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Composite H-Quad Multirotor
The Composite H-Quad Having trashed my Tricopter to no end, I thought I might like to take a stab at building something of my own. I wanted it to be light, very strong (I beat the crap out of things),...
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JT51, 4/14/2013
Note from Tom: This search trip and writeup is brought to you courtesy of Adam Marsland. Blame any typos on him. But if you think it’s written well I’ll somehow take credit. Date: 4-14-2013...
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JT52, 4/15/2013
Date: 4-15-2013 Participants: Tom Mahood General Search Area: Southeasterly slopes of Smith Water Canyon mouth and slopes above Quail Spring. Rationale for Searching This Area: Explained in way too...
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First experiments in archaeological site imaging
Aside from the general geekery of the gadgetry, my primary interests for fooling around with drones/UAVs have to do with mapping and aerial photography. I love aerial pics. This all combines in a...
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Ute Mountain Tribal Park (The Un-Mesa Verde), 4/19-20/2013
It had been a while since Jeri and I had been on a School for Advanced Research field trip and we were looking forward to this one and reconnecting with old SAR friends. Since we were coming from a...
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Canyon de Chelly, 5/4-6/2013
This was yet another of the many School for Advanced Research field trips Jeri and I have taken. Although not terribly “archaeological” the first day was spent at the semiannual Hubble Trading Post...
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Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, 5/13/2013
So what’s a guy who’s overly fond of southwest archaeology doing in Illinois, just east of Saint Louis, looking at mounds of dirt? Good question. Turns out these mounds of dirt are the remains of what...
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A remotely actuated intervalometer for aerial mapping using Canon cameras
I can’t really take much credit for this idea. I first saw it as a posting by BloomingtonFPV on the FPVLab.com forum on January 6, 2013, so he deserves the bulk of the credit for this. He did a LOT of...
View ArticleUSBController.ino
Copy everything below the line and using a text editor paste it into a file titled, “USBController.ino” Back to the Remotely actuated intervalometer for aerial mapping page...
View ArticlePictUAV2.lua
Copy everything below the line and using a text editor paste it into a file titled, “PictUAV2.lua” Or….I seem to be having difficulties posting this block of code while still maintaining the proper...
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More experiments in aerial mapping – Samuelson’s Rocks, Joshua Tree
I had been doing more studying on using drones for mapping/photography purposes and I was eager to try it again after my less than satisfactory attempt at the Pejunkwa ruins. I had managed to decrease...
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First fully autonomous quadcopter flight tests
Seeing as how I have been proving to be very adept at causing damage to my assorted dronies, I’ve been a bit reluctant to let them loose by themselves. The APM flight controllers have the ability to...
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JT53 – 6/24/2013, 3rd Anniversary Hike
Date: 6-24-2013 Participants: Tom Mahood General Search Area: This was a hike on the third anniversary of Bill’s hike with no specific search areas intended. Primarily reflection and reconnaissance,...
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The Bixler 1.1 fixed wing trainer
This is still a work very much in progress. Been crashing it far more than I should, so I don’t know what’s up with that. The Bixler 1.1. This has ailerons but no flaps. The small black box at the left...
View ArticleAllison Mine hike, circa 1973 (yes, friggin’ 1973!)
And now for something completely different. In the early 1970s I was obsessed with finding an old mine in the San Gabriel Mountains of California called the Stanley-Miller Mine. This was probably my...
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John Wheeler’s visit to LIGO Hanford, August 2000
In the world of Physics, Dr. John Archibald Wheeler was a very big deal. But if you weren’t in the world of Physics, you never heard of him. Heard of Black Holes? He’s the guy who coined the name (as...
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Building a Folding Composite H-Quad
Hey, you looking’ at ME?? I had learned a lot designing and building my Composite H-Quad, but it ultimately left me dissatisfied for several reasons (beyond my usual perfectionist streak). My chief...
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Search coverage to date of the southerly slopes of Smith Water Canyon,...
Since it’s been summer and Joshua Tree has been either too hot or just plain closed due to the government shut down, it’s given me impetus to do something I’ve been wanting to do for a while but have...
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JT54, 10/22/2013
Date: 10/22/2013 Participants: Tom Mahood General search area: The southeast slopes of the mouth of Smith Water Canyon. Rationale for searching this area: This was a combination shakedown hike (first...
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JT55, 10/24/2013
(Note: Written by Adam Marsland) Date: 10/24/2013 Participants: Adam Marsland, Anny Celsi General search area: Slopes and highlands south and east of Quail Spring. Rationale for searching this area:...
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