Colinb17's kinda sorta build thread - now with 4-link and long travel

Mines a bit bigger than a 550 although I've never measured. It folds up so transporting it is a breeze.

The best Hex I've played with is the S800 from DJI. it can carry a Sony nex7 with their zenmuse (amazing) gimbal. For DsLR you really want a heavy lift octo rotor.

I have a tarot 810 coming to me soon which is a folding hex that I will be integrating a fill feature autopilot into.

Here's mine:
http://www.steadidroneusa.com/drones/qu4d/

 

Are you looking at buying a phantom? If so, the phantom gen1 is now about 450 bucks as DJI is prepping to release the Phantom II and the Phantom Vision.

 

I keep thinking of more things to say...

Also do yourself a favor and check out the 3DRobotics Iris quad that is coming out. It will compete with the phantom and is a little bigger (more stable in wind) and will have the new Pixhawk autopilot installed.

 

i don't actually want one that can lift a dslr, i just happened to see one that could. i'll be content with a 4 blade that can carry a gopro. which shouldn't be an issue since jsut about all of the 450s and up seem to be able to do so without issue. maybe some shorter flight times with the smaller guys, but that's all.

have you played with the live feed viewing gogles at all? still in the research stage, but was considering mounting up a system once i get a bigger quad. it would be nice for the real far away or high flights, or where line of sige is impaired. especially since auto home doesn't do so well with obstructions between you and the machine lol

 

the phantom is one of about 4 i've looked into so far. it jsut happens to be that the video i linked was shot with a phantom. the same company that makes the 1SQ i just got, has released a pretty nice 450 too. i think i have to determine what size i want first, so i can narrow down brand and modle from there.

 

Ya, I've flown FPV (first person view) with goggles but have also done it with a 8" monitor.. It's pretty fun but be careful and always have a spotter watching the aircraft as you fly under goggles.

I'm selling a FPV ground station on ebay right now....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151128985320?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

i feel like i'd have to sit down with the goggles, or else the tilting view would throw me off and i'd eat shit, standing still on flat ground

I'm sure i'll be posting up as soon as i get the big one, so if you still have your system for sale at that time, hit me up

 

LOL... Ya will do

If you have any questions before you pull the trigger hit me up...

 

i'm sure i'll have plenty. i may be looking to get one in the next couple weeks, or it may be a couple months. really depends on what work tells me to do. if they tell me i need to move back to houston and rent an apartment in the middle of downtown for 2k a month, i won't be getting one right away

 

you have any experience with the Flamewheels? they have a 450 4 blade and 550 6 blade that caught my eye. they have the open frame design which is attractive for mounting aftermarket gear, and aparently have some serious lifting power. the catch is a doubled price once you get a transmitter and reciever.

 

the biggest problems with those are the arms... they're pretty flexy and can induce jello in the video. They're pretty affordable however which makes them a good choice for a lot of folks

 

just move back to Louetta and Cutten instead...

 

well since the entire point of the big one would be for photos, that rules out the flamewheel. I have the small ones to do flips and rolls with, so i'm looking for the next one to be very stable.

that'd be nice if i were going back to our office. unfortunately though, if i get moved back to houston, we're working on a couple miltibillion dollar jobs with some joint venture partners, and their offices are in the heart of down town......and that's where i'd be working out of. i just don't like cities

 

they were cutting the grass on the big piece of land right next to our office as i walked back from lunch. that'll be the perfect place to practice if the wind ever goes away

 

Nice

 

Ya bigger is more stable in wind too

 

i think i'm leaning towards the phantom at the moment. from a replacement parts standpoint, if i need something in a pinch, Amazon has just about everything for them, plus some aftermarket. a couple bucks for overnight shipping makes a difference if something goes bad the day before a wheeling trip.

 

Ya it's a good starter airframe and one of the better engineered ones. Watch out for flyaways though... Early ones have accelerometer problems from vibration

 

i'd be buying new, so i hope they would have fixed that. i'll ad that little bit to my "things to research" list. i'm guessing the RTH feature is pretty useless in a flyaway situation?

 

Yup... She will go bye bye