Drones In Our Skies

[guido911]

So where is Alex Jones and the rest of the tin-foil hat, mouth breathers on this?

Go two posts above yours...

[Callahan]

Go two posts above yours...

That was rather easily obvious, thanks for the information.

[BKDotCom]

¿Huh?
I guess I'm missing something.
Where's the conspiracy here?

[Ed W]

Boing-Boing had a story about a crowd funded drone detector a few days ago.  I think it would have some appeal to the tin foil hat crowd.  The idea is to set up a network of "drone detectors" that would pick up their audio noise.  The immediate question I have is how to discriminate a drone propeller from any other aircraft propeller. Otherwise you'd have numerous false positives.

On the other hand, this could be just a clever way to separate gullible paranoids from their cash - not that it's a common occurrence in modern America.

http://boingboing.net/2013/05/03/droneshield-crowdfunded-netw.html

[Red Arrow]

The immediate question I have is how to discriminate a drone propeller from any other aircraft propeller. Otherwise you'd have numerous false positives.

Possibly by frequency for the little drones.  Full size drones would probably be the same as regular aircraft propellers as you noted.

[patric]

Possibly by frequency for the little drones.  Full size drones would probably be the same as regular aircraft propellers as you noted.

With smaller props, the pitch would still be distinct.  
The right hardware/software combination is essentially a variation of what is used to pinpoint gunshots.




Manned surveillance craft may be on the way out sooner than we thought;
at least I would think that would be this pilot's assessment:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/helicopter-laser-photos-egypt-protesters_n_3528371.html



http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/the_protests_in_egypt_laser_pointer_vs_helicopter_25144.asp

[patric]

[Vashta Nerada]

Manned surveillance craft may be on the way out sooner than we thought;
at least I would think that would be this pilot's assessment:

No, it just de-bunks the myth that a police helicopter can be brought down with a childs toy laser pointer.

The pilots simply treated what likely were hundreds of lasers for what they were - a nuisance - and kept on flying.
Its just like laws making it a felony to spit on a cop.  The myth was it spread AIDS, but in reality they just wanted a special law for themselves. 

[guido911]

patric has apparently relocated to Colorado.  Who knows if legit....

Deer Trail, Colorado, home of the World's First Rodeo, plans to vote next month on issuing licenses to shoot down drones over the town. The license will cost $25 and a reward will be paid up to $100 for any drones that are shot down around the city.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/07/255943/

[patric]

patric has apparently relocated to Colorado.  Who knows if legit....

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/07/255943/

So if the ordinance is "symbolic" then maybe the $25 for the license is symbolic as well.
Maybe you could fax it to them, Callihan.     

[sgrizzle]

A speaker at the recent Town Hall meeting of the City of Tulsa capital projects said we should spend part of the money on drones.

[RecycleMichael]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/blogs/post.aspx/Dont_rule_out_aerial_drones_for_Tulsas_next_funding/66-21261

Don't rule out aerial drones for Tulsa's next funding package

By ZACK STOYCOFF Staff Writer

I'm ashamed that today's story about Tuesday's capital improvements town hall meeting failed to mention perhaps the most memorable proposal from the meeting's open-mic citizen comment segment.

The proposal: Fund an aerial drone to patrol for texting motorists.

It's not as crazy as it sounds. Unmanned drones, much like the ones used by the military, are being deployed by law enforcement agencies across the country. And wouldn't using them to protect drivers from their distracted counterparts be worth the money? Makes me wonder what other paradigm-shifting ideas could be out there.

For instance, would Tulsa's texter-patrolling drone have heat-seeking missiles that would actually rid our streets of these vermin? Maybe the city could install electromagnetic pulse devices next to traffic light cameras. When the camera spots a texting motorist, out goes a burst of electromagnetic energy that would render not only the cell phone inoperable, but the vehicle, too.

Surely the cost of such devices would be a drop in the bucket for the $919.9 million proposal. And why stop with anti-texting weaponry? How about anti-speeder land mines? Drunk driver-detecting nanites? Thought-altering flash beacons? (Maybe that's what's needed to remind motorists that 71st Street has an entire lane dedicated to motorists turning right from southbound U.S. 169.)

In all seriousness, city officials gave Tuesday's town hall meeting high marks. As many as 200 people may have attended, and two dozen residents spoke during the open-mic segment. Most of them had plausible suggestions for the package. But for the sake of amusement, let's see what other outlandish projects we can place into the category of aerial drones.

[patric]

[Vashta Nerada]

An opportunity for someone to develop a SAM of suitable size and range.

A small surveillance drone flies over an Austin stadium, diligently following a series of GPS waypoints that have been programmed into its flight computer. By all appearances, the mission is routine.

Suddenly, the drone veers dramatically off course, careering eastward from its intended flight path. A few moments later, it is clear something is seriously wrong as the drone makes a hard right turn, streaking toward the south. Then, as if some phantom has given the drone a self-destruct order, it hurtles toward the ground.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/06/25/drones-vulnerable-to-terrorist-hijacking-researchers-say/

[patric]

Almost too weird to make up:


Last spring residents from Wollaston to West Quincy called the city and police to complain about an aircraft making wide, repeated loops in the air between about 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. The residents described a low-pitch humming sound coming from the aircraft and some said it was reminiscent of a drone, which is an unmanned aircraft operated by remote control.

http://www.wcvb.com/news/source-mystery-quincy-plane-followed-matanov/26265206

http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/metro/mysterious-aircraft-puzzles-quincy-residents/20079144