With Remote ID the new norm for all drone pilots, tools and apps have begun to hit the market that allow anyone to track drones flying nearby.
However, Remote ID also tracks the pilots location, so does the Dronetag $1,099 tracker pose a risk to you and your drones?Dronetag sent us one of their RIDER, Remote ID receivers, to test out in the real world.
And thats just what Jared Sanders did over on our YouTube channel.
This small device is able to detect Remote ID signals from its surroundings, and when paired with its app, shows those drones, their flight paths, and the pilots location on a map.The company states its market is for first responders and public safety to provide an easy-to-use, basically off-the-shelf solution for monitoring airspace around large events and disasters.
Dronetag, however, also shares that production companies have begun using the device to monitor their airspace for disturbances.Advertisement - scroll for more contentRIDERs app seems pretty easy to use; once its connected, it will show you nearby drones.
Then, select those found drones to see its flight patch and details on a map.
The app will even tell you what drone is flying, based off its Remote ID transmission.A few times it was difficult to find those drones; thankfully for some of you out there, it was not a perfect, easy connection process for some drones.
Dronetag reached out after our video to share why we could have been having issues.
They say that the 2.4 GHz range Remote ID operates on is a pretty busy one, and something as little as the DJI Mic sitting next to it can mess it up.However, as a device, its compact, easy to use, and does what it says it does.
Is it worth $1,099? Not to me, but I dont really have a need for it either.The question of Remote ID forced adoption was never about showing the drones location for me; it was always about showing the pilots location.
A piece of personal information that many dont like to be so public.
While I have no issues if law enforcement or the FAA has access to that using their detection devices, but anyone with an app or a receiver? No, thank you.I dont have any issue with Dronetag seeing the opportunity for an off-the-shelf Remote ID receiver; although my market wouldnt be for disasters, it would be to put this device in every squad car across the US (free business advice to anyone that wants it).
The issue I have is not vetting or having a security system in place to stop nefarious users from seeing exactly where I am when flying my very expensive and now very hard-to-purchase DJI drones.However, I cant expect Dronetag in a capitalistic system to spend the time they dont need to vet every purchaser before taking their money.
That adds more time, which means more money (to hire folks to do the vetting), and that would just raise the cost of its products.
The FAA is the one who designed the Remote ID system, and theyre the ones that decided letting everyone know the pilots location was a good thing.The level of frustration I have with this issue, which is directed at the FAA, not Dronetag, is the same level I have when I found out my $100 locking lug nuts for my car can be beaten by a $30 set found on Amazon.
Except instead of giving me a false sense of safety, Remote ID is actively making my life less safe, even if the chances of being robbed or harassed by the local drone Karens are low.Id just like to have some sort of barrier between the crazies and dangerous folks and where Im currently standing.
Again, this is the FAAs fault, not Dronetags.With that said, the use cases for a device like RIDER in a world increasingly overrun with drone use cases are ever-growing.
Especially as states continue to pass laws controversially giving local authorities the ability to regulate drones in their jurisdictions.FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.