Welcome, Autel Pilots!
Join our free Autel drone community today!
Join Us

New EVO II Favorite Feature - Turn off ALL of the Lights

herein2021

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2021
Messages
1,250
Reaction score
1,303
Location
Florida
My newest favorite feature is the ability to turn off both the front AND rear lights on the EVO II. Its almost comical what you can get used to when you use a DJI product, like not being in full control over even the lights on the drone. Many times I wished I could turn off all of the lights on the DJI drones and it was not possible through the app. Even as early as the Phantom 2, DJI has never let you turn off the rear lights and only let you turn off the front lights because they could affect the camera in low light scenarios.

In my area there are so many arbitrary (and usually unenforceable) rules that venues have created to stop people from using drones that every additional option to be inconspicuous is helpful. Tonight was a classic example, I was doing some lowlight filming at a venue that had banned all drones. I simply made sure that I did not take off or land on their property and adhered to all Part 107 regulations as per the FAA vs the venue.

Another drone pilot in the same area was far less cautious, not only was he on their property he was using a DJI drone which of course advertised its exact location with all of the flashing lights. Needless to say, within 5min he was being escorted off the property with a warning that law enforcement would be called if he did it again; meanwhile not a single person knew the EVO II was about 150' higher up filming the content that I needed. Between the low noise props, the ability to disable all of the lights, and the overall quieter operation of the EVO II vs. the DJI drones, this just might be the stealthiest consumer drone money can buy. Of course there is the whole bright orange problem, but a simple vinyl wrap can fix that if needed.
 
Hence the legislation which will become more and more severe and restrictive in the face of the stupidity and ******** of some people.
I'm not citing anyone, but we have a fine example in front of us.

That's nothing, I have been at an event that was less than a mile from a major international airport so I didn't even take my drone to film the event.....Of course I get there and two people are flying directly over everyone's head filming the event.

Two weeks ago I was filming for a client at the top of a high rise and she asked why didn't I use a a drone to get a better view. I went to the edge of the deck and literally just pointed.....an airport was less than a block away. The client said and I quote "but my friends who live in this building fly them all the time, they keep losing them though because something keeps making them crash, one of my friends is on his 5th drone; he's a pulmonary surgeon so he has the money to just keep buying another one". I was thinking **** *** ***** is wrong with people? Even an open heart surgeon is being a complete ********* when it comes to flying his drone? My next thought was....where are all of these drones crashing into when they crash?

I now know why they were "crashing" (DJI was force landing them, who knows into what), and here's to hoping the "pulmonary surgeon" never discovers Autel or the next crash might be an airliner.
 
  • Like
Reactions: drrags
I worked for a Neurologist, he could do Fourier transforms like I can 1+ 1, he had ZERO common sense. yet it will be someone here trying to play by the rules that takes the hit

Unfortunately common sense isn't so common. Everyone playing by the rules always takes the hit when people with no common sense end up getting another law added to the books that only people who played by the rules to begin with are going to follow. Felons have more rights these days than drone pilots. They are now banned in National Parks. the State parks here in FL, many county parks, most county property, and venues now add their own random take on drone law enforcement; and of course only the people who play by the rules are impacted. There's also now an entire city in FL that bans all drones from taking off or landing on city property. No idea if it is legal or not, but I'm sure it would take thousands in legal fees to find out.

All it will take is for a drone to bring down an airliner anywhere in the world or for a drone to fall out of the sky onto a politician and the only people that would still be allowed to fly drones would be the big corporations like Google and Amazon. As much as I hate DJI's geofencing, it might be the only thing keeping the worst case scenario from happening since most people fly DJI drones.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Eagle928
My newest favorite feature is the ability to turn off both the front AND rear lights on the EVO II. Its almost comical what you can get used to when you use a DJI product, like not being in full control over even the lights on the drone. Many times I wished I could turn off all of the lights on the DJI drones and it was not possible through the app. Even as early as the Phantom 2, DJI has never let you turn off the rear lights and only let you turn off the front lights because they could affect the camera in low light scenarios.

In my area there are so many arbitrary (and usually unenforceable) rules that venues have created to stop people from using drones that every additional option to be inconspicuous is helpful. Tonight was a classic example, I was doing some lowlight filming at a venue that had banned all drones. I simply made sure that I did not take off or land on their property and adhered to all Part 107 regulations as per the FAA vs the venue.

Another drone pilot in the same area was far less cautious, not only was he on their property he was using a DJI drone which of course advertised its exact location with all of the flashing lights. Needless to say, within 5min he was being escorted off the property with a warning that law enforcement would be called if he did it again; meanwhile not a single person knew the EVO II was about 150' higher up filming the content that I needed. Between the low noise props, the ability to disable all of the lights, and the overall quieter operation of the EVO II vs. the DJI drones, this just might be the stealthiest consumer drone money can buy. Of course there is the whole bright orange problem, but a simple vinyl wrap can fix that if needed.
Sounds like if it was beyond 30 min after sunset the only thing the other operator did wrong was flying from the property w/o permission. Otoh if they were not flying recreational and without 107.29 daylight waiver, that would have been a no no. Keep in mind the new night flying regulation does not go into effect until 3/16/21 and only for those who have taken the new recurrency test and operate with strobe lights visible from 3 miles.
 
Unfortunately common sense isn't so common. Everyone playing by the rules always takes the hit when people with no common sense end up getting another law added to the books that only people who played by the rules to begin with are going to follow. Felons have more rights these days than drone pilots. They are now banned in National Parks. the State parks here in FL, many county parks, most county property, and venues now add their own random take on drone law enforcement; and of course only the people who play by the rules are impacted. There's also now an entire city in FL that bans all drones from taking off or landing on city property. No idea if it is legal or not, but I'm sure it would take thousands in legal fees to find out.

All it will take is for a drone to bring down an airliner anywhere in the world or for a drone to fall out of the sky onto a politician and the only people that would still be allowed to fly drones would be the big corporations like Google and Amazon. As much as I hate DJI's geofencing, it might be the only thing keeping the worst case scenario from happening since most people fly DJI drones.
IN FLORIDA, drones are not band in national parks/state parks, THEY ARE JUST NOT ALLOWED TO LAND OR TAKE OFF FROM THOSE AREAS. Fly over them all you want, just don't take off or land in one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gschulzuio
I turn off my evo 2 lights, and all it's sensors to save as much power as I can. Turning off all the things I can, gives me an extra 5 minutes in the air. In Low light, I fly with the 3 mile anti-collision lights, but keep the drone leds off. But, yeah, I suppose, if you really didnt want to be seen, autels decision is a little perk. I just turn everything off to save as much power as I can. Note, it is perfectly legal to fly over people's property at night, with your 3 mile anti collision lights anyway, just don't fly over people and don't take off or land on private property. Also note, I believe it is illegal to film private property without the owners permission, but who would know if your camera was on or off; it's not advertised..
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: gschulzuio
I turn off my evo 2 lights, and all it's sensors to save as much power as I can. Turning off all the things I can, gives me an extra 5 minutes in the air. In Low light, I fly with the 3 mile anti-collision lights, but keep the drone leds off. But, yeah, I suppose, if you really didnt want to be seen, autels decision is a little perk. I just turn everything off to save as much power as I can. Note, it is perfectly legal to fly over people's property at night, with your 3 mile anti collision lights anyway, just don't fly over people and don't take off or land on private property. Also note, I believe it is illegal to film private property without the owners permission, but who would know if your camera was on or off; it's not advertised..
Good point about turning Evo II lights off and leaving external anti collision lights on to save on battery. Do you also set your low battery alerts low and manually manage time left on batterys to make it safe back to landing spot to stretch things out a bit more? Also do you hover, zip around, or fly optimized routes to further stretch battery life?

Correct about not flying over people, moving vehicles, take off/landing from private property w/o permission. As to filming private property, that varies by state, county, municipality regulations. Btw, fwiw, on some DJI you can turn off your LED lights and just rely on external strobes.
 
IN FLORIDA, drones are not band in national parks/state parks, THEY ARE JUST NOT ALLOWED TO LAND OR TAKE OFF FROM THOSE AREAS. Fly over them all you want, just don't take off or land in one.
Good point, there are a hand full of national parks that have airspace restrictions (e.g. Grand Canyon comes to mind), however the others restrict takeoff/landing/crashing from/on parklands. Note that this also applies to boats that are on water within park boundaries. In addition to national parks, many state, county and some local city parks also have restrictions on where your feet are and where you takeoff/land pertaining to parks.
 
Good point about turning Evo II lights off and leaving external anti collision lights on to save on battery. Do you also set your low battery alerts low and manually manage time left on batterys to make it safe back to landing spot to stretch things out a bit more? Also do you hover, zip around, or fly optimized routes to further stretch battery life?

Correct about not flying over people, moving vehicles, take off/landing from private property w/o permission. As to filming private property, that varies by state, county, municipality regulations. Btw, fwiw, on some DJI you can turn off your LED lights and just rely on external strobes.
1st question, yes. I set my battery alerts to low and manually manage time. to make it safely back. I had more close calls using the automated software than I do under manual control. Manual control keep me more alert. 2nd question; As far as my flight patterns, I do all three depending on what I'm interested in looking at or filming. I started doing everything manually as I became more experienced. I also find that I fly safer, when not depending on all the automated functions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gschulzuio
1st question, yes. I set my battery alerts to low and manually manage time. to make it safely back. I had more close calls using the automated software than I do under manual control. Manual control keep me more alert. 2nd question; As far as my flight patterns, I do all three depending on what I'm interested in looking at or filming. I started doing everything manually as I became more experienced. I also find that I fly safer, when not depending on all the automated functions.
OH, here is a trick to get home safe. When I'm halfway to my destination, I fly backward for about 15 seconds. I compare the speeds of flying away from me and flying toward me. IF it's slower flying toward me, I give myself more time to come back. If its faster flying toward me, I can reduce the time I give myself to go home. I've gotten the timing down really well. After 1.5 yeas of flying these drones, I've learned what they are capable of and how fast their batteries will drain depending on the tail winds and head winds. The automated systems give a false sense of security. I'm diverting from this thread, KEEP TALKING ABOUT TURNING OFF ALL YOUR LIGHTS, STEALTHY ONES. May the forces be with you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gschulzuio
1st question, yes. I set my battery alerts to low and manually manage time. to make it safely back. I had more close calls using the automated software than I do under manual control. Manual control keep me more alert. 2nd question; As far as my flight patterns, I do all three depending on what I'm interested in looking at or filming. I started doing everything manually as I became more experienced. I also find that I fly safer, when not depending on all the automated functions.
Yup, concur on all points, I like to fly up wind with fresh battery, then capture what ever im doing flying down wind (or light breeze). Regarding battery, yeh with Autel when the battery gets low, a little more attention is needed vs. how the DJI's behave, so now adjust the battery warnings, monitor and be back on ground with time and battery to spare. I like using the automation to offload some of the tasks vs. rely on it, its a great companion to manually flying. Plus if you fly indoors for projects, better get used to manual flying ;)
 
IN FLORIDA, drones are not band in national parks/state parks, THEY ARE JUST NOT ALLOWED TO LAND OR TAKE OFF FROM THOSE AREAS. Fly over them all you want, just don't take off or land in one.

Yes I am aware of that loophole, but for all intents and purposes due to the range limitations of the current drones as related to actually being able to fly to somewhere interesting in those areas not to mention the VLOS FAA restriction banned is a pretty accurate term. There are a few national monuments and a few interesting landmarks that are still within reach while taking off / landing from outside of those areas but they are the exception not the rule.

Sounds like if it was beyond 30 min after sunset the only thing the other operator did wrong was flying from the property w/o permission. Otoh if they were not flying recreational and without 107.29 daylight waiver, that would have been a no no. Keep in mind the new night flying regulation does not go into effect until 3/16/21 and only for those who have taken the new recurrency test and operate with strobe lights visible from 3 miles.

I know it is splitting hairs but the regulation actually allows for up to 1hr after sunset not 30min. This is important to photographers because the last 20min of civil twilight is dark enough to be able to make the resulting footage look like it is much later at night if you do not have a daylight operations waiver.

Btw, fwiw, on some DJI you can turn off your LED lights and just rely on external strobes.

I have never flown a DJI drone that I am aware of that allowed you to turn off the rear lights, only the front lights and I have flown every DJI drone except the Matrice series starting with the P2. I did not check the app each time it synched to a new drone but unless I am mistaken none of them, not even the Inspire 2 lets you turn off the rear lights; that's why I like this feature of the EVO II so much.

Yup, concur on all points, I like to fly up wind with fresh battery, then capture what ever im doing flying down wind (or light breeze). Regarding battery, yeh with Autel when the battery gets low, a little more attention is needed vs. how the DJI's behave, so now adjust the battery warnings, monitor and be back on ground with time and battery to spare. I like using the automation to offload some of the tasks vs. rely on it, its a great companion to manually flying. Plus if you fly indoors for projects, better get used to manual flying ;)

I know...off topic a bit, but I did test this and I think the Autel battery reminder is a little more cautious than DJI's but I did a hover test and it stayed in the air even when the countdown timer showed less than 45s of remaining battery power left.
 
I know it is splitting hairs but the regulation actually allows for up to 1hr after sunset not 30min. This is important to photographers because the last 20min of civil twilight is dark enough to be able to make the resulting footage look like it is much later at night if you do not have a daylight operations waiver.
Hmm, 60 minutes after sunset? Must be a new rule that just came out yesterday afternoon because as of yesterday morning, it was still 30 minute after, or 30 minute before civil twilight in the continental US (Alaska is different), been that way for years. Keep in mind that for 107 currently you need the 107.29 daylight waiver until at least 3/16/21 (if you take the new training by then). Otoh, if you are flying recreational (e.g. not taking photos for professional use), you can fly beyond the civil twilight without a waiver.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Eagle928
I know...off topic a bit, but I did test this and I think the Autel battery reminder is a little more cautious than DJI's but I did a hover test and it stayed in the air even when the countdown timer showed less than 45s of remaining battery power left.
Off topic however tied to start of thread and subsequent posts, first autel low battery warning you can override / ignore, its the second one that can catch you off guard as the aircraft can start to land where it is at.
 
Hmm, 60 minutes after sunset? Must be a new rule that just came out yesterday afternoon becuase as of yesterday morning, it was still 30 minute after, or 30 minute before civil twilight in the continental US (Alaska is different), been that way for years. Keep in mind that for 107 currently you need the 107.29 daylight waiver until at least 3/16/21 (if you take the new training by then). Otoh, if you are flying recreational (e.g. not taking photos for professional use), you can fly beyond the civil twilight without a waiver.

Actually it is more nuanced than that and always has been. You can fly 30 min after sunset IF you do not have anti collision lights on your drone. You can fly 1hr after sunset (the full duration of civil twilight) IF you have anti-collision lights. You cannot fly after civil twilight ends if you do not have a daylight operations waiver. So basically you get 30 extra minutes IF you have an anti-collision light but no waiver.

FAA Website States
You can fly during daylight (30 minutes before official sunrise to 30 minutes after official sunset, local time) or in twilight if your drone has anti-collision lighting. Minimum weather visibility is three miles from your control station. The maximum allowable altitude is 400 feet above the ground, higher if your drone remains within 400 feet of a structure. Maximum speed is 100 mph (87 knots).

Reference Link
Fact Sheet – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Regulations (Part 107)
 
Actually it is more nuanced than that and always has been. You can fly 30 min after sunset IF you do not have anti collision lights on your drone. You can fly 1hr after sunset (the full duration of civil twilight) IF you have anti-collision lights. You cannot fly after civil twilight ends if you do not have a daylight operations waiver. So basically you get 30 extra minutes IF you have an anti-collision light but no waiver.

FAA Website States
You can fly during daylight (30 minutes before official sunrise to 30 minutes after official sunset, local time) or in twilight if your drone has anti-collision lighting. Minimum weather visibility is three miles from your control station. The maximum allowable altitude is 400 feet above the ground, higher if your drone remains within 400 feet of a structure. Maximum speed is 100 mph (87 knots).

Reference Link
Fact Sheet – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Regulations (Part 107)
Still not sure where you are getting the 60 minutes or 1 hour. Its really simple, if you are 107 you should remember from the test. For 107, you only get 30 minute before sunrise, or, 30 minutes after sunset in continental US including with anti collision lights. So no, in the continental US, you can not fly as 107 60 minute after sunset (or 60 min before sunrise) without out a waiver as you would be 30 min beyond the 30 min after sunset (or before sunrise) rule. Its pretty straightforward. Here's the link to existing 107 regulations that spell out the 30 min rule https://www.faa.gov/uas/media/Part_107_Summary.pdf

Happy to take offline and chat if you like.
 
Last edited:

Latest threads

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
11,227
Messages
102,646
Members
9,818
Latest member
redwingaerials