I got buzzed by quad copter.
 

Now I want one! It was awesome. Loud and kinda obnoxious.

Anyone flying one? Seems the prices vary wildly.


Sent via Jedi mind trick.

Birds of prey are prone to attacking them. ...

That was my amazon delivery of single colour rubics cubes

Cliff.

You've got mail.

Two of them from me.

I'm also in the "want one" camp. They can do some cool stuff, and I like the idea of a stable, flying video platform.

Been looking at the DJI's

Farmers in New Zealand are using them with cameras to check water levels in dams, and to check the stock in back paddocks. Much easier than getting to some of the high or remote spots than, on foot or horseback.

We are using them for work project - including one where we're mapping terrain through photogrammetry. Have a couple of Phantoms, and looking at some other options. One of our collaborators has a high-end FPV system with long range, and one of our programmers builds his own from scratch. Stupid easy to fly - I grew up flying RC planes and these things are pretty idiot proof as long as they have GPS lock.

Get one now before they are heavily restricted. They've already implemented firmware in the DJIs that limits use near large airports. Privacy concerns will lead to serious control within the next few years.

The technology of these is advancing at a rapid pace, and price points keep dropping.


Define your application...........sports car to rip up the sky, GPS stable camera platform with a 2 axis tilt/pan servo gimble, or FPV first person view flying via goggles or tablet / smart phone platform.


it all comes down to price point too. how much you want to spend?


SmileWavy



My video as referenced above is a generation or two old, in Quad Copter technology. $35 dollar Syma X1 machine.

since then, new 6 axis gyro's have been added in other mfr's, such as the WL 222 built in camera ($65) or the newer bigger frame size WL 262 which will be my next machine, ($90)

Upgraded Wltoys V959 V222 2.4G 6-Axis 4CH RC Quadcopter With Camera Mode 2 RTF - US$67.99

WLtoys V262 Cyclone 2.4G 4CH 6 Axis RC Quadcopter Camera Version RTF - US$91.60


the WL has adjustable flight rates, so you can start out easy with limited control at 40%, then step up to 60/80/100% as your skills increase.

Amazing performance really, the on-board gyro's and Li-ion battery technology has come a long long ways.

I like my quad copter cheap so I can bash them around, parts supply is important!




great Pelican type forum here but on Quad Copters, everything you need to know, dig around, and make sure you can get parts for them.




Mini Multirotors - RC Groups


some of these machines are running hot motors, so limited engine hour life (4-5 hours), you have to carefully break in the brushed DC motors, or spend mo' money on Brushless. BUY SPARE PARTS AND BATTERIES

let me know if you have any questions, me and friends are heavy into these, but I'm not ready to drop $500 - $1000 on a DJI yet..........your application may vary.


here is a new video of mine, shot at 120 frames per second for slow motion, with me intentionally trying to run into a camera on a tripod. fun stuff.

it's really really amazing the hard hard hits they can take into building walls, trees, power lines, and such.........



https://vimeo.com/89411360

even the new technology electric R/C boats are amazing in performance, for CHEAP, ~$50-60 ready to run.

water cooled electric motor.




look how you can thrash on them...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo_-r2m4neg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kbXNYrkXNc

two videos shot by a friend of mine

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/oGFsuy8mSqw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/8UO3L1FALag" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'm thinking of a $400 budget.


Sent via Jedi mind trick.

Is it legal to buzz the neighbors pools with neked chicks? LOL

travelbydrone.com is a pretty good site for quad copter video's. Vash did you buy a quadcopter yet? I am looking to get the turbo ace matrix. check out USA Walkera Distributor, Align Super Depot, E-flite Specialists, Turbo Ace Exclusive Distributor

I've been doing it. I recommend starting with a $39 Syma X1. Get some practice. They aren't hard to fly until you have to start dealing with wind.
I stepped up to a $499 Phantom after about an hour of air time with the Syma and it is MUCH easier to fly, but I'm glad for the hour or so the Syma lasted. I learned $39 worth of valuable lessons. The Phantom uses GPS to keep track of where it is and where it's been. If it gets blown out of transmitter range it senses it and retraces it's path back to there it came from. It also has an auto-hover feature and will keep itself in one place if you get distracted. It's got an OK camera on it and you can fly first person view using and iPhone as a monitor. When I've mastered/crashed this one I'm stepping up to the big Phantom and a GoPro camera.

Vash, for 400 you could get a parrot drone and upgrade it to a bigger battery and regular remote control. From what I've read they are pretty awesome once you do a few mods.

I have a DJI Phantom 2 with HD camera. It is VERY sophisticated and will fly itself home if you lose radio contact. I lost control flying over an apartment building where there were several WiFi units however. I need to recalibrate it to see if the crash was fatal or not yet.

How do the hold up against a 12 Ga. "skeetload" ?

Mine smacked right into a concrete trash enclosure. The onboard GPS says it was going 7 mph. The whole copter exploded and blew apart. Strange though, that everything bolted right back together and it will fly, but not hover. If anything is vulnerable, it's the onboard computer, not the hardware. And DJI Pros has spare parts like the plastic shell. I suspect a 12 ga load would need a direct hit at close range. And since these things fly 200 ft elevation and up, you'd have to get off a lucky shot.

FC 40? That's the one I have now.

No, which one is that? I have the Phantom Vision 2 (Sorry not the Phantom 2).

I am thinking about adding a 2D gimbal, but if it isn't flyable, then I'm going to start over from scratch. I plan on filming an aerial commercial, and using it to document construction on stuff that I am doing.

Edit: I see it on Google. Is that a gimbal? Have you had fly-aways?