I'll Be Registering My Quad Drone with the FAA

Most folks don't care for registering drones.  I get it - folks don't believe in over-regulation.

For me, I don't want fines and there are times when Murphy's Law fucks with me, so I want to ensure that if a LEO visits me, I'm doing things legally.  I don't think the current regulations in the US are over-bearing and you won't catch me doing the stupid things that many non-licensed drone pilots do. (Flying beyond VLOS, flying in fog, flying at 1000 ft, harassing wildlife, etc...)

I want to fly at night.  I've seen videos of folks flying during fireworks displays, and the footage looks incredible.  Even non-fireworks night footage looks very crisp.  

I want to give night flying a shot.  The only thing is, to fly at night, I need a strobe.  After researching, the lightest strobes I can find are 6 grams.  My drone, a Mini 3, is 248 grams.  The legal limit for non-registered drones is 249 grams.  So, to fly at night, and because a strobe will but the drone over the 249g limit, I need to register the drone.

This isn't a huge deal to me.  Flying is a privilege, not a right.  I've no problem registering the drone.

Because I'm registering the drone, that means I can use the Plus (51 minute) rechargeable battery.  I'd been avoiding that battery because it would've put me over the weight limit, as it's heavier than the normal Mini 3 battery.  

So, I bought a strobe and a Plus battery.  The strobe is arriving tomorrow.  The battery is arriving Monday.  I can register the drone tonight and be flying with the strobe tomorrow night!

UPDATE (8/22/2025):  I've registered the drone (at the FAA Dronezone website).  It was a bit tricky, as I registered it before the Plus battery arrives (which is tomorrow), which meant the Remote ID on the RC display would not show.  Dronezone was asking for that bit of information.  Remember, the Remote ID is only activated when using the Plus battery.  DJI has RID support documentation that helped me get through the process.  This was more clear than any of the other (many) janky web pages that explained the process, as most of those pages were outdated with erroneous details.  I basically had to use the device's serial number when registering the drone with the FAA (the serial number IS the Remote ID).  I paid a $5 fee for 3 years of registration, which is the standard fee and duration.  I used a label maker to create a label that has the registration number; I stuck it to the side of the drone.  One thing, though:  I can no longer use the non-Plus batteries (they're not cheap, either), or buy an external RID module, which costs more than one battery.  I can sell the batteries to recoup funds from having to buy another two Plus batteries, I guess.