So, if all the blades are 00:00:49.440 --> 00:00:55.760 spinning at the same speed, then it'll either go straight up or down or just 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 00:00:57.120 --> 00:01:04.720 onboard controller to rotate faster than others, it can cause the drone or quad 00:01:02.480 --> 00:01:10.159 to dive, bank, strafe, or even do stunts, like flips. But while most 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:14.000 drones function fairly similarly due to the actual physics of the usual 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:19.920 four-rotor arrangement, they certainly aren't all created equal. And you can 00:01:16.479 --> 00:01:23.360 get anything from tiny low-powered quads 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:25.439 for beginners for under $50 to heavyduty 00:01:23.360 --> 00:01:30.000 drones with powerful batteries and crystal clearar cameras that will run 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:34.000 you over $1,000 and could probably take over Luxembourg if you had enough of 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. 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:42.000 How do you shop for a drone? What exactly should you be looking for? That 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:45.920 all depends on what capabilities you require, your flying and technical 00:01:43.759 --> 00:01:50.479 skills, and of course, your budget. There are plenty of readyto-fly or RTF 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:54.479 drones that come fully assembled and include a handheld remote transmitter. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:59.119 Just charge up the battery and you're pretty much ready to rock. Cheaper 00:01:56.320 --> 00:02:02.560 models will typically not fly as long on a single charge thanks to their low 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:07.840 capacity batteries, with some lasting as little as 5 minutes or so, and usually 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:12.560 feature very lowquality cameras, if they have one at all. As you go up the price 00:02:10.160 --> 00:02:16.879 ladder, you'll find drones that can fly around half an hour on just a single 00:02:14.640 --> 00:02:21.440 charge with cameras that can capture greatl looking stabilized HD video. 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:25.360 Other features might include longer range, the ability to mount your own 00:02:23.440 --> 00:02:30.480 camera, with GoPros being a popular choice, but some even accepting popular 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:35.680 DSLR cameras, the ability to live stream video directly to a smartphone or tablet 00:02:32.640 --> 00:02:37.280 for firsterson control, or even the 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:42.080 ability to use the aforementioned tablet or other device to control the drone's 00:02:39.440 --> 00:02:45.760 flight. But pre-builts aren't for everyone. And if you're a tinkerer, the 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:49.120 drone hobbyist community might be what you are after. There are a number of 00:02:47.519 --> 00:02:53.680 build-it-yourself drone kits available in many different price ranges, as well 00:02:51.519 --> 00:02:58.160 as individual parts that you can buy, such as high-capacity batteries, 00:02:56.080 --> 00:03:04.800 advanced remote transmitters, and even autopilots that turn a quadcopter into 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:06.640 an actual bonafide self-piloting drone. 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:09.840 Also, as you become more and more experienced, you may even want to try 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:13.760 out different flight controllers. These are the PCBs that control the rotors, 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:18.480 kind of like a drone's motherboard, that respond differently to control inputs. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:22.879 um with some sort of more specialized for smooth flying and thus capturing 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:26.239 prettier videos, while others might be a bit more challenging to fly, but will 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:30.319 allow you to pull off much more impressive maneuvers. So, if you're 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:34.239 interested in going the DIY route, there's a lot of information available 00:03:31.920 --> 00:03:38.480 on selecting parts for your particular skill level and needs. But before you 00:03:36.799 --> 00:03:42.720 jump into it, remember that just like anything else that's fun, there are some 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:46.400 rules you have to follow. Both the American and Canadian governments have 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:50.239 outlined regulations for flying drones for fun as they are technically 00:03:48.480 --> 00:03:53.280 aircraft. These include, but are not limited to, not flying too close to 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:57.599 airports, getting the proper certifications if your drone is over a 00:03:55.599 --> 00:04:00.799 certain weight or size limit or if you're flying for commercial gain, 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:05.280 keeping your drone within sight, not flying near an actual plane for what we 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:09.120 hope are obvious reasons. And this should go without saying, not using your 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:14.959 drone to spy on your attractive neighbor or to harass that troll who told you to 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:17.199 fight me IRL. Besides, if drone owners 00:04:14.959 --> 00:04:20.560 start misbehaving too much, how will the drone industry ever get to the point 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:26.320 where we get things like quadcopter pizza delivery? Would be 00:04:22.919 --> 00:04:29.199 awesome. Drone pizza. Speaking of drone 00:04:26.320 --> 00:04:33.520 pizza, linda.com. linda.com is one of our favorite partners around here 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:36.880 because they're like freaking awesome. You learn stuff online and that's like 00:04:35.440 --> 00:04:40.479 great. In fact, there are people here at Linus Media Group who learned things 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 00:04:41.919 --> 00:04:46.960 around the world who are also cool and interesting people. Although, you know, 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:50.560 Lance Media Group employees are like the best, you know, stuff. 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