Hello, and welcome…
Rick’s Daily Tech Tips Update for Thursday, July 28, 2022
Topics covered in this issue…
• Q&A: Why do drones have such short flight times?
• Q&A: Do I need to block Facebook users on every device I use?
• Q&A: Can I connect a really old printer to my new PC?
• Video: “I Got A Name” by Jim Croce
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Today’s quick tech tip….
Q&A: Why do drones have such short flight times?
Question from Leo: I spent some time shopping for a drone the other day, and I must say I came away rather disappointed.
I went to several stores to check out the drones they had in stock and every one of them says they can only fly for a few minutes at a time. Even the most expensive ones listed flight times of less that 30 minutes.
My phone can literally work for days on a single charge and my laptop can work for the better part of a work day.
What is it about drones the render them unable to fly more just a few minutes at a time?
Rick’s answer: There are several reasons why drones have such limited flight times, Leo:
1 – The blades are relatively short and they must spin at extremely high RPMs in order to lift the drone into the air and keep it flying as you maneuver it around and make it hover.
As you can imagine, the motor spinning those blades consumes a lot of “battery juice” while the drone is in operation.
To make things even worse, there are four sets of rotors that need to spin at those high RPMs, and that results in an even higher level of power consumption.
2 – The radio(s) and other guidance and control circuitry consume power as well.
3 – Even though the power consumption is high, the overall weight of the drone must be kept as low as possible.
That means the battery must be relatively small and lightweight, which limits its capacity to store energy.
4 – Any useful drone needs to have at least one camera attached to it, and that increases the overall weight of the device. That extra weight results in the consumptions of even more “battery juice”.
There you have it, Leo. Thanks for asking such a great question.
The latest from Rick’s Daily Tips Tech Blog…
• Q&A: Do I need to block Facebook users on every device I use?
A reader wants to be sure the people he blocks on Facebook are blocked on every device he uses to access his account.
• Q&A: Can I connect a really old printer to my new PC?
A reader asks if it’s possible to connect a decades-old printer with a parallel connection to a new PC that doesn’t have a parallel port. The answer is yes, and this post explains how.
• Click here to see today’s ‘Picture of the Day’.
Every morning I post a new photo that I find inspiring, intriguing, or just plain beautiful to look at. Jumpstart your day by checking it out.
Pro blogging tip…
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Rick’s Daily Pick…
American Lifetime Extra Large Impaired Vision Digital Day Clock (#ad)
I’ve been a fan of these “Senior” day clocks for quite some time.
If you have a loved one with cognitive and/or vision issues, these clocks have the potential to greatly enhance their quality of life.
All the text is in extra large fonts and absolutely nothing is abbreviated, making it easy to read and understand the current date and time and avoid confusion.
Today’s post from ‘My Daily Smile’…
Video: “I Got A Name” by Jim Croce
This classic hit song is one of my all-time favorites.
Tech news that caught my eye…
• Ring, Google and the Police: What to know about emergency requests for video footage
• Facebook and Instagram to show even more posts from accounts you don’t follow
• Spotify has 188 million Premium users, but continues to lose money
• Millions of Android devices infected with wallet-draining malware
• Meta posts its first ever quarterly revenue decline
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Thanks so much, and have an amazing day.
Your tech buddy,
Rick Rouse
https://www.ricksdailytips.com