Drones flying nighttime patterns over NE Colorado leave law enforcement stumped • Hacker News Board

Re: Drones flying nighttime patterns over NE Colorado leave law enforcement stumped

#61

Post by twic » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 11:44 AM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #28

TomMckenny wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know neither farming nor IR technology so let me ask: is there really publicly available technology that allows a person to identify a crop at a few hundred feet at those speeds in the dark from a drone?

If it's an indoor grow, then the tried and true method is to look for unusual heat sources. E.g. a house with a roof that's bright in IR, where all the neighboring roofs are dark. If it's an outdoor grow, I have no idea.

Does this still work now that we have LED lights?

Re: Drones flying nighttime patterns over NE Colorado leave law enforcement stumped

#62

Post by chmod775 » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 11:52 AM UTC

saagarjha wrote: post #2

Off topic, but in Reader View the page seems to apply a Caesar Cipher with shift one on the content after a couple of seconds to make reading annoying.

Doesn't appear to happen in FF's reader view.

Re: Drones flying nighttime patterns over NE Colorado leave law enforcement stumped

#63

Post by anotheryou » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 12:24 PM UTC

plutonorm wrote: post #36

6ft hovering drones? Hovered over a town all night? These are unusual drones. You have to put engineering effort in to keep a drone up for more than 30 minutes and 6ft is really big for a hovering drone.

I bet hovering meant a tight circle and those are winged (or maybe even blimps)

Re: Drones flying nighttime patterns over NE Colorado leave law enforcement stumped

#64

Post by davewritescode » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 12:40 PM UTC

When I fly a personal drone I have to keep it within line of sight, I thought if you were doing otherwise you’d have to register with the FAA.

Re: Drones flying nighttime patterns over NE Colorado leave law enforcement stumped

#65

Post by wyattpeak » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 1:31 PM UTC

pathseeker wrote: post #52

crca wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No reason to be concerned as long as local laws are being followed, which it sounds like is the case. Below 400ft above ground is fair game for everyone, as normal air traffic does not fly that low, making it perfectly safe.

>No reason to be concerned as long as local laws are being followed Well unless you care about privacy, the potential for stuff crashing on you/your property, and/or noise pollution.

Requiring people to explain their lawful activity in the name of privacy is something of a contradiction.

Re: Drones flying nighttime patterns over NE Colorado leave law enforcement stumped

#66

Post by eganist » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 1:35 PM UTC

pergadad wrote: post #32

asynchronous13 wrote: post #21

Alternate Article: https://sputniknews.com/us/201912241077783862-its-not-santa-... This sounds like a commercial operation. They're obeying the law, staying below 400ft, and operating in a rural area. It seems like the news articles are doing their best to make this sound bad when there's nothing nefarious going on.

Please note that sputnik is a Russian propaganda outlet 100% financed by the state and known to peddle disinformation. Sometimes they mix good content in to seem serious/relevant, bit even then it often has a spin. In short: you should take everything on sputnik with a massive chunk of salt and I'd recommend to always look for alternative articles.

Citations for those who need them:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/29/world/europe/russia-swede...

https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/11/10/kremlins-sputnik-newswi...

https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&ar...

http://infowar.cepa.org/files/?id_plik=2083

Re: Drones flying nighttime patterns over NE Colorado leave law enforcement stumped

#67

Post by codedokode » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 1:45 PM UTC

saagarjha wrote: post #2

Off topic, but in Reader View the page seems to apply a Caesar Cipher with shift one on the content after a couple of seconds to make reading annoying.

Text looks normal in Reader View in Firefox.

Re: Drones flying nighttime patterns over NE Colorado leave law enforcement stumped

#68

Post by luma » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 1:48 PM UTC

cmroanirgo wrote: post #34

folli wrote: post #19

I like the advise to not shoot down the drones, as this can cause a battery fire. Seems very US-American to me.

> He urged people not to try to shoot the drones down, both because their batteries can cause intense fires and also because shooting a drone is a federal crime. Shooting an inanimate object hovering over your property is illegal? ... on the federal level? I suppose it would have to be, but... Edit: Now I know: "Under Title 18 of the United State Code 32, the sabotage of an unmanned aircraft could carry a maximum sen…

Your ownership of the air rights above your property is limited, but the exact height at which your rights stop isn't always clearly defined. For sure everything above 500' is not yours, but depending on other factors that number may be lower.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_rights#United_States

Re: Drones flying nighttime patterns over NE Colorado leave law enforcement stumped

#69

Post by onefuncman » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 1:59 PM UTC

The first thing I thought of was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenn_treasure

Re: Drones flying nighttime patterns over NE Colorado leave law enforcement stumped

#70

Post by ynniv » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 2:12 PM UTC

It may currently be legal, but this isn't an acceptable long term framework. If you're flying below the regulation ceiling, you should need a line of sight operator and landowner approval. Above that you should need a transponder and rough flight plan – just like regular aviation. At no point should an operation be opaque to local law enforcement.