Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Megaweapon in front of a small, abandoned motel:
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Adventures of Megaweapon!
- Thread starter Ray Dunakin
- Start date
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
I'm still sorting and editing the hundreds of photos and videos from my 2018 Nevada & Mojave trip. Here's the first video I've completed…”Nevada Nights 2018” featuring time-lapse photography of the stars and Milky Way:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WVDKf3ubWFQ" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
https://youtu.be/WVDKf3ubWFQ
Music:
"Some Dreamy Place"
by Eric Matyas
Sound Image
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WVDKf3ubWFQ" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
https://youtu.be/WVDKf3ubWFQ
Music:
"Some Dreamy Place"
by Eric Matyas
Sound Image
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Here are a couple more random pics of Megaweapon taken during my Nevada/Mojave trip... First one shows my campsite at the Belleville Mine:
And this was shot at the ruins of the Lambertucci Roma Ranch:
Also during my trip... I hit the 30k mark on the odometer. Decided to wait and get a pic three miles later, when it was a numerical palindrome:
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And this was shot at the ruins of the Lambertucci Roma Ranch:
Also during my trip... I hit the 30k mark on the odometer. Decided to wait and get a pic three miles later, when it was a numerical palindrome:
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Spotted [MENTION=114745]YetiX[/MENTION] on the I-5 in north county today...we were leapfrogging each other for a bit:
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YetiX
New member
Spotted [MENTION=114745]YetiX[/MENTION] on the I-5 in north county today...we were leapfrogging each other for a bit:
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Your 4Runner looks great in person, good to see Mrs. Dunakin too. Let's go hit Anza some time soon now that the weather's turning. (I need to get a dash cam)
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Thanks! Your rig looks pretty sharp too.
YetiX
New member
Funny, as Ray and his wife took advantage of the car-pool lane while I stopped for traffic, I wondered the same thing.
2flyfishin
New member
Megaweapon in front of a small, abandoned motel:
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This is just outside of Calliente isn’t it?
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
It's a reference to my favorite TV show, "Mystery Science Theater 3000". The show features a guy and his robots watching bad movies and making jokes about them.
They did this really cheesy Italian movie that was a ripoff of "Road Warrior", called "Warrior of the Lost World". In the climactic battle, the bad guys had a vehicle called Megaweapon, which was supposed to be impressive, scary, and completely unbeatable, but all it was, was a dump truck with some spikes stuck to the bumper.
(MST3K was on Comedy Central for seven seasons, then it was on SciFi for three seasons, before being cancelled in 2000. Last year the show was revived on Netflix, with an all new cast.)
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Yes, it is. Quite a picturesque little place.
YetiX
New member
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
I've had a busy week! Sunday night I went out to the desert with the intention of doing some night photography, then flying my drone in the morning. I camped out at a spot somewhere between Ocotillo and Dos Cabesas.
When I planned the trip it was supposed to be cloudy along the coast and clear in the desert, but then Tropical Storm Rosa took a turn inland over Baja. As a result, I had cloudy skies and occasional sprinkles at my campsite. No chance to get any time-lapse of the stars, so I tried it with the clouds. These actually turned out to be pretty interesting, with different layers of clouds moving in different directions. I haven't finished putting together the video yet, but I'll post it as soon as I can.
In the morning on Monday, it was still mostly overcast, but I could see sun up in the mountains. So I decided to go there to fly my drone. Found a nice area with a dead-end road going up a canyon, plenty of sun with scattered clouds.
I flew the drone through the canyon, and above the trees, then took it down low and flew between the trees. Unfortunately a strong gust of wind came up just as I was passing close by a large oak, and I didn't react quick enough to keep it from blowing the drone into the tree. It was about 30 feet up from the nearest place I could get underneath it. The arrows in the next two photos show the location of the drone in the tree:
At first I tried tying a rock to the end of a nylon rope, twirling it, and releasing it up towards the tree. A few times I was able to snag a lower branch and shake it, but I could never get the rock/rope high enough. I spent a couple hours doing this until I ended up with an open blister:
So then I drove to the nearest small town and bought some PVC conduit. I thought could use this to create a pole tall enough to knock down the drone. Unfortunately the PVC wasn't stiff enough to do the job, so I had to give up and go home.
I ordered a 24-foot, aluminum extension pole online, and it arrived on Wednesday. I drove back out there Wednesday evening for Round Two. The pole alone wasn't long enough, so I opened up a coat hanger and taped it to the end of the pole, leaving the hook at the top end. But I couldn't maneuver the pole through the lower branches without bending back the wire hanger. By then it was starting to get dark anyway, so I went home again. On the way, I encountered a couple deer which suddenly ran across the road as I came around a bend:
On Friday I returned for Round Three. This time I was armed with a 1/4" fiberglass rod, which I taped to the end of the extension pole. A wire hook was taped to the end of the rod. After just a few tries, I was finally able to get it hooked onto the branch where the drone was, and shook it loose. The lower branches slowed the drone's fall, and a thick layer of dead leaves helped to cushion its impact. No damage at all! Just a little dusty:
This evening I cleaned it up, installed a fresh battery, and gave it a brief test. Everything works fine!
In between all this, I also spent some late nights at home, shooting time-lapse of the night sky around our neighborhood for an upcoming video.
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When I planned the trip it was supposed to be cloudy along the coast and clear in the desert, but then Tropical Storm Rosa took a turn inland over Baja. As a result, I had cloudy skies and occasional sprinkles at my campsite. No chance to get any time-lapse of the stars, so I tried it with the clouds. These actually turned out to be pretty interesting, with different layers of clouds moving in different directions. I haven't finished putting together the video yet, but I'll post it as soon as I can.
In the morning on Monday, it was still mostly overcast, but I could see sun up in the mountains. So I decided to go there to fly my drone. Found a nice area with a dead-end road going up a canyon, plenty of sun with scattered clouds.
I flew the drone through the canyon, and above the trees, then took it down low and flew between the trees. Unfortunately a strong gust of wind came up just as I was passing close by a large oak, and I didn't react quick enough to keep it from blowing the drone into the tree. It was about 30 feet up from the nearest place I could get underneath it. The arrows in the next two photos show the location of the drone in the tree:
At first I tried tying a rock to the end of a nylon rope, twirling it, and releasing it up towards the tree. A few times I was able to snag a lower branch and shake it, but I could never get the rock/rope high enough. I spent a couple hours doing this until I ended up with an open blister:
So then I drove to the nearest small town and bought some PVC conduit. I thought could use this to create a pole tall enough to knock down the drone. Unfortunately the PVC wasn't stiff enough to do the job, so I had to give up and go home.
I ordered a 24-foot, aluminum extension pole online, and it arrived on Wednesday. I drove back out there Wednesday evening for Round Two. The pole alone wasn't long enough, so I opened up a coat hanger and taped it to the end of the pole, leaving the hook at the top end. But I couldn't maneuver the pole through the lower branches without bending back the wire hanger. By then it was starting to get dark anyway, so I went home again. On the way, I encountered a couple deer which suddenly ran across the road as I came around a bend:
On Friday I returned for Round Three. This time I was armed with a 1/4" fiberglass rod, which I taped to the end of the extension pole. A wire hook was taped to the end of the rod. After just a few tries, I was finally able to get it hooked onto the branch where the drone was, and shook it loose. The lower branches slowed the drone's fall, and a thick layer of dead leaves helped to cushion its impact. No damage at all! Just a little dusty:
This evening I cleaned it up, installed a fresh battery, and gave it a brief test. Everything works fine!
In between all this, I also spent some late nights at home, shooting time-lapse of the night sky around our neighborhood for an upcoming video.
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
After getting my drone caught in a tree out at Kitchen Creek, and then making several trips back before finally
recovering it, I went out again last Monday and flew the drone some more so I could finish getting the video
footage I wanted. I haven't had a chance to edit it yet, but in the meantime here are a few pics of Megaweapon
and the Kitchen Creek area:
And slightly off-topic, but I did this was yesterday -- our neighbors found this in their yard and asked me to
capture it for relocation:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BDSVZuA0sn4" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
https://youtu.be/BDSVZuA0sn4
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recovering it, I went out again last Monday and flew the drone some more so I could finish getting the video
footage I wanted. I haven't had a chance to edit it yet, but in the meantime here are a few pics of Megaweapon
and the Kitchen Creek area:
And slightly off-topic, but I did this was yesterday -- our neighbors found this in their yard and asked me to
capture it for relocation:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BDSVZuA0sn4" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
https://youtu.be/BDSVZuA0sn4
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Soneill
Member
Dont think I'd be able to sleep very well knowing my drone was in a tree. My luck it would have rained and it be off to dji care.After getting my drone caught in a tree out at Kitchen Creek, and then making several trips back before finally
recovering it, I went out again last Monday and flew the drone some more so I could finish getting the video
footage I wanted. I haven't had a chance to edit it yet, but in the meantime here are a few pics of Megaweapon
and the Kitchen Creek area:
And slightly off-topic, but I did this was yesterday -- our neighbors found this in their yard and asked me to
capture it for relocation:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BDSVZuA0sn4" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
https://youtu.be/BDSVZuA0sn4
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
That was my biggest worry too, especially since it was supposed to rain that week. Luckily for me the storm missed us -- just a few sprinkles here and there, and apparently nothing at all where my drone was. When I recovered it, there were no water spots on it.
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Awesome, I finally got "spotted"! 
I'm guessing that was you in the white 4Runner this morning?
I'm guessing that was you in the white 4Runner this morning?
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