Drone recommendations

[Stranger]

I have this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Customer Service is in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Very good and easy to work with.


Oh, and I like the drone as well.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Stranger

I have this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Customer Service is in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Very good and easy to work with.


Oh, and I like the drone as well.

Looks like a nice one but out of my price range. Thanks anyway!

[Stranger]

Looking back at my order it was $249.97. Unfortunately I see it's currently unavailable.


When I bought it, there was a promotion in the box and if you posted a video of/from the unit and posted a review, they would send a second battery.


One other thing I like is the controller is rechargeable, no batteries to replace.


But, it is unavailable. Maybe call th3em at (833)266-8946 to see if they've lowered their price point.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Stranger

Looking back at my order it was $249.97. Unfortunately I see it's currently unavailable.


When I bought it, there was a promotion in the box and if you posted a video of/from the unit and posted a review, they would send a second battery.


One other thing I like is the controller is rechargeable, no batteries to replace.


But, it is unavailable. Maybe call th3em at (833)266-8946 to see if they've lowered their price point.

I checked the prices at several places and they're all in that range.

[twogypsies]

There's a bad fire going on right now in Tucson and fire fighting efforts were stopped because of a drone. It's a shame some can't be more responsible.... makes it bad for all.

https://www.kgun9.com/news/wildfires...t-bighorn-fire

[GMac66]

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

I have a question about the auto return feature. I know that in an open field there would not be a problem. What happens if you maneuver it around obstacles, trees, etc. and it loses signal? Does it try to return in a straight line to the controller, or does it follow the original path including the same altitude? I can just imagine it in the top a a really big tree!

Thants where my Phantom 2 is at...tree tops or crashed in thick woods.

[astrnmrtom]

Stay away from brushed motors. Not because of the lesser flying time but because they have only about a 40 hour life for the cheaper motors before the brushes wear out.

Availability of spare parts especially props is important because you WILL crash it. It's easy to get information overload if a gust of wind comes along, or you lose orientation in the distance. I have a model that isn't anything like you are looking at, but it has a button on the top of the controller called an "air Brake." It stops the drone and puts it into a hover no matter what is happening which has been a life saver. Mine is a sport drone that can do 50mph or faster with a tailwind so it's easy to get into trouble. The air brake hasn't saved me every time but it sure has helped. I think it's an exclusive to my model drone because its a sport drone.

The drone you first posted actually looks pretty impressive for the money. Used to be for that price you'd only get brushed motors a low res camera, and thin plastic frame.

I say go-for it, especially for your first drone. It'll teach you a lot about the hobby and if it isn't for you, you aren't out much.

Drones are FUN!, but I am concerned about the future of the hobby. There's a lot of pressure on the FAA by companies like Amazon to make rules and guidelines for their operation. I'm afraid hobbyists may be pushed aside or over regulated as a byproduct. I registered mine and get messages from the FAA about new proposed rules and I'm not a big fan of the proposed requirement that the drone broadcast it's id and location to a network and if it can't connect to a network, you can't fly.

I only got into drones a year and a half ago. Had ZERO interest until one day before Christmas, we were walking through Walmart and my wife stopped at the toy drones and asked if I'd like one for Christmas. She said they looked like fun and something I'd like. Said "Sure," chose a GPS equipped, camera model with brushed motors and had a blast with it until one day that summer I was landing, and the drone suddenly flipped over, crashed upside down with smoke coming out of one of the motors. I'd reached the end of life of the brushed motor. Still, I was hooked enough to move up to a "real" drone. I've never had a bad experience with anyone nearby if I'm flying because I fly away from people. I've had problems with off leash dogs seeing it, but I usually see them coming and move it up high and hover until they lose interest. If it doesn't move, it isn't fun to chase.

Some drone have programmable parameters where you can set various heights and distances. I have a lot of trees on part of my property but so far the Return to Home feature is high enough to miss the trees. I CAN override the RTH if it's triggered as long as I still have a controller lock.

One thing to be aware of, is when you do the initial home location lock, that's where it will return to and if you are flying while walking, you leave that position behind. One time I was doing just that and it kept taking off and flying back the way I came. I fought it until I realized the RTH was being triggered because I'd walked 400 feet which was the limit of my Geofence and the drone was doing what it was supposed to do and returning to it's home position which was back where it took off. Along the same line be SURE you get a GPS lock before taking off - some won't fly until they get one, otherwise the home position becomes where ever it gets a lock. I made this mistake with my first toy drone. My current won't even allow the motors to be started until it gets a home lock.

Attached is a photo of my drone taking a couple of my granddaughter's little toys for a ride. She thought it was funny.

(The light bar is something I added to help with knowing orientation at a distance.)

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by astrnmrtom

Stay away from brushed motors. Not because of the lesser flying time but because they have only about a 40 hour life for the cheaper motors before the brushes wear out.

Availability of spare parts especially props is important because you WILL crash it. It's easy to get information overload if a gust of wind comes along, or you lose orientation in the distance. I have a model that isn't anything like you are looking at, but it has a button on the top of the controller called an "air Brake." It stops the drone and puts it into a hover no matter what is happening which has been a life saver. Mine is a sport drone that can do 50mph or faster with a tailwind so it's easy to get into trouble. The air brake hasn't saved me every time but it sure has helped. I think it's an exclusive to my model drone because its a sport drone.

The drone you first posted actually looks pretty impressive for the money. Used to be for that price you'd only get brushed motors a low res camera, and thin plastic frame.

I say go-for it, especially for your first drone. It'll teach you a lot about the hobby and if it isn't for you, you aren't out much.

Drones are FUN!, but I am concerned about the future of the hobby. There's a lot of pressure on the FAA by companies like Amazon to make rules and guidelines for their operation. I'm afraid hobbyists may be pushed aside or over regulated as a byproduct. I registered mine and get messages from the FAA about new proposed rules and I'm not a big fan of the proposed requirement that the drone broadcast it's id and location to a network and if it can't connect to a network, you can't fly.

I only got into drones a year and a half ago. Had ZERO interest until one day before Christmas, we were walking through Walmart and my wife stopped at the toy drones and asked if I'd like one for Christmas. She said they looked like fun and something I'd like. Said "Sure," chose a GPS equipped, camera model with brushed motors and had a blast with it until one day that summer I was landing, and the drone suddenly flipped over, crashed upside down with smoke coming out of one of the motors. I'd reached the end of life of the brushed motor. Still, I was hooked enough to move up to a "real" drone. I've never had a bad experience with anyone nearby if I'm flying because I fly away from people. I've had problems with off leash dogs seeing it, but I usually see them coming and move it up high and hover until they lose interest. If it doesn't move, it isn't fun to chase.

Some drone have programmable parameters where you can set various heights and distances. I have a lot of trees on part of my property but so far the Return to Home feature is high enough to miss the trees. I CAN override the RTH if it's triggered as long as I still have a controller lock.

One thing to be aware of, is when you do the initial home location lock, that's where it will return to and if you are flying while walking, you leave that position behind. One time I was doing just that and it kept taking off and flying back the way I came. I fought it until I realized the RTH was being triggered because I'd walked 400 feet which was the limit of my Geofence and the drone was doing what it was supposed to do and returning to it's home position which was back where it took off. Along the same line be SURE you get a GPS lock before taking off - some won't fly until they get one, otherwise the home position becomes where ever it gets a lock. I made this mistake with my first toy drone. My current won't even allow the motors to be started until it gets a home lock.

Attached is a photo of my drone taking a couple of my granddaughter's little toys for a ride. She thought it was funny.

(The light bar is something I added to help with knowing orientation at a distance.)

Thanks Tom! I'm still looking!

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

Thanks Alan! That drone seems to have really good reviews!

It was pretty well received when it came out - I bought mine for around $140 if I recall. They came out with the PRO model about 6 months after I bought mine.

Can you buy replacement parts, blades, motors, batteries, etc?

It came with a second set of prop blades, which I have installed recently. I've found vendors online for replacement parts, but haven't yet purchased any. It seems like parts are readily available.

Any support available on this one?

I haven't had to contact the company yet, but if you're looking for information on this, and other, drones you should check out the web forum: Quadcopter Forum - lots of great information there!

[MSHappyCampers]

Anybody know anything about this one? The specs are fantastic including gimbal stabilization and 4K zoom camera!

https://www.geekbuying.com/item/ZLRC...ck-423412.html

[gatorb8]

rcgroups is a great source to find out what users are saying about rc aircraft

just google the aircraft with tag rcgroups and read on

some threads may go thousands of posts......

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...ne-from-138-73

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by gatorb8

rcgroups is a great source to find out what users are saying about rc aircraft

just google the aircraft with tag rcgroups and read on

some threads may go thousands of posts......

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...ne-from-138-73

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

Anybody know anything about this one? The specs are fantastic including gimbal stabilization and 4K zoom camera!

https://www.geekbuying.com/item/ZLRC...ck-423412.html

Still hoping for opinions from experienced drone users on this one. Hoping to get a drone for Father's Day and need to make a decision! Thanks!

[burgman50]

When I was drone YouTube was a great resource for reviews and how too. ( I bought a dji spark which I love)

Here is recent review of the one you like.
https://youtu.be/fs9ZzbJ62w8