Another Drone Downed-This One Closer to Home

[BE Mike]

IF it was really low, hovering and spying on my wife or daughter, I think a paintball gun might be the best way to take it out within city limits. Softball, rock, or hose would be the next best options, you do not discharge a gun in the city without your life being in danger, you are asking to get arrested. Period.

However, if it was just flying around taking pictures for fun and happened to hover for a while at a higher altitude might mean the operator is trying to get his bearings, plan the next photo run, or was talking to someone for a few minutes and had his attention diverted. No reason to over react and shoot it down with a shotgun. I am willing to bet this guy is not the best or friendliest neighbor either... he sounds like he is a little off the deep end to me.

If he was using bird shot, like #8 or 7 1/2, that drone must have been pretty low. I'm not condoning his shooting it, but I can understand how riled folks can get when they think their daughter is the subject of young men spying. I think folks in general are just fed up with the lack of privacy and disrespect for their personal real property. This is just another case of the law not keeping up with the times. Also, as usual, the very small minority (in this case drone operators) are going to make it hard on the rest.

 

[BugI02]

You mean like shooting the drone owner rather than the drone?

In the linked story the 'drone shooter' said four people were going to confront him but were deterred by the fact he was armed. What could have happened had it proceeded to a four on one confrontation on that persons own property?

 

[IndyDave1776]

In the linked story the 'drone shooter' said four people were going to confront him but were deterred by the fact he was armed. What could have happened had it proceeded to a four on one confrontation on that persons own property?

I would guess a likely possibility of four good shoots with one witness standing, at least as the write-up would almost certainly read.

 

[BugI02]

Course, you all seem to be making the assumption that the drone is visible to you. I cannot confirm that the technology exists to put drones in the air that are more or less indistinguishable from your common housefly, but it would not surprise me much.

Good luck with that.

-Nate

Flyswatter. Oops sorry about your very expensive nanotech,

 

[AngryRooster]

In the linked story the 'drone shooter' said four people were going to confront him but were deterred by the fact he was armed. What could have happened had it proceeded to a four on one confrontation on that persons own property?

Those guys may have had something up their sleeve or they were real stupid. If someone just shot something of mine the very last thing I would think about doing would be going up to him (with 3 other guys or not) and getting in his face or starting a fight. "That ***hole just shot our drone down, let's go get him!" Not the best line of thought.

 

[BugI02]

holy ****....a 40mm Glock??? That's a big SOB

Bofors-Glock, its a joint project.

 

[BugI02]

Google Earth must really **** off some of this thread's contributors.

Noted. Jamil, when you get your drone it appears you can practice spying on HoughMade all you want

 

[invent11]

Anything like that comes over my property it is target practice plain and simple - unless they ask first of course which is the courteous thing to do

 

[BugI02]

Yep. I think the operators excuse was he was taking pictures of his buddies house. No one from the house the drone was low-hovering over seems to have been the 'buddy' nor has this purported nearby homeowner come forward to defend the peeping copter operator. The buddy story may have just been BS and if they aren't from the neighborhood its even creepier. Ruger1800, I'm on it, but it does not bear discussion in open forum. I want to defeat any form of autonomous homing on loss of signal in order to force a crash every time. Power is not a problem.

 

[mikebol]

If this thing was flying low enough, which it sounds like it was. A well weighted fishing pole line would have been able to take this thing down. I've seen my fishing buddies drop a bait in between two downed trees more times than I can count. Some fishing line and a drone with spinny props? No problem. That'd also get around the city ordinance about firing guns inside city limits.

Mike

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Shoot, shovel, shuddup.

"Shoot down your drone? Of course not. Are you the Axxholes my neighbors said were peeping on their daughters remotely? What're your names, anyway? ".... Exit Axxholes.

 

[Paul30]

Actually, I'm more upset about our county using GIS to photograph my house and determine what my taxes will be this year...

Satellite imagery only gets updated randomly for most noncritical places...as opposed to the guy who launches his video camera because your daughters hit the pool.

Yep, I have the app and the web site. You can see a sat pic of anyone's property, how much they paid for it, taxes, etc. etc. Tech is on the move.

eGIS by 39 DEGREES NORTH

 

[Paul30]

Where do you get that? No one's saying that. Your behavior is what determines if you're a perv or need charged.

If you're not on my property, and I see you looking at my house through binoculars, or taking pictures, I'll probably come over and politely ask why. And maybe you have a pretty good reason for it. But if you walk onto my property uninvited, with your camera or binoculars, I'll not be polite at all in inviting you to leave. So why is that any different than if you hover over my property with yer toys?

Says the guy who defends hovering over other people's property?

Then of course you'll act like it costs $6000 and be responsible with it, and respectful of other people's property. If you walk into someone's back yard uninvited with your camera and start taking pictures without permission, why would you reasonably expect the property owner's response not to include smashing your camera and emphatically, even physically, removing you and the broken remains?

If you're flying high over my property (rhetorically "you") just to get to some other destination, I have no problem with that. Of course, I'd rather you ask permission first, because, you know, IT"S NEIGHBORLY to respect others' property. But I'm not going to get upset about it.

However, if someone flies his $6000 toy over my house and hovers, especially at lower altitudes, that's like walking onto my property and invading my privacy. If you don't want peril to befall that $6000 toy, then don't do things with it that you know will **** people off. That's it. You shouldn't get to hide behind its expense and do whatever you want with it. Other people have rights too.

Strawman. I'm not going to shoot the salesman. I'm just going to ask him to leave. If he doesn't. I'll call the cops. I'll only shoot him if he presents a credible threat to my life or my family. That's a pretty well-defined scenario.

Personal drones--yes, I called it a ****ing drone and everyone knows what I mean when I say that, so why care--are a fairly new phenomenon and with the many people using them to spy on their neighbors, don't be surprised if people push for laws to ban them or severely restrict their use. I'm not saying you use yours to spy on people. But since you've put so much jack into yours, it seems you're pretty serious about it. It would be in your best interest to advocate in the "drone community" for responsible droning.

That means you admit when people behave like dickheads with them. That means you don't defend the dickheads spying on people. And there were enough witnesses to reasonably conclude that these guys were just goofing around with it spying on people. I think the guy was foolish for shooting it down like that, especially when there are ordinances against discharging a firearm. I think he should have been charged with that, and left the rest be. The dickheads should just be out the spy toy.

The more people who are "spied on", and the more people who hear about others being "spied on", well, let's say droners don't have a very good reputation with the general public. Yer gonna lose yer toy if **** don't calm down.



As I said above, I have no problem with these things, as long as people use them responsibly and behave respectfully towards other people's property, and privacy.

Honestly, I've been thinking about getting one. I'm just getting too old to climb up on my roof to inspect it periodically. I think a drone would be handy for that. Also, I have a big yard and it would be fun to play with the thing. I'd hate for the dickhead users to ruin it for everyone who doesn't give a **** what their neighbors are doing.

I understand what you are saying, and agree there are a few irresponsible people out there. I don't know this exact situation, because both sides will be biased and either might lie. I imagine when he takes the guy to court for damages if there is any video it might tell the true story. I am more into landscapes and beautiful photography / videography. If I am over someone's property, it isn't a postage stamp property in a housing area, it's most likely the back side of someone's 40 acres on my way to rural area either looking for wildlife, the leaves changing colors in the fall, early morning fog coming off a lake, etc. etc. Mine carries a full size SLR Canon or Nikon camera. My problem is bad information getting spread and people getting the idea that if they see it in the air, it's ok to shoot my private property because they might be in the picture. Some would take shots at it just for fun because the product is getting bad press, just like the infamous "assault rifle". Any footage that isn't worth keeping is getting deleted, and I am never looking for people unless I am flying along and see a car jacking, murder, tractor rolled over on someone, etc. I still am not looking for them, but realize if I happen to be a witness to something like that and can get help to them, then I will just as if I walked or rode a horse by and saw it. I would use it to find missing persons if necessary, animals that escaped and the owner was looking for them, etc. I spend a lot of time and money making sure it is a professional and reliable piece of equipment for safety sake, I just don't want someone shedding it with 30 cents worth of shotgun pellets because they think they have a right to do it. They would be great for inspecting your roof, real estate agents are using them for that now. Once you have one, you will likely find they are a lot of fun. Not everyone can afford a pilots license and the money to rent a plane, but it is super cool to do it with one of these if done responsibly.

Here is a nice one someone did. It does show a few people sunbathing on the beach, but it also shows you can barely tell they are people. This is the type I do, anything close up will likely not have a human around, they tend to take away from the majestic landscapes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j3_NBVAANY

 

[cobber]

Drones Are Interfering With Crews Fighting CA Wildfires, Officials Say | Fox News Insider

Here's why it is our duty as citizens to shoot these things down...

 

[Ricnzak]

Can you aim a laser at a drone? Might not do anything but blur the camera a quick second but is there a law about it?

I thought having a small quad might be pretty handy for chasing geese from around the pond. That could make for some fun.

 

[BugI02]

If you got a good hit with enough power it should do the cameras sensor. It would be a tough shot. Many drones down-link video at and around 2.4ghz, 1.3ghz and some 900mhz. No encryption, little error correction, jam video link with a suitable transmitter and then shoot it. No record of what happened or who made it happen


ETA: Provided you recover the SDcard

 

[BugI02]

I understand what you are saying, and agree there are a few irresponsible people out there. I don't know this exact situation, because both sides will be biased and either might lie. I imagine when he takes the guy to court for damages if there is any video it might tell the true story. I am more into landscapes and beautiful photography / videography. If I am over someone's property, it isn't a postage stamp property in a housing area, it's most likely the back side of someone's 40 acres on my way to rural area either looking for wildlife, the leaves changing colors in the fall, early morning fog coming off a lake, etc. etc. Mine carries a full size SLR Canon or Nikon camera. My problem is bad information getting spread and people getting the idea that if they see it in the air, it's ok to shoot my private property because they might be in the picture. Some would take shots at it just for fun because the product is getting bad press, just like the infamous "assault rifle". Any footage that isn't worth keeping is getting deleted, and I am never looking for people unless I am flying along and see a car jacking, murder, tractor rolled over on someone, etc. I still am not looking for them, but realize if I happen to be a witness to something like that and can get help to them, then I will just as if I walked or rode a horse by and saw it. I would use it to find missing persons if necessary, animals that escaped and the owner was looking for them, etc. I spend a lot of time and money making sure it is a professional and reliable piece of equipment for safety sake, I just don't want someone shedding it with 30 cents worth of shotgun pellets because they think they have a right to do it. They would be great for inspecting your roof, real estate agents are using them for that now. Once you have one, you will likely find they are a lot of fun. Not everyone can afford a pilots license and the money to rent a plane, but it is super cool to do it with one of these if done responsibly.

Here is a nice one someone did. It does show a few people sunbathing on the beach, but it also shows you can barely tell they are people. This is the type I do, anything close up will likely not have a human around, they tend to take away from the majestic landscapes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j3_NBVAANY

Paul, you do sound more serious than some others who have posted from your side of this disagreement, but even you have defendind the 'right' to operate your drone anytime, anywhere you see fit. Would you think that the people who actually own the proprerty around that lake that you are photographing the early morning fog coming off of should welcome their intusion of your toy upon their tranquility? We buy property like that to be able to get away from people whose company we do not choose. And speaking to your point about the 'product' getting bad press, well, again people asserting their 'right' to operate their 'hobby' anywhere, anytime, in any manner they please is bound to result in some pushback. A little study of the matter leads me to conclude current generation drones would be pitifully easy to jam and that will be the best line of attack. The operators who assert jamming is illegal will have to file their complaint with the FCC or maybe the FAA and catch me in the act. This seems apropos, as those defending the 'right' of intrusion seem to draw confidence from the few official channels one could complain about a drone operator through since as yet they have no license to be revoked. OR 'serious' operators could start giving credence to peoples desire to be left alone. In an 'arms race' between jamming and having the ability to punch through ECM, the drone operator will likely lose.

 

[Tanfodude]

This is where paintball gun or BB gun comes in.

 

[Libertarian01]

In a small attempt to add some facts to the discussion and move some clutter out of the way, it would appear that the homeowner does own the air over his property - to a point, somewhere between 80' - 500'.

Link: Photographer George Steinmetz arrest: How much airspace do you own?

So it seems to me that property owners do have some grounds to stand on for defending their airspace. However, due to city ordinances the rights of the urbanized are less than the rights of the ruralized.

Regards,

Doug

 

[Punkinhead]

I am more into landscapes and beautiful photography / videography. If I am over someone's property, it isn't a postage stamp property in a housing area, it's most likely the back side of someone's 40 acres on my way to rural area either looking for wildlife, the leaves changing colors in the fall, early morning fog coming off a lake, etc. etc.

Someone owns that rural property. They paid for it, they maintain it, and they pay taxes on it. They probably want to enjoy it in peace.