JD the DJ

Seems like he's been there a million times before, but it's JD's go-to destination for running his Autel Robotics EVO 2 Pro 6K battery down to storage level. 4K video edited in Cyberlink PowerDirector 365, which also provided the music.

4K slideshow video of JD's photos from the 2023 New Roads Car Show in New Roads, Louisiana 3/11/2023

JD drug one of his old Yuneec Typhoon H hexacopters out of the closet and put it up in the air this morning after a careful pre-flight inspection. He hadn't flown it in a couple of years and wanted to make sure everything was still functional, including one of the LiPo batteries. Everything, including the Intel RealSense® obstacle avoidance and mapping system and the retractable landing gear functioned as they should. He spun the camera gimbal around 360° with the gear up without yawing the aircraft to look wherever he wanted. That's something his newer Autel EVO II Pro can't do. Next time, he might fly an autonomous Curved Cable Cam waypoint mission to make sure that works as well as it always has. 4K video, no audio.

JD programmed his Autel Robotics EVO II 6K Pro with an autonomous waypoint mission along and over the Mississippi River at downtown Baton Rouge, LA. You'll see the destroyer USS Kidd, the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino, and the bridge carrying I-10 across the river from an altitude of 200 feet. 4K video edited with Cyberlink PowerDirector 365, which also provided the licensed music. Flown 2/5/2023. Thanks to Visual Observer Roy Arrigo.

A mid-January 2023 trip with the Autel Robotics EVO II 6K Pro V2 out to Lake Shadow again, just to use up some battery. A sunny day, but still a lot of winter brown below. 4K video, so be sure to use the Settings icon to bump up display quality to whatever you can handle.

JD put his Autel Robotics EVO II Pro 6K up over his neighborhood on 12/31/2022 to capture the New Year's Eve fireworks displays from above in 4K. Exposure was manual: 1/30s, f/2.8, ISO 1600. Edited with Cyberlink PowerDirector 365, which also provided the licensed background music. This was JD's first test of a nighttime autonomous landing. You'll see the EVO II's LED floodlights switch on automatically at the last moment to illuminate the sidewalk very near the takeoff point for landing.

JD hadn't exercised the Smart Orbit mode of his Autel Robotics EVO II 6K Pro drone since the latest firmware update. Seemed to work just as he remembered it Draw a box around the desired target on the FPV screen and touch Start. HD video of the FPV screen (an iPhone), and 4K video from the drone camera eventually. Flown 12/2/2022 in Baton Rouge, LA.

Earlier, we had the Autel Robotics EVO II Pro 6K fly a Smart Orbit mission around the house. This time, it's an autonomous waypoint mission, pre-planned with the Autel Explorer phone app. We identified the house with a pin as a point of interest (POI), then addeed waypoints around it, linking them all to the POI. The drone takes care of locking the camera and gimbal onto the POI. Now, if only Autel would release the beta app which reportedly eliminates the stop at each waypoint! Edited with Cyberlink PowerDirector 365, which also furnished the music.

JD sent his Autel Robotics EVO II Pro 6K over the cell phone tower near O'Neal Lane in Baton Rouge from the Magnolia Trace Parkway just south of it. He'd done it before with his Yuneec Typhoon H hexacopter and surprised a big bird roosting atop the tower. No birds found this time. And the EVO II seemed just as impervious to any RF interference as was the Typhoon H.

JD headed to the Red Stick (Baton Rouge) riverfront this morning intending to fly a waypoint mission he had set up in the controller for his Autel Robotics EVO II Pro 6K quadcopter. But there was the Nord Swift passing under the bridge and headed upriver. So, JD pointed his drone at the ship across the half-mile wide river to get some 4K maritime footage. The ship qualified as a "moving vehicle," so he couldn't fly over it. But he came astern after arrival near the starboard side and followed the ship a bit. Then it was back to the levee where he had to avoid the couple with their baby and a photographer on the steps of the levee. Edited with Cyberlink Power Director 365. Music generated in Pinnacle Studio 25 with Scorefitter®.

Version 2.3.23 of the firmware for the Autel Robotics EVO II 6K Pro has been available for several months. But JD has been flying most of the hot summer months using an iPad with no data connection rather than an iPhone prone to overheating and dimming. After a switch back to the iPhone for his video monitor, he finally got the update notification and installed the new firmware just yesterday (9/18/2022). The Internet is rife with reports of problems during and after this upgrade, so JD had some trepidation. The upgrade went smoothly for the system with the first battery, but it hung at the very end while re-running the update for a second battery. Stuck at 99% with 1s left. JD let it sit for 15 minutes or so, then killed the power. He'd already rebooted successfully and recalibrated the compass after the upgrade with the first battery, so he formatted the SD card to remove any vestige of the update program and rebooted with the second battery. It had the correct firmware version, and everything was fine. This was a test flight. Certainly not comprehensive, but it was mainly to ensure basic flight control functionality. It flew like buttah. Next time, we'll check out some intelligent flight modes and obstacle avoidance. Video edited with Cyberlink PowerDirector 365. Music generated by Pinnacle Studio 25.

The idea was to cross the wide Mississippi River just down river from Baton Rouge's L'Auberge Casino. But there was a stiff wind blowing up the levee and out across the river. The return trip would be upwind, which can be risky if the battery gets low prematurely. So, JD turned to the pasture on the other side of River Road and tooled around a bit. But the sun was a killer on the iPad monitor. There's no shade atop the levee other than JD's own shadow, which was pointed toward the river and not the pasture. 4K video edited with Cyberlink PowerDirector 365. Flown 9/16/2022.

A house not far from JD's in Baton Rouge was severely damage by a falling tree caused by Hurricane Ida on 8/29/2021. The tree was removed and the house torn down. Now (9/15/2022) it is being rebuilt. JD flew his Autel Robotics EVO II Pro 6K drone over the new house to have a look from the same perspective he shot the damage house in 2021. 4K video edited with Cyberlink PoweDirector 365, which also furnished the music.

JD intended to drone downtown Baton Rouge this morning, but didn't get going early enough, and didn't want to miss the start of the Saints beating the Falcons, 27-26. So, after the game, he headed to Grassy Lake in the subdivision just north of his. He took the Autel Robotics EVO II 6K Pro over Grassy Lake and more. Looks like there's another development going in just to the west. Edited with Cyberlink PowerDirector 365, which also licensed the royalty-free music. 4K video.

Seven small lakes make up the University Lakes of LSU in Baton Rouge. Currently, work is under way to dredge them and beautify them. Some, like City Park Lake, look pretty raunchy right now, green with algae and other plant life growing because they're shallow and hot in the summertime. We hope the lake overhaul project succeed. 4K video from an Autel Robotics 6K Pro drone. Edited with Cyberlink PowerDirector 365, which also furnished the licensed, royalty-free music. Flown on 7/24/2022.

One of JD's favorite droning spots is over the river and pasture just down the Mississippi River from L'Auberge Casino in Baton Rouge, LA. He was hoping for some barge traffic on the river, but there was nothing there initially. Over the pasture, JD was paying so much attention directly watching the Autel Robotics EVO II 6K Pro, he neglected the video screen in front of him where he would have clearly seen a pushboat show up in the river. He could have given chase. Instead, he landed. Maybe next time! Pick a resolution from Settings up to 4K.

JD flies his Autel Robotics EVO II 6K Pro drone in Ludicrous speed mode for the first time ever (see the movie "Spaceballs" for the derivation of 'Ludicrous" mode). He discovers that Obstacle Avoidance now stays active in Ludicrous mode (it used to automatically shut off in that mode), and he achieves a 41+ mph top speed. Flown 6/23/2022 in Baton Rouge, LA 4K video edited with Cyberlink PowerDirector 365®, with background music by Pinnacle Studio 25 Scorefitter®.

JD spent a few minutes of Father's Day in 2022 droning the Baton Rouge riverfront with his Autel Robotics EVO II Pro 6K, capturing this 4K video. There was nothing in the way of barge traffic, so it must have been a holiday. It was Juneteenth, too. Even the USS Kidd Museum seemed deserted.

Each year, flags are planted in front of the Louisiana State Capitol Building to commemorate Louisiana's fallen soldiers on Memorial Day Weekend. This year, there are 11,000 of them. Here's 4K drone footage of them, as well as an orbit of the statue of Governor Huey P. Long overlooking the flags. Autel Robotics EVO II 6K Pro.

Yet another trip out to Lake Shadow in the Shenandoah area of Baton Rouge, LA. This one was in May, 2022. It's an Autel Robotics EVO II 6K Pro shooting in 4K. Telemetry rendered and overlayed from an iPad screen recording of the FPV video. Edited with Cyberlink PowerDirector 365, which also provided the music.

4K drone video of the Mississippi River near the L'Auberge Casino in Baton Rouge, LA. A 40-barge towboat passes by, and the farm animals across River Road from the levee launch point do pretty much nothing. The FPV (first person view) video and telemetry is overlaid. From an Autel Robotics EVO II 6K Pro drone, 11/1/2021. Note: This is a re-upload to correct a possible media error that prevented Rumble from processing resolutions higher than 1080p.

They're supposed to be overhauling the University Lakes in Baton Rouge by dredging and deepening them. City Park Lake is one of them. It looks like there's less algae now, so it looks a little better than it has, but there's still much improvement needed. This was a 4K video trip over the lake in early April, 2022, with a stop to view the copious traffic on I-10 over the lake. The drone is an Autel Robotics EVO II 6K Pro.

American Melody & USS Kidd in the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, 4K Drone Footage, April 3, 2022. Autel EVO II 6K Pro.

Grassy Lake north of the Shenandoah Estates subdivision in Baton Rouge seemed like a good place to orbit JD's Stingray with his Autel Robotics EVO II 6K Pro drone and then see how the lake looked in late winter (3/13/2022). 4K video.

Time to check out the pasture north of the subdivision again. Kinda brown. Video signal got weak at about 2,552 feet, but you won't know from looking at the FPV video. Solid all the way. The subdivision likely pours out tons of competing WiFi. 4K video from an Autel Robotics EVO II Pro 6K drone.