Multirotor, multicopter and quadcopter discussion - The Drone thread

The Hobbyking FPV250 is a good value kit for a beginner IMO. Have had a blast with mine so far

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Fair bit bigger than an X4 but still compact and can carry a decent amount of gear. You'll need a 2.4GHz transmitter and a lipo charger too, though
 
Is the hubsan x4 still a good quad to go for, for general messing around in the back garden and chasing the cats around the house with? have got experience with my HoneybeeV2 4ch thing - where is the best place to get the right version if so, as ive noticed a few different places stating new V2, ones with led's etc.
 
d_brennen said:
The Hobbyking FPV250 is a good value kit for a beginner IMO. Have had a blast with mine so far

Fair bit bigger than an X4 but still compact and can carry a decent amount of gear. You'll need a 2.4GHz transmitter and a lipo charger too, though
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Oooo I think I'll get one of these! Can it do flips/rolls?
 
Narj said:
Oooo I think I'll get one of these! Can it do flips/rolls?
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Wouldn't know, acro isn't my thing, but it's great for hooning about without caring if you hit a tree/the ground hard. I've really pranged mine, the frame is in perfect condition.

FPVing at a few feet from the ground in and out of trees is much more satisfying than crusing at 50m imo
 
KnightStalker said:
Is the hubsan x4 still a good quad to go for, for general messing around in the back garden and chasing the cats around the house with? have got experience with my HoneybeeV2 4ch thing - where is the best place to get the right version if so, as ive noticed a few different places stating new V2, ones with led's etc.
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I would say so and for the price it's a no brainer. I started flying indoors and now happy to fly it around the room, up the stairs, under chairs etc :)

Get more batteries though, I got 5x claimed 500mah and they work great for extended back to back fly time.

Also expect some maintenance, the motors can break if you prang them, but available to replace with a simple solder job if they do.

Bear in mind the crash kit is around £16 but you can buy a full copter with no remote for £20 and have it as spare or canabalise it if needed..

I think the model to loof for on the large river site is the X4 107L.
 
d_brennen said:
Wouldn't know, acro isn't my thing, but it's great for hooning about without caring if you hit a tree/the ground hard. I've really pranged mine, the frame is in perfect condition.

FPVing at a few feet from the ground in and out of trees is much more satisfying than crusing at 50m imo
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Definitely, I've been doing some low flights in ATTI mode with my phantom 2 and it feels like it's screaming along, however I've had a few close shaves and don't want to smash it up, so I want something cheaper that can take a bashing...
 
Narj said:
Oooo I think I'll get one of these! Can it do flips/rolls?
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Yes :) anything will flip or roll, however smaller quads are better at it than bigger ones as there's less moment of inertia so they don't do slow lumbering flips where you lose a lot of altitude :) it also depends on your flight controller and gains, some FCs are better at acro than others.
 
Went to my usual quiet park this evening and found a bunch of other people flying a Phantom and a Phantom 2 Vision. Was quite entertaining and good fun comparing each others setups! Mine was the only Fatshark setup. :D

Got some flying buddies now!

Also, had a bumpy landing and lost the bottom cap for my Spironet antenna... :(

No other damage though. :p
 
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Sorry if answers are in this thread already. What is the delivery from Hobbyking like? They seem to have various warehouse options.

Am I being too ambitious flying a FPV250 or a DJI Naza F450 given that I have just got some experience with the Hubsan x4? :)
 
Right, we need to start considering our Phantom upgrade at some point. Looking at the S1000 simply because it seems well recommended (a few people on the BNUC-S course have it) and we shoot all our ground work on 5D MKIIIs at the moment as well.

Other than the S1000 + A2 + 5D Z15 combo that seems commonplace across all sites, the rest is unknown at the moment - radio system, telemetry data to iOSD, batteries etc. Much like a "spec me a PC for £8k" post, does anyone have any advice on such a setup? I could trawl various shops, reviews and forums for hours on end and get less advice than asking you knowledgeable folk directly so any advice is appreciated.

We have a Fat Shark system at the moment for the Phantom. Is it possible to use this to transmit the 5D view and telemetry to a tablet? And if not, possible to a field monitor?
 
Russinating said:
Right, we need to start considering our Phantom upgrade at some point. Looking at the S1000 simply because it seems well recommended (a few people on the BNUC-S course have it) and we shoot all our ground work on 5D MKIIIs at the moment as well.

Other than the S1000 + A2 + 5D Z15 combo that seems commonplace across all sites, the rest is unknown at the moment - radio system, telemetry data to iOSD, batteries etc. Much like a "spec me a PC for £8k" post, does anyone have any advice on such a setup? I could trawl various shops, reviews and forums for hours on end and get less advice than asking you knowledgeable folk directly so any advice is appreciated.

We have a Fat Shark system at the moment for the Phantom. Is it possible to use this to transmit the 5D view and telemetry to a tablet? And if not, possible to a field monitor?
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I would be wary of the A2. A lot of people are having all sorts of trouble with it including myself. I still get very strange position hold issues when I yaw the S800 EVO. Also had complete satellite drop outs for no apparent reason. I have very little confidence in the system at the moment. Going to try the 2.2 FW this weekend and see if it's better.
If you want a solid FC go for the WKM. Lots of aerial pros swear by it. I know one guy who has grounded both of his A2 copters in favour of his WKMs due to general strangeness.

As to a field monitor, sure. Just get a BlackPearl. It can receive on the FatShark frequencies and displays a good, clean image. Also has a battery built in that's good for 4 hours.

You're also going to need to consider a radio. If you're looking at the A2 then the logical choice is Futaba 14SG as it can communicate directly with the A2's built in receiver. I've gone with the FrSky Taranis as I wanted the flexibility of 16 channels and S-Bus / PWM at the same time due to other equipment I have on the S800. Having used the Taranis extensively I utterly love it. The ability to have full telemetry is fantastic. I have a FAS-100 current sensor which shows me EXACTLY how many mAh I have used so I know when to land. You can't do that with the in built A2 receiver and Futaba. You can do this if you go with an external Futaba receiver and an eFuel-gauge however. Stay away from Spektrum though. Not enough channels and the A2 has massive issues with the satellites.

Something else you need to factor in is batteries and a method to charge them. You've then need a massively powerful PSU to drive the charger. I'm using an iCharger 408B and it's brilliant. It can charge two 6S packs at 20 amps each at the same time. The PSU I've got to drive it is an HP Bladesystem 1000W PSU that I butchered and modified to dish out 24V. You will want to fly parallel batteries for safety and I expect you'll be looking at 10,000mAh items. You'll want at least 6 packs so you can have one in the air and 2 sets on standby. Packs are around £150 each.

A big craft is a steep learning curve after a Phantom. I spent months researching every component on my S800 EVO and then weeks building it and setting it up. It was very satisfying the first time I had it in the air though.

I'm assuming that you are primarily going to shoot video, hence the Zenmuse. Remember you are limited to just one lens; the EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM so factor that in to your cost of build as it's £450.

The cost of getting my S800 EVO up in the air, with all the extra stuff needed was approximately £5000. Your S1000 is more expensive to begin with and you're looking at the Zenmuse which is a lot more expensive than the 3rd party gimbal I built. I'd say you're looking at £6000 - £7000 to get in the air once you have bought everything you need.
 
Genoma said:
Sorry if answers are in this thread already. What is the delivery from Hobbyking like? They seem to have various warehouse options.

Am I being too ambitious flying a FPV250 or a DJI Naza F450 given that I have just got some experience with the Hubsan x4? :)
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Depends on the location you order from. UK = 24/48 hours, Europe 2/4days, international 6/30 days! My quickest from the Hong Kong (international) warehouse was 6 days and that included a weekend. The parcel was actually in the UK longer than it was in transit

As for ambition, go for it. The "toy" grade quads (don't get me wrong, I love my Hubsan) really can't compare to bigger brushless craft. How much you spend I guess depends on your disposable income and what you want from your flying. For me, starting out, I'd rather something a bit cheaper than the F450. It looks a great machine don't get me wrong, but I know my props cost me ~20p each, each motor costs ~£8, the frame is near indestructible (bar the landing legs) and I fly like I have it in for my models :D

My next quad will be based on the Diatone Whitesheep, a cheap rip off of the Team Blacksheep, if I can find anyone actually selling it. Diatone make the FPV250 frame btw, and it's bullet proof
 
Id happily purchase one of them FPV250 kits from HK but they are never in stock. what other options are available?

i really want a go at FPV!!
 
d_brennen said:
Depends on the location you order from. UK = 24/48 hours, Europe 2/4days, international 6/30 days! My quickest from the Hong Kong (international) warehouse was 6 days and that included a weekend. The parcel was actually in the UK longer than it was in transit

As for ambition, go for it. The "toy" grade quads (don't get me wrong, I love my Hubsan) really can't compare to bigger brushless craft. How much you spend I guess depends on your disposable income and what you want from your flying. For me, starting out, I'd rather something a bit cheaper than the F450. It looks a great machine don't get me wrong, but I know my props cost me ~20p each, each motor costs ~£8, the frame is near indestructible (bar the landing legs) and I fly like I have it in for my models :D

My next quad will be based on the Diatone Whitesheep, a cheap rip off of the Team Blacksheep, if I can find anyone actually selling it. Diatone make the FPV250 frame btw, and it's bullet proof
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Thanks very much I'm convinced, one for next month I think. Just need to reasearch a bit more and know what the various components do and find it in stock. More than happy to build from scratch, learn and give me repairs knowledge. I can manage my way around a soldering iron and have basic electronics knowledge. Always loved the idea of remote control flying but wrecked a electric kit years ago and gave up. Wonder if my old 12 year+ Futaba is still of use :) Quads on the other hand seem so easy to get off the ground and hover around so much more up my street.

I started considering this build here:
http://myfirstdrone.com/build-your-first-quad/

But the FPV250 now sounds on the money. I also need to look at my requirements. I want something fun, easy to fly when I start out and hopefully at some point allow me to hang a small camera off it (I have a canon s110 that takes great video).

What are the regulations around unattended GPS route plotting on these things?

Was considering this as a starter transmitter / receiver, any opinions:

http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbykin..._Module_8ch_Receiver_Mode_2_v2_Firmware_.html
 
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