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sterster posted:He has no desire as of yet for taking video. He just enjoys the flying. So if I can get something cheaper with some extra batteries I'm fine with that. My price point was just kind of a guess and based off some random googling. I'm down for more suggestions too. I appreciate it! Still look at the mavic mini because it has a lot of stuff you might want. Long flight times, grade-A stabilization, good range, a video feed that always runs from the drone to your phone/tablet, so even if you aren’t filming, you can see what the drone sees, which is cool and useful for learning. Also, and this really can’t be overstated, a DJI drone will have GPS and therefore return-to-home, which is great for if he gets twisted around and can’t figure out how to get the drone back home. It’s also good for if he accidentally flies out of range, the drone will return to home if it loses signal for a certain time (usually 5 or 10 seconds. It will also auto-RTH if the battery gets low, it heads back home when there is just enough charge left to get back A DJI is also stabilized so that if you let go of the sticks, the drone stops and hovers. A fully manual drone will just keep coasting in whatever direction you were last going. Ultimately, I think you might need to figure out what features you want and what kind of flying he wants to do.
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Nov 16, 2021 01:27
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I have the HS210 and it's very good for learning. I also have a tinyhawk 2 and it's brilliant, you can FPV but depending on where you are there are a lot of regulations around that, at least outdoors. The other I'd recommend is an Eachine E010 - it's similar to the HS210, but like FPV drones doesn't have altitude hold which makes it more difficult and interesting to fly. If he's good with the helicopter that's an option, and they're dirt cheap on Banggood/Aliexpress. The controller is crap through so he'd need to tolerate that.
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Nov 16, 2021 02:01
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Tinyhawk 3 is out. D8 not ELRS.
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Nov 18, 2021 21:58
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tater_salad posted:If you have a decent amount of room indoors the Blade helicopter line is decent. A trello is decent as well for under 100 too but those are both inside things. Horizon Hobby stuff is geared towards more traditional RC model aviation types and is priced accordingly. A simple throtle-pitch 4-channel helicopter like the Eachine E119 is about $60 (used to be much cheaper, but prices are insane right now. However, it's still a fraction of whatever Blade charges for their equivalent). Personally, I wouldn't bother with helis until your skill level reaches a point you want to try 3D, at which point the XK K110 still seems to be the go-to for 1S, crashable helis. Multirotors are so much more mechanically simple and crash tolerant (even compared to 1S micro helis) that it's a far more user friendly experience, especially for beginners. My absolute first model was a Syma X5C I got as a gift and I think that would be perfect for a child just starting out. It's cheap ($40-50), stable, and so light that you can completely zero the throttle and it will gently float back down to the ground if you get into trouble. It also gets 5-7 minutes of flight time on the stock battery and 8-12 minutes on larger 750mAh batteries with no noticeable reduction in performance. Just be prepared to replace motors every few weeks, especially if you fly it back-to-back-to-back like I did. This goes for anything with brushed motors, though. If it were me and I was just starting out now, I'd probably go with a Tinyhawk II Freestyle + Eachine EV800D + Jumper T-Lite, but it doesn't sound like that guy's son is there yet. It's also double or triple his budget. Zorilla fucked around with this message at 07:39 on Nov 19, 2021 |
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Nov 19, 2021 07:29
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Yeah my kids first thing was the Syma or whatever that worked kind of well till they died out. I was thinking the Blade 120 RTF but they've gone up quite a bit in price I think I got ours for $99 at 170 it's quite an ask for a simple indoor only chopper.
tater_salad fucked around with this message at 14:31 on Nov 19, 2021 |
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Nov 19, 2021 14:29
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Just to close the loop. Figured I'd hold off dropping the 100(s). Just grabbed a HS170 with some extra batteries. Figured this would give him more time in the seat and decide if he really likes it. Thanks for the help guys.
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Nov 20, 2021 05:09
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Good choice. How old is your son? I'd imagine that one will last him a while, then you can talk about FPV later. The Tinyhawk kit linked would be a good intro if you go that route
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Nov 20, 2021 16:52
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He's almost 12. I hope it last a decent amount of time. He usually ask for RC helis, submarines, tanks basically anything associated with war. Grandma or who ever gets him something usually finds the most worthless alibaba, great value garbage that either doa or last about 1-2hrs. So hopefully he's more interested in actually flying vs trying to use the aircraft as a chanook to drop of apcs for the front lines of his occupation forces of lego men. Once again thanks for all of your input RC nerds. This give me a game plan depending on how things go.
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Nov 20, 2021 17:20
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Speaking of helicopters, single rotors are a lot cooler than quadcopters in my opinion. I'm disappointed in their lack of representation on aliexpress.   (source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6idj2sPStEc) I've got a semi-serious question, I'm knee deep in a 560mm quad project right now and I can't have parts from two incomplete aircraft floating around, but hypothetically: Let's say I wanted to DIY a mavic mini only with one rotor instead of four. Are there any good starting points? Are there kits for sale that could put a pixhack or something on a sub250 heli with room for a camera?
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Nov 20, 2021 18:43
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With the current tools, a helicopter is more complex to tune than a quad rotor , so maybe get that flying first? But sure..it's possible: https://discuss.ardupilot.org/t/the-smallest-arduheli-comes-from-the-k120-kakutef7mini-with-a-ddfp-hollow-cup-tail/49312
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Nov 20, 2021 22:06
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Dude! That thing is awesome. It's like you read my mind. You're right though; way beyond my skill level. Speaking of getting my current project in the air:  This is enough flight time to autotune one axis, right?
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Nov 20, 2021 22:56
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With my limited knowledge of autotune: No, I don't think so.
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Nov 20, 2021 23:43
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Time to buy batteries in that case. According to the video on the autotune page, autotune takes less time than 9 minutes 28 seconds. If I had 8000mah 4S batteries, the drone flight time calculator says that I should have 16ish minutes.  Does anyone hate GTFDR batteries? Now would be a great time to warn me if they're terrible. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000554205516.html Second, does anyone have strong opinions about chargers? I'm kind of looking at this one because it has a storage mode and is forward compatible with larger batteries that I may want for a later project. But it's AC only so if I ever want to recharge off solar I would need to have an inverter. It's not efficient. It would be better to have a charger that can run off both 12VDC and 110VAC. Anyone have a dual port 600W/port charger like that, that they love? Or hate?
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Nov 21, 2021 00:57
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how can i tell when a batter has been damaged in a crash? did this tonight and the corner seems a bit dented (undamaged one in back for comparison). I checked the voltage with the charger and all 4 cells have the same charge so should i be ok?
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Nov 21, 2021 02:59
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It's fine, send it! You only need to worry if it's punctured, split, swelling or not charging right. You'll end up with many more dents than that before retiring it!
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Nov 21, 2021 03:06
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Smell it, if it smells sweet then the Lithium has been exposed to the air and it's a fire risk.
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Nov 21, 2021 12:31
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Is the Tinyhawk Freestyle 2 still a good value? It’s been out over a year now, and wasn’t sure if there have been any developments in that size range.
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Dec 9, 2021 18:21
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Seems like most of the development energy went towards "toothpick" class with significantly stripped down frames. Bi-blade are more efficient but have an odd turning characteristic. Perfectly fine if you are adapted to it. Tri-blades seem to handle better all around. The freestyle is likely more robust than a toothpick, and some people develop camera preferences. I haven't flown in a few years due to proximity with Olympic venues, personally I'd look for a 2~3s toothpick that jives with some tri-blades. E: drat. There are 5-inch toothpicks now Corky Romanovsky fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Dec 10, 2021 |
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Dec 10, 2021 04:39
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fellow RC nerds, can anyone help me figure out what I'm dealing with here? I have an opportunity to snag this drone for real cheap, but the seller doesnt know really anything about it, and I'm really only familiar with prebuilt stuff like my DJI Mavic Air I can see what looks like a CMOS camera for FPV, an FPV antenna, a GPS antenna, and a gopro mount on the bottom, but the rest I'm not sure of. Any thoughts on what it is?     
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Dec 15, 2021 04:41
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:fellow RC nerds, can anyone help me figure out what I'm dealing with here? That’s the creatively named 3DRobotics X8. They fly with a small camera for about 15 minutes. If you want to learn about the Pixhawk flight controller and Ardupilot ecosystem, it’s a good intro to it if you get it for very cheap. If you want to fly FPV or take pictures, there are far better options.
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Dec 15, 2021 14:25
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I would love to learn ardupilot for sure, now to figure out if I can tell from the photos if it has the flight controller intact yet. Can anyone recognize the flight controller in there? So far the checklist seems to be: Intact: -Motors -ESC's -GPS -RX (I'm guessing the thing with the two antennas sticking out the side is the RX, becasue I have a Spectrum RX that looks exactly the same) -FPV camera Unidentified/Maybe missing: -Flight controller -VTX (I am guessing the VTX is there because there seems to be a VTX antenna?) What am I missing? Beve Stuscemi fucked around with this message at 15:02 on Dec 15, 2021 |
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Dec 15, 2021 15:00
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I’m pretty sure the FC is on there, this looks like the sticker that gets slapped on them:  The vtx also looks like it is on there because as you say the antenna is screwed into it. For batteries, I think it wants 4S 5000 or 6000, maybe bigger, so you’ll have to budget for that.
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Dec 15, 2021 15:09
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Nice, so electronics-wise it looks pretty intact. I'll definitely need some hardware like screws to put things back together. Upon researching, it looks like it came with a screen for FPV and a Spectrum DX7s for TX and telemetry, but I'm imagining that none of this stuff is proprietary and could be used with other equipment? I have a Video RX, I dont remember if its on 5.8GHZ, but assuming it is I should be able to get video from the drone I hope. I'll have to see what I can do for telemetry, because I have a DX6i that doesnt have that stuff.
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Dec 15, 2021 15:50
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Does it come with the DX7S? If so, that is a good transmitter and a good replacement for your DX6. If not, you can use your DX6 with it. I don’t think the DX7S is going to do telemetry on it. That black box about the size of a pack of gum with the antenna on it is the telemetry module, it talks to an identical module that plugs into a PC or tablet via USB which will give you full telemetry as well as a setup and command interface. You can actually fly it over the telemetry interface purely from the PC. Or you can fly it from your DX6/DX7 without using the telemetry. I find with these things it’s best to have both operating, using the RC for control and reading data from the telemetry screen. Your video monitor, if it is analog, is most likely on 5.8 and should work with it.
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Dec 15, 2021 16:21
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I hope it's real cheap..this one is ancient. ( I personally wouldn't pay more than say, $75)
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Dec 17, 2021 03:51
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Yeah the more I think about it and what I would do with it, I'm basically building it to be what my DJI Mavic Air 2 already is, which seems expensive and pointless because the Air 2 is already Real Good (TM)
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Dec 17, 2021 04:01
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Yeah, unless you really want to just mess with pixhawks and do DIY stuff, your Mavic will be better in all aspects. Everything on that one is badly outdated and the original 3DR pixhawks aren't all that reliable.
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Dec 17, 2021 04:54
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I guess if I can get it for really cheap I’ll snag it to tinker with but otherwise probably not
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Dec 17, 2021 05:09
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Snatch it if you want the power packs to make a multi-motor fixed wing or something. Otherwise keep your money.
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Dec 17, 2021 13:27
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A pixhawk package alone with telemetry and all the sensors will be at least 150 bucks if you wanted to build something to play with Ardupilot. So if you can get it really cheap, yes it is a good deal for tinkering and doing automated missions and stuff, but yeah If you are looking to do anything useful with the aircraft itself it’s the wrong choice. Anything from DJI will be far better for aerial imaging, and a Tinyhawk Freestyle or something will be far better and more fun for FPV. Also possible it’s hosed up on some level and you need to buy poo poo to fix it.
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Dec 17, 2021 17:56
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From this photo it kind of looks like the compass/gps is not sitting 100% true relative to the aircraft. That could potentially be a source of errors if/when you want to do autonomous missions. Or RTL. Also that is a tiny-assed camera to be carried around by an octocopter. It does not appear to have a gimbal. As much as I'd really like you to buy that so there could be another person here asking stupid newbie pixhawk questions, I've got to add n+1 for buying a mavic 2 or whatever.
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Dec 17, 2021 19:30
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Just here to brag a bit, passed my drone pilot exam! It’s pretty easy, just be comfortable with section charts before you go into it. ASA has a test prep app called Prepware for $5. If you can pass that you’re pretty set to pass the real test.
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Dec 22, 2021 19:13
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Congratulations!
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Dec 22, 2021 19:50
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By pilot exam do you mean part 107?
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Dec 23, 2021 02:33
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Yep, CFR 14 part 107 sUAS. I'm now allowed to post things to Youtube.
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Dec 23, 2021 02:46
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Nice, I feel like I should get mine because I've accidentally nearly made money from drone work and that's a no-no without a 107. I'll check out Prepware, thanks for the tip and congrats!
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Dec 23, 2021 03:14
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Just make sure you pick the right app, there's one for remote pilot, one for private pilot, one for A&P mechanic, etc. I've already been sure to let people know that I can now accept money.
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Dec 23, 2021 03:18
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:Nice, I feel like I should get mine because I've accidentally nearly made money from drone work and that's a no-no without a 107. I'll check out Prepware, thanks for the tip and congrats! It depends. Last I looked (I am not a lawyer) if you fly non-commercially and then for some reason your work ends up making you money that's ok, for example taking a beautiful picture that someone is like "I must hang this in my home here's a hundred dollars" you're ok. Getting a 107 is a good idea though.
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Dec 23, 2021 03:34
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Elendil004 posted:It depends. Last I looked (I am not a lawyer) if you fly non-commercially and then for some reason your work ends up making you money that's ok, for example taking a beautiful picture that someone is like "I must hang this in my home here's a hundred dollars" you're ok. Getting a 107 is a good idea though. I don't think that's right, it would be considered commercial operation. You don't even have to accept money-- if the flight is considered in 'furtherance of business' it's commercial, so even providing a picture for free for use on a website or brochure is part 107. Not that it matters, FAA doesn't give a poo poo unless something goes wrong. A lot of aviation regulations are vague on purpose, to allow for interpretation in unique scenarios
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Dec 23, 2021 16:53
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Aerial photography has always been treated a bit weirdly. If you take a bunch of pictures from a plane and then someone offers to buy one of them, it's fine. (On a PPL) If you get paid to take pictures from a plane, then you need a CPL. At least, that's how it used to be.
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Dec 23, 2021 20:54
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