Dji Phantom UAVs

Author
Discussion

Boro

521 posts

208 months

Monday 16th June 2014
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andy798 said:
What are the main differences between the FC40 and and Phantom 2?
The FC40 is the original Phantom 1 with a basic camera attached and FPV flight via a smartphone/tablet.

The Phantom 2 has a longer flight time, costs alot more but has the option of adding a GoPro Hero 3/3+ to a 3-axis Gimbal or buying one with a built-in camera (higher spec than the FC40) with or without a Gimbal.

andy798

104 posts

181 months

Monday 16th June 2014
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I have already got a gopro 3 so the Phantom 2 is looking like the better choice. Also like the idea of longer battery life. Cheers for the advice Boro, I'll hopefully be in touch to place an order soon.


andyr30

613 posts

187 months

Monday 16th June 2014
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Boro said:
Do you mean something like the 7" Black Pearl Monitor/Receiver setup or the actual DJI App?

Edited by Boro on Monday 16th June 12:50
The App itself....it looks like it could be something quite handy that I could use when filming in certain locations.

Set the way points up and let it fly on its own whilst I control the camera, or there's an area I need to film that is in a large open space which is larger than the distance I can fly manually. So set up way points around the area and just set it off on its way.

sgrimshaw

7,330 posts

251 months

Monday 16th June 2014
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famoussas said:
I have one of these GPS trackers and the problem is when flying in rural areas, woodland etc reception can be very poor and you find the tracker will fail to work.
Some of them can be set to send a tracking information, say every minute.

I would hope that would at least provide some clue as to it's location should the worst happen.

Edited by sgrimshaw on Monday 16th June 20:40

Boro

521 posts

208 months

Monday 16th June 2014
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I wonder if a sim card would work from a mobile chip and pin machine? They usually work on all networks so give a better chance of coverage.

Boro

521 posts

208 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
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Went for a little FPV fly last night. Definitely makes it more enjoyable being able to see which way your pointing and all the stats on screen.


markmullen

15,877 posts

235 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
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I've got an iPad mini coming, I might adapt my Phantom Vision to run through that rather than an iPhone.

Boro

521 posts

208 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
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markmullen said:
I've got an iPad mini coming, I might adapt my Phantom Vision to run through that rather than an iPhone.
Just knocked this up to see if the Black Pearl Holder would work with the iPad mini holder...



markmullen

15,877 posts

235 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
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Looks good, I'd buy a conversion if you sold them.

Boro

521 posts

208 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
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markmullen said:
Looks good, I'd buy a conversion if you sold them.
I'll drop you an email :-)

famoussas

641 posts

184 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
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Boro said:
I'll drop you an email :-)
I'd also be interested smile

Boro

521 posts

208 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
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famoussas said:
I'd also be interested smile
Email sent :-)

aspen

1,419 posts

264 months

Sunday 22nd June 2014
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Flew it at the beach. Firmware upgrade killed my gimbal tilt control. Fixed it now. Flew very well in pretty high wind!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZkmafTdTjA

Boro

521 posts

208 months

Monday 23rd June 2014
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aspen said:
Flew it at the beach. Firmware upgrade killed my gimbal tilt control. Fixed it now. Flew very well in pretty high wind!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZkmafTdTjA
There's something about footage taken at the beach isn't there? I think it's because not matter what, you wouldn't be able to get the same footage unless you were in a plane/helicopter, especially high up over the waves!

We're putting together a similar edit after getting some great shots yesterday at Trebarwith Strand in Cornwall.

andyr30

613 posts

187 months

Monday 23rd June 2014
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I liked that video, nicely done.

I need to get to the beach with mine sometime, I get nervous flying over water though!

Anyone else got any video's they want to share?

Boro

521 posts

208 months

Tuesday 24th June 2014
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andyr30 said:
I need to get to the beach with mine sometime, I get nervous flying over water though!

Anyone else got any video's they want to share?
We took our demo unit out over the sea at the weekend for the first time...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZXcC9PfH-o

r1flyguy1

1,568 posts

177 months

Tuesday 24th June 2014
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aspen said:
Flew it at the beach. Firmware upgrade killed my gimbal tilt control. Fixed it now. Flew very well in pretty high wind!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZkmafTdTjA
Nice vid but that's some seriously depressing music to it wink

andyr30

613 posts

187 months

Wednesday 25th June 2014
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Boro said:
We took our demo unit out over the sea at the weekend for the first time...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZXcC9PfH-o
very nice! some lovely smooth panning shots there, were you flying using FPV?

I've just updated the app on my phone so now it has groundstation built in.

Going to find a nice big open space and give waypoints a try out.

Hopefully they are going to update again to allow you to program camera orientation into it too, as that would make it a very handy tool

Seight_Returns

1,640 posts

202 months

Wednesday 25th June 2014
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andyr30 said:
I've just updated the app on my phone so now it has groundstation built in.
Saw the announcement yesterday that Groundstation now released for P2V and P2V+. Downloaded the App to play with it even though I don't have a Phantom yet.

Looks like an absolutely brilliant feature - will be the deciding factor for me to find the extra cash for a P2V rather than the
FC40 I was going to get. Please report back how you find it.

How does it work ? Does it pre-program the Phantom with a set of GPS waypoints that it follows autonomously with no transmitter input ? Or does the transmitter still provide direction as commanded by the iphone app to fly between the waypoints ? I think its the latter, but not sure.

Can't help thinking that as Quads become more afforable and capable the CAA will tighten up the licensing and operating regulations sometime - must get one before the party's over !

Boro

521 posts

208 months

Wednesday 25th June 2014
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andyr30 said:
very nice! some lovely smooth panning shots there, were you flying using FPV?

I've just updated the app on my phone so now it has groundstation built in.

Going to find a nice big open space and give waypoints a try out.

Hopefully they are going to update again to allow you to program camera orientation into it too, as that would make it a very handy tool
Cheers Andy, yes we used the Black Pearl Monitor/Receiver. Managed to smooth it out a little more this morning in editing (frame rate issue). The FPV makes it so much easier to frame the shots and make sure you're panning smoothly and not too fast. Usually when the quad is in the distance it's difficult to know how fast it's panning or which direction you start/stop.

Really wanted to fly right out to Gul Rock but got a little nervous being that far out over water. Maybe next time I'll pluck up the courage lol.