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?

  • Dave.@aussie.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    31
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    5 months ago

    “I think there’s something wrong with the door switch on my old microwave oven. I’ve been testing it outside for safety, that’s why it’s out in the back yard pointing upwards with the door open.”

    • kora@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      5 months ago

      Wait… other than cook any bird or animal that might land inside, what would this do? I thought household microwaves were nowhere near capable of doing anything at any distance.

      I’d just go to the local print shop and have the most disturbing image put onto some large poster. Like a Hi-Res close up of a butthole with some form of issues.

      • deranger@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        18
        ·
        5 months ago

        I think the idea is to create a ton of noise in the 2.4GHz band which is commonly used to control drones. It’s not going to “cook” a drone at distances further than a few feet, you’d need a maser (microwave laser) for that.

        • domdanial@reddthat.com
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          8
          ·
          5 months ago

          Yep, a microwave emits orders of magnitude more signal strength than any control system will. My microwave at home, even closed, leaks enough to introduce noise in my wireless headphones if I stand close.

        • Dave.@aussie.zone
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          edit-2
          5 months ago

          Precisely.

          A 1200 watt microwave is essentially like a 1200 watt bar heater if you’re outside the oven cavity. To a person, it will feel pretty warm at a distance of a few feet as the energy is basically unfocused as it exits through the open door.

          But to a drone, it’s 1200 watts of RF noise near a receiving device that’s tuned to listen for signals that are typically around 0.00000001 watts. It would be like trying to hear a pin drop at a rock concert.

          Do need to make sure you point it upwards though as it will cause havoc with microwave motion sensors and a bunch of other sensitive listening stuff. Also, good luck getting wifi within a hundred metres of it.

        • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          5 months ago

          It scatters really easy. By the time it gets anywhere near the drone it will be far to weak to do anything. Meanwhile you would end up cooking you and everything around you. The effect wouldn’t be immediate but eventually you could get burns.

        • off_brand_@beehaw.org
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          5 months ago

          The affect of the microwave would fall off exponentially with distance. So like if it has X power at Y feet away, and you go out to 2Y feet away, the affect would be quartered. The affect on a drone isn’t going to do much, even if it really messes with your wifi close up.