General / Off-Topic Quadcopters

Memnoch · Jan 17, 2014

Hi all,

I've been thinking about buying one of these beasts for quite a while now, ever since playing around with a friends single rotor and then almost crashing the thing! A quadcopter would give me the same thrill of flying but with a much more stable platform.

I had been looking at the Parrot AR Drone, which seemed like a pretty decent bit of kit and not too expensive but the thing that always put me off was the very short flight time before having to recharge.

A colleague at work then showed me some footage of people using a DJI Phantom 2 with a gimbal mounted camera for taking aerial shots of their antics when kayaking. And now I see they have a new Phantom 2 Vision model with integrated camera for FPV. This seems ideal to me.

http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2-vision/

Does anyone here own one of these, or one like it that they would care to share their experiences of.

Riedquat · Jan 17, 2014

A local news team were using one in my area to film the flooding.

They got some excellent footage and some strange looks from people wondering what it was.

droneflyer · Jan 17, 2014

DJI Phantom FC40

DJI have bought out the FC40 model which in my mind is the perfect entry level aerial photography platform. Click on the link below for the spec
DJI Phantom FC40
I don't own a Phantom but have been out with a friend who has the original DJI Phantom and has shot some great footage using a GoPro. If you want a good Quadcopter and can afford any of the DJI models then go for it. All the reports I have read rate them highly. I'm sure you won't be disapointed

Memnoch · Feb 1, 2014

Buzzflyer do a great RTF kit comprising of:

DJI Phantom 2
Zenmuse H3-2D Gimbal
ImmersionRC 600mW transmitter
7" Diversity Receiver Monitor

All you need to do is add the GoPro camera, which they also sell, and you have an out of the box solution. If you want to go for the full FPV experience you can also buy a set of Fatshark goggles. The whole thing comes in at just under £1300.

I'm seriously considering this and I am in my customary, self imposed cooling off period! If I still want this in a month or so I will probably end up getting it!

Toumal · Feb 1, 2014

Heya!

About the Parrot: They still haven't fixed their flyaway issue (a design flaw due to them using an ultrasonic sensor for altitude measurement), so unless you fly indoors and/or don't mind your quadcopter suddenly flying off on its own, don't get one. Also, pretty expensive.

DJI Products usually work alright but are hopelessly overpriced. That is okay if you absolutely want a RTF set from some big name, but the Phantom has issues as well: They are using a non-diversity antenna that is suitable only for short to medium ranges. Many people had their Phantoms fly away as well due to loss of signal.

I'd say get the Blade Q350X but that one also has a substandard receiver setup - though at least they set up the failsafe right by default. They released a new version that has an integrated 2-axis gimbal with a HD camera but then the price is up to 1000 bucks again...

If you want to fly FPV and/or take stabilized video, and you don't mind reading up on the subject matter (or have someone around who can introduce you to these things), one of the cheapest gimbal-stabilized multicopter set right now is this one for a little over 200 bucks: http://fpvcentral.net/2013/12/locust-arf-quadcopter-kit-review/

It comes pre-setup right out of the box, you just need to connect your preferred receiver and a battery. The gimbal works perfectly, better than the Zenmuse gopro gimbal (which completely locks up if it hits its angular limits for more than a few seconds!!)
And with some tweaking and a USB cable you can program a better software which will allow you to program flight plans and have this thing fly completely autonomously. If you want to buy this from DJI we're talking > $1000 bucks, depending on the amount of waypoints they allow you to set.

If you want to build a smaller quadcopter for less money but for doing all kinds of weird stunts without having to fear expensive repair costs, there's a little shopping list here: http://fpvcentral.net/2013/03/high-performance-quadcopter-for-120-step-1-the-shopping-list/ - even though it's DIY, it's really easy to build. And on the plus side, repairs will be very easy to do and cheap.

Bottom line: If you just want to buy a box and get flying, expect to pay a lot more. If you are willing to invest some time and get creative, you'll not only get things way cheaper, but you'll also have more power, more flight time and can do things like waypoint planning on your android tablet without paying thousands of dollars.

Steve O B Have · Feb 7, 2014

I design and build them from scratch

Here's me flying one of my older creations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knoazw8HlAI

I mostly use Hobbyking parts and build the arms out of aluminium square tubing - the top and bottom plates I make out of glass fibre layups.

I'm currently building one with a GPS module and a multiwii flight controller that will do both waypoint flying and altitude hold etc. They're heaps of fun!

fozza · Feb 8, 2014

I have a parrot and they are lots of fun. Expensive yes but all the spares are available to replace so you dont have to be too afraid of flying it.

I fly mine outdoors all the time never had issues with fly away. There are new mods that let you do programed gps flight paths and director mode for just shooting video. Its hit and miss but ok.

Go Pro are getting small and lighter. Previously you couldn't get a go pro plus mount to fly safely.

If it comes down you risk the drone and the camera.

Too pricey to risk.

Let me know if you want to know more about the parrot.

FozzA

Bingo Brewster · Feb 8, 2014

I saw this a few weeks ago. It looked pretty good. Very steady! The guy flying it said it can go to 1000 ft, but he may have been exagerating.

kenwshmt · Feb 8, 2014

They are called 'drones',
find your local folk who make and fly them.

http://www.meetup.com/North-Texas-Drone-User-Group/?trax_also_in_algorithm2=original&traxDebug_also_in_algorithm2_picked=original

Memnoch · Feb 8, 2014

Bingo Brewster said:
I saw this a few weeks ago. It looked pretty good. Very steady! The guy flying it said it can go to 1000 ft, but he may have been exagerating.

That looks like the Phantom 2 Vision. He's not wrong, it should be able to do that. I think the only thing that limits it is that it uses 5GHz for control and 2.4GHz for the video. If you look at the specs of the Phantom 2 non-Vision it can go much further than that.

Steve O B Have · Feb 9, 2014

kenwshmt said:
They are called 'drones',
find your local folk who make and fly them.

http://www.meetup.com/North-Texas-Drone-User-Group/?trax_also_in_algorithm2=original&traxDebug_also_in_algorithm2_picked=original

Well technically until they are actually mission oriented RCA (Radio Controlled Aircraft) they're simply an RC aircraft or a multirotor. Most RC hobbiests and groups tend to steer away from using the term Drone because of the negative connotations around privacy and the stigma gained from military application.

Memnoch said:
That looks like the Phantom 2 Vision. He's not wrong, it should be able to do that. I think the only thing that limits it is that it uses 5GHz for control and 2.4GHz for the video. If you look at the specs of the Phantom 2 non-Vision it can go much further than that.

Yeah I haven't the foggiest why they did that - since the majority of RC operates on 2.4GHz, and there's going to be a big flood of Wifi noise from other sources (everywhere these days) it seems a little foolhardy to have video running on the same freq. The last thing you want is an RC machine that is effectively 4 whirling blades getting out of control because you lost orientation. Moreover if they had stuck to 2.4GHz for the controls then they'd easily get over a mile of range LOS and then they could've used the 5.8GHz freq for the FPVideo and got brilliant range from that. Crazyness.