Does Anyone Here Fly Drones??

[creative]

Originally Posted by Ratmick

Thanks, great stuff

Rx is a FrSky XSR.
VTX is a TBS Unify Pro 5G8 HV.
FC is a Mateksys F405-AI0 (FC and PDB in one).

I am starting off with 3S packs...

I started off in Electronics back in the '80s. I was a tech in the Defence Force and then got into IT. Did some RC stuff before I had kids in the early 90s, cannot believe how unbelievably small everything is now...

...and comparatively it's cheap as chips

The main issue I have is I live 80km from Melbourne CBD and there are no decent hobby shops. Everything is mail order...

Secondary issue is that due to staring at screens for 30+ years my eyes have had enough and I am now long-sighted and wear glasses. FPV goggles don't accommodate long-sighted people very well, I have FatShark Transformer HD goggles that should be adjustable enough for me to get away with my glasses underneath (they work ok around the house)...

...either that or I get used to contacts.

i run the xsr, great receiver. I also run the tbs unify race. had issues with the HV overheating so went beck to the race and had no issues since.
not a fan of Matek fc's. Some of the guys I fly with love them but I have never got on with them. I run the betaflight f4.

Skip 3s, you will out grow it very quickly. Just go straight to 4s and turn your rates down a bit.

I also wear glasses but have diopters in my Dom v3's. Will be getting a set of ROH prescription inserts for them soon.

As for online ordering... www.phaserfpv.com.au My mates shop and my local. Get 90% of my stuff from him. You wont be disappointment with the service.

[Ratmick]

Originally Posted by creative

i run the xsr, great receiver. I also run the tbs unify race. had issues with the HV overheating so went beck to the race and had no issues since.
not a fan of Matek fc's. Some of the guys I fly with love them but I have never got on with them. I run the betaflight f4.

Skip 3s, you will out grow it very quickly. Just go straight to 4s and turn your rates down a bit.

I also wear glasses but have diopters in my Dom v3's. Will be getting a set of ROH prescription inserts for them soon.

As for online ordering... www.phaserfpv.com.au My mates shop and my local. Get 90% of my stuff from him. You wont be disappointment with the service.

I did try the PhaserFPV site as I have ordered stuff from them before.

Alas they didn't have gimbals listed, except two second hand ones that look to be out of a X9D (your old ones?).

The diopters you buy for goggles all seem to be for short-sighted people and are all negative values (for example these).

My glasses are positive diopter...I think +2.

I haven't seen any positive diopter inserts and I can't see jack close-up without my glasses.

[Ratmick]

...found the ROH Supplier in Germany.

This might be the only way forward for me, long-term anyway.

[creative]

Originally Posted by Ratmick

I did try the PhaserFPV site as I have ordered stuff from them before.

Alas they didn't have gimbals listed, except two second hand ones that look to be out of a X9D (your old ones?).

The diopters you buy for goggles all seem to be for short-sighted people and are all negative values (for example these).

My glasses are positive diopter...I think +2.

I haven't seen any positive diopter inserts and I can't see jack close-up without my glasses.

thats why I get 90% from him. Other is shop I use is www.nextfpv.com.au then I turn to America for anything I cant get here.

Yeah, prescription is the way to go. They arent cheap but worth it if your serious about the hobby.

[Ratmick]

Originally Posted by creative

thats why I get 90% from him. Other is shop I use is www.nextfpv.com.au then I turn to America for anything I cant get here.

Yeah, prescription is the way to go. They arent cheap but worth it if your serious about the hobby.

I have a list of bookmarks for Australian Drone sites, will go through all those before going off-shore.

I've also ordered stuff off those guys

The gimbals I ordered from Buzz Hobbies in WA.

[Ratmick]

So are the inserts for FatShark always the same size?

Would hate to pay $100-odd for a pair of prescription dioptres and the next set of new-and-improved goggles you buy they don't damn well fit...

Fatsharks are not cheap as it is without adding an extra $100 on every pair you buy

[creative]

they are indeed. The Doms in all their guise use the same case.

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Originally Posted by creative

I fly proper quads... ;)

My current rig:

image

Interesting looking drone, looks like it's home build.

Originally Posted by creative

Im into the hobby in a big way so feel free to ask any questions.... so long as its not about DJI crap.... :P

I would not call DJI drones crap, personally I think they are probably some of the best on the market for the price.

I just want to take my drone out of the box and fly it, I have no interest in stuffing around with it and building it.

Just because some people have a different level of interest does not make their interest crap.

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Drone Flight over Remote NSW Outback Town:

[Ratmick]

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

Interesting looking drone, looks like it's home build.

I would not call DJI drones crap, personally I think they are probably some of the best on the market for the price.

I just want to take my drone out of the box and fly it, I have no interest in stuffing around with it and building it.

Just because some people have a different level of interest does not make their interest crap.

I mean I like driving a 700hp Big Block, so may be your car is just crap because it's not a 700hp big block.

It looks like a 'home build' because it is a 'home build'...

...but that wasn't a disparaging or condescending remark was it?

The problem with buying a drone out of a box is that you're tied to the box manufacturer's gear.

Whereas I wouldn't call them crap both DJI and Mavic are both horrendously expensive...but they appeal to people that don't have the time or patience to learn how to put a drone together.

The issue is of course that if your DJI or Mavic breaks then you take it to a DJI or Mavic service centre and they give you copious butt-hurt in the wallet...mainly because they can. DJI and Mavic are the airborne equivalent of Apple.

They are also slow-as, so if you're after the equivalent of an airborne Datsun 120Y you're in the right place (they do make a good camera platform however).

Something breaks on mine I pay $30 for a new part and away I go...'home made' drones make rubbish camera platform for taking pics of stationary objects, like houses.

They make excellent camera platforms for people who like to wish they can fly like a bird:



...and yeah some of the flying is pretty insane (and grossly illegal). Cool though and epic control.

[Mercury Bullet]

Do those cameras have mechanical stabilisation?

[Ratmick]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

Do those cameras have mechanical stabilisation?

Some of the more expensive pro-hobbyist and commercial drones have very expensive camera gimbals that do stabilise video.

The bigger RTF drones, like DJI and Mavic are quite slow/stable and you can get away without it, to a degree.

The 'home built' ones? Hahahah no. The most you get is soft-mounting on rubber o-rings (or something similar) so they don't get a jello effect on the video from the props.

Jello effect (fast forward to 1:30 and turn the sound down):

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

Drone Flight over Remote NSW Outback Town:

Whats with the chunky, clunky panning effort, is that drone or operator error??

[Ratmick]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

Whats with the chunky, clunky panning effort, is that drone or operator error??

Bloody flat as a pancake out there

FWIW that's a pretty stable platform and good quality video

The panning is probably just inexperience with the drone, or the editing software. It looked ok to me, although the music choice was a bit up-tempo for the choice of scenery.

However if that is what you were after when buying the drone then good work.

It's not for me, it's like being tethered to the ground and 'flying' in a balloon...as distinct to being strapped onto a peregrine falcon that can fly backwards as well as forwards as well as inverted at full-throttle.

[Mercury Bullet]

Pretty good!

We had a gyro-stabilised lens in the chopper. 30 yrs ago cost $350k.
If we put g-force on like that the gyro would hit it's stop and slam the lens back 180°.

You're getting far better video now for not much moolah.

[creative]

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

Interesting looking drone, looks like it's home build.




I would not call DJI drones crap, personally I think they are probably some of the best on the market for the price.

I just want to take my drone out of the box and fly it, I have no interest in stuffing around with it and building it.

Just because some people have a different level of interest does not make their interest crap.

I mean I like driving a 700hp Big Block, so may be your car is just crap because it's not a 700hp big block.

I would like to think the :p at the end would show it was tongue in cheek.

and my quad is indeed "homebuilt" and capable of 100kph, sometimes faster. Personally building it is half the fun, crashing it and rebuilding it just keeps the fun going! Speaking of which, need to do some repairs after bouncing off a few trees today. Think I have damaged some caps from prop strikes and getting terrible video feed now but it was great fun!

[Mercury Bullet]

How much flight time can you typically expect?

[Ratmick]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

How much flight time can you typically expect?

Too many factors, depends on weight and how many cells in your pack, what motors you're packing and how far away you plan on getting (in any direction). A lot of it will depend on peripherals too, your camera(s) and Rx/video transmitter.

I'm going to be using 3S packs (three LiPo cells in series, so 11.1V), but haven't flown yet as it's still a work in progress.

Creative (who is using 4S and is moving to 6S) and the OP could tell you what they get but it'll only be an indication and not any thing useful. In fact the OP's flight times should be pretty similar, the DJI drones aren't quick and nothing ever changes in setup...having said that the batteries are normally under-specced and the things are relatively heavy.

Generally if you fly like a pussy the drone will stay in the air longer too...but where's the fun in that?

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Ratmick

Too many factors, depends on weight and how many cells in your pack, what motors you're packing and how far away you plan on getting (in any direction). A lot of it will depend on peripherals too, your camera(s) and Rx/video transmitter.

I'm going to be using 3S packs (three LiPo cells in series, so 11.1V), but haven't flown yet as it's still a work in progress.

Creative (who is using 4S and is moving to 6S) and the OP could tell you what they get but it'll only be an indication and not any thing useful. In fact the OP's flight times should be pretty similar, the DJI drones aren't quick and nothing ever changes in setup...having said that the batteries are normally under-specced and the things are relatively heavy.

Generally if you fly like a pussy the drone will stay in the air longer too...but where's the fun in that?

I have had a few varied experiences with different motor styles and battery styles with rc cars. Right, I'm talking cars not drones, but in essence when it comes to batteries it's still relevant. So in 2009 to kill time at home because the mrs was heavily pregnant and annoying i needed something to kill time. I picked up a RC stadium truck. 3000mah 7.2v nimh batteries. Stock it went ok but 6 to 8 minutes run time flat footed. My son currently has a monster truck with the same motor and esc that mine had originally with 3 amp 8.4v 7 cell batteries and its quicker then mine was stock and gets about 15 minutes flat out. My car stayed stock for about a week before I went brushless and it went better on the 7.2v batteries in that it was faster, but run time was about the same. The speed controller I bought I did so because it was capable of 3s lipos. So 2200mah 11.1v batteries was the go and considering the lower amp hours, the thing turned into an absolute animal to the extent of even with the esc soft start set to as soft as possible it would have a hard time keeping the front end on the ground. And run time went up to around 20 minutes. So motor selection, and other factors are the key.

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

Whats with the chunky, clunky panning effort, is that drone or operator error??

Looked for your professional quality done video production, could not seem to find one, may be post up a link as I may have missed it.

Originally Posted by Ratmick

Bloody flat as a pancake out there

Certainly is.

Originally Posted by Ratmick

FWIW that's a pretty stable platform and good quality video

Thanks

Originally Posted by Ratmick

However if that is what you were after when buying the drone then good work.

It's exactly what I was after and was my first video as I had only bought the drone days earlier.

Originally Posted by Ratmick

It's not for me, it's like being tethered to the ground and 'flying' in a balloon...as distinct to being strapped onto a peregrine falcon that can fly backwards as well as forwards as well as inverted at full-throttle.

Goes plenty fast enough for me top speed I have hit is 57km/hr in sports mode from memory, actually most of the time I use standard mode which is about 30km/hr (my speeds may be off a bit but pretty sure that's what they were).

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Originally Posted by creative

I would like to think the :p at the end would show it was tongue in cheek.

May be I am just too literal.

Originally Posted by creative

and my quad is indeed "homebuilt" and capable of 100kph, sometimes faster. Personally building it is half the fun, crashing it and rebuilding it just keeps the fun going!

To me that would be a nightmare, I have absolutely no interest in building a drone, happy to pay the money to be able to just take it out the box and fly it.

Originally Posted by creative

Speaking of which, need to do some repairs after bouncing off a few trees today. Think I have damaged some caps from prop strikes and getting terrible video feed now but it was great fun!

Great that you can fix it yourself, but I neither have the skill or the interest to do so. If/when mine breaks it will go in for repair or replacement.

My first drone is already gone and sold (Syma Drone) as I have upgraded to my current one (DJI Spark), will probably upgrade again in the future, but I think I will always keep the little 'Spark' its just too handy, and lives in a hard case in the boot of my car since I bought it.

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Originally Posted by Ratmick

It looks like a 'home build' because it is a 'home build'...

...but that wasn't a disparaging or condescending remark was it?

It was an observation, but I guess these days saying that a black person is black is no loner an observation but is seen as racist, so I guess stating that a home build drone looks like a home build drone could by the same token be seen as disparaging or condescending.

Originally Posted by Ratmick

The issue is of course that if your DJI or Mavic breaks then you take it to a DJI or Mavic service centre and they give you copious butt-hurt in the wallet...mainly because they can. DJI and Mavic are the airborne equivalent of Apple.

Much like what most people do with their cars and most of their other stuff I guess.

Originally Posted by Ratmick

Something breaks on mine I pay $30 for a new part and away I go...

Much like what I have done with my cars for the last 30 plus years.

Originally Posted by Ratmick

They make excellent camera platforms for people who like to wish they can fly like a bird:



...and yeah some of the flying is pretty insane (and grossly illegal). Cool though and epic control.

Pretty good video to watch and awesome flying skill, but at the same time probably one of the reasons drone flying has been getting bad press lately in the general media.

And I guess the same people doing this stuff will then complain when drone flying gets heavily regulated and may be even banned in most places.

Still a good video to watch and I would hope it was filmed under controlled conditions.

[Ratmick]

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

Pretty good video to watch and awesome flying skill, but at the same time probably one of the reasons drone flying has been getting bad press lately in the general media.

And I guess the same people doing this stuff will then complain when drone flying gets heavily regulated and may be even banned in most places.

Still a good video to watch and I would hope it was filmed under controlled conditions.

I did say it was grossly illegal...well at least in Australia. Not sure what the rules are in the States, but ours are quite explicit. I very much doubt he was flying under controlled conditions...

I'm not condoning his actions, but I do admire the skill...especially where he was on one side of the train and did an inverted barrel roll to the other side and flew underneath a moving train

The way I see it it's horses for courses. If you want to fly around and basically sightsee then what you are looking at and what you have bought is ideal, especially if you have deep pockets.

If you like fiddling, experimenting, improving your skills, pushing the envelope of what is possible and punching holes in the sky then what Creative is doing is also valid.

[FairmontGS]

I'd love a drone but it's not practical inner city and probably not fair on the neighbours either. I'd just end up hitting the power lines and crash landing it into someone's car.

[cs123]

How much flying time (range) do these things have?

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Originally Posted by cs123

How much flying time (range) do these things have?

How long is a piece of string?

Your question is the equivalent of asking how fast does a car go.

Depends on your drone, and what you are doing.

Mine gets about 14-16 minutes of flying time per battery (I have three batteries) and the furtherest I have dared to take it is about 1km away but advertised range is 2km.

If you buy a Phantom Pro, they have about 30 minutes of flight time, and up to 7km range.

Not sure about these racing drones as they seem to be custom build.

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Originally Posted by Ratmick

I did say it was grossly illegal...well at least in Australia. Not sure what the rules are in the States, but ours are quite explicit. I very much doubt he was flying under controlled conditions...

That is my main concern, seems a bit like street racers giving car enthusiasts a bad name

Originally Posted by Ratmick

I'm not condoning his actions, but I do admire the skill...especially where he was on one side of the train and did an inverted barrel roll to the other side and flew underneath a moving train

I am not doubting the skill, but the concern for me is that these sort of actions is what causes things to get banned, and where the general public get off side with people flying drones. So when something get put forward where these may be banned public support from the public will be based on these sort of videos.

Originally Posted by Ratmick

The way I see it it's horses for courses. If you want to fly around and basically sightsee then what you are looking at and what you have bought is ideal, especially if you have deep pockets.

I certainly don't have deep pockets.

Originally Posted by Ratmick

If you like fiddling, experimenting, improving your skills, pushing the envelope of what is possible and punching holes in the sky then what Creative is doing is also valid.

May be he should pick better locations to do so, he got very close to people, cars and buildings, I would hate for the person crossing the street to be hit in the head by a drone travelling at 100km/hr

Horses for courses for sure, but some common sense would go a long way in preserving the past time into the future.

[Ratmick]

I was wincing at 0:43 in when he is whizzing down some side street and across roads without pausing. Not sure how many motorists would like a drone through the side window of their car, nor many motorcyclists (many who don't wear helmets in some states) in the side of the head.

You'd hope he had done a reccy over and around and possibly had spotters linked up with walkie talkies...but I am guessing not.

There does seem to be another person doing the same thing and putting a drone on the ground just before he flies up and over the large building...

[creative]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

How much flight time can you typically expect?

I get between 2.30 - 3.25min from a 4s 1300mah 100c battery.

Originally Posted by cs123

How much flying time (range) do these things have?

Normal setup you can get maybe a Km at most. If you go longrange with a crossfire the same quad could got 5Km. Wings are being flown at 20Km + on crossfire these days.

Originally Posted by Ratmick

Too many factors, depends on weight and how many cells in your pack, what motors you're packing and how far away you plan on getting (in any direction). A lot of it will depend on peripherals too, your camera(s) and Rx/video transmitter.

I'm going to be using 3S packs (three LiPo cells in series, so 11.1V), but haven't flown yet as it's still a work in progress.

Creative (who is using 4S and is moving to 6S) and the OP could tell you what they get but it'll only be an indication and not any thing useful. In fact the OP's flight times should be pretty similar, the DJI drones aren't quick and nothing ever changes in setup...having said that the batteries are normally under-specced and the things are relatively heavy.

Generally if you fly like a pussy the drone will stay in the air longer too...but where's the fun in that?

Correct. This hobby is about trade off. You can go bigger battery but the extra weight negates the extra power you get and you start to see diminishing returns. I fly 1300mah 4s (14.8v Charged) batteries that get me 3min of freestyle on average. The same battery on a racer would get maybe 1.30min at full throttle.

I am going 6s ( 25.2v fully charged and which involves lower KV motors ) at the moment and whilst I will be using more cells the Mah capacity will be less, I will be trying 1250mah and 1000mah and I should see about 4min of flight time.

And yes, these things will jump start your car

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Originally Posted by Ratmick

I was wincing at 0:43 in when he is whizzing down some side street and across roads without pausing.

Did you notice the person running for cover at 0:52, about to get cleaned up by the drone??

Still an awesome video though...