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Man what have I done. Finally bit the bullet on a DJI P2 + H3-3D + FPV kit after watching many YouTube videos and reading a good bit. Look forward to doing filming and possibly find a way to break into the Aerial production market. My current IT job is going to kill me and I have always had a knack and certain skill for Videography and editing which I enjoy much more. Anyway apart from using the DJI as a video platform, I also got a Hubsan X4 to practice with flying a quad and while I may be a bit new to Quadcopters, the thing flys like a champ and can get up and go. It is incredible fun for $35. So looking around more for all info on the Phantom 2 (FlyAway's scare the bejebus out of me) as well as all the other options out there, I really want to build my own down the line here once I can justify spending more on yet another hobby money pit. That 250 frame looks like a great start but I still have a lot of reading up on what exactly I need and how to assemble it. So far I am still digging into Controllers and so far the 3DRobotics controllers with the AdruCopter controller looks like a great FC to learn and grow with. So as another addict, I will be catching up here and probably have a few more questions down the line.
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Jun 16, 2014 22:39
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EdEddnEddy posted:Man what have I done. If you are going to learn to fly a 250 get an acronaze board and put that in. Learn to fly with rate mode. It will make you a much smoother pilot not having to fight the autolevel constantly. Also you will actually be able to do something when your naza decides that its going to fly to Africa without your input. A lot of people flying the GPS assisted autopilots do great until they get a gps glitch then it all goes horribly wrong because they don't know how to fly manually. So you are totally doing the right thing with the X4.
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Jun 17, 2014 00:06
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ATTI mode removes the GPS from the equation and flies similar to the X4 correct? Alt hold and auto level but nothing else right? If so I wonder why it seems so many people I have read online with FlyAway switching to Failsafe which relies on GPS in part, rather then into ATTI and just working to regain control. I can understand the scare of Manual due to it being 100% pilot only which I plan to practice with a bit on a different drone for sure.
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Jun 17, 2014 01:00
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And stop calling it a drone  . It's a quad, plane, helicopter, whatever.
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Jun 17, 2014 01:15
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EdEddnEddy posted:ATTI mode removes the GPS from the equation and flies similar to the X4 correct? Alt hold and auto level but nothing else right? If so I wonder why it seems so many people I have read online with FlyAway switching to Failsafe which relies on GPS in part, rather then into ATTI and just working to regain control. There may or may no be an issue with the naza v1 actually full on locking up and stopping responding to inputs completely. Any thread trying to diagnose fly aways usually turns into a poo poo show on most rc forums. The naza v2 as far as I know is more reliable. An autolevel mode that doesn't use gps should be fine in recovering a gps error though. Rate mode or manual is just using the gyros to hold the current angle. It takes a bit of getting used to but it is much easier to fly smoothly with it as you just move the stick to make a change rather than holding the sticks in a position constantly which tends to be twitchier. I've always been hesitant to use rate mode on my bigger apm quad but now I'm used to it on the 250 I would never go back at least for fast forward flight.
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Jun 17, 2014 01:50
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EdEddnEddy posted:Man what have I done. This is me 3 weeks ago except with a syma x1 instead of the hubsan. I'm really enjoying my phantom 2, but I should probably configure the manual mode and get gud sooner rather than later (I actually had a small freakout yesterday on my end when the house began to severely interfere with my fpv and I didnt know my current orientation, and hadn't enabled the IOC options). I think the speed at which it moves in whatever the default mode is called works for my videos so far. moron izzard fucked around with this message at 02:06 on Jun 17, 2014 |
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Jun 17, 2014 02:03
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Yea I have found the RCForum to be a small trove of info and a huge pile of shitposting left and right. Quad it is, though I would like a little bit of Drone action from that HEXO+ or other Autonomous Aerial Copter. Right now I can trust nobody but myself to pilot, well anything I fly currently. None of my friends seem to grasp the concept of flying with their thumbs even the few that have "a lot" of RC Car experience in the past. I am not perfect, but it seems to come to me quite naturally so far. Are there any NorCal flyers on here? It would be cool to meet up with someone else to fly with and possibly learn from. Most of the people I have seen post on MultiRotorforum and others seem to be based in SoCal.
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Jun 17, 2014 02:53
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EdEddnEddy posted:Are there any NorCal flyers on here? It would be cool to meet up with someone else to fly with and possibly learn from. Most of the people I have seen post on MultiRotorforum and others seem to be based in SoCal. Define "NorCal" considering that it's bigger than most other states in the US.
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Jun 17, 2014 03:02
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took my SK450 out for a proper flight with a friend at some football fields and immediately broke an arm thanks to slightly more wind than I anticipated. its super cool that literally arm that fits my quad is on back order at hobby king. They really have excelled at emulating the LHS experience. Bought a Q450 frame and spare arms off ebay since its a much better design (battery is easier to mount and not as vulnerable to damage, plus FPV will be easier later) for less than it would have cost me to get a whole new set of arms shipped from hobby king.
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Jun 17, 2014 04:07
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So are the sk450 and q450 better than the f450? They are definitely cheaper, but only by like 20 bucks. Are there clones of the 330 or 550?
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Jun 17, 2014 05:07
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CrazyLittle posted:Define "NorCal" considering that it's bigger than most other states in the US. NorCal being around Sacramento. We don't count San Fran/San Jose or anything as that is the "Bay Area" and God knows what people call anything north of Wheatland/Chico.
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Jun 17, 2014 05:12
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Laserface posted:Bought a Q450 frame and spare arms off ebay since its a much better design (battery is easier to mount and not as vulnerable to damage, plus FPV will be easier later) for less than it would have cost me to get a whole new set of arms shipped from hobby king. Yeah, don't count on those arms coming back in any time soon. You're better off just skipping the sk450 frame and using DJI knockoff frames and/or real DJI arms. A Yolo Wizard posted:So are the sk450 and q450 better than the f450? They are definitely cheaper, but only by like 20 bucks. sk450 is something else. The Q450 is a direct clone of the DJI flamewheel F450. There's also a hexacopter clone which is backordered on Hobbyking's site (and pretty much everywhere else). EdEddnEddy posted:NorCal being around Sacramento. I'm flying in Berkeley, and there's multirotor meetups at a hardware incubator space in Oakland roughly once a month. CrazyLittle fucked around with this message at 05:21 on Jun 17, 2014 |
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Jun 17, 2014 05:17
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EdEddnEddy posted:That 250 frame looks like a great start but I still have a lot of reading up on what exactly I need and how to assemble it. So far I am still digging into Controllers and so far the 3DRobotics controllers with the AdruCopter controller looks like a great FC to learn and grow with. If you are going with Ardupilot, get a Pixhawk, it's where the future of development is going. Also, if you feel adventurous and have decent electronics skills, you can build your own Naze32 flight controller out of inexpensive parts from ebay: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2154329
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Jun 17, 2014 07:33
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on the left posted:If you are going with Ardupilot, get a Pixhawk, it's where the future of development is going. I was looking at the Pixhawk but didn't know that was the replacement for the ArduPilot. Will also read up on the Naze32 but I think that may come down the line if I want a new unique challenge. Also is the next craze eddible quadcopters?
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Jun 17, 2014 17:05
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I got my Q450 frame today. Is it worth putting int the hard yards to solder poo poo to the PCB frame? its a weird design, as the electronics obviously mount inside the frame, but my KK2 boards screen and controls wouldnt be easily accessible in there, and I feel that is important as a beginner to large quads. is it cool to just use some foam tape to mount it to the top plate and then put some protection over it?
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Jun 19, 2014 12:28
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Should I drop the cash down for the IOSD mini? I plan to open up my phantom at least once more in the upcoming month to get that cable out of the way of my new legs, and that 3d home pointer seems real useful for my fpv...Laserface posted:I got my Q450 frame today. Is it worth putting int the hard yards to solder poo poo to the PCB frame? It looks like a lot of people mount it on top (minimizing vibration is important), then get protection. googling found polycarbonate domes that mounted on top on badgerfly moron izzard fucked around with this message at 13:12 on Jun 19, 2014 |
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Jun 19, 2014 13:02
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I bought a Proto X yesterday because it looked fun, and was reasonably cheap. Spent a couple hours flying it around my apartment, and a little outside, had a blast. Today took it outside, and was finally feeling comfortable with it, doing decently with keeping reasonably stable heights and zipping about. But on a slightly longer trek it decided it wanted to keep going and wasn't responding to backwards. I ended up cutting the throttle, expecting it to land safely in the grass. It landed in the road and met with a tire before I got to it. I had a lot of fun with it, but I'm not very good at helicopters yet. I'd like to get another one, but I don't want to spend too much on it, because A) I'm dumb, and B) I've got a wife and kid who like to eat. My apartment's pretty small, so I'd like something that I can dink around with in a small space and crash into my stuff or my child (hopefully not) without causing damage, yet zippy enough that I can have fun in the big yard of the mansion across the street. I'd also like perhaps a little more stability than the Proto X, as it seemed to drift in different directions every time it took off regardless of my attempts to calibrate. I wasn't dissatisfied with the Proto X, aside from its icarus impression, but I figure it's probably worth doing some research on alternatives before I drop another 40-80 bucks. Any suggestions?
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Jun 19, 2014 18:52
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The Proto X is awesome, but the controller is its downside. However the controller that comes with the Hubsan X4 is way better, and can also pair with a Proto X if you get another one. Also the Hubsan is a bit bigger, has a good Crash Pack on Amazon, and you can also get a Prop Guard for inside/beginner flying. It can zip up to 25+MPH so it is anything but slow and I have yet to find the controllers max range and I have flown it outside of visible range more than once. I picked up the Hubsan X4 + Crash Pack + Prop Guard for $77 total from Amazon. The 2nd battery is pretty much a necessity from that Crash Pack alone, as are the props. The Prop Guard is great indoors but I took it off for outside since it is extra weight and wind resistance you can feel when pushing the X4 hard outside. I also use my 2.1A USB charger which seems to recharge a battery in about 15-20 minutes vs. a normal USB's charge which takes 30-45 minutes. The batteries don't seem to get warm charging at all and they are cheap enough I can just pick up that 5Pack when these two start to go. For 340mA batteries, the X4 gets a dang good amount of flying time. I'm usually in the air for what feels like 7-10 minutes. Update on My Phantom 2, the kit was Shipped on the 11th but wasn't picked up by FedEx until the 17th.  Now it's not scheduled to make it here till the 24th. The wait is painful. EdEddnEddy fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Jun 19, 2014 |
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Jun 19, 2014 19:48
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I'd also recommend the Nano QX. It's kind of pricey, but it's excellent to learn on. I've done 95% of my flying with it indoors, and have only had to replace the props because they got bent. Excellent stability and speed.
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Jun 19, 2014 19:53
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I'm gonna suggest the Syma X1. It's bigger than the Proto X and probably won't do well in the apartment but I think you need to decide if you want apartment flying or outdoor. I've bought a few of them and given them as gifts as well as have 2 for myself. They've been easy to fly and really forgiving... plus they're only $30. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0096SJU3U/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Jun 19, 2014 19:56
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EdEddnEddy posted:The Proto X is awesome, but the controller is its downside. ProtoX is quite awesome but they're only good for 100 to 150 flights before a random motor gets weak or an ESC chip burns out. I've had two and then two more on warranty claims and all but the very first one are crash free but all burnt out. Would still recommend it though. I don't have a problem with the controller, I know you can't do loops with the standard controller but that's never really bothered me.
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Jun 19, 2014 20:00
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They sell the motors for the ProtoX on Amazon so swapping those out shouldn't be too hard, and there are not ESC chips since they are Brush motors. I believe all the Brush motor powered "toys" Have a limited lifespan on their motors before they need replacing, but at least it is way cheaper to learn on and mess with then a full quad. Just keep it away from moving traffic huh?  Another + for the Hubsan X4 at least IMO. The Crash pack comes with 4 sets of props, 2 motors (1 for each direction), a whole new body, 4 feet, a battery, and 2 LED's. Outside of the actual circuit board which should be fine against anything but water, you can practically rebuild your X4 with the kit. Common sense but one big tip when flying outside is find a field. Landing in the grass from even a 100+ft fall you can usually just end up with a few grass stains vs. landing on any hard surface or concrete/asphalt which usually damages something. EdEddnEddy fucked around with this message at 20:15 on Jun 19, 2014 |
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Jun 19, 2014 20:12
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EdEddnEddy posted:They sell the motors for the ProtoX on Amazon so swapping those out shouldn't be too hard, and there are not ESC chips since they are Brush motors. I believe all the Brush motor powered "toys" Have a limited lifespan on their motors before they need replacing, but at least it is way cheaper to learn on and mess with then a full quad. Just keep it away from moving traffic huh? Brushed motors have ESCs. And the replacement motors have the same issue and unless you're a super expert solderer, the weight distro gets thrown off and it's just a pain. But like I said, it's still a great toy and I've always had fun with them, they just have a very limited lifespan.
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Jun 19, 2014 20:46
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How's the hubsan for daughter safety? She's not quite a year old, and is getting into everything. With the Proto X as long as I didn't fly directly into her eye, about the worst I could do was sting her a bit. Of course I do my best to fly safely, but I'd rather not take any chances.
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Jun 19, 2014 20:46
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EdEddnEddy posted:Common sense but one big tip when flying outside is find a field. Landing in the grass from even a 100+ft fall you can usually just end up with a few grass stains vs. landing on any hard surface or concrete/asphalt which usually damages something. This is very true, though it also depends on how heavy your quad is. The little Nanos, Hubsan X4's, and the like are light enough that they can probably take a really high fall without too much damage. I've got a bigger quad that I get nervous about because it'll snap a prop pretty much on any contact with the ground other than a standard landing. EDIT: Re: safety and the Hubsan. If you keep the prop guards on it should be pretty safe, but I'm not familiar with how tough baby skin is these days. I've stuck my finger into the blades of both the Nano QX and the Hubsan X4 while they were running and while it stings it didn't draw any blood. My dad had a hilarious encounter with the Hubsan the first time he took his out for a spin. He picked it up by the body from above, pinching through the blade gaurds. That put his fingers basically entirely within the blades' arc. But he had tucked the transmitter against his body when picking it up, and it shoved the throttle up, so the motors immediately started spinning up and whacking his fingers. It took him a good 20 or 30 seconds to realize what was happening and kill the transmitter. Despite getting zinged 3-4 times the worst he had was a little scrape on one of his fingers. Anything bigger I'd start to get pretty nervous about, though. I've got a quad on the Turnigy HAL 585mm frame and I'm pretty sure it could do some real damage if I hit a prop when it was active. Arcturas fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Jun 19, 2014 |
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Jun 19, 2014 21:16
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That's basically what I was hoping for. Baby skin is pretty tender, but she flings herself around so recklessly she'll toughen up quick. I just don't want to slice her if disaster happens. I shouldn't be flying it in the same room with her most of the time anyway.
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Jun 19, 2014 21:44
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I highly doubt you could pull blood from the Hubsan or other similar quad. The blades are really soft so they bend easily before they do actual damage to anything else. Just get the prop guard to keep accidental flights into the side of things (her) from being as much of an issue. Just make sure she can't play with it while it's powered up and the transmitter is on. The one downside of the Prop Guard is she could have her hands in it and will get sort of stuck between the frame/props and the guard. Might freak her out if it buzzed her.
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Jun 19, 2014 22:10
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Shovelmint posted:How's the hubsan for daughter safety? She's not quite a year old, and is getting into everything. With the Proto X as long as I didn't fly directly into her eye, about the worst I could do was sting her a bit. Of course I do my best to fly safely, but I'd rather not take any chances. Erh, don't fly around your daughter!
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Jun 19, 2014 22:19
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ImplicitAssembler posted:Erh, don't fly around your daughter! Why not? What age is acceptable to start watching someone else fly RC?
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Jun 19, 2014 22:23
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The biggest threat is Choke Hazard from the props since they do come off. As far as true injury from flying, well, put some googles on her and she should be safe enough. 
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Jun 19, 2014 22:50
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The proto x is so much stupid fun for $40. I've found that mine kills batteries faster than anything else. I've replaced a motor with pretty much straight ease. I work for a place that sells them, as well as replacement parts (batteries, motors,props). We are also a direct dji dealer and have been selling the Phantom line for about 4 months now. I've installed a video downlink on my Phantom 2 +ZH3-2D with the iosd mini and it is so much nicer to know that I am getting the shot I want with my GoPro. Word to the wise, the FPV hub offered by dji makes for a painless solder-free install and has perfectly measured ribbon cables so it all plugs in nicely. Long term we plan to get into the more component build FPV quads like the mini/250 size, we're just mastering the one line first before moving on though.
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Jun 20, 2014 06:16
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Came home to find my Phantom 2 + H3-3D arrived!  Put what little there was together, charged the battery, and upgraded the Firmware (left the Main Firmware at 3.0 for now though) set it to Naza M mode with IOC and setup the toggle for GPS/ATTI/Manual and took her for a spin. After a quick compass calibration and flash of the green lights, she was up and away. Ran through the basic test and played with IOC a bit as well as manual. The thing flies way too easy, even in Manual mode. It is smooth and responsive as well as stupid easy to fly in GPS or ATTI mode. It makes my Hubson look like an advanced pilots only copter. I still need a lot of practice in manual to be confident I could use it if all else fails, but besides that it looks like I will probably spend most of my time in ATTI mode and use GPS when I just need to have it hold a hover, when filming, or for newbies taking it for a spin. I will probably make an IOC video sometime as well since all the ones on YouTube suck and don't really show what IOC does or how it is used outside of explaining it till the viewer gets bored out of his gored. The best example I saw which is quite similar was the FliteTest guys and the QX350. The GoPro is out of town right now so I will mount the gimbal probably when I get the FPV kit sometime next week.
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Jun 20, 2014 06:42
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Somewhat Heroic posted:
As builds go the mini quads are pretty straightforward most of the parts people are using are fairly standardized now. Probably the hardest part of mini quad building is fitting all the components on which is usually going to need some soldering to make shorter wiring harnesses.
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Jun 20, 2014 15:55
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My son came racing out of his room last week while I was flying my protox and he ran right into it while I was just hovering about three feet right in front of me. This was the result:  I joked and told him I'd have to cut his hair and he cried because Loki would get him if he didn't have his Thor hair. It came out real easy, just pulled the prop off and it slid right out.
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Jun 20, 2014 17:49
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Is there a way to downgrade the dji phantom 2 firmware to pre 3.04? I feel like the gimbal turning is better in 3.04 (never saw the landing gear once) but that descent speed is excruciating. Is there a preferred firmware version?
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Jun 20, 2014 18:50
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A Yolo Wizard posted:Is there a way to downgrade the dji phantom 2 firmware to pre 3.04? I feel like the gimbal turning is better in 3.04 (never saw the landing gear once) but that descent speed is excruciating. I stuck with 3.0 which it came with out of the box. I have yet to install the Gimbal itself but did update the Gimbal Firmware to .30. The descent speed and top speed in GPS mode was both decreased I believe which may well still be a good thing since a lot of videos of descent based crashes on YouTube appear to be people hauling way too fast laterally or downward and the P2 having a hard time catching itself due to the inertia. Still wish this was all configurable so you can adjust the settings depending on where you are or what you are carrying but I assume DJI are trying to reduce the chances of stupid induced crashes. I believe you can still grab the 1.08 software and upload that version into your P2 but I hear there is no way to flash between 1.08 and 3.04. I believe you can fly it faster still in ATTI or Manual mode if you are in a hurry.
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Jun 20, 2014 20:10
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If you descend too quickly while hovering in any quad you can enter vortex ring state and get carried down by your own downdraft. In general it is much better to descend while translating to stay out of your own propwash. What percentage throttle does a phantom hover at? If it is up in 60 -70 percent range then you would have to be really careful to not get your vertical speed too high.
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Jun 20, 2014 20:59
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I'm really wanting to pick up one of the Durafly 1100mm sized warbird models from Hobby King. Does anyone have any experience with them? Pretty good quality or would it be a crap shoot?
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Jun 26, 2014 15:00
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Got myself a Blade 130X. Seems to work a lot better than my Nano CPx. Obviously I already crashed it and got the canopy cracked, but nothing important seems to have been hit.
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Jun 27, 2014 14:44
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Got a Hubsan X4 from Amazon and the battery doesn't seem to charge. When I plug it into a USB port, the red light turns on for about 5 seconds and then turns off. Leaving it plugged in for a while doesn't charge it. Am I just going to have to ship it back to Amazon?
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Jun 27, 2014 14:53
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