Flying anonymously

[GadgetGuy]

It's just the onboard storage. The cheapest way to do onboard storage needed for a drone, is to have an SD card. It's not secret. It's also used to store data for processing by the flight controller when needed. Providing an interface for you to delete this could cause usability problems. It's not a secret conspiracy to hide data about your flights from you. If you are paranoid then build a drone yourself from scratch. You'll also need to compile OpenFlight by yourself, and audit the code so you can make sure that nobody snuck in some secret commands. Nothing you are flying is important enough to do this.

Overwriting your data on an SD card is idiotic. I can almost always recover your data, and if not I'll take it next door to the office with the scanning electron microscope and get your data off.

Do I want the government out of our business? Yes. Do I think you should worry about your government? Yes. Do I think your fears are unreasonable. YES. You're being ridiculous. Responsible drone use won't cause you any problems. You're operating an unmanned flying vehicle. It has the potential to fly completely on it's own without you being present. Registration sounds like a reasonable idea. Why? Because there's lots of idiots and somebody is going to make a mess.

Registration # data aren't available to any smuck off the street. It will be a database that won't be available to regular law enforcement at first. I'm sure over time police will be able to look up the number if you wreck or something.


I never said it would accomplish anything, In fact I said the opposite. But being a jerk, and complaining about how your freedoms are being destroyed, and a serial killer is going to find and kill you because of drone registration is not rational. I highly suggest you sell your Phantom and build your own drone so people can't track you.

Just make sure you pay for all your parts in cash, and wear disguises. You'll probably need to steal a car as well so they can't get footage and tie you to your anonymous drone *Sarcasm*

stop whining. If you don't like things, change them.

Reported

 

[Suspended Moments]

DUDE.. leave me alone.. and stop yelling! (';')( ';')

 

[TC Malker]

What exact byte size did you come up with for the file size of the big file needed to completely fill the hidden card.

I'll have to get back to you on that my drone is not available right now. It will depend on the sd size you use. But all you have to do is right click on drive...properties. That should give you available space. Then enter a little smaller size than that.

 

[J.James]

If the inducement of a $5 credit for giving up your personal credit card info is really the deciding factor

Thats an easy one to get around use vanillavisa gift credit card to pay. No matter what name you use or address all that visa has is some ones zip code that they enter online when they activate the card and no matter what name is used or address when you buy your registration tattoo number that needs to be tatooed on your wrist oohhhh ah opps I meat written on or inside the battery compartment. The card co will still send back the avs check info the merchant that the card name and address is all valid. So register it to some guy named joe blow and then use his numbers and be sure to carry the card he gave you when you "Borrowed" The drone on a long term basis from him. the faa is even saying you do not have to be registered to fly if you borrow some ones drone or they let you fly it as long as they registered there drones and said to just makse sure the user carrys a copy of there registration to show its registered. BAM there is one way to fly completely anonymously. and still can give caesar Hss 5 bucks and also no way for some one who thinks they know you name to go look up you home address to go kill you. or rape you or even able to kid nap your kids and the best part of all if a terrorist happens to try and go to the publicly searchable data base to take some ones registration number before they do some thing crazy with a drone then some one dont even have to worry about being the one whos number they randomly pick to use to set some one else up for there crime. and also next year or when ever it is that they decided that enough people register and then outlaw them and want us all to turn them in as is the plane. Then you still are not on there pick up lists to come take your evil drone if you dont turn it in by the 30 day deadline they will give.
But still also have the benefit of having it registered and no need to fear even getting fined for flying an unregistered drone.

 

[J.James]

BTW I see on the faa's faq that it seems to be a crime now or at least the faa seems to think that if your drone accidentaly crashes on any ones property or even autolands. even if there is no damage. They say for the property owner to call law enforcement right away. So either they made it a crime all the sudden being they want some one to call the cops and report it right away or they are implying people should be calling the cops for things that are not a crime or even an emergency. Which is pretty whacked either way esp when cops got a lot more important things to do such as eating donuts shooting peoples dogs, random black men walking down the street and molesting kids and raping women and now the faa wants them to add crashed drone calls to there list of priority's


SO IT very well might be a good idea not to not have any thing that could trace back if even crashing on some ones law by accident can get you in trouble.

 

[TC Malker]

Thats an easy one to get around use vanillavisa gift credit card to pay. No matter what name you use or address all that visa has is some ones zip code that they enter online when they activate the card and no matter what name is used or address when you buy your registration tattoo number that needs to be tatooed on your wrist oohhhh ah opps I meat written on or inside the battery compartment. The card co will still send back the avs check info the merchant that the card name and address is all valid. So register it to some guy named joe blow and then use his numbers and be sure to carry the card he gave you when you "Borrowed" The drone on a long term basis from him. the faa is even saying you do not have to be registered to fly if you borrow some ones drone or they let you fly it as long as they registered there drones and said to just makse sure the user carrys a copy of there registration to show its registered. BAM there is one way to fly completely anonymously. and still can give caesar Hss 5 bucks and also no way for some one who thinks they know you name to go look up you home address to go kill you. or rape you or even able to kid nap your kids and the best part of all if a terrorist happens to try and go to the publicly searchable data base to take some ones registration number before they do some thing crazy with a drone then some one dont even have to worry about being the one whos number they randomly pick to use to set some one else up for there crime. and also next year or when ever it is that they decided that enough people register and then outlaw them and want us all to turn them in as is the plane. Then you still are not on there pick up lists to come take your evil drone if you dont turn it in by the 30 day deadline they will give.
But still also have the benefit of having it registered and no need to fear even getting fined for flying an unregistered drone.

BTW I see on the faa's faq that it seems to be a crime now or at least the faa seems to think that if your drone accidentaly crashes on any ones property or even autolands. even if there is no damage. They say for the property owner to call law enforcement right away. So either they made it a crime all the sudden being they want some one to call the cops and report it right away or they are implying people should be calling the cops for things that are not a crime or even an emergency. Which is pretty whacked either way esp when cops got a lot more important things to do such as eating donuts shooting peoples dogs, random black men walking down the street and molesting kids and raping women and now the faa wants them to add crashed drone calls to there list of priority's


SO IT very well might be a good idea not to not have any thing that could trace back if even crashing on some ones law by accident can get you in trouble.

Me and you we think alike.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Me and you we think alike.

I'll third that notion. Motion carried!

 

[Micahel]

As some of you know, my fear of flying drones is that it will land in a backyard of a drone-hating serial killer who will find out where I live and come kill me and my family. That's the reason I don't put any contact info (name, email, phone #, etc.) on my drone. I'm also not going to register with the FAA (which is completely optional btw) or put any registration # on the drones. That's because the serial killer will be able to find out where I live from that registration # since it will be completely searchable, name, address and all. Also the serial killer could have friends in the FAA, who knows?

So, you would think that would be safe enough, but you would be wrong! Dead wrong. That's because inside the Phantom is a secret, hidden micro SD card that acts like a black box, recording everything that you do. I am very alarmed that DJI has now made it very hard to delete the data on micro SD. Since the update from GO 2.4 to 2.4.1, DJI has remove the option to "format data recorder" from the app. Why, you wonder? Read on.

You may not realize this, but the micro SD can hold 100s of all your flights. Anybody with access to the micro SD can view all your flights and see how high you flew (over 400ft?) or how many times you flew over a serial killer's house, spying on him. But it's just not the flight. The moment you turn your bird on, the GPS data is recorded. So, if you turn your bird on at home, the serial killer will able to pinpoint your exact location and come kill you and your family.

So what you have to do to protect you and your family is:
1. don't put any contact info on your bird
2. don't register with the FAA
3. do something about the micro SD card

I can help you with #3. It's hidden in the battery compartment and is glued in so it will be complicated to remove and you'll probably have to remove the shell. But there's an easier way. All you have to do is enter the flight data mode and erase everything there. Then, fill the card with a dummy file. Make sure it's completely filled so that NO data can be written. You will get MC Data error, but don't worry, it doesn't affect anything, just no data can be written on the card and you're safe from the serial killer and fly wherever you wish with no consequences whatsoever. No serial will ever be able to track you if you crashed into his yard or car.

*disclaimer*
please fly responsibly and take responsibility for your actions

Hi. Quick question... When I try to delete these files built into the hidden SD card, it says it is write-protected. I tried everything on the net to try to make it writable, so I could over write it. To know avail, it didn't work. As well, it says that these cards will constantly keep over writing themselves with the most recent data from your flights. Do you know of anyway to correct this? Another thing worth mentioning, the FAA will utilize these hidden black-box (flight recorders) for prosecution of people flying over 400' etc. You could get caught today for flying 401' and they can analyze your craft when they confiscate it and see if there were other times this has occurred and charge/fine you for this after the fact. No I don't advocate violating any of the FAA's new laws; I just don't like the idea that there is a black-box hidden on my drone, and the big brother watching what I'm doing when flying at the park with my family just trying to get some great home movies. Creepy! Thanks!!!!

 

[Mordor]

Sorry the newbie question....are they saved in the MicroSD?
If so, a quick format will erase everything....
I do see some hidden files, but normally they are empty....especially with last fw updates...

I would be more concern with the connection to the net and some hiden logs on Android. I think Dji has access to all we do on big servers....for instance in a case of RMA-....

Hasta.

 

[Pete Leare]

No, the files I question are saved on the hidden SD card in the battery compartment, not the one in the gimbal


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TC Malker]

Hi. Quick question... When I try to delete these files built into the hidden SD card, it says it is write-protected. I tried everything on the net to try to make it writable, so I could over write it. To know avail, it didn't work. As well, it says that these cards will constantly keep over writing themselves with the most recent data from your flights. Do you know of anyway to correct this? Another thing worth mentioning, the FAA will utilize these hidden black-box (flight recorders) for prosecution of people flying over 400' etc. You could get caught today for flying 401' and they can analyze your craft when they confiscate it and see if there were other times this has occurred and charge/fine you for this after the fact. No I don't advocate violating any of the FAA's new laws; I just don't like the idea that there is a black-box hidden on my drone, and the big brother watching what I'm doing when flying at the park with my family just trying to get some great home movies. Creepy! Thanks!!!!

This is very disturbing indeed! From the last firmware update 1.5.3, DJI said that the data recorder files would now be "read-only". I warned people that means you will not be able to delete it, but some people argued that it just mean you cannot altered it. We need to verify this immediately.

I never updated to 1.5.3 and was able to delete the data recorder files. Can someone else who has 1.5.3 firmware verify that deleting these file are now blocked?

Also, please be aware that the flight data are also recorded on the FPV device (phone or tablet). DO NOT upload these to the cloud and don't even have the data on because DJI will probably download your data without permission or asking. Fly with airplane mode and delete flight data on your phone or tablet often.

 

[GadgetGuy]

This is very disturbing indeed! From the last firmware update 1.5.3, DJI said that the data recorder files would now be "read-only". I warned people that means you will not be able to delete it, but some people argued that it just mean you cannot altered it. We need to verify this immediately.

I never updated to 1.5.3 and was able to delete the data recorder files. Can someone else who has 1.5.3 firmware verify that deleting these file are now blocked?

Also, please be aware that the flight data are also recorded on the FPV device (phone or tablet). DO NOT upload these to the cloud and don't even have the data on because DJI will probably download your data without permission or asking. Fly with airplane mode and delete flight data on your phone or tablet often.

That's what I expected DJI to do when they removed the format the .DAT card black box option. They want those files readable only! The flight logs are indeed recorded on your tablet, and syncing those to the Cloud, gives DJI full access to them. Also, the 401 foot DJI altitude is irrelevant unless you are flying over a flat earth. The only relevant number, if you care, is 400 feet AGL, and the P3P has absolutely no idea what your AGL ever is. The number seen in the flight logs and during flight is only the elevation above your launch point. The FAA doesn't care about that number. They only care about your AGL elevation! It's up to you to figure out what 400 feet AGL is over all the terrain you fly over!

 

[Discoverydave]

If your UAV is lost, the registration number will help you locate it! So the registration and the FAA has become a lost and found agency! Seriously if you fly responsible, there is no problem. Just remember the info you give them is already in some database. So no big deal.

 

[DAP-UAV]

You 3 call the FAA Caesar and it's the rest of us that have a problem. IDK about that?

 

[Micahel]

Is this "hidden" SD card able to be permanently removed by dismantling the aircraft? I have an Inspire 1 and a P3P. Maybe I will just put on the regular SD card in the gimbal, a picture of some nice family from another country & origin... with an overseas phone #. Maybe the FAA will stop their search there. I could care less about getting my craft back if it falls from 400'; I would rather just quietly get in my car and leave the scene. Nothing good can come from trying to salvage it at the point. Just look over your shoulder and get the h*ll out of there!

 

[AlexSP]

Such a burden to live in paranoia. It's an illusion, trying to escape prison by self-enprisionment.

 

[Rob Robertson]

Not endorsing or dismissing anything here. Just curious. I have completely disassembled my P3P because I had a crash and had to replace the body. I found no micro SD card anywhere except in the camera.

I did find a STANDARD SD card on the bottom side of the main board above the battery compartment that looks like the picture in my attachment.

Is this the SD card you are talking about?

I have not updated any firmware sine 1.4.10 and I am using older DJI apps and old 3rd party apps. Not because I am worried about being tracked, anyone can find me easily 10 different ways online and my Phantom can be tracked easily long before the FAA got involved. I had to log into my DJI account just to start the engines as you may recall. I am quite sure that if it crashes there is an easy way to identify it's owner through DJI. I stopped upgrading because DJI started limiting and taking away features, like putting the 500 meter height restriction in the firmware so even 3rd party apps can't utilize the P3P's full potential. There are plenty of other threads on that topic, so I won't do them again here. I wanted to keep my drone with all the abilities it came with when I bought it. I do fly it higher than the 500 meter limit WITHOUT breaking any FAA regulations, as I like to fly up and over some pretty tall mountains where I live. I didn't want to give that up because DJI wants to hold my hand and limit the Phantoms abilities.

 

[Micahel]

Not endorsing or dismissing anything here. Just curious. I have completely disassembled my P3P because I had a crash and had to replace the body. I found no micro SD card anywhere except in the camera.

I did find a STANDARD SD card on the bottom side of the main board above the battery compartment that looks like the picture in my attachment.

Is this the SD card you are talking about?

I have not updated any firmware sine 1.4.10 and I am using older DJI apps and old 3rd party apps. Not because I am worried about being tracked, anyone can find me easily 10 different ways online and my Phantom can be tracked easily long before the FAA got involved. I had to log into my DJI account just to start the engines as you may recall. I am quite sure that if it crashes there is an easy way to identify it's owner through DJI. I stopped upgrading because DJI started limiting and taking away features, like putting the 500 meter height restriction in the firmware so even 3rd party apps can't utilize the P3P's full potential. There are plenty of other threads on that topic, so I won't do them again here. I wanted to keep my drone with all the abilities it came with when I bought it. I do fly it higher than the 500 meter limit WITHOUT breaking any FAA regulations, as I like to fly up and over some pretty tall mountains where I live. I didn't want to give that up because DJI wants to hold my hand and limit the Phantoms abilities.

Yes, that is the card. But, I do not know what will happen if you remove it all together? You will need to ask others on this site. Maybe you can just replace the card with another one that is writable that you can reformat every couple of flights? Keep us posted.

 

[AlexSP]

...

I have not updated any firmware sine 1.4.10 and I am using older DJI apps and old 3rd party apps. Not because I am worried about being tracked, anyone can find me easily 10 different ways online and my Phantom can be tracked easily long before the FAA got involved. I had to log into my DJI account just to start the engines as you may recall. I am quite sure that if it crashes there is an easy way to identify it's owner through DJI. I stopped upgrading because DJI started limiting and taking away features, like putting the 500 meter height restriction in the firmware so even 3rd party apps can't utilize the P3P's full potential. There are plenty of other threads on that topic, so I won't do them again here. I wanted to keep my drone with all the abilities it came with when I bought it. I do fly it higher than the 500 meter limit WITHOUT breaking any FAA regulations, as I like to fly up and over some pretty tall mountains where I live. I didn't want to give that up because DJI wants to hold my hand and limit the Phantoms abilities.

Same here. My P3P is also on 1.4.10 for the same reason. I don't care about being tracked or found, in fact it has ID tags with my phone # and email in case someone finds it and decide to return or whatever. Also I'm too lazy to update - that is, lazy because it's working fine with all features, no new restrictions and thankfully no glitches of any kind, so I see no reason to update just yet.

 

[Rob Robertson]

Yes, that is the card. But, I do not know what will happen if you remove it all together? You will need to ask others on this site. Maybe you can just replace the card with another one that is writable that you can reformat every couple of flights? Keep us posted.

For me, that is not an issue. I was just wondering what card was being talked about since there is only one micro SD card in the Phantom. I plan to fly within all the regulations, so I am not concerned that my flight data could be recovered. I am already easy to track down, so registration is not an issue. I just thought I was missing something when I didn't find the card I thought was being referred to.