this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2024
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Idk if anyone had a similar problem before, but I live in EU by the countryside, at first there were only a few but now it happens more and more often to see drones passing over my house, I am sure they are civilian drones because law enforcement has no reason to use them since the area is quiet (and honestly I doubt they would be able to do so), however it bothers me enough to know that there are people who get over the fence and enter my property going to look at what they want, does anyone have any advice on what to do?

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 6 days ago

Get yourself a little beehive OP.

Every time you see a drone, report it for killing your bees, sit back and watch the EU busybodies go fuckin mental about it

The cunt who's doing it will be in The Hague within a week πŸ˜‚

[–] [email protected] 53 points 6 days ago (8 children)

This works if they fly low enough

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

You can also use an anti-drone gun

[–] brygphilomena 22 points 5 days ago

Police drones. Surveillance "for your protection"

Fuck them!

[–] [email protected] 19 points 6 days ago

That some dystopian shit!

[–] Woht24 9 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Portsmouth Ohio, fat redneck throwing a bottle of shit Australian beer and the police not executing a no knock warrant and murdering him for his crimes?

I call bullshit.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago

He's white, it's okay.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

That photo is real but that caption isn't.

That was taken in Australia with one of our better beers front and centre

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

That guy deserves an award

I never understood anti drug drones. You'd think criminals would just go inside or get a pavilion

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[–] ben_dover 14 points 5 days ago

there's a software package floating around to hijack drones and remote control them yourself. it might be time to test the drone's security capabilities

[–] Nooodel 42 points 6 days ago (5 children)

Drone pilot from Germany here, they have no place hovering over your property, more strictly even they're not allowed to fly in any way that allows them to view your garden from above. You can shoot down the drone and it's their problem note that this is in Germany not the US (which surprised me tbh).

However, that said, could be that it's the same pilot again and again, even if it's different birds. Normally they are very cooperative, just ask them to stop and they'll apologize for any inconvenience caused.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Since op didn't mention seeing a pilot, I'd suspect that the drones are flown out of sight. So asking them to stop can be difficult. Of course asking nicely, by downing a drone, might get the message across.

I wonder if I could shoot down drones here in Denmark as well.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Flying out of sight only underlines the illegality of the act. In Germany you need to keep relatively near to your drone and technically need to be able to fly by sight only (so can't stand in a building/car and then not see your drone).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

Same in DK, and my comment was meant to underline that. If you see a drone and no operator is around, then something is definitely wrong.

I mean, years ago, I had a DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ drift away, on account of my own inexperience and stupidity. This was right when it had just come out, and way before drone licenses and laws forbidding drone flights in populated areas. So no laws were broken; and it was done with no malicious intent... But these days?

Not even the DK police, who have some very well-trained drone operators, can fly their drones out of sight.

Seeing a drone with no operator once? Something might have gone wrong, let's not judge too harshly, but seeing a drone with no operator regularly? On your property? If you have a hunting permit, a shotgun, and a clear shot, then it might be a good time to practice your anti air skills.

[–] hakobo 5 points 6 days ago (2 children)

FAA Certified drone pilot in the USA here. That's wild. In the US it's illegal to shoot down an aircraft of any sort no matter the type or who is flying it. And also, the Federal Aviation Administration is the only authority in the US when it comes to airspace, and as long as you have authorization from the FAA or are in uncontrolled space, you can fly over anyone's property. However, that doesn't give you the right to voyeurism or harassment. If you are intentionally spying on things that are normally considered private (peeking in a window, for instance) or repeatedly or specifically bugging a specific individual or family, then you can still be charged with those crimes. Also, unless you have a specific waiver that's rather hard to get, you have to be within line of sight of your drone. If the drone pilot is not following the rules, they can be hit with hefty fines. Even though drones can be bought easily, there's still strict rules that the FAA has for both recreational and professional flying, and anyone operating a drone outside those can and should be reported.

[–] norimee 18 points 5 days ago (3 children)

FAA Certified drone pilot in the USA here. That's wild. In the US it's illegal to shoot down an aircraft of any sort

That's even wilder to me, since you have several states where you are allowed to shoot anyone trespassing on your property, but a drone, who can record and video and infringe on your privacy is illegal?!

That's like prime capitalism. Human lives are worthless, but don't damage my property. What?

[–] mrcleanup 8 points 5 days ago

It's all about property rights here. You can always just make more people, right?

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago

commercial drones must have by law a remote ID, think of it like a unique number for each drone, so you might want to try using some phone apps like DroneTag to get that ID and then report it to the authorities. They will have a record of who that drone belongs to.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Apparently, old-fashioned spark radios can disrupt comms for consumer drones. There are kits for people who are interested in learning about early radio tech.

I've not verified this myself.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 6 days ago (2 children)

causing RF interference on purpose is definitely illegal wherever this person lives

[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Which means finding a personal purpose for using the spark radio, that way it remains a side-effect.

Might me time for some electrical experiments.

[–] Passerby6497 5 points 5 days ago

That only works so many times before the authorities can see through the ruse unfortunately.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago

What about mistakingly

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 days ago

Just looked it up for Germany: over residential areas you need either "an explicit permission of the owner", or "it is very light (<250g) and has no ability to record video, audio or radio" or "it is more then 100m above ground, not in the night and some other fingerprint" [1].

In all EU you actually need a registration on your some clearly visible [2].

So, of they are below 100m or in the night, just call the authorities. If you live a bit outside it might just not clear from above that it's private property.

[1] https://dipul.de/homepage/en/information/geographical-zones/legal-basis/#accordion-1-6 [2] https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/light/topics/travelling-drones

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Are you legally allowed to own a shotgun?

[–] BleatingZombie 11 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Don't shoot down drones. In the US it counts as shooting down an aircraft and you'll have the FAA knocking at your door

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

OP stated this was in europe. Out of the FAA's jurisdiction. The EASA may have similar rules though

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 days ago (14 children)

I'm not sure for the EU but in the USA the airspace above your private property is public domain and since drones are classified as aircraft they are entitled do fly over your property just as an airplane or helicopter might. When a drone is being used to record and surveillance it depends on local jurisdiction.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Almost. Any drone that weighs more than .55lbs must be registered with the FAA and as part of that it is required to be compliant with RemoteID. RemoteID requires the drone to broadcast both its identification and location of the control station.

If it's being operated over a home then it will almost certainly have to follow the rules on Operation Over People and those can be quite restrictive, especially for drones that weigh more than .55lbs.

There ARE Federal Rules for this in the United States, drone operators cannot legally fly any type of drone anywhere they want at any time.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago

If it's being operated over a home then it will almost certainly have to follow the rules on Operation Over People and those can be quite restrictive, especially for drones that weigh more than .55lbs.

That is incorrect... If you actually read the law you are trying to reference you will learn it's a prohibition on flying over "open-air assemblies of people" and if you read the final rule report (found on the very bottom of the page you linked under resources) on page 128 & 129 you will see how the FAA classifies "open-air assemblies of people".

The FAA received a few comments addressing the proposal to prohibit Category 3 operations over open-air assemblies of people. One commenter recommended the FAA clarify what it means by an β€œassembly of people” and provide a quantity or density of people that constitute a significant risk. The FAA has declined to define this term by regulation; rather, the FAA employs a case-by-case approach in determining how to apply the term β€œopen-air assembly.”58 Whether an operational area is an open-air assembly is evaluated by considering the density of people who are not directly participating in the operation of the small unmanned aircraft and the size of the operational area. Such assemblies are usually associated with public spaces. The FAA considers some potential examples of open-air assemblies may include sporting events, concerts, parades, protests, political rallies, community festivals, or parks and beaches during certain events. Some potential examples that are less likely to be considered open-air assemblies include individual persons or families exiting a shopping center, athletes participating in friendly sports in an open area without spectators, individuals or small groups taking leisure in a park or on a beach, or individuals walking or riding a bike along a bike path, but whether an open-air assembly exists depends on a case-by-case determination based on the facts and circumstances of each case.

While the FAA refused to strictly give a definition, what was provided is enough to construed that private property does not constitute an "open-air assemblies of people".

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[–] teejay 19 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Get a pellet gun and shoot them down. You'll find out quickly who is doing it when they trespass on your property to retrieve their downed hardware.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Tell me you're American without telling me you're American lol.

Not a bad idea overall, but not a great first idea either

[–] HurlingDurling 33 points 6 days ago (4 children)

He said pellet gun, not roof mounted anti-air guns

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago (5 children)

No, ignore this. Never shoot guns into the air, it's both dangerous and stupid.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (4 children)

Unless it's a shotgun firing birdshot. This is why in many places you can hunt birds, it's really the only type of firearm you're allowed to use, because when shot at an upward trajectory, the pellets do not maintain enough velocity to be harmful when coming down and harmlessly fall to the ground. Anything rifled though is a different story, because its that spin on a bullet or a slug which allows the projectile to maintain its velocity and be dangerous when coming back down.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 days ago (2 children)

How is it trespassing? How far up do you "own" ? 5m , 200m, 1000km?

On the other hand, get a another drone and play chasey wott theirs, maybe and some talons to yours and swoop, eagle style ?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago (2 children)

E.g. in germany it is not allowed to fly over private property with a drone (equipped with a camera), no matter the height. You have to stay above offical streets. And maximum flight hight is 120 m, if I remember correctly.

I guess it's EU law, so it should be simmilar in other EU countries.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Do you own a shotgun? Just shoot it out of the sky.

Just kiding that's a terrible idea

[–] Etterra 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Clearly. Use a boomerang instead.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago

Here is a great defcon talk that might give you some ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CzURm7OpAA

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