Staceman FPV - BLOG - 2023

I decided today to resurrect my Acrobrat, and make it an HDZero sub 250g freestyle drone. I had most of what I needed already, but I did have to order a VTx. I decided to order the Race V3 VTx. It has a 20x20 hole pattern but it expects M3 holes. I drilled out the M2 holes on the Acrobra so that should work now. I just hope that it will fit. I think that it will, but it might be close on the dimensions. Everything else should be good.

So what made me decide to do this? Well, I always liked the acrobrat, but carrying an HD camera made it mostly unflyable. I did try one of the split style cameras with it, and while that worked, I would have to do analog which I am not going to go back to flying. With HDZero, and being able to fly 1080p now, I think it just made sense to get it flying again. And of course, with the upcoming regulations going into effect in a couple of months, it makes sense to have a drone that I don't have to worry about if I were to be approached by law enforcement.

Never fear though! I am still going to be flying my 5 inch freestyle drone. This just gives me another option.

I did my first livestream FPV freestyle session with HDZero today. I think it went pretty well, but I do need to come up with a solution for the glare/washout of the screen in certain situations. I have a few ideas that I am ging to try and work on before the next livestream.

I think I am going to try and do these on a regular basis because people seem to enjoy them, and I know that I enjoy the interaction. I don't have a good setup for doing something at home in front of the computer, and honestly, I don't know that I can come up with content to do those in that format. However, if I can think of an interesting topic, and can figure out how to have more than just myself in the stream on camera, I might give it a go.

We decided at the last minute to go see Haunted Mansion at the Disney Springs AMC. I won't spoil it for anyone, but suffice to say, it was good. If you are a fan of the ride at DisneyLand or DisneyWorld, there's lots of nods to those rides, and lots of Easter eggs in the movie. Definitely woth going to see.

When we got our seats, the only ones available were in the vry front, and it split us up. Well, when we got there, and Kim sat down, there were two young men sitting next to her. Austin and I started to head to our seats on the other side of the theater, and they two offered to swap us seats so we could sit together. Such a nice gesture! There are good people left in the world.

We went to Hollywood Studios today, and managed to get several things in. Lines all over the park were pretty much the same length, which is a bit of an oddity. Typically, there is 1 or 2 that have just awfully long lines while the others will be a mix in length. I am not sure what the people who keep saying the attendance is down are smoking, but it doesn't seem that way. I know that Disney is offering a lot of discounts right now, and typically when they do that, attendance is down, but the times that we go, it's been pretty busy.

We did Smuggler's Run, the Muppets 3D, Tower of Terror, and Rock-n-Roll Coaster. Austin and I actually improved a good bit on Smuggler's Run. He and I have been doing really bad typically, but we managed to do much better this time. If I could just remember to hit the brakes a bit sooner at this one point, we would have done way better.

My buddy who works on the Muppets attraction had it in pretty good working order. Almost every effect was working, which hasn't been the case in the past. Made it so much more enjoyable. The jokes are so cheesy on the Muppets but it's still pretty funny. It's always a short wait too, less than ten minutes typically.

I got a couple cool photos in line on Tower of Terror. I love the misting fog that has been working as of late. It cools things down nicely, and gives such a cool vibe, particualrly as the sun goes down.

We finished with Rock-n-Roll Aerosmith coaster. It's a pretty cool ride, but a bit short. It was down recently for a long time for some refurb. It is definitely better than it was in the past, but I still think the music on-ride is way too low in volume from where it used to be.

I am growing tired of my HDZero camera (RunCam Micro V2) getting junk on the sensor inside of the camera. So, today, I took it apart again, and cleaned it. I am going to seal it on the inside using some E6000 and hopefully not have this problem again. I had never had this problem with my analog cameras, even when I changed lenses. I am not sure what the difference is, but it's very annoying, and RunCam need to figure out the causes. I am not the only one who has had this problem with these cameras.

So I did a thing. I picked up a mobile display, and an adapter for mini HDMI to HDMI. I am going to attempt to use this for live-streaming some flying sessions with HDZero. I used to do live-streaming of my flying several years ago with an analog watch display I had. It worked, but of course analog isn't that great, and the display was small. People seemed to enjoy hanging out while I was flying, and I enjoyed the chatter. I have been wanting to do that again, but it wasn't going to be that easy with my original HDZero module setup, but now with the HDZero goggles, it should be pretty simple since it has a mini-HDMI out. It should arrive today, so I will do some testing to see how it looks, and how I can best setup while I am out flying.

The plan is to connect the output from the goggles to the display, and then use my phone aimed at the display to share the feed. This display is supposed to be pretty nice, but we'll have to wait and see how it handles different lighting conditions, and how well the phone picks it up. The phone picked up the image on my TV on the wall in the garage in my recent video, and that sparked this idea. I went looking, and found this 14" display for a nice price, and it has a nice stand built in, so it should be a pretty good solution at least when I have a table. I might also be able to use it in the back of the car at times when I don't have a table. That might even be a better solution as it will block the sunlight from causing glare and wash-out on the display. All in all, I am really excited about this. Look for some live streaming in the near future.

I have been helping my son with some programming the past few days. He has been writing a SMS/MMS app for android. He really impresses me with his skills. He has learned so much in such a short time.

I haven't flown for several days, so I made some time to go out this morning. I got 1 pack, and part of a second pack in before a crash and the drone decided it didn't want to arm again. After checking it this afternoon, it seems that the RPM telemetry isn't working, so I had to turn RPM filtering off. I am sure that will have a bit of a negative impact on the flying characteristics, but it's cheaper than buying another ESC.

Flying was really good though considering that I had not flown in a few days. My practice is starting to pay off. I am really starting to dial in power loops, and ripping gaps, and such. I have been abl to do those things for a while, but I am getting it dialed in where I don't even think about it so much now. It feels great to just rip at high speed through gaps and such with no fear or thought.

One last note. I am puting together a video on improved HDZero DVR audio. I finally found a mic that works. Look for that video in the near future on my YouTube channel.

I figured out the logging on the HDZero Goggles. I am going to run this on my goggles for a while until I have the stopped reocrding issue again. I hope to be able to use this logging to track down the cause of the recording stopping.

I have a few things to try as well. One of those is to go back to auto record, instead of using the manual recording option. Before I try that though, I want to replicate the stopped recording problem using the manual method so I will have the logs to go through to see what happened on the goggles when it stopped.

As part of the logging improvments, I added an option on the storage tab to select the logging level you want to have. Typically, you want to leave it set to None, or to Error, as that will be the most useful for many. But when you have a problem, you will likely want to set the level to Debug, or maybe Info.

So, after replicating the issue, the plan will be to try the auto record option, and see if I can replicate it. Even if I don't replicate it under that mode, it doesn't mean that is a work around. It just might be less prevalent depending on the cause. It is not ideal for me for a couple reasons. One, if you have bad video, it can cause it to trigger stopping reocrding. Also, if you want to record audio in-between flights, you can't. And lastly, you might get a lot of useless footage if you have a long delay from plug-in to take off.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Man, the heat has been a killer here lately. We went to EPCOT today, but had to wait until it was almost closing time before we went because the heat has been unbearable. We still managed to get two rides in even though we showed up just a little more than an hour before closing time. We got to ride with a cast member who works in the gift shop for the ride, which was pretty cool. She told us to meet her at the gift shop when she works on Tuesday. I think she said something about Pixie Dusting.

Today I have started tinkering with making changes to the HDZero goggles firmware. Up first, better logging.

Cut the grass today. Nearly melted. Not recommended to cut the grass in central Florida in the middle of the day, but you do what you have to do when it rains every single day at random times. You just fit it in where you can because if you don't, you end up doing what I did today. And what was that you ask? I cut the yard twice because I had to cut it at a higher depth, and then lower.

Watched the latest Rotor Riot episode today where Vanny, Drib, Bubby, and Shawn were all discussing the pros and cons of each of their frames. I have been flying Bubby's frame, the Moxy, for a couple years now, and it has proven itself to be the most durable frame I have ever used. It is very well designed.

It was an interesting video, but here's the take aways for me. Vanny came across to me as very pretentious. Granted, he is a very good pilot with plenty of skill, but he really rubbed me the wrong way in that video. I have not used his frame, but I will say I do not see it as being anywhere near as durable as the other three, though he tried to play it off as it was. It's clearly not. He doesn't fly in areas where the durability would really be tested, and he definitely doesn't crash enough to claim it's durability.

Drew was really good with his explanations of how carbon fiber works, and what makes it more and less durable. I think he kept a nice even keel demeanor through it all, but you could definitely feel some tension between he and Vanover.

I thought tha Bubby probably handled himself the best of the bunch. He was chill, and relaxed. He knows his frame is solid because he regularly beats it, and it keeps going. I can concur as I said earlier. I have beat this thing over and over, and it just doesn't break. I have broke the top plate twice but not how Vanny thought. It was at the front where the narrowest portion is. That said, after adding a piece of TPU (the camera plate protection design from the Rotor Riot store), it has been solid. I can confidently say this frame takes everything I can throw at it, and as a result it has made me a better pilot because I don't worry about breaking stuff.

If you haven't watched it, you should watch it. It is interesting to see some of the personalities come out. I used to like Vanover, but the more I see him in videos, he strikes me as someone who would get under my skin repeatedly. He needs a serious lesson in humility.

We went to EPCOT to ride Guardians of the Galaxy. Hands down this is the best all around coaster I have ridden. I love coasters, and have ridden a lot of big and fast coasters. I have ridden a lot of crazy looping coasters, and everything in between. They all have things that I enjoy, but there is something special about this coaster. It has all the fun elements combined in one, and has broad appeal. Pretty much anyone can ride it, and enjoy it.

So many times when we are in line, we'll start talking with those around us, and if we really like the people, and if they have never ridden it before, we'll take them under our wing, and give them the secrets on getting through the normal line more quickly and things to look for. Well, we met a great dude from New Jersey in line who was there with his two grandsons, and we just hit it off. He loved it, and waited for us at the end so he could thank us, and tell us how much he loved the ride. That is one thing that I really enjoy about going to the Disney parks. There are some great people who go that you can connect with. People you might never connect with in any other place. It really is magical.

I ordered a lavalier mic to test with my HDZero goggles. I have been satisfied with the mic I have been using, but it pics up the fan noise really badly, and it takes a bit to clean up the audio. I am hoping that having the mic a bit farther away from the goggles will help with the background noise, and give a consistent distance from my mouth so hopefully the audio levels will be more consistent. If it goes well (probably even if it doesn't), I will be making a video showing the difference.

Finished the edit from the footage I had yesterday. I have to say that I think that this is one of my better videos. It's quite funny. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Got out this evening with my buddy Ranham to fly some at the local high school. It was great to get out and fly with someone other than just me. As always, some stuff was broke (not mine), and lots of fun was had.

Got out this morning, and had a fun session. Recorded way too much footage that I now have to wade through. I think I can make something interetsing, but we'll see how it goes.

I am working on some video ideas. Coming up with content ideas is not easy. The people who do this for a living do not have it easy as some would think. It is no easy feat to consistently produce content that people want to watch. Granted, there are some niche markets that make it easier in some ways, but people are fickle, and it is very easy to lose their interest.

Thankfully, I am not doing this as my source of income. It is a hobby that I can make some financial (very small) gain from. I could never do this for my job. It is too much stress in my mind to need to come up with content regularly that people will watch. Even those that just do daily vlogs of their day to day lives, while it may seem simple, have to turn their mundane into entertainment. That is no easy feat.

So I say Kudos, and bravo to the fulltime YouTubers!

My son has decided to lose some weight. He has talked about in the past, and I knew he would eventually decide that he needed to, and yesterday was the day. When he sets his mind to something, he accomplishes it, and so I am looking forward to seeing him accomplish this goal. We picked up a nice One Piece shirt from the Japanese store at Epcot yesterday, so he has a goal to fit into it.

I created a video today going over my Remote ID spoofer. The video is out for members on my YouTube channel, and everyone else will get it on Thursday. I am enjoying making some different kinds of content here lately, and I hope to continue with that. We'll see how it goes.

We hopped over to EPCOT this evening to get a couple rides in and some walking. It really is great being close to the parks so we can go so much. I never thought I would enjoy going to Disney so much, but I really do enjoy it. It's a good bit different than the theme parks that we used to go to so much.

Today, my company sent yet another one of these phishing scam e-mails where they try to get you to click a link so they can force you to take more security training. And of course, they always seem to send these when I am tired, and not paying that much attention. So I clicked on it. And so, I will likely get another e-mail in the coming days telling me I have more training to take. Wonderful. So, I decided that enough is enough. I created a rule in Outlook to flag these messages. They always have a certain tell-tell sign in the message headers. Well, they won't get me anymore.

So, I got in an ESP8266 board, and went down the rabbit hole, and creating a RemoteID spoofer. I will have a video on it in the near future. One thing I have found though that gives me some glimmer of hope is that these Drone Tracking applications on the phone are absolute garbage. They work so poorly that I don't think anyone will use them after they try them.

I finally made the MEPS motor review. It is currently available for members on my YouTube channel, but will be available for everyone on Monday. I am still trying to figure out the best way to do the video drops early for members. YouTube doesn't have a particular way to handle it automatically, so it's a manual process, which I do not care for. Hopefully I can figure out something that works for my workflow in the future.

Watched an interesting movie this evening with my wife. It was called "Fear of Rain." I definitely recommend that you check it out if you like psychological thrillers. By the end, you'll be questioning pretty much everything you are seeing.

I am going to try and get a little flying in tomorrow. I have been contemplating what kind of videos that I want to work on in the coming weeks, but I have not got anything concrete yet. I know that I need to at least do a follow-up on my prop testing, and I still have a video to make going over the MEPs motors. Coming up with content ideas is not easy to do.

I have been thinking about some things that I want to do with the YouTube channel now that I have been monetized. One of the things that I think I want to do is do regular live streams. I need to figure out a time that works best for me to be able to do it somewhat regularly when I don't generally have anything else going on. We do some many things on the spur of the moment that it can be tricky to do.

I am considering Sunday evenings right now. I think that will work best for me. I need to see if anyone else does streams then in our community or not. There's not much point in doing one at a time that an established streamer is doing it. Once I get the day and time worked out, the next issue is determining the topic. Or at least the general feel of the stream. I don't have a high powered computer than can do all of the fancy stuff on streaming, so I will be keeping it basic. There's already so much being done finding that interesting niche might be tough.

I can't believe it, but I am now a YouTube Partner. I can actually make some money from my videos. It is a bit surreal for me. I never expected to reach this goal. At one point, I thought about trying to reach this goal, but after a while, it just seemed that things were never going to get to that point. I didn't really put a lot of effort into making that happen, but thought that I might be able to some day. But as the days and weeks, and months, and years went on, the channel just never took off, so I resigned myself to just share videos for the fun and pleasure of sharing.

Time went on, and things basically stayed the same, and then one day things started to take off. I would try all sorts of kinds of videos, and I seemed to find a place finally. Videos started to get a lot more views, and subscribers started to increase. It was cool, but again, I really had no intention of monetizing anything.

It kept increasing, and my son was like you should monetize it. I was like, I can't. I don't meet the requirements, but I am getting closer. He kept encouraging me, and so I told him, ok, if it reaches the requirements I'll monetize it. He said, you might as well get something back for the effort you put in. Why not?

And he's right. Why not? It costs my subscribers and viewers nothing, so I should at least get a little bit back from the ads that YouTube shows regardless. So here we are today. I am a YouTube partner, and it is going to be an interesting future I think.

Today we celebrated our country's birth. Almost 250 years ago, our country began it's journey of freedom from tyranny. And yet today it seems we are sliding back into tyranny under our own leadership. I don't want to make this political, but be aware of who you vote for. Be aware of of your own tendancies to force your agenda on others. It is a slippery slope.

It has been hot here in central Florida. I went out this morning to fly and record some for an upcoming video, and even in the shade, and even though it was early, I was sweating profusely. I did have a good flying session though, and managed to get everything recorded like I wanted. I had just updated my HDZero firmware on VTx and Goggles. I don't generally update all the time, and reserve updates for things that are fixed that I have experienced, and are causing me issues. In this case, there was some fixes for the DVR reocrding issues that have plagued so many of us. So far, it seems to be working well. Hopefully this takes care of it. I was able to manually record again, and everything worked as expected.

Well, my channel reached the level to be in the YouTube Partner Program. Never thought I would ever get to the 4000 watch hours, but I did. So I apply, and find out that you can't have more than 1 person in your household signed up for AdSense. My son already had an account that he started a few years back when he started creating games for mobile devices. So when I go to sign up, they come back and tell me I already have an account using my son't e-mail address. I do some research, and it turns out that you can't have more than 1 AdSense account at the same physical address unless they are businesses. It doesn't matter that the person is different with different banking and Social Security Numbers. Nope! The one deciding factor is physical address.

My son has been wanting to move from AdSense anyways, so he switched his code on his game over to another Ad provider. Once the updaed application is published, we will close his AdSense account, and see if that works. If it doesn't, I guess I won't be monetized as YouTube has no way to talk to an actual person about it to determine the problem.

Half of the year is gone already. Where has the time gone? The days and weeks have ben flying by since we moved into our place last August. It won't be too much longer, and we will be celebrating living in our new home for a year.

Prior to moving to Florida three years ago, the days and weeks would kind of drag on. I'm not sure why, but I think a lot of it had to do with boredom. We were bored. Sure we had things we could do, but they were not all that interesting to us, or required driving a long ways with nothing to see in between our home, and the destination.

For example, we liked to go to a mall that was about 20 miles from our house. And it honestly felt so far away. It would take 20 minutes to get there because traffic was generally light, and it was almost entirely interstate travel. Now, everything here takes 30 minutes to get there, and it's just a few miles, and yet I find the time goes by quickly.

We now live almost as close to Disney as we did to that mall in West Virginia. And yet we now go to Disney multiple times a week, and I don't find it a chore. Back in West Virginia, anytime my wife wanted to go to that mall, I was like, "Again?" I didn't want to drive there. It seemed so far away, even though it was just 20 miles.

I guess perspective has changed for me. I really thought I was content back in West Virginia, and I think maybe I was, but looking back now, I am not sure. My wife, however, was not content. She was miserable, and signs of depression were kicking in. We needed a change. She desperately needed a change. It was taking it's toll on our relationship. So I decided that we would move. I didn't have the money to move. We still had a house payment, and we were going to move, and take on rent too? I didn't see how it could happen. I sat down, and began to write down our expenses, bills, and such, and I realized that we actually did have the money to do it. It was strange to me. We seemed to live paycheck to paycheck so much, even though I made good money. But I looked at what we actually needed, and we had more than enough to pay the mortgage, and rent, and everything. How was this possible? I guess we were just wasting so much money on things that weren't tangible.

Now, what about my job you may be asking yourself. Well, I work from home. I am a software engineer, and I have been lucky enough to have found an employer that allows me to work entirely from home. If it weren't for that, this move would not have been possible, even if we did have the money because I would have had to have found new employment. Thankfully that was not the case. So, with the work situation being easy, and with this knowledge that I actually have the financial means to make it work, we decided to move.

It took some adjusting, but we have become quite content here in Florida. It's funny because prior to our move here, I would have likely said, there is no way I would want to move to Florida. I like to visit, but I couldn't live there. It's too busy. It's too hot. But here I am three years later, and I coudln't see myself living anywhere else.