Cheapish Drone

[russy01]

Bipolar Kittens said:

I'd never heard of, let alone wanted, a DJI Phantom Vision+ before I read this thread.

Now I NEED one.

I know mate. Its a bad place this forum.....trying to hold back ordering something now. Might wait until early next year when it starts getting light again..

[Boatbuoy]

russy01 said:

Bipolar Kittens said:

I'd never heard of, let alone wanted, a DJI Phantom Vision+ before I read this thread.

Now I NEED one.

I know mate. Its a bad place this forum.....trying to hold back ordering something now. Might wait until early next year when it starts getting light again..

I got bitten, started off with a Phantom, and I've ended up with one of these:

http://youtu.be/XU4rEbCxSW0

It's a slippery slope!

Edited by Boatbuoy on Tuesday 18th November 00:23

[russy01]

Boatbuoy said:

russy01 said:

Bipolar Kittens said:

I'd never heard of, let alone wanted, a DJI Phantom Vision+ before I read this thread.

Now I NEED one.

I know mate. Its a bad place this forum.....trying to hold back ordering something now. Might wait until early next year when it starts getting light again..

I got bitten, started off with a Phantom, and I've ended up with one of these:

http://youtu.be/XU4rEbCxSW0

It's a slippery slope!

Edited by Boatbuoy on Tuesday 18th November 00:23

Looks crap.....thats what Im telling myself.

One of those flying about with a 5D on the bottom is a serious bit of cash...

I can justify couple hundred quid just so I can take funky pictures of the house, but anything more and the Mrs will go nuts!

Considering you are obviously bit of a Drone nut, what do you think to that Turnigy SK450 suggested above?

[Boatbuoy]

I've never seen one, so I can't really comment. But if I break it down it probably is reasonable. You're looking at the difference between a £1000 Phantom Vision and this. With the Vision the additional cost includes the camera, the gimbal, the video data downlink, and a large battery. If you take all of that away you are left with what used to be a Phantom , and that is then similar to the Turnigy one.

A year ago a Phantom 1 was about £325. If you then remove the DJI name (which you pay a premium for) and allow for a bit of price reduction over time you're not far off. It then I guess comes down to how good the internal flight control system is, and given the lack of copyright laws in China where all these drones come from I'd suggest it's pretty much identical.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with it if you buy one.

.....and yes, the S1000 with the 5D is a serious comitment, but it's a business investment.

[russy01]

Boatbuoy said:

I've never seen one, so I can't really comment. But if I break it down it probably is reasonable. You're looking at the difference between a £1000 Phantom Vision and this. With the Vision the additional cost includes the camera, the gimbal, the video data downlink, and a large battery. If you take all of that away you are left with what used to be a Phantom , and that is then similar to the Turnigy one.

A year ago a Phantom 1 was about £325. If you then remove the DJI name (which you pay a premium for) and allow for a bit of price reduction over time you're not far off. It then I guess comes down to how good the internal flight control system is, and given the lack of copyright laws in China where all these drones come from I'd suggest it's pretty much identical.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with it if you buy one.

.....and yes, the S1000 with the 5D is a serious comitment, but it's a business investment.

Fair enough, best of luck with it.

Battery - I have about 200 Lipos.
Camera - I have a Go pro
I also have 2.4ghz 4 & 6 Channel Radio sets

I might just give it a go, all I need is a Gimbal and a Drone for starters - if it not amazing then I can upgrade and treat as a project!

Thanks for your input.

[russy01]

Right I have managed to narrow this down a little bit and am going to place an order.

I am stuck between a few options.

- Turnigy SK450 and a Walkera G2D Gimbal - All in for about £200. http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/62953Turnigy_SK450_Quad_Copter_Powered_By_Multistar_A_Plug_And_Fly_Quadcopter_Set_PNF_UK_Warehouse_.html

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Walkera-G-2D-Brushless-G...

OR

- Quanum Nova - £190 without Gimbal

OR

- Walkera QR X350 - £190 without Gimbal


I like the idea of the Turnigy SK450 as I think its more customisable and I dont like the moulded plastic'ness of the other two. However it sounds like the SK450 needs more work out of the box for decent flight AND it doesnt come with all the GPS features as standard (return to home etc etc).

I honestly dont know what to go for..... I am worried that with a more powerful machine (only have a tiny Micro Drone at the moment) I should have the GPS features if something were to go wrong and to avoid losing it when going up high. But I do like the idea of having a little tinker and customising the odd thing with the Turnigy.

Any advice?

[foreright]

As someone who uses hobbyking a fair bit for heli and plane stuff I'd say that their stuff is VERY hit and miss. Specific items are good and some are utter rubbish and there's not usually much of a clue as to which is which. A fair bit of their stuff needs a fair bit of work out of the box to be usable / safe. For example I have an HK250GT heli that was good but a larger 500 which simply was not safe to spool up with the parts that came with it.

Buying named stuff from reputable places gets you more of an assurance that stuff is going to work and not injure / maim someone without modifying stuff.

Personally, I would (and did) go with something small and not powerful as a first quad. I have a blade mqx which is good fun and would be pretty good as a first quad.

[russy01]

foreright said:

As someone who uses hobbyking a fair bit for heli and plane stuff I'd say that their stuff is VERY hit and miss. Specific items are good and some are utter rubbish and there's not usually much of a clue as to which is which. A fair bit of their stuff needs a fair bit of work out of the box to be usable / safe. For example I have an HK250GT heli that was good but a larger 500 which simply was not safe to spool up with the parts that came with it.

Buying named stuff from reputable places gets you more of an assurance that stuff is going to work and not injure / maim someone without modifying stuff.

Personally, I would (and did) go with something small and not powerful as a first quad. I have a blade mqx which is good fun and would be pretty good as a first quad.

Fair points taken. However from my limited experience in this area I have no idea if even the Quanum or Walkera brands are reputable - they all sound like cheap chinese brands to me... the only name I consistently hear is DJI. Whilst these look to be good products, like anything they now seem to have a brand tax!

My first quad, whilst very small is an Extreme Fliers Micro Drone. Whilst its a diddy thing its given me a good idea on control - I dont think the size im looking at is going to be an issue, Im decent with RC stuff and live in the middle of nowhere - so have plenty of easy ground to take it easy on.

[foreright]

I'm familiar with Walkera in the context of helis and IMO they are reputable and make some good stuff. Only issue in the UK might be spares availability... I know this used to be an issue but from a quick google search it looks like there are some UK based places that stock spares

[russy01]

Ok, like most of these things I have made a decision AND its none of the original ideas I had. I have ordered up a DJI F450 Kit with a Naza Lite Flight Controller.

HobbyKing have lost my confidence before I even got to placing an order - their customer service was crap with a few questions I asked and am just generally not liking their attitude the more I learn about Quadcopters etc....

Anyway the DJI kit looks much better quality, what with the PCB wiring and a so called fantastic attention to deal (not seen a product face to face yet). The Naza Lite also gives me the GPS functionality I want as a failsafe - something I decided was crucial if I was strapping my Gopro underneath!

Anyway I am now left needing a Transmitter and Receiver.....and I have no money left.

So, where do I start? If I can I want to spend less than say £60/70 - but I understand this leaves me no alternative than a cheapo Turnigy 9X or the Flysky version.

The other common one I have seen is the Spektrum Dx6 - but in all honesty I really dont want to spend this amount at the moment (Mrs will knock it on the head as I told her the whole lot would cost no more than £100 anyway!!)

Does anybody have a good recommendation on a suitable set up? Preferably that I can get delivered for early next week? If any of you have a set you want to flog on then even better....

What I am considering - Turnigy 9ch - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Turnigy-9x-9ch-Channel-T...

Flysky 6ch - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Flysky-FS-T6-2-4GHZ-6-CH...

Edited by russy01 on Thursday 20th November 18:50

[bluenosewrx]

I am not opening any of those links as I know I will end up wanting one!!! And I live in London so fk it, must resist links

[russy01]

bluenosewrx said:

I am not opening any of those links as I know I will end up wanting one!!! And I live in London so fk it, must resist links

Its boring radio gear - so dont worry about those links!!

[noell35]

Maybe ebay for some used gear? Or try some for sale sections in forums. I joined www.multi-rotor.co.uk recently (you have to sign up to see the For Sale section). They seem like a nice bunch and if you're starting out with the DJI from scratch the forum could be quite useful anyway.

GPS doesn't always get you out of trouble and if not set up properly can get you in to a whole heap of trouble - from what I understand (I've only ever flown LOS and only have a basic naze32 FC on a 250 size quad with a mobius camera)

[foreright]

russy01 said:

Its boring radio gear - so dont worry about those links!!

Have you thought about the older dx6i? You ought to be able to pick up one of those on eBay for £60 or so. I still use mine for some models even though I have a dx9 now.

The turnigy 9x feels and looks a bit cheap, crappy and plasticky even compared to the dx6i IMO.

[russy01]

foreright said:

russy01 said:

Its boring radio gear - so dont worry about those links!!

Have you thought about the older dx6i? You ought to be able to pick up one of those on eBay for £60 or so. I still use mine for some models even though I have a dx9 now.

The turnigy 9x feels and looks a bit cheap, crappy and plasticky even compared to the dx6i IMO.

To be fair I assume it looks and feels cheap, as ultimately it is bloody cheap.

For now I want to keep costs down, so I am more concerned about reliability and functionality - any experience with using one.
I'd plan to use it for a while and when funding permits id buy something nicer and put the old one as a spare....

[russy01]

foreright said:

russy01 said:

Its boring radio gear - so dont worry about those links!!

Have you thought about the older dx6i? You ought to be able to pick up one of those on eBay for £60 or so. I still use mine for some models even though I have a dx9 now.

The turnigy 9x feels and looks a bit cheap, crappy and plasticky even compared to the dx6i IMO.

Been and found a good deal on a new Dx6i for £79. Might just go with it - not sure on the ol' Turnigy stuff....

[russy01]

So the whole idea of a cheap copter went out of the window. Whilst it's still very entry in the whole quadcopter world I went for a DJI F450 kit, with Naza GPS and spektrum dx6.

Started building the kit tonight which has been fun. Need to work on installing the Naza tomorrow. Quick progress pic -

[foreright]

russy01 said:

So the whole idea of a cheap copter went out of the window.

Doesn't it always!

Looking good so far!

[russy01]

foreright said:

russy01 said:

So the whole idea of a cheap copter went out of the window.

Doesn't it always!

Looking good so far!

Tell me about it. Originally I told the mrs I would spend £100 tops, she was happy when she seen the receipt for £80! Until I told her that was just the Transmitter!!

Overall its going to be a £300 Toy and thats without a Gimbal or FPV (which I am now really want).

All this because of some sad video I seen on Youtube of some bloke taking a DJI Phantom around his house and then up above the clouds!!

[noell35]

I'm sure you will and you just put them on for the picture but please please take the props off again before testing the motors etc for the first time.