Drones tips

[MCN]

I need some info on Drones.

Ah' ken aw aboot Bag Pipes, it's the flying ones I am on about .

I bet it is another money pit like gowf and motorbikes. So before I lash out in one direction I would like some input from a 'trusted' source.

(I also thought to ask the Geeks at bcf.)

I seen a clip from my local area that was quite impressive as far as altitude, range, stability and the resolution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUzFzFXfztM

The beast used was a DJI Phantom 3 (WETFTI)

I found some sold here as example:

https://www.dronesdirect.co.uk/st/dji-phantom-3-standard-drones-and-parts


Any ideas?

Thanks,

MCN
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[doggone]

The Phantom3 is now rather old tech, it has good range and decent image quality (photo or video) but it's a noisy crude old thing compared to the current hot DJI models which are the Mavic Pro and Mavic Air.
The Air has just been released and has better video than the Pro, however it's range is substantially less.
In practice this means you will struggle to go much beyond line of sight you should stick to anyway so may or may not be a problem.

It is a money pit and hard not to be tempted by the regular slightly better options.

You need at least one extra battery (they aren't cheap) and some sort of case.
If buying now I'd go with Mavic Air.
Something better will be along in the spring I expect.

There are other makers, none of them are better, some are OK.
Cheaper options are generally harder to fly and ultimately not good value longer term

[bugeye_bob]

I love my P4, what ever you get, buy as many batteries as you can lol,

https://phantompilots.com/

[Rogerborg]

What the hell happened to using catapults to wheech the gear over the wall into the exercise yard?
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[bugeye_bob]

You will need some catapult to get ya video camera a few hundred feet up to film lol

[MCN]

[MCN]

[-]

[MCN]

[MahatmaAndhi]

£700 is a lot to chuck at a potential hobby that might not even be fun.
My drone got dispatched today. I went for a second hand Fleabay job (JJRC H11C - catchy!) which should give me about 10 minutes flight time per battery (3 of them).
By then I should have a fair grasp on whether or not it's going to be an enjoyable hobby, before working my way up to gimbals, GPS and other such expensive gubbins.
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2008 Aprilia Sportcity 250

[doggone]

It depends what you compare it with, you can soon spend that sort of money on serious camera (or biking) gear.
Buying a cheap one with no GPS is a good way to put yourself off "because it keeps crashing".
Zooming about with a poor quality camera or no camera will get boring very quick, unless you are thinking more racing drones.

To get decent video you need to be able to see what the camera sees live - this would have cost far more to do until recently, without all the other useful stuff like pinpoint accurate mapping and perfect stability if you let go the sticks.

[Polarbear]

I have a parrot bebop drone with sky controller that has been gathering dust pretty well since I had it. I flew it a couple of times but got bored with it very quickly.

Perhaps I should get it out and indulge in a bit of voyeurism with it.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[bugeye_bob]

[owl]

[panrider_uk]

Get a cheap 3D printer too so you can make replacement rotor blades etc
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Current bike: Honda ST1100

[bugeye_bob]

[panrider_uk]

Was tongue in cheek
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Current bike: Honda ST1100

[recman]

[doggone]

You touch on a good point, it's becoming barely acceptable to fly them near anything worthwhile, though Scotland has more places to choose.
- and timing is everything.

English Heritage and Natural England claim to have banned their use. They don't have any control over airspace, but they can (probably) stop you taking off while on their land.
Note this isn't just Stately homes but quite wide areas such as marshland or foreshore they might control.

So ownership can be frustrating if nowhere nearby is suitable.
It's like riding a bike, to maintain your fine coordination you need to keep using it fairly regularly.

[bugeye_bob]

[ws4936]

[bugeye_bob]

[MCN]

Want.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Stevie GooGs]

I had a P2 when they first came out with a go pro. It was good at the time but i held off upgrading as the tech is and still is moving too fast. Mine flew away but i managed to kill the motors as it would not respond, meant to be a common thing with the P2 series.

Ive now got a Inspire 2 / X5S Apple Pro Res setup, the software has improved vastly, i would not consider range to be a factor as your stuck to 500m VLOS and 400ft.

DJI have the monopoly, their stuff is good, their service is shocking and i mean shocking.

My advice would be to check out all the rules as it can be very limiting to where you can / should fly a lot of red tape.

30 meters away during take off
50 meters away during flight
150 meters away from congested area

Im across the minch from you in Ullapool

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1970/3587/files/equipment_2000x.progressive.jpg?v=1509221606
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