Multirotor, multicopter and quadcopter discussion - The Drone thread

Syla5 · 21 Oct 2016 at 12:32

Very bottom end of the scale but looking at getting one of these for my Daughter who is 9.Recently found my small RC helicopter and she loved flying that until the small rear motor went.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01F7C5KX2?psc=1

Thoughts on this one, I like the idea that it can record, take pics, and can link up to a mobile phone so in-flight viewing is possible.

Delvis · 21 Oct 2016 at 16:02

Syla5 said:
Very bottom end of the scale but looking at getting one of these for my Daughter who is 9.Recently found my small RC helicopter and she loved flying that until the small rear motor went.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01F7C5KX2?psc=1

Thoughts on this one, I like the idea that it can record, take pics, and can link up to a mobile phone so in-flight viewing is possible.

Even though it says HD camera, it's 2mp (if that), the image won't be great.

Best thing is to look for reviews on youtube to ascertain quality on the camera bud.

EDIT: this guy is usualy half decent at saying how it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_znMvsgB-WU

Syla5 · 21 Oct 2016 at 16:16

Delvis said:
Even though it says HD camera, it's 2mp (if that), the image won't be great.

Best thing is to look for reviews on youtube to ascertain quality on the camera bud.

EDIT: this guy is usualy half decent at saying how it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_znMvsgB-WU

I shall check out the review.

I did see a lot of good reviews on amazon for this one. Mainly just looking for a cheapy item that my daughter can have some fun with

agnes · 21 Oct 2016 at 17:24

Looks like a bargain if you ask me! Will be a fun toy for a 9 year old, she'll love it

Delvis · 21 Oct 2016 at 19:48

Syla5 said:
I shall check out the review.

I did see a lot of good reviews on amazon for this one. Mainly just looking for a cheapy item that my daughter can have some fun with

Just don't want you to get your hopes up when the photos look like a jelly potato.

Should be a laugh though, I'd be tempted by one myself

Rilot · 21 Oct 2016 at 21:09

It will be great for a 9-year-old. Just buy some spare props.

Delvis · 22 Oct 2016 at 08:51

And a battery or two if it's changeable.

spookywillow · 22 Oct 2016 at 13:08

Martian II frame just arrived, Time to retire the ZMR250 I think

Bigpops · 22 Oct 2016 at 16:23

spookywillow said:
Martian II frame just arrived, Time to retire the ZMR250 I think

I have one of those (250mm version for 6" props). I've flown it two, maybe three times, and decided it's way too heavy. It's a bit like the ZMR in that regard. Tons of steel screws and nuts. I had a TSX250 frame before which was much much lighter but that's now my 3D frame.

The problem now is what to replace it with. There aren't enough light weight frames out there that will take 6" props. I did plan to abandon 6" and build a backup 5" machine, but that means different motors, and they'd have to be good ones like the ZMX X25s so expensive.

spookywillow · 22 Oct 2016 at 21:34

I've got the 220m i think that takes 5" props, I did notice it feels a bit heavy but I will see what it's like.
I was going to get the QAV-X but after breaking 2 arms in 2 weeks I decided against it as it's a single piece frame and a broken arm means a whole new frame.

Bigpops · 22 Oct 2016 at 22:53

spookywillow said:
I've got the 220m i think that takes 5" props, I did notice it feels a bit heavy but I will see what it's like.
I was going to get the QAV-X but after breaking 2 arms in 2 weeks I decided against it as it's a single piece frame and a broken arm means a whole new frame.

Wow. 2x arms in 2 weeks? I haven't been trying hard enough. The most I've broken is a single motor (other than a few props) and I've been at this over a year.

Mind you, I fly in an open field the vast majority of the time so only racing stuff (gates and flags) to hit, rather than trees or anything hard.

I have the banggood clone of the QAV-X as my 5" machine, and I have toyed with the idea of buying the real deal as it's so good.

spookywillow · 23 Oct 2016 at 21:10

Yeah I've had a bad spell. First ever frame breakages in 2 years and I get 2 in 2 weeks lol.

The martian II is complete, Comes in at 357g without battery and is about 50g lighter than the ZMR250. There's no preset for this frame on the KISS FC like there is with the ZMR250 so I'm going to have to do some tuning.

agnes · 24 Oct 2016 at 09:24

Morning all

Just wondered what the suggestion is for battery straps? I've got a ZMR 250 frame, flying with a 1300 4S, maybe 200mm straps will do?

agnes · 24 Oct 2016 at 19:01

Finally lost my temper with the **** parts from China.

The DR4-ii is broken, got a short somewhere, draws too much current causing major issues.

So yep, now I have to send it back. At this point, this hobby is becoming a wast of time and money. I see now why people don't bother with DIY.

spookywillow · 24 Oct 2016 at 19:05

Don't give up hope, DIY is good as it teaches you how the parts work and makes repairs so much easier than grabbing a RTF and not knowing a single thing about it.

Sounds daft but did you wire it up correctly? how do you know it has a short?

When you get in the air all this will seem like nothing

agnes · 24 Oct 2016 at 19:23

spookywillow said:
Don't give up hope, DIY is good as it teaches you how the parts work and makes repairs so much easier than grabbing a RTF and not knowing a single thing about it.

Sounds daft but did you wire it up correctly? how do you know it has a short?

When you get in the air all this will seem like nothing

See here:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2765155

The 5V pads are outputting 5V perfectly, directly powering the DR4-ii from it without touching the Naze gets the exact same response, LED's dim to nothing on the receivers board within a few seconds. Oddly, testing the actual pins going into the board with the 5V plugged in, it shows 2.3V... So something on that board drains the current from the battery big time.

I've removed the jumper, tried all 4 voltage inputs. Everything.

I'm truly lost on how it's broken and I don't wish to pull off the cardboard and test as it will likely be impossible to send back if I do. So I just have to order another.

Buy cheap, buy twice, seems to be the main moto for EVERY single part for building quads. Huge gap in the market for decent parts it seems.

EDIT: Further to my annoyance, my Taranis is EU-LBT, meaning it needs to be flashed back to none EU to work with any D4R-ii... Very, VERY annoying.

Bigpops · 24 Oct 2016 at 19:38

agnes said:
Finally lost my temper with the **** parts from China.

The DR4-ii is broken, got a short somewhere, draws too much current causing major issues.

So yep, now I have to send it back. At this point, this hobby is becoming a wast of time and money. I see now why people don't bother with DIY.

Diy is the only way to go. If there is such a thing as a decent ready to fly, I've never seen it. Even the Vortex Pro and TBS Vendetta fall well short.

If you want customer service, buy from the UK. It's usually not much more expensive and most of the owners of the good shops are active on facebook etc for quick answers to questions, or to help you out. Your D4R-II would be turned around in a coulpe of days.

spookywillow · 24 Oct 2016 at 20:46

That's just bad luck and a strange one for sure. I use a taranis and the d4r-ii and found I had to change firmware but it's not that hard and doesn't take long.

Delvis · 24 Oct 2016 at 20:56

Bigpops said:
Diy is the only way to go. If there is such a thing as a decent ready to fly, I've never seen it. Even the Vortex Pro and TBS Vendetta fall well short.

If you want customer service, buy from the UK. It's usually not much more expensive and most of the owners of the good shops are active on facebook etc for quick answers to questions, or to help you out. Your D4R-II would be turned around in a coulpe of days.

My falcon was good to be honest, for a first hobby grade quad I can't fault it much. The only thing it needed doing out of the box was to increase the rates to make it roll and flip quicker, other than that it is was great.

It had a random hiccup and spun out once, bit that could have been due to prop failure, the gyro having a paddy or anything really.

Since having it I've flashed the cc3d to betaflight, flashed the esc's to blheli, it's awesome jist at stock with the new flashes! Yes, to a pro or veteran it probably flies like poop bit for a first time hobby grade flyer it's great.

Keep at it agnes, I envy you jumping in at the deep end and it is frustrating when everyone assumes you know EVERYTHING bit keep at it. The main pro with getting an RTF is it at least gives you time to adjust slightly, but you would have found yourself upgrading very soon and tweaking.

agnes · 25 Oct 2016 at 08:51

spookywillow said:
That's just bad luck and a strange one for sure. I use a taranis and the d4r-ii and found I had to change firmware but it's not that hard and doesn't take long.

I 'updated' the firmware on the Taranis last night, now got the D8 option. But yea, the receiver is 100% dead. No idea how or why.

New one should be here tomorrow.