A drone-as-first-responder launch site on a city roof
In August 2026, Ohio Drone Repair (ODR) surveyed, installed and commissioned a DJI Dock 3 with a D-RTK 3 Relay on a brick city rooftop in Garfield Heights, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. This is what a drone-as-first-responder launch site looks like in Cuyahoga County.
The project
A drone-as-first-responder (DFR) launch site: a hangar on the roof that stores the aircraft, keeps it charged and launches it from the cloud, so no pilot has to be on the roof.
The site
The dock sits on a level pad clear of the parapet, the relay stands on its own mast with sightlines over the district, and a short conduit run connects to the panel. A clean roof with a short cable path is the most straightforward install there is.
The solution
DJI Dock 3
A weatherproof, air-conditioned, self-charging hangar for one Matrice 4D-series aircraft. It carries its own RTK base station and weather sensors, connects by Ethernet or 4G, and is flown entirely from the cloud in DJI FlightHub 2.
D-RTK 3 Relay
A maintenance-free relay on a mast or parapet, powered from the dock. It extends the aircraft link and feeds RTK corrections when buildings stand between the dock and the area it serves. DJI rates it at three to five times the range in severe obstruction.
The system
| Operating radius | 10 km from a single dock |
|---|---|
| Recharge | 15 to 95% in 27 minutes at 25 °C |
| Weather | Dock runs from -22 °F to 122 °F; takeoff and landing wind limit 12 m/s (about 27 mph) |
| Protection | Dock IP56, aircraft IP55, relay IP67 |
| Backup power | Over 4 hours of comms, cover and landing if the building loses AC |
| Aircraft | Matrice 4D series, up to 54 minutes of flight; the 4TD adds thermal, night scene mode and an NIR light |
| Link | Ethernet to the dock with 4G backup |
| Cloud | DJI FlightHub 2: live view, virtual cockpit, flight records and media upload |
DJI published specifications (manufacturer maximums). They describe the platform, not this site's configuration.
How ODR delivered it
ODR surveyed, installed and commissioned the Garfield Heights site. Here is what each phase of ODR's Dock 3 scope of work covers:
- 01SurveyAn ODR technician flies DJI's Dock Site Evaluation, and the site has to grade Good before anything is ordered. We check sky clearance, roof edges, power, network, grounding, airspace and an alternate landing spot.
- 02InstallThe dock is mounted on a level base and connected in a set order: earth first, then power and Ethernet, all checked against DJI's specification. A D-RTK 3 Relay goes on its own mast.
- 03ConfigureThe system is activated and bound to DJI FlightHub 2, with matching firmware. We set the RTK, flight zones, return-to-home altitude and alternate landing site.
- 04CommissionFunctional tests cover the cover opening and closing, connectivity, a trial flight, and the emergency-stop and alternate-landing test.
- 05Hand offTeleoperators get a walkthrough of FlightHub 2 and basic troubleshooting, plus a handover pack with the site documentation.
What it enables
- Launch from dispatch. A teleoperator at dispatch can launch on a 911 call and stream live video to units on the way.
- Auto Dispatch. FlightHub 2 can launch from a CAD call or alarm event and send the feed into an existing video system.
- Ready when called. Standby charging holds the battery at 95% for DFR work.
- Fails safe. If the link drops or the battery runs low, the aircraft returns home. If the dock can't take it back, it diverts to the surveyed alternate landing site.
- DJI reference values: Dock 3 reaches a scene 1 km away in under 100 seconds with Auto Dispatch, and the cover opens fully in under 15 seconds.
One team, start to finish
We sell what we service, so the team that surveys your roof is the same team you call afterward. See the full system on our DJI Dock 3 page.
Planning a DFR launch site?
ODR will survey your roof, install and commission the Dock 3, and stay on as your service partner.
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gov@ohiodronerepair.com · Phone 330-598-4170
Site photographs © Ohio Drone Repair. Specifications are DJI published values. Nothing here is legal advice or an FAA authorization.