Just joined the drone club

[slightlyhuman]

Saw a guy in my hometown selling a DJI Phantom quadcopter. Came with a $100 case, 2 batteries, extra props and charger for $400. Offered him $350 and he took it. I have a gopro 3+ black but recently got a hero 3 silver for $150 from a guy locally. I’ve never had one before and look forward to using it although I do wish it had FPV. Then again, that shit is expensive!

He’s going to give me a crash course for a few hours tomorrow for free which is cool. Just wondering if I jumped the gun on the price to get into the RC/drone hobby? The guy does aerial photography for a living so I trust he took pretty good care of it.

I had several beach trips this year(see below in my sig) and would have loved to have this thing with me.

 

[highland145]

He’s going to give me a crash course

You can do that by yourself.

 

[RossMAN]

Interesting site in your sig

 

[brainhulk]

If those are dji brand batteries i think that's a great deal. The dji brand batteries alone are fairly expensive iirc. Is it the older model fc40 or the newer phantom 2?

Oh yeah gratz on the quad

 

[slightlyhuman]

Interesting site in your sig

:thumbsup:

 

[slightlyhuman]

If those are dji brand batteries i think that's a great deal. The dji brand batteries alone are fairly expensive iirc. Is it the older model fc40 or the newer phantom 2?

Oh yeah gratz on the quad

I thought about grabbing a few more batteries since the case looks to hold up to 4. With only a 25-28 minute battery life it makes sense.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Which Phantom is it? Do you have a smart phone? The silver hero will work just fine, do you have a case, and mount for it? The hero, and the hero PLUS are different sizes btw. Note the you really need to calibrate before you fly.
I can answer anything you need to know.

 

[mmntech]

Been thinking of building one next summer. A quadcopter and not a "drone". Been eyeing the DJI Flamewheel F450 kit, which seems to have come down in price. Though I recall it coming with speed controllers before.

If I'm going to do it, I really want to go big. 550mm frame or larger. Hobby King seems to have discontinued the one I was eyeing last year unfortunately. So I have to find another one.

 

[dougp]

You live in Port A or Corpus? My Aunt runs the HEB resort in Rockport, and I'm from Kingsville - still have a lot of family down there.

 

[LookBehindYou]

Sorry to hijack your thread, but does anyone have any opinions on the DJI FC40? I'm really wanting an FPV quad and have decided against the parrot mainly due to the controls being done via wifi. With the FC40 it looks like video is via wifi, but controls are via 5.8ghz. I've also thought about the Hubsan H107D. It's cheaper at around $185, but the video and other capabilities aren't anywhere near as good. Anyone have an opinion on either or other options to get my feet wet with an fpv quad (or heli even)?

 

[runzwithsizorz]

I thought about grabbing a few more batteries since the case looks to hold up to 4. With only a 25-28 minute battery life it makes sense.

More like 15-20 tops. With a camera even less.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Offered him $350 and he took it.

You got ripped off.

I bought 8 of these (the drone, not the people) for like $100 total;

 

[slightlyhuman]

I'm unsure of the exact model but here's the picture he posted FWIW:

 

[runzwithsizorz]

That's version 1, the same as mine, make sure firmware is up to date, Batteries are not stock, look like Maxamps? what is the mah? Flight time with 2200mah is about 8 minutes, without the camera. I can show you how to get more.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

The range of the smartphone app is only about 200 feet, and I HIGHLY recommend you do not use it for FPV! More later, I gotta go.
I can also show you how to receive the GoPro signal on a lap top, again only about 200 feet

 

[slightlyhuman]

The range of the smartphone app is only about 200 feet, and I HIGHLY recommend you do not use it for FPV! More later, I gotta go.
I can also show you how to receive the GoPro signal on a lap top, again only about 200 feet

I'm all ears.

PM me if you want, and thanks.

 

[slightlyhuman]

You live in Port A or Corpus? My Aunt runs the HEB resort in Rockport, and I'm from Kingsville - still have a lot of family down there.

Sorry, didn't see this earlier. I live NE TX but go to Port A and surf side with the fiancé and her fam.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Resurrecting this because I too am looking into getting into the quadcopter hobby. Would be cool to film/photo some of the spots around our camp in Maine, especially some of the islands.

Anyone have any opinions on the Blade 350Qx2? The local hobby shop has the ready to fly kit marked down $500 (to $400) because the QX3 just came out. Looks like a pretty nice setup given that it comes with everything needed to fly (Quad, 3000mAH battery, transmitter). In box camera is supposed to be cruddy but it seems easy to mod the gyro to host a gopro. There are a few local people selling them on craigslist for a bit less, but I am wary of picking up a used quad. Mainly because there is no way to tell how the batteries were cared for. LiPo batteries are no joke. . . pretty easy to start a fire with one of them, or worse.

The kit I am talking about is this one -

http://www.amazon.com/350-QX2-AP-Co...e=UTF8&qid=1420483096&sr=8-1&keywords=350+qx2

 

[brainhulk]

Just did a test flight of my RCLogger Eye One Extreme. Compared to my Hubsan microcopter, I think it's more stable, less subject to the whims of wind. And the battery lasts longer too. Still not brave enough to take it into the mountains yet, need moar practice...

http://youtu.be/X1weH5RSazs

 

[Raduque]

I don't know why anybody calls multi-rotors "Drones". Unless they're talking about the noise the props make.

 

[John Connor]

Watch out for the FAA assholes. In light of the drone craze this Christmas they have created rules for drones. I have a quad copter that cost me $80 on ebay. Just getting my feet wet for this: http://www.amazon.com/DJI-CP-PT-0000.../dp/B00HJOTIFS

 

[slightlyhuman]

I don't know why anybody calls multi-rotors "Drones". Unless they're talking about the noise the props make.

Mainly to get a rise out of people like you.

I refer to them as quadcopters as it sounds way less threatening to an irrational human.

 

[jagec]

I don't know why anybody calls multi-rotors "Drones". Unless they're talking about the noise the props make.

I believe that the DJI Phantom has an autopilot, GPS position hold, and a go-home/land function when the batteries get low. That's good enough for me to call it a drone.

 

[John Connor]

Indeed it does.

 

[DesiPower]

I call mine quadcopter too, mini quadcopter to be precise. I also got meself one for Christmas. Its this one



Its $50, come with a blade guard and extra set of blades. I wanted something to fly indoor, its pretty fun actually. I has a few LEDs too, looks pretty cool, but I am sure they drain battery too. Flies for about 10 mins on a charge