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Old May 1st, 2015, 07:53 PM   #1
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Drones and Power Lines

Do electric transmission power lines disrupt the navigation ability of drones? I know that my iPhone compass does not work properly within a few hundred feet of the towers. I'm curious if anyone had any issues when they flew close to a tower.
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Old May 1st, 2015, 09:34 PM   #2
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Re: Drones and Power Lines

yes...did notice the compass calibration went wonky around 30-40 yards from a simple power pole on one flight a few weeks ago. Didn't affect the flying at all though. Inspire 1 was the drone.
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Old May 2nd, 2015, 08:42 PM   #3
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Re: Drones and Power Lines

DJI warns against flying near power lines in all their manuals. Not sure about other OEM's. 375KV transmissions lines put off large amounts of corona discharge which can be a problem for RF and GPS.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 09:35 PM   #4
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Re: Drones and Power Lines

Electricity and magnetism go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other. Any wire that has current flowing through it will have a magnetic field surrounding it. Run a magnet back and forth over a conductor, and it will induce an electric current. It's the basic operating principle of motors, solenoids, loud speakers, etc.

A compass responds to magnetic fields. You can imagine what that much electricity will do to a compass when it is fairly close to those power lines.

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Old May 5th, 2015, 07:51 AM   #5
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Re: Drones and Power Lines

Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Boston
Electricity and magnetism go hand in hand...
Especially if your name is Fleming.
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Old May 5th, 2015, 02:11 PM   #6
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Re: Drones and Power Lines

I have flow within 10 feet of 4160 volts with no problems. Thats the voltage power poles in front of my house.
I wouldnt attempt to fly over or around anything higher in voltage without the power companies ok. The risk of fire is too great where I live ( southern California)

But I do fly over and under the ones at my place. No Issues at all
Thats with a Naza, wookong, and A2
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Old May 10th, 2015, 06:13 PM   #7
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Re: Drones and Power Lines

I fly my multirotors under and around power lines all the time but I am flying in Manual mode and not using a NAZA.
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Old May 30th, 2015, 10:00 PM   #8
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Re: Drones and Power Lines

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Cash View Post
I have flow within 10 feet of 4160 volts with no problems. Thats the voltage power poles in front of my house.
I wouldnt attempt to fly over or around anything higher in voltage without the power companies ok. The risk of fire is too great where I live ( southern California)

But I do fly over and under the ones at my place. No Issues at all
Thats with a Naza, wookong, and A2
4160 is nothing. Transmission voltages are 345kv to 765kv and will disrupt GPS and compass. Do it wrong and you could be facing a $35k bill like this Inspire owner. The bulk electric grid is considered critical infrastructure and key to national security. This incident will be investigated by both NERC/FERC agencies.

Wayward drone tangles with Seattle high-voltage line | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News
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