What quad copter??

[DiGiacomo]

I am thinking that a quad copter may be a fun thing to do....... ;D

But when i go to amazon........i become overwhelmed........I don't know if i need a 30 dollar or a 300 dollar machine???......

I have already tried a couple of [cheap] RC boats........and lost interest.......

I would like to have a copter that i could attache a fishing line with a release, so i could get to the channel in the lake, where i frequently fish............i always seem to catch much bigger and better fish when i can hit the channel.........

I have already done the fishing boat thing........at my age.......i would just as soon sit in the chair and doze .........until that big one hits ;D

I guess maybe i would go up to a hundred bucks for a copter........because if i can't get it to do what I want........I know it will just end up on the garage shelf.........with all of my other bright ideas...... ;D

I know there is a least one RC flyer here.................any ideas??

 

[Larry N.]

I don't know about hauling a fishing line, but you won't get much of a quad copter for $100. I've got a $200 (plus controller- Blade 180QX HD) one that can lift a featherweight 15 gram camera that came with it, but not a 27 gram one I'd like to use. And control (radio) distance isn't all that far. I'd be reluctant to get it more than 50-100 feet away -- I lost one that I let go farther.

Here's a site that'll tell you more than you want to know about RC helis, including lessons on controlling them. They have a good section on quads, too.

 

[DiGiacomo]

Thanks Larry,

I'm glad that i asked before I bought one that would just sit on the shelf, I'm not willing to go 5 or 600 bucks just to do another "crazy old man" trick  ;D ........I wanted it to do a job...not really for a hobby.....

They  make that stuff look so good in the adds.......

 

[Chet18013]

If you're really going to get serious and want some good photos, get a Phantom 2+ V. I have one and it's a great little machine. I'm still learning how fly (mostly crash) it. I should warn you the cheap ones are just that. The Phantom, while $600+ has features and capabilities that I'm still discovering and amazed by. The small ones are totally useless in any wind. The Phantom will handle winds up to about 10 mph.

 

[DiGiacomo]

Chet i am trying very hard NOT to get "serious" about any "thing" these days, so i think I'll give the copter thing a pass..........The Colorado mountains give me enough pictures from 10 or 11 thousand ft....am planning a trip over Cumberland pass [between Tincup and Taylor park] as soon as i know that it has been opened.......

thanks a lot......

 

[Tinmania]

Let's not forget the term quad copter is out, at least as far as the media are concerned. I don't care if it weighs 25 grams and can fit in the palm of your hand: They are all called DRONES now.



Michael

 

[bucks2]

The Phantom Vision 2+ is the cats meow. Picture and video from 400' above beamed down to your phone, and captured on a micro SD card for later viewing. See how the RV park is laid out, see what things look like from a different angle. Check the gutters on your S&B to see if they need cleaning.

It's a great hobby rig to see things you normally wouldn't get to see and a great way to develop and keep some eye/hand coordination. If you watched Big Bang Theory last night you saw the Phantom Vision 2+.

As always be considerate of neighbors and try not to make them too paranoid. I had an RV park owner threaten me with a lawsuit because I flew over the pool at 200 feet. He said I was invading the privacy of the people in the pool. My wife was one of the people in the pool and they wanted a picture. When I asked where his written policy was against drones, he didn't have one. When I asked if the same women were offended when the AquaRobics instructor took pictures of them the previous day, he wasn't sure. When I pointed out the "security" camera mounted on the park model aimed right in my kitchen window and asked how he would explain that in court, he muttered that it wasn't used when people were parked there but only during slow periods during the summer. He walked away and didn't come back the rest of the month.

So, it's a new technology and many areas are struggling to draft laws and policies that govern something that didn't exist 5 years ago.

Ken

 

[Larry N.]

Let's not forget the term quad copter is out, at least as far as the media are concerned. I don't care if it weighs 25 grams and can fit in the palm of your hand: They are all called DRONES now.



Michael

I tend to ignore the media (as best I can), as they are inaccurate about a large variety of things (look what they did to the term "hacker," for example). They're still "quads" to me. Drones (to me) are a different beast, though remotely controlled. And since the manufacturers of mine say "quad," that's official (Blade, Hubsan, Estes).

If you're really going to get serious and want some good photos, get a Phantom 2+ V.

I'm very much aware of those (and many others), Chet, but that's more than I care to put into it at the moment, and my photo/video needs are minimal. Fun is more to the point, for me. I started with an indoor-only simple heli (Vigor 01Z), but soon graduated to a Blade 120 helicopter (not quad). My quads came later...

 

[Chet18013]

Let's not forget the term quad copter is out, at least as far as the media are concerned. I don't care if it weighs 25 grams and can fit in the palm of your hand: They are all called DRONES now.



Michael

Let's forget the media. As far as I and other folks I know who have the Quads are concerned, we call them "QUADS".

 

[vmax1]

check out the new blade 350 Q ap, with camera, $929, very cool drone

 

[cadee2c]

check out the new blade 350 Q ap, with camera, $929, very cool drone

The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.

 

[Larry N.]

check out the new blade 350 Q ap, with camera, $929, very cool drone quad  ;D

Yup. And you can get the same bird without camera and gimbals for $499. If you already have a Go Pro, then a $199 gimbal mount with your Go Pro will give (according to reviews I've seen) better pictures.

 

[Tinmania]

Let's forget the media. As far as I and other folks I know who have the Quads are concerned, we call them "QUADS".

When a "quad" is flown over the White House fence it is not referred to as a quad by the media nor the authorities.

When laws become enacted, and I am rather certain they are coming, they will be referred to as drones.

I fly giant scale R/C but it is done at an AMA sanctioned flying field with insurance, minimum, number of miles away from an airport, etc.




Michael

 

[Larry N.]

When a "quad" is flown over the White House fence it is not referred to as a quad by the media nor the authorities.

The media and authorities misuse the term "hacker," too, having given it the negative connotation. It used to mean someone who fools around with computers, digging around to learn more, and experimenting, a positive connotation. Now they've turned the term into meaning a criminal. My Proto X (about the size of a saltine cracker) and my Hubsan X4 (fits in the palm of my hand) aren't "drones" in the usual sense (prior to the last year or two). Nor would I consider my Blade 180QX a "drone," though it's a little bigger. I fly all three of those in the house, as well as in my yard.

Maybe a DJI Phantom, and similar units, could be called a drone, but I'd think it should be bigger and for more than hobby use.

 

[Tinmania]

The media and authorities misuse the term "hacker," too, having given it the negative connotation. It used to mean someone who fools around with computers, digging around to learn more, and experimenting, a positive connotation. Now they've turned the term into meaning a criminal. My Proto X (about the size of a saltine cracker) and my Hubsan X4 (fits in the palm of my hand) aren't "drones" in the usual sense (prior to the last year or two). Nor would I consider my Blade 180QX a "drone," though it's a little bigger. I fly all three of those in the house, as well as in my yard.

Maybe a DJI Phantom, and similar units, could be called a drone, but I'd think it should be bigger and for more than hobby use.

I'm afraid there is no "size limitation" for the term drone.

Black Hornet Nano Drone

This drone is used by the British military as a surveillance drone. It can fly for about 20 minutes and can travel for 3,290 fee from the operator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gQSkppYviw



Michael