Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Drone Recommendations

I have limited funds and am looking for the best for the money drone.

Suggestions from drone flyers is appreciated.

DJI makes some good ones. The question is what do you plan to do with it? The Mavik Mini series is good for a small size and low price. They're easy to fly and take good photos and video but their range and flight time is limited. I have a Mini 2. I've had it out 2 miles with a clear line of sight but it came home running on fumes. I was sweating out having it auto-land somewhere. The battery is the limiting factor on range. The little ones can't handle wind very well, either. If the wind speed up high gets too strong, it'll warn you to get it down lower. If the wind's blowing faster than it can fly, you might lose it. It'll also suck the battery dry.
Bigger ones can get out a lot farther and carry stuff but they're more expensive.

It's an FAA rule that you have to keep it within visible range. The mini's are so small that you'll lose sight of it in about 100 yards. I don't know of anyone who pays any attention to that rule. Why are people buying drones with 5 mile ranges if they have to keep it inside of 100 yards?

Radio control Drone pilots may know about this. For those who don't the FAA has a requirement that all drone pilots, weather quad, fixed wing, helo, etc register with the FAA.

The FAA is calling all UAS <unmanned aircraft> a drone. This is for any RC aircraft.

September 16 2023 is when the FAA RID device installed in any/all drones is required. RID is a remote identification device that is onboard your aircraft. Your RID must be registered with the FAA.

See the FAA link for info. https://www.faa.gov/uas/recreational_flyers

Link that discusses the RID https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?4402983-AMA-Remote-ID-Explained

I went through the FAA registration and the TRUST test to get my credentials. Registration is $5 for 3 years, ya get a FAA registration number you must display on your aircraft. TRUST test is free, ya get a printable credential with an id number.

What is the limit on the funds?

I don't fly drones but one of my sons does. He flies a DJI Matrice 30 and according to him that line offers the best sensor package: visible light camera, thermal, and laser. It maps, you can run comms through it, has good flight time and recharge times.

Depending on what you want there are options that require less funds. If you just want a visible light camera their consumer drones are fine.

I'll use it at a base elevation of 5,700 to 7,000 feet and only want something that will do some video and photos. I won't use a cell phone, just the controller. My budget is $200 ish.

Edit:

I guess cell phone and drones go together.