It is difficult to find exactly which neighbour it is that has the drone, as I live in a relatively built up area. The drone is a DJI phantom, and has a camera attached.
Should I leave a sign in big litters on my lawn saying "please do not fly your drone here"
Or do I contact the police?
i cant find the original video i watched but here are some other sources https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/when-a-drone... https://phantompilots.com/threads/flying-over-private-proper... http://www.droneguru.net/can-drones-fly-over-private-propert...
https://www.caa.co.uk/Consumers/Unmanned-aircraft/Recreation...
[1] http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/83R/billtext/html/HB009...
"Hey neighbor, I was wondering if you might do me a small favor. I noticed your new drone, it's very cool. I'm sure you get lots of cool pictures and footage, but it makes me a little bit uncomfortable when you're flying over my garden and my home, do ya think you think you could still get your footage from outside of my property's airspace?
Thanks pal, I appreciate it."
He may have to follow the drone home next time he sees it.
I'm not the nicest person in the world and if someone flew a drone over my garden I would ignore it but if they would hover there long enough for me to be irritated I just might attempt to bring it down.
That would at least force the owner to identify themselves and I can afford to replace the drone if ordered to do so by a judge.
Not if it's visible from the public space.
OP should check the local laws first. It's possible he had no recourse, depending on how high the drone flies. It's not like airplanes need your permission to fly over your property.
People will put all kinds of visible barriers around their house to get some privacy, hovering your drone over those barriers is clearly a breach of sorts.
Depending on where this is happening the laws will vary but here is one example from the UK:
DIY method: https://makezine.com/projects/build-wi-fi-drone-disabler-wit...
Pro Method: https://www.droneshield.com/blog-content/2017/1/14/drone-def...
Seems to me with DIY method you aren't breaking any FCC regs (uses a wifi de-auth). Still I would do it out of direct line of sight (hidden/obscured area) in case operator catches you on camera.
When you pick it up just ask them to kindly come by and pick it up.
Being nice works well when people are doing questionable things (and possession is 9/10 of the law if they are not nice in return).
Has the FCC's enforcement been successfully challenged in court? Because last I knew their interpretation of 47 USC 333 explicitly considered monkey business at layer 2 or above to be within scope of malicious interference.
https://transition.fcc.gov/eb/jammerenforcement/jamfaq.pdf
- For example, jammers can: prevent your Wi-Fi enabled device from connecting to the Internet
- A jammer can block all radio communications on any device that operates on radio frequencies within its range (i.e., within a certain radius of the jammer) by emitting radio frequency waves that prevent the targeted device from establishing or maintaining a connection.
And more is in there. Judging by these definitions the FCC believe they have a pretty wide reach:
- Any device that jams or disrupts cell phone calls, text messages, or other wireless communications by emitting an interfering radio frequency signal is illegal
As you stated, the courts would have the final say.
I guess with a 'Monetary Forfeiture' being the punishment I have to retract my suggestion. You are better off breaking it with a rock, spear, or a shot-put!
https://bgr.com/2015/10/16/drone-defender-rifle-radio-wave-g...
Or https://www.dailydot.com/debug/wi-fi-drone-disabler-raspberr...
If you can documentos that it is flying too much over you, you can take action.
If that fails you can learn tensorflow and target the drone camera with a (low power) laser.
Don't fry the camera justo point the laser at the objective while it is flying and voila: privacy happens.
If you can show it's much more than a one-off, and how low the drone is, etc., you may get a more sympathetic reaction from authorities. Whether it's the police, a court, or whatever.
In addition to drone use and behavior, specifically, many communities have nuisance laws and ordinances.
If your neighbor is making a nuisance of themself, the "drone" part may be incidental in getting the behavior to stop.
Best wishes.
P.S. For example, you may have a perfect right to use a leaf blower on your yard. But if you are compulsive with it and spend 2 - 3 hours every day blowing every last speck off your lawn and driveway, you may be found to be a nuisance.
