Serendipity

    So the other day, I'm playing with the drone in the park with my friend Steve. And we have big fun and he got video of the drone in flight with his phone. This is extra neat because one problem about having a remote controller in your hands at all times is that it's hard to get photos or video. (More, as we say, anon.) It was also crazy hot and sunny, so for once the limited battery life was not a big disappointment. But this became moot when the drone crashed, one propeller came off and the screw that had been holding it on (or not) went away into infinity.
    I've mentioned that I have two screws that are supposed to be holding propellers on but aren't big enough, and mentioned it to Steve. Also that I went to a hardware store and they didn't sell screws that little. And Steve said, "Try an optician's shop." Now this probably would have never occurred to me. But the serendipity part (besides the propeller flying off to bring the topic up at all) is that I had a pair of sunglasses in the car that Alice or somebody abandoned years ago. I just kept them in the off chance they might become useful in an emergency. And boy howdy did they!
    The old sunglasses had Phillips head screws (like the drone) which filled in perfectly (so far) for the propeller screws. Just a crazy string of luck and coincidence and now damn thing is better than before and practically better than ever.
    Also, there's a button on the left of the controller which the manual does not identify or explain. Looking at the controller when I push it, I find that it switches from H to L or vice-versa. Looking it up, it's a high/low speed switch. Yesterday (Steve and I having fooled with this button the day before) I flew the drone insanely high, literally out of sight. We must have left it on H accidentally. (I only found out it switched H and L today.) I would let it drop, run the motors a little so I could at least hear it, let it drop again, run them again, until finally I could see it again and I could fly it knowing where I was going. Was ultra cool. Not surprisingly, running at high speed is a drag on the battery. This wouldn't worry me except for the other new thing. When the battery is about to run out, the motors slow down in what should be a controlled crash. If you're a thousand feet up, though, it isn't so well controlled. This is likely how Drony Moroney will pass away unless I get a better sense of how much battery I have. Ah well, they'll make more.