What Do You Know About R/C Drones?

[Duckshot]

I received a micro RC drone as a present. Pretty sure that I just broke the gyro. I, crashed it and the gyro will not resynchronize after following instructions exactly.

Anyways, what do y'all know about drones?

It seems to me it could be an excellent tool for scoping out new hunting spots, maybe. Those mid size drones with a screen, does the screen come with the drone or does one still have to attach a cell phone to the controller like past models?

Thanks.

ETA- I'm only interested in drones under the "must register with Los Federales size". Its really none of big brothers concern and certainly not in my interest.

 

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[RTR]

Some drones come w/their own screen Some you have to use a cell phone.I'd stick with a (good) micro drone under .55 pounds.A friend of mine just bought a micro that has NO conventional type transmitter.Instead the drone will mimic the movement of the pilots hand position.
This type controller will be the standard in the near future
>

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

Been wanting one also for scouting purposes. Biggest thing is to watch the flight and battery recharge time. Havent found one yet that doesn't suck badly(like 5min of flight and 2+hrs to recharge). And spare batteries (if it will even allow battery swaps at all) can cost a significant fraction of the cost of a new drone.

I'd like to hear any suggestions on make/model for a decent drone too.

 

[RTR]

Any FPV is the ultimate way to fly >>

 

[RTR]

And the flight can be recorded & saved for later review

 

[RTR]

Been wanting one also for scouting purposes. Biggest thing is to watch the flight and battery recharge time. Havent found one yet that doesn't suck badly(like 5min of flight and 2+hrs to recharge). And spare batteries (if it will even allow battery swaps at all) can cost a significant fraction of the cost of a new drone.

I'd like to hear any suggestions on make/model for a decent drone too.

Micro drones can get up to 8-10 minutes flight time.But, if your looking for 20+ minutes you'll have to go bigger than a 'micro'. Once your A.U.W. is over .55 pounds your at the mercy of the FAA rules & regs.....Spare Li-Po batteries have come Way down in price from 5 years ago(and have much more power) for their size/weight.Now for the"decent drone question". Thats a hard one to answer.Back in the day(before drones) there were maybe 12 RC mfgs..Today there are at least 100 company s,making/selling them.....Drones are like shoes .One size dosent fit all.Oh , and go with 'Brushless' motors.

 

[RustyGold]

Why the brushed motor recommendation RTR?

 

[Dr. Witty]

RC pilots no longer have to register their Drones/Airplanes with the FAA. There was already a rule in place for hobbyists regarding R/C models that the FAA could not override so that whole registering thing is no more.
RTR said brushless not brushed. Brushed motors wear out and are not as efficient as brushless motors.

If you want a Quad to find good detecting spots your best bang for the buck option is a DJI Mavic. They are big bucks, but they take beautiful HD video. My sister has one and she loves it. I fly FPV racing drones and planes and they do not take HD video unless you strap a go pro or other cube camera to it. My FPV drone gets 3 and 1/2 minutes of flight time where the Mavic may get upwards to 30 minutes on a battery charge.

 

[RTR]

Why the brushed motor recommendation RTR?

Sorry Type error meant Brushless

 

[RTR]

RC pilots no longer have to register their Drones/Airplanes with the FAA. There was already a rule in place for hobbyists regarding R/C models that the FAA could not override so that whole registering thing is no more.
RTR said brushless not brushed. Brushed motors wear out and are not as efficient as brushless motors.

If you want a Quad to find good detecting spots your best bang for the buck option is a DJI Mavic. They are big bucks, but they take beautiful HD video. My sister has one and she loves it. I fly FPV racing drones and planes and they do not take HD video unless you strap a go pro pr other cube camera to it.

WOW that's good news.When did that happen ? That's why I stopped flying(when the FAA got involved). You mean I'm free ?

 

[Dr. Witty]

Well it was only a 5 dollar registration to begin with but yeah, you're free.

 

[Dr. Witty]

It's funny to say the Mavic is big bucks when I know that I've already spent over 4 times the cost of a Mavic with my FPV racers. It's a great hobby but FPV and stable video platform Quads are entirely different animals.

 

[RTR]

Well it was only a 5 dollar registration to begin with but yeah, you're free.

It wasn't about the 5 bucks (which they refunded). Its about "their" list your were placed on.
Maybe I'll go out & eat up come clouds

 

[Dr. Witty]

Nice, That looks scratch built, and for me that's the best way to fly. I've been building a lot of the Flite test designs and before that i used Fan fold foam for my scratch builds. A buddy and me are going to be doing some FPV streamer combat with the Flite Test Simple Scout once the weather gets warmer. Here's my Scout all painted up. We plan to use those all in one camera, VTX and cloverleaf kits and mount them to our rudders.

 

[RTR]

Nice, That looks scratch built, and for me that's the best way to fly. I've been building a lot of the Flite test designs and before that i used Fan fold foam for my scratch builds. A buddy and me are going to be doing some FPV streamer combat with the Flite Test Simple Scout once the weather gets warmer. Here's my Scout all painted up. We plan to use those all in one camera, VTX and cloverleaf kits and mount them to our rudders.
View attachment 1530789

Looks good Dr....Tell me more about that camera. This is my go-to baby Eflite 480 powered.I kept a log on this one.And combined flights w/it is equal to a round trip from NYC to DC

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

RC pilots no longer have to register their Drones/Airplanes with the FAA. There was already a rule in place for hobbyists regarding R/C models that the FAA could not override so that whole registering thing is no more.
RTR said brushless not brushed. Brushed motors wear out and are not as efficient as brushless motors.

If you want a Quad to find good detecting spots your best bang for the buck option is a DJI Mavic. They are big bucks, but they take beautiful HD video. My sister has one and she loves it. I fly FPV racing drones and planes and they do not take HD video unless you strap a go pro or other cube camera to it. My FPV drone gets 3 and 1/2 minutes of flight time where the Mavic may get upwards to 30 minutes on a battery charge.

Thanks for the info! That is more than I care to spend as all I really want to do is gain some altitude at the beach and see what the currents are doing. I have my own cube cam and don't mind viewing what it saw after landing. That 20-27 minutes flight time with 45min recharge is encouraging tho!

 

[RTR]

Dr. Witty .....Its a copy of this Israeli drone.Only they spent 1/4 Mil. Ea.And I spent a few hundred.Eflite 60 motor.AUW- 6 pounds.Flight time over 1 hr.
> http://littleviralthings.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Israeli.jpg

 

[RTR]

Thanks for the info! That is more than I care to spend as all I really want to do is gain some altitude at the beach and see what the currents are doing. I have my own cube cam and don't mind viewing what it saw after landing. That 20-27 minutes flight time with 45min recharge is encouraging tho!

How about a RC Blimp ? They come in All sizes & prices.They'll stay up 4 ever .Put your cam. on it & tether to the ground.Maybe a couple servos for pan/tilt on the cam. & done

 

[Dr. Witty]

At first you could only get these mini all in one camera vtx combos through hobby sites and they were around 40 dollars. Now you can find them anywhere. Do a search for
GOQOTOMO GT01 600TVL Micro AIO Camera on Amazon. Its 17 dollars and gets great range with the cloverleaf and pretty good picture too. There are no options for changing the camera settings like a good Runcam has, but the VTX has an led for changing the frequency and channel for the video. These are great for small foam planes and use a 1 cell lipo only. 2 or more cells will fry it.

Here's a picture of me just about to launch my home made eagle with the tiny camera attached to the top.



Notice the dirty knees?

 

[Wrecka]

I owned a Dobby Drone, lasted 6 months then just stopped working, never buy on made in China and was $500 aud. Next drone purchase will be either the DJI Mavick Pro or DJI Spark , i want one but im holding all spending off until i can buy a Equinox 800