The mini kite kit is an effort to curate a cheap, easy, and very portable kit for kite photography for under $50. It's similar to the [mini balloon kit](/wiki/mini-balloon-kit), but is based around a large “octopus” kite that’s a beautiful and stable flyer in medium winds, and packs down into a small nylon bag for easy travel. It won’t fly in as light wind conditions, or carry as much as larger kites might, but you can throw it in your backpack or in a tote, and honestly the octopus is just a lot of fun to fly. Just like the [Mini Balloon Kit](/wiki/mini-balloon-kit), this is a #prototyping-kit and you'll be collaboratively working on improving it with us at PublicLab.org: ### Materials We have a prototyping kit available here: https://store.publiclab.org/products/mini-kite-mapping-kit But to get the parts yourself: * 1 [~$11 squid kite](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B014NMGEQO/) * 1000 feet of 50-pound kite string * carabiners, zip-ties, other clips and such to attach it all together * a camera that [weighs less than 60 grams](/q/14219) ### Lightweight We’ve [collected a list range of cameras](/q/14219) -- like the Mobius camera we already sell -- light enough to work with 2-3 of these. With a lighter option, that means you'll have a spare balloon. But there are remaining questions and refinements to make on this kit -- that’s why we’re calling it a Prototyping Kit -- and, just like the original Balloon Mapping Kit, we’re going to collaboratively work on these issues by sharing knowledge on the Public Lab website. ## Questions [questions:mini-kite-kit] **** ## Activities [activities:mini-kite-kit] ...
Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
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warren | " " | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
cfastie | "A good starting point for evaluating these sub $60 action cameras is the sensor. Many if not all of these cameras use sensors that do not have as m..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
warren | "These or similar cameras are as low as $40 now! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01DG9UMS6/ Via @azaelb at https://publiclab.org/notes/azaelb/12-04..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
warren | "Just noting this post by @SeanKMcGinnis on using #raspberry-pi-cameras -- https://publiclab.org/notes/SeanKMcGinnis/03-12-2014/raspberry-pi-camera..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
warren | "Of course, it'd be great to see an even cheaper #raspberry-pi -based alternative too! " | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
mathew | "I often get tripped up on the firmware upload stage; https://publiclab.org/notes/abdul/06-22-2016/infragram-plant-cam#Installing+config+file The c..." | Read more » | almost 8 years ago | |||
warren | "Hmm, i have an older one, so the firmware may have changed. Maybe best to ask about this on the main Grassroots Mapping list, as I think I remember..." | Read more » | almost 8 years ago | |||
jbreen | "You had me at "squid-shaped kite." I've been using the DIY Mini Kite Kit but for the life of me cannot seem to get the Mobius camera to go into ti..." | Read more » | almost 8 years ago | |||
warren | "Thanks for the link! So many colors :-) -- " | Read more » | about 8 years ago | |||
shanlter | "The squid looks so nice in the sky! Here is the link: https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.0.0.YLWxJc&id=44263991526&ns=1&skuI..." | Read more » | about 8 years ago | |||
liz | "The delivery was convenient too -- we bought a dozen, and they were shipped in a tape-wrapped tarp to a local mini-mart in Guangzhou where we picke..." | Read more » | about 8 years ago | |||
mathew | "omg you're kidding me that is so cheap this kite is so awesome " | Read more » | about 8 years ago | |||
liz | "The 5.5M kite was ~USD$4 on taobao in mainland China -- @shanlter can you post the link to the taobao store that you helped me buy from? " | Read more » | about 8 years ago | |||
tonyc | "Pat, we are going to be getting samples of Mobius cameras from the factory, preinstalled with 6mm and 8mm lenses. Hoping to be able to sell these t..." | Read more » | almost 9 years ago | |||
eustatic | "sweet cup rig have you all seen that there's a waterproof case for mobius action cams that includes a heat disperser? i'm sure it costs as much ..." | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
warren | "I've recently used just a flag-shaped piece of foam core and a swivel to stabilize my Mobius (infragram p+s) and it worked pretty well, although I ..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
mathew | "nice shot! " | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
ajawitz | "Very True. In fact I'd have no other choice since my Printrbot Simple can only print about 4x4x4 anyway. Unfortunately, I won't be printing much ..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
warren | "Much better -- this one in Bilbao, with @pablo (pablo rey): " | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
mathew | "I flew the mobius on a redstone rig, but the rig was overkill--- weighing twice what the camera did. I bet just scaling it down to closer to the m..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
warren | "Great to hear! @mathew, I fixed it by using WB #7 and setting all 3 to be 310/500/700. I guess that's not good for figuring out the problem but it..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
GreenLeaves | "@warren: good news! We solved our problem by downloading a different browser; now it works. But thanks anyway :-) " | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
warren | "@GreenLeaves, can you share a link to the image as you've edited it so I can see the edit history log? What equation are you trying to use? " | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
GreenLeaves | "Hi warren, many thanks for your response. Sorry for disturbing you on your journey. In fact we have a more basic technical problem. After uploading..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago |