Recently, the new Make: magazine arrived and had an article on FPV drone racing. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a group of people who make drones and mount cameras (hence FPV or "first person view") to watch a screen live and race. Not all drones have cameras, but most racers do. I was recently told to get into a ham radio club to learn about electronics, but I didn't think many of those would be around anymore. When I saw the article, it occurred to me that racing drones was sort of a more current version of those. Anyway, I'm not really at the level of drone building/racing yet in terms of electronics skill, but I'm certainly interested in doing it in the near future. If anyone knows about a drone- racing group or would like to start one, I'm looking for anyone in DC, Virginia, or Maryland.
Nick

 

Nick S.,

Your timing couldn't be better. There is a MakerFaire in Reston, VA this weekend with several booths/demos focused on electronics and drones. More info here. There will also be other maker groups you can learn more about if you're interested. NOVA Labs who is hosting the faire is probably the largest such group in northern Virginia. As I understand it, they cover a lot on these subjects including electronics, robotics and drones. I don't think you'll find a better place to locate other groups and interested parties than the Faire (at least all at once). If you can't make it, most of the groups have a webpage link in the link above, so you can contact them independently.