Multirotor, multicopter and quadcopter discussion - The Drone thread

Giving serious consideration to building myself a 5inch quad over the next few months, I really enjoy the DJI FPV but I'm way too timid with it and not timid enough at the same time as it's way to easy to break stuff on it which I think would be alleviated by a decent freestyle quad.

I've also been messing around with flying sims in an attempt to reduce my tendency to try and look around like I'm wearing a VR HMD, you can see how bad I am at it here, many years of TrackIR and VR habits coming into play here... :D


I've also picked up Virtual Desktop for my Q3 which has the ability to lock the view to the headset so it mimics wearing the proper FPV goggles quite nicely.
 
Just charging my DJI Mini 2 which I've not used for a couple of years. I'm sure there will be a big firmware update so I wonder if anyone knows what the changes are?

Like many people, I fancied a decent drone for ages, bought it, flew it a handful of times and then just didn't bother as I actually had no real use for it.
 
I dug my Mavic Pro out the other day and was surprised that the batteries all charged up fine and reported correct voltage, none of the batteries were swollen either.

I'm as guilty as most, buy a drone, fly it a few times, take some interesting photos and put them in the cupboard for a few years (I did take the Mavic to the French Alps on a biking trip though). I have collected a few over the years too, all DJI - Phantom 2, Inspire 1, Mavic Pro and now I've gone and treated myself to a Mini 4 pro. Will I ever learn!?

I never get any less anxious flying a drone though, especially when the wind hits them and they sound like angry hornets.
 
Rilot said:
The more you fly the less anxious you will be. I fly several time per week and now just shove it up in the air without even thinking.
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It's finding somewhere to fly, that's the thing. There's only so many times I can fly straight up to maximum allowed height and plonk around the neighbourhood.

Is UAV Forecast the best app for drone weather checking?
 
That is very true, the more you do anything the less anxious it becomes.

Also true about somewhere to fly, I'm lucky being out in the sticks with a lot of woodland around me I can stick it up and have a practice but yes I want to broaden my scope. Coastal is always good, as long as the wind isn't too strong.
 
Feek said:
It's finding somewhere to fly, that's the thing. There's only so many times I can fly straight up to maximum allowed height and plonk around the neighbourhood.

Is UAV Forecast the best app for drone weather checking?
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I agree with you about finding somewhere to fly. What with the weather recently and the dark nights, I'm struggling to find any good times to fly.

I also have the Mini 2 and there have been some firmware updates, but nothing really stands out. If anything it's app that's changed, so maybe spend a little time checking where everything is before flying. But the changes aren't very or dramatic, so nothing to worry about.

I used to use the UAV Forecast app, but it's nose dived since they restricted the amount of hours that you can see ahead. But it's enough to check whether it''s worth going out an hour or two beforehand. Now I just use my eyes and check the rain radar online.
 
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darael said:
I used to use the UAV Forecast app, but it's nose dived since they restricted the amount of hours that you can see ahead. But it's enough to check whether it''s worth going out an hour or two beforehand. Now I just use my eyes and check the rain radar online.
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I looked at it yesterday, didn't it used to show a day in advance? Now it's down to just a few hours.

darael said:
I also have the Mini 2 and there have been some firmware updates, but nothing really stands out. If anything it's app that's changed, so maybe spend a little time checking where everything is before flying. But the changes aren't very or dramatic, so nothing to worry about.
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Good, thanks.

I'm going to give the batteries a cycle over the weekend, just work my way through them by hovering in the garden.
 
Popped out for breakfast this morning and when I came back, I dropped the wire aerials in the back garden and did some slow flying backwards and forwards. Took it up to 100m and did a globe panorama thing, came back down and flew back towards my house. I didn't feel as though I was going especially fast but I just managed to touch the wall. The drone dropped out of the air and although the front where it touched the wall is OK, this happened to one of the rear legs when it hit the ground.

2ionLgG.jpg


unupl6T.jpg


And after moving it around, I've managed to do this

yYmrJCk.jpg


AAA9xVV.jpeg

Looking at a couple of videos, it looks fairly straightforward to replace, I don't think the hinge joint is broken and the wire to the motor isn't snapped either.

Anyone know a good, reliable UK stockist of replacement parts? @Rilot maybe?
/edit - Got a replacement arm with motor on eBay for twenty quid.
 
Feek said:
Popped out for breakfast this morning and when I came back, I dropped the wire aerials in the back garden and did some slow flying backwards and forwards. Took it up to 100m and did a globe panorama thing, came back down and flew back towards my house. I didn't feel as though I was going especially fast but I just managed to touch the wall. The drone dropped out of the air and although the front where it touched the wall is OK, this happened to one of the rear legs when it hit the ground.

2ionLgG.jpg


unupl6T.jpg


And after moving it around, I've managed to do this

yYmrJCk.jpg


AAA9xVV.jpeg

Looking at a couple of videos, it looks fairly straightforward to replace, I don't think the hinge joint is broken and the wire to the motor isn't snapped either.

Anyone know a good, reliable UK stockist of replacement parts? @Rilot maybe?
/edit - Got a replacement arm with motor on eBay for twenty quid.
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I was going to suggest Ebay TBH. There are always tons of parts from crashed drones.
 
I've replaced the leg and made sure the motors all spin up successfully so it's looking good. I took the props off just to make it easier to manhandle while I was getting the top cover off and as I can see minor damage to at least one prop, I may as well use one of the spare sets that came with the drone.

That could have been a lot worse.
 
MadMossy said:
Shame DJI stuff is so fragile, and expensive to repair, I've hit a goal post at 60mph on my fpv drone and shrugged it off with nothing more than a scuff and a broken prop.
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Yep, my last crash cost me £30 (a bargain for a DJI FPV crash I reckon lol...) and a few hours of effort, I really do need to build myself something more robust.
 
Feek said:
£20 for the leg and an hour to replace it doesn't seem expensive to me but I can see how it could have been a lot more if I'd broken more parts.

I saw a video where someone was comparing the Mini 2 and the Mini 4 and said the 4 appears far more fragile than the 2!
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You can buy an entire carbon fibre frame for that much and those are incredibly tough.
 
Found the flight log.

When I realised I was getting close to the wall, I thought I’d pulled back on the speed joystick.

Nope. I pulled the wrong one back so I didn’t slow down at all. It was a full speed impact. Oooooops.
 
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