RC Drones, Quadcopter, and real-time Video

[garygid]

What does the Samsung Galaxy have that the
Kyocera Event does not?

Cost, Contract, or...?

 

[LEAFfan]

I pulled the switch and ordered the DJI Phantom 2 Vision
from B&H Photo (which includes an extra 5200 mah battery) :

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/999838-REG/dji_djphvision_phantom_vision.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gary, where does it say it includes an EXTRA battery? I read the whole thing, and it only comes with one. I read "What's in the Box?" It says one battery. It would be a great deal with two though.

 

[TickTock]

Gary, I looked a bit and haven't found anyone else having similar problems but I haven't found anything about those specific devices either.
Leaffan, extra battery appears to be a DJI sponsored promotion helipal is also offering it.

25 minutes flight time sounds great. I wonder if I can figure out a way retrofit mine with that battery. It's not just the extra capacity, but the on/off button is a great improvement, too.

 

[LEAFfan]

Yeah, I noticed the bhp site has changed and now shows the extra battery.
I've built two RC copters from scratch (from kits), one a gas model and the other an electric which had over a thousand parts. But this P2 looks amazing and much simpler to fly. It's on my wish list.

 

[garygid]

I think that B&H was out of stock of the spare batteries for the P2V,
but finally got more back in stock, so that they could again offer the
Christmas Deal.

Hopefully, my P2V will arrive today.
Merry Christmas to all, Gary

 

[garygid]

It arrived, the DJI Phantom 2 Vision, a quadcopter
with a High-Def camera, for stills and HD video,
with First Person Video (FPV) capabilities.

It is smaller than I imagined, but...
Thanks, Santa!

 

[Boomer23]

It arrived, the DJI Phantom 2 Vision, a quadcopter
with a High-Def camera, for stills and HD video,
with First Person Video (FPV) capabilities.

It is smaller than I imagined, but...
Thanks, Santa!

Exciting, Gary. Count me in as being interested in playing.

 

[LEAFfan]

TickTock, I believe I now know why you chose your username on here. I was watching a YouTube video of this guy flying a quad and he mistakenly tried to do a tic toc and he crashed it onto his sidewalk. He was flying it and doing acrobatics right in front of his house about ten feet up, in a small yard, with trees all around and close neighbors. He said he forgot it was a quad as he has done many tic tocs with his other helis. When I was flying helis in the early 80's (started with a gas motor), I never saw anyone do one of those. I'm curious who discovered the maneuver and when. So I'm betting that you have done many of those also when you fly/flew single blades. Another mystery solved...lol.

 

[TickTock]

Naw, picked that up a long time ago - long before the internet escaped the universities (from a character in a paperback science fiction story). There are a few folks who have made quads with collective pitch so they may be able to pull off a tic toc but Gary will have to be satisfied with flips and funnels. Some stunts are *easier* with the Phantom thanks to its "Course Lock" function. You can set a particular compass direction to be associated with the pitch and roll regardless of the craft yaw. This is very useful if the craft is too far away to see it's orientation but also makes it easy to add spin to any maneuver. To impress the neighbors, I like to do a funnel while simultaneously spinning the craft around the yaw axis. Looks very hard (and would be for a normal heli) but is easy with the Phantom.

 

[Nubo]

For a low-cost alternative, this kickstarter project looks pretty damn fun:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/393053146/powerup-30-smartphone-controlled-paper-airplane" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Help the guy get to his stretch goal and there could even be onboard video!

 

[dhanson865]

What does the Samsung Galaxy have that the
Kyocera Event does not?

Cost, Contract, or...?

which samsung galaxy? I'm assuming you don't mean the original with android 1.5 on it so I grabbed a random modern galaxy (S II Plus) and pulled up the specs.

It has a higher resolution screen, dual core processor instead of single core, more capable video processor (GPU), more ram.

I'd be curious to know why that app doesn't work on the event as well. My CU has a deposit check app that won't work on my Kyocera Event but the app store is useless for figuring out why.

Documentation is definitely a weak spot in the android infrastructure.

 

[LEAFfan]

For a low-cost alternative, this kickstarter project looks pretty damn fun:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/315/105/394d8d6bb30e85f4f722e144aa132bff_large.jpg?1384241379" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Help the guy get to his stretch goal and there could even be onboard video!

Your link just shows the plane again. Do you have a link to this kickstarter project? Thanks!

Edit: I found it by doing a search. Cool! They needed $50K and have over $800K now.

 

[TickTock]

Here's one I sponsored. Should be fun but still waiting... :-(

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDuvBurbjVU[/youtube]

 

[Nubo]

For a low-cost alternative, this kickstarter project looks pretty damn fun:

Your link just shows the plane again. Do you have a link to this kickstarter project? Thanks!

Edit: I found it by doing a search. Cool! They needed $50K and have over $800K now.

Fixed. Thanks!

 

[garygid]

Dragonfly, so delightfully innovative.

Phantom 2 Vision - my first real flights today, in our severe 75 degree
winter weather. A beautiful day, about 7 liftoffs and landings, with
3 return-to-home (failsafe) landings, recovering control on the last RTH.

The P2V behaved well, with 9 to 11 GPS satellites locked.
Easy to fly in Vision mode, but it does not need to be very far
away for one to lose any sense of depth perception... as in
will it hit the wall, lamp post, tree, etc.

In all, a fun start.
Perhaps he is Buzz Saw, but what did he see, or saw?

 

[Boomer23]

Sounds like a good first day out, Gary. You know what they say about any landing you can walk away from...

Can't wait to hear the stories next Saturday.

 

[garygid]

I flew Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, but only for a short time
late each morning. With our severe winter weather, it got
rather hot standing in the sun... in the high seventies.

Lots left to learn and practice.
Soon, I will switch to Naza mode, in order to
get the use of Home Lock course control.

Now, I have two batteries charged to go.
Cheers, Gary

 

[garygid]

I have an opportunity to buy a slightly (skillfully) used, no problems,
DJI Phantom 2 Vision (which includes the FPV camera and tilt servo),
and a less expensive Phantom 1 (no camera, but one could be mounted).

If I do buy them, I will have more than my wife thinks that I need!
Perhaps somebody else is interested in one or the other? PM me
a phone number and we can chat.

Also, I am considering building a hexacopter, but I will need
some very experienced coaching to avoid choosing sub-optimal
components. I will look in http://www.rcgroups.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but again PM to chat.

I understand that the RTH height (above Home) in the Naza controller
can be set to values other than 20 meters, a safety feature much needed
for conjested flying. It would also be helpful if setting a new Home position
also set a new Home elevation, or set a new minimum Fly-Home altitude.

 

[Nubo]

I am considering building a hexacooter

:shock:

:lol:

 

[garygid]

building a hexacopter..., or assembling one from parts.
I have a friend who might be willing to guide me.

Any others interested in such a project, either doing
or following along?